ROOM 1108

A Third-Party Appears

The elevator descended in silence but neither of them spoke. Aria stood in one corner, anxiety squeezed hard at her as she clutched her phone so tightly her fingers hurt.

Across from her, Damien stared at the glowing floor numbers above the elevator door. The atmosphere inside the elevator felt suffocating. Having to share that small a space with a man with so many secrets was truly discomforting. He always left too many things unsaid. Aria glanced down at the latest message again.

TOO LATE.

It was a short phrase but it had managed to terrify her more than every hidden room, erased record, and mysterious warning she'd uncovered since moving into Blackwood Residences. The elevator dinged softly, the doors opened and the lobby appeared before them. People moved normally through the building, a couple argued quietly near the reception desk. A man carried groceries toward the elevators. Someone laughed near the entrance. Everything looked normal, nothing out of the ordinary. Damien stepped out first.

"Come on."

His voice was sharp, far from the calm voice she was used to hearing. Aria remained inside the elevator. Damien stopped and turned to look at her.

"Aria."

"No."

The answer surprised him, the elevator doors remained open while he waited. Neither of them seemed to move. For several seconds, they stared at each other.

"What do you mean no?"

"I just said so, didn't i?"

Aria stepped out slowly, the moment her feet touched the lobby floor, she folded her arms.

"You don't get to do that."

Damien frowned.

"Do what?"

"Act like I'm supposed to follow you."

He frowned in disapproval.

"Now isn't the time."

"Funny."

She laughed bitterly.

"That's exactly what you've been saying every time I ask a question."

Several residents glanced toward them this time, Aria didn't care. For once, she didn't care who was watching. Damien took a slow breath, trying hard to remain calm.

"Aria."

"No."

She shook her head.

"You don't get to tell me to trust you anymore."

The words hit him like a truck speeding on the highway. For a brief moment, something flashed across Damien's face. His pain and frustration poured all over his face, she had already seen it before his composure intervened. She enjoyed his suffering. For days she'd been living inside his secrets, now he could sit inside hers.

"I trusted you."

The confession slipped out before she could stop it. Damien paused, Aria immediately looked away. Admitting was equally as painful.

"I trusted you," she repeated more quietly.

"And every time I turn around, I find another thing you never told me."

The lobby suddenly felt too open but neither of them noticed the people walking around them anymore.

Damien looked away as she spoke, he couldn't hold her gaze. Damien never looked uncertain about things until now.

Finally he spoke,

"I was trying to protect you."

Aria laughed.

"From what?"

Silence fell and Damien struggled further, and in that hesitation, she found the truth. He knew exactly what he was protecting her from but just wouldn't say it.

"You see?" she whispered.

"That's the problem."

Damien looked exhausted suddenly, like a man carrying something far heavier than he should.

"You think I wanted this?"

Aria frowned.

"What?"

"This."

His hand swept toward the building toward room 1108.

"You think I wanted you involved?"

The question caught her off guard. For a moment she didn't know how to respond. Then she remembered the photographs,

"Then why am I?"

Damien opened his mouth but stopped, something behind her caught his attention instantly. His entire body stopped in it's tracks. Aria noticed immediately, her pulse quickened. She'd seen that look before. Slowly, she turned, across the street stood a man.

At first glance, there was nothing remarkable about him, dark baseball cap with a black jacket. Hands buried in his pockets. He looked like any another stranger standing near the sidewalk except he wasn't looking at traffic or his phone but directly at them.

The same sensation from the hallway returned. Then he reached into his pocket, pulled out a phone and pretended to be looking for a signal, he then raised it directly toward them.

He clicked his thumb like he had taken a photograph right in front of Blackwood Residences. Her stomach frowned. The stranger lowered the phone looking to his left and right, like someone who just become aware of his space, then he turned and walked away quickly. Aria's body reacted before her brain, She quickly took a step forward but Damien grabbed her arm immediately.

"No."

"What are you doing?"

"We are not following him."

His voice left no room for argument.

Which only made her more suspicious.

"Why?"

Damien didn't answer.

"Why?"

His grip tightened slightly but it wasn't enough to hurt.

"He's not our problem."

Aria suddenly stopped trying to get away, astonished she turned toward him. The city noise faded and the traffic seemed to disappear.

"He?"

Damien immediately realized what he'd said but it was too late.

"You know him, don't you?"

Damien said no more, her heart pounded violently.

"You know him..Damien."

Still silence ruled the space they stood.

"Damien?"

His jaw clenched as he looked the other way.

"Who is he?"

For several seconds he said nothing.

Then quietly he spoke,

"I don't know why he's back here."

The words sent ice through her veins. Back here? What did that mean? Before she could ask another question, her phone vibrated, both of them looked down, it was another message. Unknown Number. Her hands trembled slightly as she opened it, An old photograph appeared. It looked faded.

Aria's breath caught up in her throat. The image showed four people standing together.

Mara Quinn. Evelyn Blackwood. Damien. And a man who seemed to resemble the stranger from across the street. They all seemed years younger so it was difficult to pin anything. The photograph felt like a punch to the chest, suddenly this wasn't a stalker or some random threat, but someone connected to the whole saga.

At the bottom of the image was a text…

I BET HE DIDN'T TELL YOU EVERYTHING…

The world seemed to blur as Aria stared motionless, she read it again, then again. The message wasn't planning on changing. Slowly she lifted her head to look at Damien.

For the first time since meeting him, his face had completely lost color.

"Who is he?"

Her voice barely rose above a whisper. Damien stared at the photograph, then at the man now distant from them, pushing into the crowd trying to get away. Then back at her. When he finally spoke, his voice sounded hollow, like a man speaking as tho he just woken from a nightmare.