shadows
579 Words
Sylvia woke up to the sound of her phone buzzing on the nightstand.
For a moment, she thought she had imagined last night—the eerie message, the shadow outside, the suffocating fear. But as soon as her eyes landed on the unread text on her screen, reality slammed back into her chest like a hammer.
"You didn’t listen. Now you’ll see what happens."
Her breath hitched.
Her fingers trembled as she unlocked her phone, reading the words over and over again, hoping she had somehow misread them.
See what happens?
A cold shiver ran down her spine.
Who the hell was doing this?
She bolted upright, scanning her room, the early morning light barely creeping through the curtains. Everything was exactly as she had left it. But that didn’t stop the unease curling in her stomach.
Her heart pounded as she forced herself to get up and check the front door. Locked. Windows? Secured. Everything seemed fine.
But the text…
Whoever sent it knew she had ignored the warning.
The first message had been a warning.
This one?
It was a threat.
Her phone buzzed again, making her jump.
She braced herself for another chilling message, but this time, it was Ryder.
Ryder: Rise and shine, sweetheart. I hope you didn’t forget about our date tonight.
She exhaled a shaky breath, running a hand through her hair.
A date.
Right.
Part of her wanted to cancel. The rational part, the part screaming that she should be focusing on whoever the hell was watching her instead of going out with Ryder like nothing was wrong.
But another part of her—the part that had spent years suffocating under Daniel’s control, the part that had finally tasted freedom—refused to let fear win.
If she backed down now, if she gave in to whatever this was, she’d never stop looking over her shoulder.
Sylvia: I’ll be ready by 7.
Her stomach twisted as she sent the text.
Because the truth was, she had no idea if this was the right choice.
---
Later That Night
Sylvia had never felt this paranoid before.
Every step outside her apartment felt like walking into enemy territory, her skin crawling with the sensation of being watched.
She scanned the street as she waited for Ryder. Nothing seemed out of place, but she knew better than to trust appearances.
A sleek black motorcycle roared down the road, stopping right in front of her. Ryder removed his helmet, shaking his dark hair out of his face with that cocky smirk of his.
“Damn,” he said, looking her over. “You clean up nice.”
Sylvia rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the heat that rushed to her cheeks. “Are you seriously picking me up on that thing?”
Ryder patted the seat behind him. “What, you scared?”
She huffed. “No.”
“Then get on, sweetheart.”
With a sigh, she slid onto the bike, hesitating as she placed her hands on his shoulders.
Ryder smirked. “You’re gonna have to hold on tighter than that, princess.”
She swallowed hard before wrapping her arms around his waist, feeling the solid warmth of his body beneath his jacket.
The bike roared to life, and just as they sped off down the road, Sylvia dared one last glance behind her.
A figure stood beneath a streetlamp, watching.
Her breath hitched.
The shadow was back.
And it wasn’t going away.
- Writer
