Isabella

Chapter 12.1

The day started off casually enough. She woke up alone in bed, the sheets on Adrian's side cold. She assumed he had gone on his morning run—nothing unusual. Stretching, she got out of bed, going about her usual routine, the quiet house filling with her soft humming. By noon, she realized she hadn’t heard from him at all. Still, she wasn’t too worried. Adrian often kept busy, whether it was work or a workout, so she tried calling his phone, only for it to go straight to voicemail.

Evening crept in, and her concern grew. She paced the house, glancing at the front door every few minutes, expecting him to walk in any moment. It wasn’t like him to stay away this long without any word. She called his phone again. No answer.

Deciding she couldn’t sit still any longer, she grabbed her coat and locked up the house for a walk, hoping the crisp evening air would clear her mind. Her thoughts were scattered, worrying about where Adrian could be. Maybe he’d lost his phone or was tied up in something important?

She hadn’t gone far when she ran into Tyler and his mother, both returning from their grocery run. Tyler smiled when he saw her, but the worry in her eyes must have been obvious.

"Hey," she said, trying to sound calm. "You haven't seen Adrian today, have you?"

Tyler shook his head. "No, haven’t seen him. Maybe he’s just busy with something, but I wouldn’t worry. He’ll show up soon."

She nodded, though it did little to ease her growing anxiety. "Yeah, you’re probably right."

After saying goodbye, she returned home, heating up leftovers from the morning, though her appetite had long since disappeared. The house was too quiet, too still. As the hours passed, the knot in her stomach tightened. She locked the door and headed to bed, hoping she'd wake up to find him home. But he didn’t come.

The next two days dragged by painfully slow. Each time she called the police, they brushed her off, telling her to wait a little longer before filing a formal missing person’s report. But her gut told her something was wrong—terribly wrong.

By the third day, her panic had reached its peak. Tyler, sensing her distress, decided to stay over for the evening, keeping her company. They tried distracting themselves by watching a movie, but neither of them could focus. Tyler kept glancing at her, and she knew he was trying to stay optimistic for her sake, but she could see the worry flickering in his eyes, too.

Then, late in the night, a heavy thudding sound echoed through the house.

Her heart stopped. The sound was unmistakable—someone was pounding on the front door, hard. The kind of knock that demanded to be heard.

Tyler and she exchanged alarmed looks, both grabbing the baseball bats they kept for safety. Her pulse raced as they approached the door cautiously. She leaned in, peeking through the peephole, but there was nothing. The doorstep was empty. Just the cold, dark night outside.

Confused, she was about to turn around when the door handle rattled violently. She gasped, stepping back as the door suddenly swung open, slamming against the wall with a force that made her jump.

For a moment, nothing happened. The doorway stood empty, the night air rushing in.

Then, a figure collapsed into the entrance, hitting the floor with a sickening thud.

Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes landed on the body—blood was pooling around it, soaking into the floorboards.

"Adrian?" she whispered in disbelief, the sight paralyzing her.

She rushed to the body, her heart pounding painfully in her chest as she turned it over. The lifeless face of Adrian stared back at her, his eyes half-closed, his skin ashen. Blood covered him, and his breathing was shallow, barely there.

"No," she choked out, her voice trembling as tears filled her eyes. "Adrian, no, no!"

She heard Tyler behind her, frozen in shock, whispering in disbelief. "Oh my God..."

"We need help!" she cried out, her voice raw with panic, but deep down, she feared it might already be too late.

Adrian stirred as they tried to move him, a groan escaping his lips. His eyes flickered open, pain etched into his features, but there was something else there—a sharpness, a determination that made her heart skip a beat.

Tyler rushed outside, starting up the Jeep, ready to rush them to the hospital. But Adrian’s voice, hoarse and barely audible, stopped them. "No... you need to stitch me up," he rasped.

Her heart lurched at his words. "What? No, Adrian, we need to get you to the hospital. You’re bleeding out!" Her voice trembled with fear, her hands shaking as she knelt beside him.

"We can’t go to the hospital," Adrian insisted, his gaze locking with hers. His eyes held a strange intensity, a deep certainty that both frightened and confused her. "I'll guide you through it... but we can't go there. You have to trust me."

"I can't—I’ve never done anything like that before," she whispered, panic rising in her chest. The thought of holding a needle and thread, of touching his open wounds, terrified her. "What if I mess up? I could... I could kill you, Adrian."

He reached up with a shaky hand, gently gripping her wrist, his touch surprisingly steady despite the blood loss. "You won’t. I trust you. Just... just follow my instructions. We have no choice."

His calmness unnerved her, but there was something in his voice, something in the way he spoke, that made her relent. He sounded so certain, so sure that this was the only way. "And... don’t take back your missing person report," he added, his voice dropping even lower. Her eyes widened in shock. How did he know about that?

But she had no time to ask. He was fading again, slipping in and out of consciousness, and they needed to act fast.

"Tyler!" she called out to the Jeep, her voice firm despite the fear gripping her. Tyler rushed back inside, eyes wide with confusion and worry.

"We're not going to the hospital," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "He wants me to stitch him up... here."

Tyler looked at her in disbelief but didn't question it. They worked together, moving Adrian upstairs to her bedroom as gently as they could. The whole time, she kept casting nervous glances at Adrian, praying he wouldn't lose consciousness completely.

Once they had him settled on the bed, Tyler helped her gather everything they’d need—some thread, a needle, rubbing alcohol, and towels to clean up the blood. Her hands were trembling so badly, she nearly dropped the needle. Every part of her was screaming that this was wrong, that she had no idea what she was doing. But Adrian had been so adamant, so insistent that this was the only way.

She knelt beside the bed, threading the needle with shaky hands. "Please," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Please let me do this right."

Adrian’s eyes opened briefly, his gaze softening as he watched her. "You’ve got this," he muttered, his voice weak but full of conviction. "Just... follow my voice."

She bit her lip, trying to focus as Adrian instructed her on what to do. With each stitch, she felt like her hands would fail her, but she pushed through, praying with every breath that she wouldn’t hurt him more than he already was.

Finally, it was done. She sat back, breathless, her hands covered in blood, but she had done it. Adrian was still breathing, his chest rising and falling slowly, and that was all that mattered.

Tyler, after helping her clean up, decided to call his mom and let her know he’d be staying the night. He offered to sleep on the couch downstairs, giving her some privacy with Adrian, though she could see the concern in his eyes as he looked between them.

She thanked him quietly, watching as he disappeared downstairs. Then, she crawled into bed beside Adrian, her hand trembling as she reached for his, holding it tightly. It was all she could do for now—sit, wait, and pray that Adrian would make it through the night.

With every breath he took, her heart clenched, the weight of everything that had just happened pressing down on her. The mystery of his condition, his insistence on staying away from the hospital, his knowledge about the missing person report—it all swirled in her mind, leaving her more unsettled than ever. But despite her fear, there was one thing she knew for sure: whatever this was, whatever secrets Adrian was keeping, she wasn’t going to let him go. Not now. Not ever.