The Devil's Silence

Chapter Four — The Fall

Aria’s POV

The slam of the door echoes through the apartment like thunder. I stood in the entryway for a moment, my hands clenched, trying to swallow the heat rising in my chest, I'd held my composure through the whole walk home, but now that I was inside, it broke.

I threw my bag on the chair by the wall and let out a shaky breath. Every thought I had was tangled with one face_ his.

Leo.

I hadn't meant to talk to him that way. It just happened. Something about him pulled out the worst parts of me_ anger, curiosity, confusion.

I sat down, elbows on my knees, head in my hands.

"Why does he act like that?" I whispered to myself.

A knock on the door broke through the silence.

"Hey, new girl," a voice called casually.

I looked up, startled, then walked over to open the door. One of the band members stood there, leaning against the doorframe with an easy grin. His brown hair was a little messy.

"Jake," I said, remembering his name.

He nodded. "That's me. You okay? You look like you just argued with a wall."

I huffed out a small laugh despite myself. "Something like that."

He smiled, stepping back slightly. "Sorry to bother you. I was just heading out. Thought I'd say hi since we didn't get to properly meet."

"No, it's fine," I said, brushing hair off my face.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"Last night, I began slowly, "I heard music.... really late. It sounded like a guitar. Was that you guys?"

Jake blinked, then nodded. "Yeah. That was us rehearsing. We didn't wake you, did we?"

Relief and disappointment flooded through me so fast I almost laughed.

"No, no. You didn't. I just wanted to be sure."

He tilted his head, curious. "You thought it was something else?"

"I don't know," I admitted honestly. "It sounded strange. Like it came from somewhere else."

Jake chuckled. "Well, mystery solved. It was just us. Sorry about that."

I smiled faintly. "It's okay."

He shifted the guitar strap on his shoulder. "You play?"

"I used to," I lied, surprised by how natural it felt to answer him. "Not anymore."

I don't know why I lied but part of me says I actually know how to play it.

"Why not?"

I shrugged. "Guess I stopped having a reason to."

He hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe you will find one again." His tone was light, but something about it stayed with me.

We talked a bit more, random things about the band, school. For a moment, I forget the tension eating at me all day. When he finally checked his phone and said he had to go, I found myself actually smiling.

"See you around, Aria," he said as he walked off down the hall.

"Yeah," I replied. "See you."

I closed the door and leaned against it for a second letting out a long breath.

*****

The night stretched long after that. I changed into my pajamas and tied to relax. I prayed Leo's band would rehearse tonight, but I guess luck was not on my side this. I even put on a playlist but no matter how many songs played, the trauma refused not to come.

My heart raced, my body tense, the headache pounded harder.

When I finally drifted off, the nightmare came again.

Then there was light_ blinding, white, consuming. And just before I woke, I saw water rising around me, swallowing everything.

I shot up in bed, gasping for air, drenched in sweat. My chest heaved as I tried to steady myself. It was just a dream, the dream I don't know if it's part of my life. The same dream that has been haunting me and showing me faces I didn't even know. My hands shook as I reached for my phone.

3:12 a.m

Too early to be awake, too late to fall asleep again.

I lay there staring at the ceiling, the silence pressing down like weight. I turned on my music again, hoping it would help. It didn't.

By morning, I felt like a ghost of myself. My limbs were heavy, my eyes sore, but I had no choice. School was waiting, and I couldn't afford to waste my parents efforts. Talking about my parents, I haven't called them since I returned and I knew they would have been worried.

Something fell off the moment I stepped into the school. The usual chatter was sharper, more nervous. Groups of students gathered in clusters, whispering and glancing toward the main building.

Then, suddenly, a scream.

It cut through the morning. People ran towards the place and I followed.

Before I could process what was happening, I saw it, body plummeting from the rooftop, hitting the ground with a sound. Gasps echoed, someone cried out. My stomach twisted.

The world should have stopped.

But it didn't.

The crowd hesitated only for a moment. Then, like someone flipped a switch, everything went back to normal. Conversations picked up again. Laughter. Students stepped around the scene as though it were a broken bag of trash instead of a human life.

"What the hell....." I whispered, frozen in place. "How can they just_"

A laugh broke through the noise. I turned towards it.

Blake.

He stood near the steps, flanked by his usual group_ smirking, his eyes glinting with cruel amusement. "Another one down," he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Guess he couldn't handle it. Who's next?"

His friends snickered.

My shock turned to anger before I realized I was moving toward him. "What's wrong with you?" I demanded. "Someone just died."

He turned his head slowly, eyes meeting mine. "And you are?"

"Someone who still has a conscience," I shot back.

That made him laugh_ a sharp, mocking sound.

"Cute. You must be new here."

"Answer me," I said again, my voice shaking. "You think this is funny?"

He stepped closer, close enough that I could smell his cologne. "You should watch how you talk to people, sweetheart," he said, tone dripping with arrogance. "You don't know how things work here."

Before I could react, he shoved me. Hard.

My balance broke. The ground rushed up fast. I hit the pavement, my bag spiking open beside me. Pain shot up my elbow, and for a moment, everything blurred.

The crowd didn't pause.

I looked up at Blake, my heart pounding, my cheeks burning with a mix of fear and rage. He gave me one last smirk before walking away with his friends, laughter trailing behind them like smoke.

The sound of sirens grew louder. Paramedics pushed through the students, lifting the fallen boy onto a stretcher. His face was pale, lifeless. My throat tightened. I wanted to look away, but couldn't.

As they turned to leave, something slipped from the boy's pocket and rolled across the pavement.

A small, round bead.

It stopped right beside my shoe.

My breath caught. Slowly, I bent down and picked it up.

Cold. Smooth. Heavy.

Familiar.

My fingers went numb as I stared at it.

It was the same bead.