Mine until Midnight

Mine Until Midnight - The Three Knocks

Chapter Nine

Nobody moved.

Aurora stared at the door.

Mia stared at Aurora.

Three knocks.

That was all.

Then silence.

Aurora's phone was still in her hand.

The stranger's last message remained on the screen.

"Don't open it."

Aurora swallowed.

"What do we do?" Mia whispered.

"I don't know."

Another minute passed.

Nothing.

Mia slowly reached for Aurora's arm.

"Maybe they're gone."

Aurora shook her head.

"Don't."

"Why?"

"Because he told me not to open it."

Mia looked at the phone.

"You really trust this stranger?"

Aurora didn't answer immediately.

She looked at the black journal sitting on her desk.

"I don't know."

Her voice became quieter.

"But somehow..."

She stopped.

"Somehow what?"

Aurora looked back at the door.

"He's always right."

Mia's expression changed.

Before either of them could say anything else, Aurora's phone vibrated again.

She nearly dropped it.

Another message.

"Stay away from the window."

Aurora's eyes widened.

Mia saw the message.

"How does he know you're near the window?"

Aurora slowly stepped away from it.

"I don't know."

Mia moved closer to her.

"Ask him."

Aurora opened the journal.

Her hands were still shaking.

"Are you outside?"

Nothing.

She wrote again.

"Who is at my door?"

The page remained blank.

Aurora waited.

Nothing.

"Answer me."

Still nothing.

She slammed the journal shut.

"I hate him."

Mia raised an eyebrow.

"You definitely don't."

Aurora looked at her.

"Not the time."

Mia almost smiled.

Then they heard something.

Footsteps.

Slowly moving away from the door.

Aurora and Mia looked at each other.

The sound disappeared down the hallway.

Mia whispered,

"They're leaving."

Aurora stepped closer to the door.

She looked through the peephole.

The hallway was empty.

She waited another few seconds.

Then she opened the door.

Nobody.

But something was lying on the floor.

A small white envelope.

Aurora froze.

Mia stood behind her.

"Don't touch it."

Aurora nodded.

She crouched down and carefully picked it up.

Her name was written across the front.

Aurora Hayes.

No return address.

She opened it.

Inside was a photograph.

Aurora's face went pale.

It was a picture of her.

Taken that same evening.

She was standing outside the dormitory.

Looking at her phone.

The picture had been taken from a distance.

Aurora turned it over.

There was writing on the back.

"You shouldn't trust everyone who smiles at you."

Mia read it over her shoulder.

"What does that mean?"

Aurora stared at the photograph.

"I don't know."

Her phone vibrated again.

Another message.

"Now you understand."

Aurora immediately typed.

"Did you send the photograph?"

The stranger replied.

"No."

Aurora's heart stopped.

She stared at the screen.

Mia noticed her expression.

"What?"

Aurora slowly turned the phone toward her.

Mia read the message.

Her face changed.

"Then who did?"

Aurora didn't answer.

---

The next morning, Ethan noticed something was wrong.

Aurora barely touched her breakfast.

Mia kept looking at her.

Ethan finally put his cup down.

"Okay."

Aurora looked up.

"Okay what?"

"Something happened."

"Nothing happened."

"You've said that three times."

Mia looked at Ethan.

"She's been acting strange since last night."

Aurora sighed.

"Can you both stop?"

Ethan leaned forward.

"Someone bothering you?"

Aurora hesitated.

She thought about the photograph.

The message.

The footsteps.

The three knocks.

She couldn't tell him everything.

Not yet.

"I'm just tired."

Ethan studied her for a moment.

Then he nodded.

"Fine."

But his voice told her he wasn't convinced.

They left the cafeteria together.

Jason appeared near the entrance.

"Morning."

Aurora smiled.

"Hey."

Jason looked at her.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

He smiled.

"Good."

His eyes briefly moved toward the bag hanging from her shoulder.

Then back to her face.

Aurora noticed.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Ethan stepped beside her.

"We're heading to class."

Jason nodded.

"I'll see you later."

Aurora waved.

"Bye."

As Jason walked away, Ethan watched him.

Then he looked at Aurora.

"You trust him?"

Aurora frowned.

"Why?"

"Just asking."

"He hasn't done anything."

Ethan shrugged.

"Okay."

But he looked back at Jason.

And for some reason, he didn't like the feeling he had.

---

That afternoon, Aurora returned to her room.

The black journal was exactly where she had left it.

She opened it.

Nothing.

She waited.

Then she wrote:

"Who are you?"

Silence.

"Why do you keep helping me?"

Nothing.

"Why do you know so much about me?"

The page remained blank.

Aurora sighed.

"Fine."

She closed the journal.

Then she noticed something underneath it.

A small folded piece of paper.

She picked it up.

Three words.

"Look behind you."

Aurora froze.

Slowly...

she turned.

Nobody was there.

She looked toward the mirror.

Nothing.

The window.

Empty.

The door.

Closed.

Aurora turned back to the desk.

The journal was open.

Words were appearing across the page.

"Too slow."

Aurora stared.

She grabbed the pen.

"You did that on purpose."

The response appeared.

"Maybe."

She narrowed her eyes.

"You're enjoying this."

"No."

"Then why do you keep doing it?"

A pause.

Then:

"Because you're safer when you're paying attention."

Aurora's expression softened.

For the first time, she didn't know what to write.

Then she finally asked:

"Am I really in danger?"

The answer took longer than usual.

"Yes."

Aurora's heart sank.

She wrote:

"From who?"

The page remained blank.

Then one word appeared.

"Everyone."

Aurora stared at it.

Before she could respond, another sentence appeared.

"Especially the person you think you can trust."

Aurora's hand froze above the page.

A sudden knock came from the hallway.

Aurora looked toward the door.

Her phone vibrated.

One final message appeared.

"Don't let Jason inside."

Aurora's blood ran cold.

Because at that exact moment...

Jason's voice came from outside.

"Aurora?"

She stared at the door.

"Aurora, it's me."

Mia wasn't there.

Ethan wasn't there.

And Aurora suddenly had no idea whether the stranger was protecting her...

or controlling her.

She took one step backward.

Then Jason knocked again.

"Aurora?"

She said nothing.

The black journal lay open on the desk.

One final sentence slowly appeared across the page.

"Whatever you do..."

"Don't tell him you're alone."