Mine until Midnight

Chapter One Aurora Hayes had always believed that the best things in life arrived unexpectedly. A good grade when she was certain she'd failed. A message from an old friend she hadn't spoken to in months. A cup of coffee appearing on her desk when she was too tired to get up and buy one herself. She liked surprises. She just didn't like the ones that came with no explanation. "You're going to be late." Aurora groaned beneath her blanket. "I have five minutes." "You said that ten minutes ago." "I was being optimistic." Mia Carter pulled the curtains open. Morning light flooded the room. Aurora immediately buried her face in her pillow. "Mia!" "You're welcome." "You're horrible." "And yet you continue living with me." Aurora finally sat up, rubbing her eyes. Their dorm room was already a mess. Books covered one side of the desk, clothes were scattered across the chair, and Mia's collection of empty coffee cups occupied an impressive amount of space. Aurora glanced at the clock. 8:07. Her eyes widened. "Oh." Mia smiled. "Exactly." Aurora jumped out of bed. Twenty minutes later, she was running across campus with her bag hanging from one shoulder, her hair barely cooperating and her coffee threatening to spill over the lid. She made it to class with thirty seconds to spare. Ethan Blake looked up as she dropped into the seat beside him. "You look terrible." Aurora turned slowly. "Good morning to you too." "I meant tired." "You still said terrible." He shrugged. "I stand by it." She rolled her eyes, but she couldn't stop herself from smiling. For the next two hours, everything was ordinary. Lectures. Notes. Whispers from students at the back of the room. Mia sending her ridiculous messages under the desk. Nothing strange. Nothing frightening. Nothing worth remembering. At least, that's what Aurora thought. Until she returned to her dorm that evening. There was a small brown package sitting outside their door. Aurora stopped. Mia nearly walked into her. "What?" Aurora pointed. "Was that there this morning?" Mia looked at the package. "No." There was no name on it. No address. No delivery sticker. Just Aurora's room number written neatly across the top. Mia frowned. "Did you order something?" "No." "Maybe someone sent it." "Without a name?" "Open it." Aurora hesitated. There was something strangely deliberate about the package. It wasn't expensive-looking. It wasn't dramatic. Just a small brown box tied with black string. She picked it up. It was surprisingly light. Mia leaned closer. "If there's a snake inside, I'm leaving you." Aurora laughed nervously. "Why would there be a snake?" "I don't know. Rich people have weird enemies." "We're not rich." "Exactly. So if there's a snake, it's definitely your problem." Aurora untied the string. Inside was a journal. Black. Simple. Beautiful. Its cover was completely plain except for a tiny silver crescent in the bottom corner. Aurora ran her fingers across it. "Okay..." Mia stared at it. "That's actually pretty." There was something else beneath it. A small note. Aurora picked it up. Her smile disappeared. Three words were written on the paper. For your thoughts. Nothing else. No name. No explanation. Mia took the note from her. "That's creepy." "It's probably just a gift." "From who?" Aurora didn't answer. She looked at the journal again. There was no reason to be afraid. It was only a notebook. A very nice notebook. Still, something about the handwriting bothered her. It looked familiar. Not familiar enough to identify. Just familiar enough to make her wonder where she'd seen it before. "Keep it," Mia said. Aurora looked at her. "What?" "You've been complaining about needing a new journal for weeks." "I know." "So maybe somebody heard you." Aurora smiled. "Maybe." That night, she placed the journal on her bedside table. She didn't write in it. She didn't even open it. She simply stared at it for a few seconds before turning off the light. Outside, rain began tapping against the window. Aurora closed her eyes. She had no idea who had left the journal. She had no idea why. And she certainly had no idea that someone had been watching her walk through campus that morning. From across the street. From somewhere hidden by the rain. A figure stood beneath a black umbrella. Still. Silent. Watching the light in Aurora's dormitory window disappear. Then the figure turned and walked away. Aurora never saw him. She didn't even know his name. And for now... that was exactly how he wanted it. ---- The next morning, Aurora woke before her alarm. For a few seconds, she simply stared at the ceiling, trying to remember what had pulled her out of sleep. Then she remembered the journal. Her eyes moved toward the bedside table. It was still there. Black cover. Silver crescent. Perfectly still. Aurora reached for it. She opened the first page. Blank. The second page was blank too. She flipped through several more. Nothing. No message. No hidden name. No explanation. Just hundreds of empty pages waiting to be filled. "You're awake?" Aurora nearly dropped it. Mia was standing in the doorway of the bathroom, brushing her teeth. "You scared me." Mia pointed at the journal. "You're still thinking about that thing?" "It's not a thing." "It's an anonymous journal from an anonymous person." "Which makes it a thing." Mia laughed. Aurora closed it. "I'll probably find out who sent it." "When?" "I don't know." "Exactly." Aurora placed the journal inside her bag. She wasn't going to think about it anymore. At least, that was the plan. By lunchtime, she'd almost forgotten about it. Almost. She and Mia sat beneath one of the large trees near the student center, sharing fries while Ethan complained about an assignment none of them had started. "You two are terrible friends," Ethan said. Aurora looked up. "Why?" "I've asked both of you for help for three days." "And?" "And you haven't helped me." Mia shrugged. "You should have started three days ago." Ethan looked offended. "I thought friendship meant supporting each other." "It does." "Then support me." Aurora smiled. "Emotionally, we support you." "Academically?" "No." He sighed dramatically. "You people are useless." Aurora laughed. For a while, everything felt completely normal. Students walked past them. Someone was playing music from a speaker nearby. A group of girls were taking pictures beside the fountain. A professor hurried across the courtyard with a pile of papers pressed against his chest. Aurora looked around. She liked moments like this. Ordinary moments. The kind that didn't ask anything from her. Then she noticed something. A man standing near the opposite side of the courtyard. He wasn't looking at her. At least, she didn't think he was. He was dressed in dark clothes and holding an umbrella even though it wasn't raining anymore. Aurora stared for a second. Then someone walked in front of him. When the person moved away, the man was gone. "What's wrong?" Ethan asked. "Nothing." "You just stopped eating." Aurora looked back at the empty spot. "Nothing." She didn't mention it. There was no reason to. That evening, Aurora stayed late in the library. She had an assignment due the next morning, and Mia had already gone back to the dorm. By the time Aurora packed her books, the library had become almost silent. She checked her phone. 9:46 p.m. "Great." She hurried outside. The campus looked completely different at night. During the day, it was loud and crowded. At night, the paths seemed longer. The buildings seemed taller. Even the trees looked unfamiliar beneath the yellow streetlights. Aurora pulled her cardigan closer. Her phone buzzed. A message from Mia. Mia: Where are you? Aurora typed back. Aurora: Library. Going back now. Three dots appeared. Mia: Don't walk alone. Call me. Aurora smiled. Aurora: I'm literally five minutes away. Mia: Call me anyway. Aurora pressed the call button. Mia answered immediately. "Finally." "I'm walking." "Good." Aurora continued down the path. For a few minutes, they talked about completely pointless things. Then Aurora heard footsteps behind her. She stopped. The footsteps stopped too. Her smile disappeared. "Mia?" "Yeah?" "Hold on." Aurora turned around. The path behind her was empty. A few lights flickered in the distance. Nothing else. She swallowed. "What's happening?" Mia asked. "Nothing." "Why did you stop?" "I thought someone was behind me." Mia went quiet. "Are you sure?" Aurora looked again. Nothing. "Probably just someone walking in the same direction." "Then let them walk past you." Aurora started moving again. Her footsteps sounded too loud. So did the ones behind her. She glanced over her shoulder. Still nothing. She walked faster. The footsteps seemed to disappear. Aurora finally reached the main road near the dormitories. There were more people around now. She breathed out. "See?" she said into the phone. "I'm fine." "You're lucky I'm not there." "You'd probably scream louder than me." "I would scream strategically." Aurora laughed. The strange feeling slowly disappeared. She didn't notice the dark figure standing on the opposite side of the road. She didn't notice the figure watching until she entered the dormitory building. And she definitely didn't notice when the figure turned away. The next morning, Aurora found something beside her door. A cup of coffee. She stared at it. Her favorite order. Exactly how she liked it. Mia opened the door behind her. "What?" Aurora pointed. Mia's expression changed. "Okay." Aurora picked up the cup. There was a small piece of paper underneath it. She unfolded it. Only one sentence. You shouldn't walk alone at night. Aurora's heart skipped. Mia read it over her shoulder. Neither of them spoke. "Okay," Mia finally whispered. Aurora looked down the hallway. Empty. "Did you tell anyone about yesterday?" "No." "Did Ethan?" "No." Mia looked at the coffee. "Then how does whoever sent this know?" Aurora didn't have an answer. She looked at the handwritten words again. The handwriting was neat. Calm. Almost impossibly calm. She suddenly remembered the journal. The same dark ink. The same careful handwriting. Aurora hurried inside and grabbed it from her desk. She placed the note beside the journal. Mia stared. "It's the same." Aurora nodded slowly. "Yeah." "Whoever gave you the journal knows where you live." Aurora's fingers tightened around the paper. "Maybe they just saw me yesterday." Mia shook her head. "Then why leave the coffee?" "I don't know." "And why warn you?" Aurora looked toward the window. "I don't know." For the first time since receiving the journal, she wondered if she should throw it away. Mia seemed to read her mind. "Get rid of it." Aurora looked at the black cover. She should. It was the sensible thing to do. Instead, she closed the journal and placed it back on the desk. "I'll keep it." Mia stared at her. "Why?" Aurora didn't know. Maybe because she was curious. Maybe because she wanted answers. Or maybe because, beneath the uneasiness, there was another feeling she couldn't explain. She didn't feel threatened. Not exactly. The person behind the gifts seemed to know when she was in danger. And that was somehow more frightening than receiving a threat. Because whoever they were... they were paying attention. That afternoon, Aurora went to class as usual. She tried to forget everything. She failed. Every time her phone buzzed, she checked it. Every stranger who passed her made her glance up. Every dark-colored car caught her attention. Nothing happened. No message. No gift. No mysterious figure. By evening, she was beginning to feel ridiculous. Maybe Mia was right. Maybe she'd turned a harmless coincidence into something bigger than it was. Aurora returned to her room and dropped her bag onto the chair. The journal was still on the desk. She opened it. For the first time, she picked up a pen. She stared at the blank page. Then she wrote: Dear stranger, She paused. A small smile appeared on her lips. She continued. If you're going to keep leaving things for me, you could at least tell me your name. Aurora stared at the sentence. Then, feeling slightly foolish, she closed the journal. She went to take a shower. When she returned twenty minutes later, something had changed. The journal was still on her desk. But the page was no longer blank. Aurora froze. Her own handwriting was still there. Dear stranger, Beneath it was a new sentence. One she hadn't written. Three words. Not yet, Aurora. Her breath caught. She stepped backward. The room suddenly felt too quiet. She looked toward the door. Locked. The window. Closed. Mia wasn't back yet. Aurora slowly walked toward the desk. Her fingers hovered over the page. The handwriting was unmistakably the same as the note. The same person. They had answered her. And somehow, that was the moment Aurora understood something that made her stomach twist. This wasn't a gift anymore. It was a conversation. And somewhere out there, someone had been waiting for her to speak first.