SELF-MADE PROMISE
1132 Words
The pressure around Solyn’s throat tightened until breathing became a foreign concept.
Her back slammed against the cold tile of the restroom stall, the impact sending a fresh jolt of pain through her already injured shoulder. The door rattled as the man shoved it shut with his foot, sealing them into a narrow space that smelled faintly of disinfectant and fear. His forearm was locked beneath her jaw, crushing her windpipe with deliberate restraint, not enough to kill her quickly, but enough to make every second stretch.
“Shh,” he murmured calmly, almost gently, as she clawed at his arm. “You’ll pass out faster if you waste air.”
Solyn’s vision blurred as panic surged through her. Her fingers scraped uselessly against his sleeve, nails bending, skin burning. She tried to scream, but only a broken, muffled sound escaped her throat, swallowed immediately by his grip. Her chest heaved violently, desperate for oxygen that would not come.
Her mind raced in fractured thoughts.
Not like this.
Not here.
Please.
She shoved at the stall door with her free hand, her body shaking as she tried to force space between them. The man barely moved. He leaned closer instead, his breath steady against her ear, infuriatingly calm.
“I don’t hate you,” he whispered. “I barely see you.”
Her eyes burned as tears spilled down her cheeks, soaking into his sleeve. Her legs trembled, weakening, and he adjusted his stance easily, pinning her more securely against the wall.
“You’re just a tool,” he continued conversationally. “A very effective one.”
Her head spun as dizziness crept in. Black spots danced at the edges of her vision. She shook her head weakly, trying to deny whatever he was saying, but he laughed softly.
“He ruined my life,” the man went on. “Tore it apart piece by piece. Reputation. Career. Family.” His grip tightened just enough to make her gasp painfully. “And he gets to walk free.”
Her throat burned. Her lungs screamed.
“So I thought,” he said, his voice almost thoughtful, “What better way to return the favor than to take something he thinks he can protect.”
Her knees buckled.
She sagged against him, her strength draining rapidly, consciousness slipping through her fingers like water. Her tears dried into hot streaks against her skin as panic gave way to something heavier. It was despair.
She thought of her father and her unfinished paintings. How unfair it was to die without understanding why. Her hand fell limply to her side.
“There it is,” the killer whispered. “That moment when the body gives up before the mind does.”
The stall door exploded inward.
The man was ripped away from her so abruptly that Solyn collapsed forward, crashing to her knees as air flooded back into her lungs. She coughed violently, gasping and choking, her body convulsing as oxygen returned too fast, too sharp. Chaos erupted around her.
Shouting. Footsteps. The sound of someone slamming into a wall.
She barely lifted her head in time to see the attacker wrench himself free and bolt out of the restroom, vanishing down the corridor with frightening speed.
Calian was suddenly there.
He dropped to his knees in front of her, his hands hovering, uncertain, as if afraid to touch her and break something already fragile. His face was pale, stripped of every trace of control, his eyes wide with something she had never seen before.
“Solyn,” he said urgently. “Breathe. Look at me. You’re breathing.”
She clutched at his sleeve, fingers digging in desperately as she sobbed, her body shaking uncontrollably. Her throat burned with every breath, raw and aching, her chest palpitated as shock set in.
“He said…” she croaked. “He said he’d kill me to hurt you.”
Calian’s jaw clenched so tightly she thought it might crack. He pulled off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders, drawing her closer, shielding her from the open space of the corridor.
“I know,” he said quietly, his voice rough. “I know.”
He spoke sharply into his phone without looking away from her. “He’s on foot. Male attendant. South wing. Don’t lose him.”
She barely registered when hospital staff appeared, when someone tried to take her vitals, when voices overlapped in urgent confusion. Calian waved them away with a single look.
“She’s leaving,” he said. “Now.”
He half-carried her out of the hospital, his arm firm around her back, his presence the only thing keeping her upright. Outside, the night air hit her like a shock, cold and grounding. She sagged against him, exhausted beyond tears.
He stopped the car only once, ordering food through a drive-through window. When they parked, he held the cup to her lips with uncharacteristic patience.
“Drink,” he said. “Please.”
She swallowed mechanically, her hands trembling as she gripped the cup. He watched her closely, his gaze dark and unreadable, guilt etched into every line of his face.
As they drove again, silence pressed in.
“Was it him,” Calian asked quietly. “The same man from before.”
Solyn nodded faintly.
“He won’t stop,” he said. “He’ll come back.”
She didn’t respond. She stared out the window, numb, the city lights blurring into meaningless streaks.
When they reached the mansion, Calian stopped the car but didn’t move immediately.
“Go inside,” he said. “Lock your door.”
She hesitated. “Are you staying?”
“Yes,” he said after a beat. “I’m not leaving.”
She nodded and stepped out, her legs weak as she made her way toward the entrance.
Inside her room, Solyn collapsed onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. She thought of calling her father. Of telling him everything, hearing his voice.
Instead, she placed the phone beside her.
It buzzed seconds later.
Unknown Number:
Lucky b***h.
Let’s see if fate agrees next time.
Her hands shook violently as she turned the phone face down. Fear wrapped around her chest, tight and suffocating. Exhaustion dragged her under despite it, her body finally surrendering to sleep.
Downstairs, Calian stood alone in his study, phone pressed to his ear.
“She was attacked again,” he said flatly.
Nelson’s breath caught. “Is she alive?”
“Yes.”
Silence stretched.
“I need you,” Nelson said quietly. “Please. Keep her safe.”
Calian closed his eyes.
“I will,” he said. “I promise.”
He disconnected the call and stood motionless in the dark, his reflection staring back at him from the glass.
- Writer
