Bound by blood and lies

Rain had a way of making the world feel like it was hiding “That night, it didn’t just fall—it pounded. Heavy drops crashed against the pavement…” hard enough to sting, turning the empty street into a shifting mirror of silver and shadow. The streetlamp above flickered weakly, its light breaking apart every time the rain thickened, like even it was struggling to see through the storm. I shouldn’t have been there.I knew that the moment I turned into the alley, but it was the fastest way back,It always was. The café had closed late, and I had stayed longer than usual—cleaning, reorganizing, fixing things that didn’t need fixing just to avoid going home too early. By the time I stepped outside, the storm had already taken over the city and going around would have added twenty minutes. “The alley was only five minutes away, so I chose the shorter route.” My shoes were already soaked through, thin soles useless against the cold water pooling beneath my feet. My jeans clung to my legs, heavy and damp, and the oversized hoodie I wore—dark, worn, meant to make me invisible—was no match for the rain, the fabric stuck to my arms, my shoulders, my skin dragging the cold deeper in. My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag, knuckles pale. That’s when I saw it.At first, my mind refused to understand what I was looking at.Shapes.Movement. Shadows distorted by rain. “A body lay against the wet concrete. The rain washed over it, turning dark red into something thinner—spreading slowly into the ground.” Blood. It mixed with the water like the alley itself had started bleeding. And standing over it—Was a man. He didn’t look rushed,He didn’t look panicked,He didn’t even look like he was trying to leave,He looked… finished.Like whatever needed to be done had already been done. He wore a black long coat, the kind that held its shape even under the weight of the rain. Water slid off it instead of soaking through, tracing clean paths down to the ground. Underneath. I caught a glimpse of something equally precise—tailored, fitted and controlled. Nothing about him was careless.Not the way he stood, Not the way he moved, Not even the way he bent slightly brushing something from his sleeve , deliberate calm—like it was dust, not whatever had just ended a life. My breath caught. I should have run—but my body didn’t move Then—He turned and saw me. Everything stopped. Just him,His eyesDark,Still, Unreadable.They didn’t widen in surprise,didn’t sharpen in alarm, they simply landed on me… like I was expected. like I wasn’t an interruption,Like I was part of the moment. A slow, cold weight settled in my chest, I took a step back, Unsteady, Small,He noticed. Everything about him felt… aware, like nothing escaped him. “Wrong place,” he said.His voice was low.Not loud enough to carry far—but it didn’t need to reach me. “Wrong time,” he added. My throat tightened. “I didn’t see anything.”The words came out too quickly, too thin.A lie that didn’t even try to be convincing. He tilted his head slightly and studied me,not like a stranger caught in a bad situation,like something he hadn’t decided what to do with yet. “You’re shaking,” he said.“I’m not,” I whispered, another lie. The rain slid down his hair, tracing the sharp line of his jaw, disappearing beneath the collar of his coat. Like the storm wasn’t something he stood in—But something that moved around him. “You are,” he corrected quietly. I forced myself to breathe, even as my chest tightened. “Who are you?” The moment the question left my mouth, I knew it was a mistake. Something shifted in his expression. Not anger,Not surprise,Something quieter,Something deeper,Interest. “You don’t want that answer,” he said.“I didn’t ask for warnings.”For a second—just a second—something flickered in his eyes.Approval,He stepped closer,just one step. But it changed everything.The air felt tighter,heavier. Like something invisible had shifted between us. He stopped a few feet away, close enough that I could see the fine details now—the clean cut of his coat, the faint crease of fabric that had never been worn carelessly, the controlled stillness in every line of his body. “People who ask questions in places like this,” he said quietly, “don’t leave alive.” My stomach dropped. I swallowed hard. “Are you threatening me?”A pause.Then— “No.”Just that.Simple.Certain. And somehow worse,because threats come with intention,His voice didn’t,It sounded like a fact. He glanced briefly at the body behind him, like it had already become irrelevant.Then his gaze returned to me.“Next time,” he said, “don’t stop walking.” Something tightened painfully in my chest.“Next time?” I echoed. But he was already turning away,like the conversation had ended,like I didn’t matter enough to continue. That should have been a relief. It wasn’t. I stood there, frozen, as he walked deeper into the rain. The storm swallowed him slowly, his figure fading into shadow and distance until there was nothing left but empty space and the sound of rain hitting the ground. And I realized something I didn’t want to admit. I didn’t know who he was. But I knew one thing with absolute certainty—Men like that don’t appear once.They return. And when they do…You don’t get to walk away again. I didn’t even know how I got home. One moment I was still standing in that alley, rain soaking through my clothes, his eyes on me like I didn’t belong to the world I thought I knew… and the next, I was inside my apartment, the door shut behind me. I didn’t remember the walk home. Only silence when I got inside. My hand was still trembling slightly as I held onto the edge of the door for balance. My clothes were damp, my hair clinging to my skin, but I couldn’t bring myself to move right away. Because my mind was still there,at that moment.With him. And then, slowly—dangerously—an image surfaced again. The way he stood there. Calm, Unbothered, like nothing in that alley had the power to shake him. And worse… the way he looked. It slipped in so quietly I almost didn’t catch it. He was… handsome. My breath caught immediately. No. I straightened slightly, like forcing my body into control could silence my thoughts. That wasn’t what I was supposed to notice. Not there. Not him. My chest tightened as I finally stepped away from the door, forcing my legs to move deeper into the apartment. “Because this pull was dangerous.” I was halfway to my bedroom when my phone vibrated. The sudden sound made me jump.I frowned and pulled it from my pocket. Unknown Number. My stomach tightened, I opened the message.You should have kept walking. For a second, I just stared at the screen. My pulse began to pound. I didn’t recognize the number.Before I could think of a response, another message appeared. Forget what you saw tonight.This is your only warning. My hands went cold. Slowly, I looked toward the dark window of my apartment, a terrible thought settled in my chest. Whoever sent the message knew where I had been. And that meant I wasn’t as far from that alley as I thought.