Mine until Midnight

Mine Until Midnight - The Other Man

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Aurora woke up with one thought.

The photograph.

She reached for her phone before she had even opened her eyes properly.

The message from the stranger was still there.

"Because I needed to know you were safe."

She read it again.

And again.

For some reason, those words felt different from everything else he had ever written to her.

Mia stirred on the other bed.

"You're doing it again."

Aurora looked over.

"Doing what?"

"Staring at your phone like it owes you money."

Aurora laughed.

"It's nothing."

Mia sat up.

"Is it him?"

Aurora hesitated.

"Maybe."

Mia smiled.

"You really like talking to him."

"I don't even talk to him."

"You write to him."

"That's different."

"How?"

Aurora threw a pillow at her.

"Get ready."

Mia laughed and caught it.

"Fine."

Aurora turned back to her phone.

She opened the photograph again.

The dark figure was still standing behind her.

She zoomed in.

Then she noticed something.

The figure wasn't looking at her.

He was looking somewhere else.

At someone.

Aurora zoomed in again.

There was another person barely visible near the edge of the picture.

A man.

She couldn't see his face clearly.

But she recognized the jacket.

Aurora's heart skipped.

Jason.

She stared at the photograph.

Why was Jason there?

And why hadn't she noticed him before?

---

By afternoon, Aurora couldn't concentrate.

She kept looking at the photograph.

She finally decided to ask the stranger.

She opened the journal.

"Who is the other person?"

Nothing.

Aurora waited.

Then:

"Someone you shouldn't trust."

Her stomach tightened.

"Who?"

Silence.

"Tell me."

Nothing.

She wrote again.

"Is it Jason?"

The page stayed blank.

Aurora frowned.

"Why won't you answer?"

No response.

She closed the journal.

She wasn't going to let him avoid the question.

Not this time.

---

She found Jason near the cafeteria.

"Hey."

He turned and smiled.

"Aurora."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

She pulled out her phone.

"Where were you last night?"

Jason's smile faded slightly.

"Last night?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I was just asking."

He shrugged.

"I went home."

Aurora studied his face.

"Are you sure?"

He laughed.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Aurora didn't answer.

Jason looked at her phone.

"What's that?"

She locked the screen.

"Nothing."

He smiled.

"You're acting strange again."

"Maybe I'm starting to notice things."

Jason's expression changed for a fraction of a second.

Then he smiled again.

"Like what?"

Aurora looked at him.

"Nothing."

She walked away.

But she could feel his eyes following her.

---

That evening, Aurora told Mia everything.

They sat on their beds while Aurora showed her the photograph.

Mia studied it carefully.

"That's Jason."

"I know."

"Why would he be there?"

"I don't know."

Mia looked at the dark figure.

"And you think the stranger knows him?"

"I think so."

Mia was quiet.

Aurora noticed.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You keep saying that."

Mia smiled.

"I'm thinking."

"About?"

"About how complicated your life has become."

Aurora laughed.

"Tell me about it."

Mia handed the phone back.

"You should ask him directly."

"I did."

"And?"

"He didn't answer."

Mia sighed.

"Of course."

Aurora opened the journal.

She wrote:

"Why was Jason in the photograph?"

The answer appeared almost immediately.

"Because he was looking for me."

Aurora's eyes widened.

She wrote:

"Why?"

No answer.

She waited.

Then:

"Because he has a reason to hate me."

Aurora stared at the words.

"What reason?"

Silence.

She wrote again.

"What did you do to him?"

Nothing.

"Was he your friend?"

The page remained blank.

Aurora waited.

Finally:

"Once."

Aurora's heart skipped.

She immediately wrote:

"You're friends?"

"No."

"Then what happened?"

The response took longer.

"We stopped being friends a long time ago."

Aurora stared at the page.

She wanted to ask more.

But before she could, the writing continued.

"Don't get close to him."

Aurora frowned.

"Why?"

"He isn't getting close to you because he likes you."

Her fingers froze.

She wrote:

"Then why?"

No answer.

Aurora's frustration grew.

"Tell me."

Still nothing.

Then:

"Because of me."

Aurora's heart sank.

She looked at Mia.

"He said Jason is getting close to me because of him."

Mia's expression became serious.

"Then maybe you should stay away from Jason."

Aurora nodded slowly.

"Maybe."

---

The next day, Jason didn't approach Aurora.

She thought that was a good thing.

Until she found a folded piece of paper inside her notebook.

She opened it.

Three words.

"I know him."

Aurora's heart stopped.

She looked around the classroom.

Everyone was busy.

Nobody was watching her.

She turned the paper over.

Nothing else.

She immediately opened the journal.

"Did you send this?"

No answer.

She wrote:

"Someone left a note in my notebook."

Nothing.

Then:

"Is Jason the one who wrote it?"

The page stayed blank.

Aurora stared at it.

For the first time, she realized something.

The stranger wasn't refusing to answer because he didn't know.

He was refusing because he didn't want her to know.

---

That night, Aurora stood near the window.

Mia was brushing her hair.

"You've been quiet."

"I'm thinking."

"About Jason?"

"And him."

Mia looked at her through the mirror.

"You really want to know who he is."

Aurora nodded.

"More than I should."

Mia turned around.

"Why?"

Aurora thought about it.

"I don't know."

Mia smiled softly.

"Maybe that's the problem."

Aurora looked away.

Her phone vibrated.

A message.

Unknown number.

She opened it.

One photograph.

Jason.

Standing beside another man.

The photograph was old.

Aurora couldn't see the other man's face.

But she knew it was the stranger.

She stared at it.

Then a message appeared.

"Some people don't stay friends."

Another message followed.

"They become enemies."

Aurora's heart raced.

She looked at the journal.

Nothing.

Then, slowly, one final sentence appeared.

"Now you know why I don't want you near him."

Aurora stared at the words.

For the first time, she understood.

Jason wasn't just some guy who happened to be interested in her.

He was connected to the stranger.

And somehow...

Aurora had become the thing standing between them.