Soulmate Run

The Gap

The doorknob rattled.

Once.

Then again.

I stopped breathing.

My fingers tightened around the tiny silver key until the edges dug painfully into my palm.

No.

No, no, no...

Please don't come in.

A soft click echoed through the house.

The front door opened.

I didn't wait to see who it was.

I shoved the letter back into the envelope, stuffed both it and the key into my hoodie pocket, and ran.

Upstairs.

Every step felt deafening.

My heartbeat pounded so loudly I was sure they could hear it.

Think.

Think.

Where do I hide?

I burst into my parents' bedroom and looked around wildly.

The bed.

Too obvious.

The curtains.

No.

The wardrobe...

I grabbed the edge of it and froze.

There was a narrow space between the wardrobe and the wall.

Barely enough for a person.

Without thinking, I turned sideways and squeezed into the gap.

The rough wall scraped against my shoulder.

The wood of the wardrobe pressed painfully against my chest.

I could barely move.

Barely breathe.

But from the bedroom door...

I was hidden.

I covered my mouth with both hands, forcing myself to stay silent.

Please...

Please don't come upstairs...

Footsteps echoed from downstairs.

Slow.

Calm.

Unhurried.

Not the footsteps of someone panicking.

The footsteps of someone who had all the time in the world.

A drawer slid open.

Then shut.

Another.

Cupboards.

Papers.

They weren't tearing the house apart.

They were searching.

Searching for what?

The footsteps stopped.

Silence.

For one impossible second, hope flickered inside me.

Maybe they'd leave.

Then—

The staircase creaked.

One step.

Another.

Another.

My stomach twisted.

They were coming up.

The footsteps reached the landing.

They stopped outside the bedroom.

The door opened.

I shut my eyes.

Please...

Please...

Don't...

Footsteps entered the room.

Measured.

Controlled.

Each one closer than the last.

I heard the wardrobe doors open.

Then close.

The curtains rustled.

A drawer slid open.

Shut again.

He was checking everything.

Closer.

Closer.

The footsteps stopped.

Right in front of me.

My heart slammed against my ribs so violently it hurt.

I opened my eyes.

Just enough to see through the tiny gap.

Black combat boots.

I knew those boots.

Before I could stop myself...

The voice returned.

Calm.

Steady.

The same voice that had shattered my world that morning.

"...If I were you, I'd have picked somewhere else."

My blood turned to ice.

He knew.

He could see me.

He was looking directly at me through the gap.

My entire body trembled.

I couldn't move.

I couldn't cry.

I couldn't even blink.

This was it.

This was where I died.

Silence.

Seconds stretched into forever.

Then...

His thoughts changed.

"...Finish the mission."

Another silence.

Longer this time.

Then...

"...So why can't I?"

My breath caught.

What?

What did he mean?

Downstairs, a man's voice called out.

"Kai?"

The name echoed inside my head.

Kai.

That was his name.

He didn't answer immediately.

Another long second passed.

Then, finally—

"Coming."

His footsteps moved away.

The bedroom door closed.

I stayed exactly where I was.

Unable to move.

Unable to think.

The only thing repeating inside my head was one thought.

Wasn't that someone who had tried to kill me?

And yet...

For some reason...

He hadn't.