GRAY IN HER BLACK NIGHTS

The clock on the wall was ticking. 2:03 AM. The sound echoed through the entire room. Sharp. Merciless. Every second felt like a hammer hitting her head. She was sitting at her small desk. The room was cold. The heater was off to keep the electricity bill low. A pile of fifth grade math assignments lay in front of her. Red ink stained her fingers. Dark circles under her eyes. She had been sitting in the same spot for four hours. The principal’s stern voice was still ringing in her ears. _"Ms. Carter, I don’t care if you stay up all night. These assignments need to be submitted by 8 AM tomorrow. No excuses. If even one is left, your contract won’t be renewed."_ Contract. That one word forced her to pick up the pen again. Nine years. In nine years she had built her life with so much effort. A small teaching job. A small apartment. No drama. No Gray. Her eyes were burning. Her shoulder ached. She rolled it to get some relief. Sleep was pulling at her. Her mind whispered, _"just close your eyes for five minutes."_ But she shook her head and forced herself back to work, marking in red. Then her phone rang. The sound cut through the silence like a knife. Sharp and sudden. She looked up. Her heart had already started racing. A name was glowing on the screen. She froze the moment she saw it. Her breath caught. Her heart stopped for a second. Nine years. College. Corridor. Laughter. Pain. Everything hit her at once. *GRAY EYES CALLING* The pen slipped from her hand and fell on the desk with a _clack_. For ten seconds she didn’t breathe. The room was so silent that even the ticking of the clock sounded loud. _Gray_ The bully from college. The boy with storm-gray eyes that could freeze anyone. The boy she hadn’t spoken to in nine years. Hadn’t heard his name. Hadn’t seen his face. _The boy who bullied her every day in college... why is he calling at this hour?_ _Should I answer? Hang up? Let it ring?_ Her heart was pounding. It felt like someone was banging on a door inside her chest. The phone was cold. Heavy in her hand. But her fingers wouldn’t move. Frozen with fear. With anger. With memory. The ringing stopped. One second of silence. So deep she could hear her own breathing. And then it rang again. This time with vibration. The table shook. Terrified, the phone slipped from her hand and fell to the floor with a _thud_. Screen facing down. She bent down quickly and picked it up with trembling hands. Her heart felt like it would jump out of her chest. The screen was still glowing. *GRAY EYES CALLING* She took a deep breath. Her palms were sweaty. And she pressed answer. _"Hello?"_ Her voice trembled. Barely a whisper. Silence on the other side. Only the sound of breathing. Heavy. Fast. Like someone had been running. Then that voice came. Low. Rough. Broken. Still the same after nine years. _"Black... I killed someone. I need your help."_ The words hit her like ice. The ground slipped from under her feet. _Black?_ _He just called me Black?_ _After nine years?_ A lightning bolt shot through her mind. _Her black hair._ _That black hoodie she wore to college every day so no one would notice her._ _And being his favorite target._ _That was why, wasn’t it? That’s why he called her Black. Every day. Every hallway. Until the last day._ A memory struck like lightning. The hallway. In front of everyone, he had thrown her bag on the floor. Books scattered. People were laughing. And he had leaned down to her ear and said, _"Look, Black. You still shine in the dark."_ After that day she didn’t go to school for three days. She cried. That traitor had turned her life into hell. _"Black? Are you there?"_ Gray asked again. There was panic in his voice now. She swallowed. Her throat was dry. _"Hmm,"_ that was all she could manage. And in that one word was nine years of pain. _"I killed someone,"_ his voice was even more scared now. Like he was about to cry. _"Please. Come. I’m... I’m alone. There’s... so much blood."_ The call cut off. She stared at the phone. Her hands were still shaking. The papers in front of her blurred. Red ink spread everywhere. _Is he messing with me again?_ _No... that voice... that fear... it sounds real._ _Is he really in trouble? Jail? Injured? Or is this another game?_ She closed her eyes. The last day came back. When she had run out of school crying and swore she would never go back. Never say his name again. And today he was calling her because he needed her? Her hands moved on their own. Her mind said no. Her heart said don’t. But her fingers were already dialing his number. It rang. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. With every ring her heart beat faster. He picked up on the fifth ring. The sound of breathing. _"Where are you?"_ she asked. Her voice was hard. Teacher voice. So she wouldn’t sound weak. _"Under the bridge,"_ Gray said. His voice was low. _"5th and Monroe."_ A moment of silence. Hearing the name of that bridge sent a chill down her spine. That was the last place she had seen him. _"Are you coming, Black?"_ She closed her eyes. _Her job. Her safe life. Everything she built in nine years. All of it could be over._ _What if she goes? What if she doesn’t? What if he’s really dying?_ _"I-I don’t know,"_ she whispered. Her voice was so soft he probably didn’t even hear it. And she hung up. The clock chimed. 2:17 AM. _Are you coming, Black?_ She sat there for two minutes. Three minutes. Then suddenly she stood up. The chair fell back. She grabbed her keys. Her coat. Put her phone in her bag. The assignments could wait. The principal could yell. The contract could be gone. Because nine years ago, Gray had ruined her. And tonight, she was going to find out why he called. Had he really changed? Or was this another cruelty? She walked out the door. It had started raining. Cold air hit her face. The city was asleep. But there was a storm inside her. And far away, under the bridge, someone was waiting for her. _To be continued..._