Mine until Midnight

Mine Until Midnight - Too Close

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Aurora tried not to think about the photograph.

She failed.

It was impossible not to.

Every time she looked at Jason, she remembered the picture of him standing beside the stranger.

Two people who had once been friends.

Two people who were now enemies.

And somehow, she had ended up in the middle of them.

"Aurora?"

She looked up.

Jason was standing in front of her.

"Sorry. What?"

He smiled.

"I asked if you wanted to study together."

"Oh."

She glanced at the books in his hands.

"Sure."

They sat together beneath a tree near the library.

For a while, everything felt normal.

Jason helped her with an assignment.

He made a stupid joke about their professor.

Aurora laughed.

A real laugh.

She hadn't realized how tense she'd been until that moment.

Jason smiled when he heard her laugh.

"There."

Aurora looked at him.

"What?"

"You finally smiled."

She rolled her eyes.

"I smile."

"Not lately."

She looked down at her notebook.

"Maybe I've had a lot on my mind."

Jason nodded.

"Yeah."

He was quiet for a moment.

Then he said,

"You can talk to me if you want."

Aurora looked at him.

"Thanks."

Jason smiled.

And for a moment, she almost forgot everything.

Almost.

---

That night, Aurora opened the journal.

She stared at the blank page.

She didn't know why she suddenly felt nervous.

Then she wrote:

"I spent the afternoon with Jason."

Nothing.

She waited.

Still nothing.

Aurora frowned.

Usually, the stranger answered eventually.

She wrote again.

"We studied together."

Silence.

"Are you there?"

Nothing.

Aurora tapped the pen against the page.

"You're ignoring me."

Still nothing.

She was about to close the journal when words slowly appeared.

"I know."

Aurora froze.

She stared at the two words.

Then wrote:

"How?"

The answer appeared.

"I saw you."

Aurora's stomach tightened.

She wrote:

"Where?"

Nothing.

She waited.

Then:

"Near the library."

Aurora stared at the page.

"You were watching me?"

A long silence.

Then:

"Yes."

Her heart beat faster.

She didn't know whether she should be angry or frightened.

Instead, she wrote:

"Why?"

No answer.

"Why were you watching me?"

Still nothing.

Aurora's frustration grew.

"You can't keep doing this."

The words appeared slowly.

"I needed to know you were safe."

Aurora shook her head.

"You could have told me."

"I know."

"Then why didn't you?"

No response.

Aurora stared at the page.

Then she wrote the question she'd been trying not to ask.

"Are you jealous?"

Nothing.

Aurora smiled slightly.

"You are."

Still nothing.

She waited.

"Tell me."

The page remained blank.

Aurora leaned closer.

"Are you jealous?"

A minute passed.

Then another.

Finally, three words appeared.

"You already know."

Aurora's heart skipped.

She wrote:

"Then say it."

The ink appeared slowly.

"I don't like seeing another man make you smile."

Aurora stopped breathing for a moment.

She read the sentence again.

And again.

A strange warmth spread through her chest.

She didn't know why.

She should have been uncomfortable.

Instead, she smiled.

She wrote:

"That's jealousy."

His answer came immediately.

"Yes."

Aurora laughed softly.

"You actually admitted it."

"I don't lie to you."

She looked at the words.

"Why do you care?"

Silence.

"Why do you care who I spend time with?"

Nothing.

Aurora waited.

Then:

"Because I do."

She sighed.

"That's not enough."

The page remained blank.

Aurora wrote:

"Tell me."

Still nothing.

She put the pen down.

"Fine."

She closed the journal.

Mia looked over from her bed.

"Why are you smiling?"

Aurora looked at her.

"I'm not."

"You definitely are."

Aurora shook her head.

"You're imagining things."

Mia laughed.

"Sure."

Aurora turned away.

But the smile remained.

---

The next morning, Jason approached her before class.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

He smiled.

"Good."

They walked together toward the classroom.

Jason glanced at her.

"You seem happier today."

Aurora looked at him.

"Do I?"

"Yeah."

She smiled.

"Maybe I am."

Jason nodded.

Then, almost casually, he said,

"Sometimes people aren't as innocent as they look."

Aurora's smile faded.

"What do you mean?"

Jason shrugged.

"Nothing."

"You just said something."

"I was talking about someone else."

"Who?"

He looked at her.

"Nobody."

Aurora studied his face.

There was something strange in his expression.

Something she couldn't place.

"Okay."

Jason smiled.

"Forget it."

They entered the classroom.

Aurora sat down.

But she couldn't forget it.

---

That evening, she opened the journal.

She wrote:

"Why do you hate Jason?"

The page remained blank.

"Did he do something to you?"

Nothing.

"Was he really your friend?"

Silence.

Aurora waited.

Finally:

"Once."

She wrote:

"What happened?"

No response.

She tried again.

"Why did you stop being friends?"

Still nothing.

Aurora sighed.

Then the stranger wrote:

"Stay away from him."

Aurora frowned.

"You keep saying that."

"Because you keep getting closer to him."

She stared at the words.

"He's my friend."

Silence.

Aurora continued.

"You can't tell me who I can talk to."

The answer came quickly.

"You're right."

Aurora blinked.

She hadn't expected that.

She wrote:

"Then stop."

A pause.

"I can't."

Aurora's heart skipped.

"Why?"

The answer appeared.

"Because I know what you don't."

She stared at the words.

"What?"

Nothing.

"Tell me."

Still nothing.

Aurora's patience disappeared.

"You can't keep giving me half answers."

The journal remained blank.

Then:

"He's already decided what you're worth to him."

Aurora's blood ran cold.

"What does that mean?"

No response.

"Explain."

Nothing.

She clenched her jaw.

"Then what am I worth to you?"

The page went completely still.

Aurora waited.

She almost regretted asking.

Then, slowly, the words appeared.

"More than you should ever be."

Aurora's heart pounded.

She couldn't move.

She couldn't even look away.

Then another sentence appeared.

"And that's exactly why I should stay away from you."

Aurora stared at the page.

She didn't understand how someone she'd never met could make her feel this way.

She whispered,

"Then why don't you?"

The journal stayed silent.

Aurora waited.

Nothing.

She closed it.

A few minutes later, she went to the window.

The night was quiet.

The campus lights glowed in the distance.

Aurora looked outside.

Then she froze.

Someone was standing across the street.

A man.

Tall.

Still.

His face hidden beneath the darkness.

Aurora's heart began pounding.

She couldn't see his face.

But she knew.

It was him.

The stranger.

He was looking directly toward her window.

Aurora didn't move.

Neither did he.

For a few seconds, they simply stared at each other from a distance.

Then he slowly turned.

Aurora rushed to the window.

"Wait."

But the street was already empty.

He was gone.

She looked down at the journal.

The cover was closed.

Yet somehow...

she knew he had been there.

Not because he had warned her.

Not because he had sent a message.

But because, for the first time...

she had seen him watching her.

And she had wanted him to stay.