Obsess

Chapter 3 - The Man Behind The Shadow

I stared at the name until the ink seemed to blur.Adrian Vale.

The words felt unfamiliar.

But something inside me reacted to them.Not fear.Not exactly.

Something closer to recognition.And that scared me more.I dropped the photograph onto the table like it had burned me.

"No," I whispered.

Because I didn't know Adrian Vale.

I couldn't.I would remember someone who had been following me.

Someone who had been leaving roses.

Someone who had been watching me sleep.

Except...

A strange image flashed through my mind.

A summer afternoon.A field of yellow flowers.A boy's voice saying my name.

Then it disappeared before I could hold onto it.I pressed my fingers against my temple.What was happening to me?The apartment suddenly felt smaller.The shadows longer.Every corner seemed to hide a memory I couldn't reach.My phone buzzed.I nearly screamed.

Unknown number.For several seconds, I just stared at the screen.

Then I answered.

"Hello?"Silence.Only breathing.Slow.

Calm."Who is this?"A pause.Then a voice.Deep.Familiar."You found the photograph." His voice deep and mysterious. My heart stopped.

"Adrian?"Another pause.

Like he was surprised I knew his name."You're remembering."

The way he said it made my skin prickle.Like those two words carried years of pain."What do you want from me?"The line went quiet.

When he spoke again, his voice was softer."To keep you alive." His voice softened.

I laughed once.A nervous, broken sound."You break into my apartment, leave photographs of me, follow me around the city, and you expect me to f*****g believe you're protecting me?"

"I didn't break in little one" He said his voice deepen.

"Then how did the envelope get in my

closet?"Another silence.A dangerous one.

Finally, he said:

"Because you let me in."My stomach twisted."What does that mean?" My voice shaken

"You really don't remember anything, do you?"The frustration in his voice surprised me.Not anger.

Pain."I remember my life."

"No."His answer was immediate.

"You remember the version you were given."The room went cold.

I looked toward the window.

The street below was empty.Too empty.

"What happened to me?"

"You disappeared."I swallowed.

"What?"

"Not physically."His voice lowered.

"You disappeared from yourself."

I didn't answer.Because somehow...

Somehow, that made sense.The missing memories.The feeling that something was wrong.The impossible familiarity of a stranger.

"Meet me," he said.I almost laughed.

"Absolutely not You already know where."I froze.

Because I did.There was a place in my mind.A place I hadn't visited since childhood.The old abandoned greenhouse near the edge of town.

I had no idea why I knew that.

Or why the thought of seeing him there made my heartbeat change.

"Why there?" I mumbled.

"Because that's where it started."The call ended.

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

I stood in the silence afterward.

Then I looked down at the photograph again.The little girl beside Adrian.The girl with the bright smile.The girl who looked exactly like me.The greenhouse was exactly how remembered it.Even though I couldn't remember remembering it.Broken glass.Overgrown vines.The smell of rain and earth.I stepped inside slowly.

"You're late."I turned.

Adrian stood near the old stone wall.

No hood.

No shadows.

Just him.

And somehow that was worse.

Because he wasn't what I expected.

I expected someone terrifying.

A monster.Instead, he looked like someone who had been carrying a secret for far too long.Dark hair.

Sharp features.Eyes that looked like they had memorized every version of me.

"You shouldn't be here," I said.

A faint smile touched his mouth.

"Neither should you."I hated that my heart reacted to him.

I hated that some part of me felt safe.

"Explain."He stepped closer.

I should have moved back.I didn't.

"The first time we met, you were eight."I stared at him.

"No."

"Yes.""I would remember."

His expression changed."You remember me."

My breath caught."What?"

"You don't remember knowing me. But your body does."The words sent a strange shiver through me.

"That's a ridiculous thing to say."Is it?"

He reached into his coat and pulled out another photograph.This one was older.

In it, a young Adrian stood beside me.

His hand was holding mine.On the back was a date.Twenty years ago.

"I promised you I would come back."

I looked at him."And you did?"

His eyes met mine.

"I never left."For a moment, neither of us moved.Then a sound came from outside.A branch snapping.

Adrian's expression changed instantly.

The warmth disappeared.The danger returned."Get behind me."

"What?"

"Now."The command in his voice made me listen.

A figure moved beyond the cracked glass.Someone was watching us.

Adrian stepped forward.And for the first time...I saw fear in his eyes.

Not for himself.For me.

"Who is that?"He didn't answer.

Because the figure outside spoke first.

A voice carried through the broken greenhouse."After all these years..."

A pause."You're still protecting her."

Adrian went completely still.

And I realized something.

He wasn't the only one who knew me.