The Quite Ridge

Chapter 18 – Sadie

Every night but Friday.

I leaned back against the counter, my fingers tightening slightly around my phone. I could picture it without trying. The three of them. Easy. Familiar. Like they belonged somewhere. Like they had something set. My chest tightened. Not the same way it had before. Quieter. Heavier.

Before I could answer—

my phone buzzed again.

Unknown number.

The shift was instant.

Cold.

Sharp.

Everything in me tightened.

I didn’t open it.

Another message came through.

You think you’re safe there?

My stomach dropped. I didn’t move. Didn’t breathe right.

Another one.

You’re not.

The room felt smaller. Closer. Like everything was tightening around me without moving at all. My grip tightened around the phone, my pulse hitting hard and fast, my eyes moving toward the windows, the door, the corners of the room like something might be there if I looked hard enough.

Nothing.

Everything looked the same.

But it didn’t feel the same.

Then—

my phone buzzed again.

Rhett.

I looked at his name on the screen, my chest tightening in a completely different way.

You always this quiet after you start talking?

I blinked at the message, my mind taking a second to shift from one thing to the other. My fingers hovered before I typed back.

Depends.

The reply came back quick.

On what?

My breath shifted slightly.

Who I’m talking to.

There was a pause. Long enough to feel.

Then—

Good.

Another second passed.

Then—

Would’ve been a shame if that was just a one-time thing.

My stomach tightened. Not fear. Something else. Something slower. Warmer. Harder to ignore.

My fingers moved before I could stop them.

We’ll see.

His reply came back almost immediately.

Yeah.

A beat.

Then—

We will.

I stared at the screen a second longer than I should have, my grip tightening slightly around my phone. The fear didn’t go away. It was still there. Still close. Still waiting in the background.

But now—

it wasn’t the only thing pulling at me.

And that felt just as dangerous.