Chapter 2-THE SECOND TIME
1157 Words
Theresa told herself she would forget him.
That it was just one strange encounter in one overly expensive room filled with people who spoke like everything was already decided for them.
She had better things to think about.
Real life things.
Assignments. Bills. Survival.
Not a man who looked at her like she was a problem he had already started solving.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she muttered to herself as she walked through campus the next morning.
Tessa was beside her, scrolling through her phone.
“You’re talking to yourself again,” Tessa said without looking up.
“I’m not,” Theresa replied quickly.
Tessa finally glanced at her. “You are. What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing.”
Tessa narrowed her eyes. “That’s a lie.”
Theresa exhaled. “It’s not important.”
Tessa stopped walking.
“That means it is.”
Theresa didn’t answer.
Because if she said it out loud, it would make it real.
And she didn’t want it to be real.
Not him.
Not the way her mind kept replaying that voice.
“You will leave.”
Like he had already written her ending.
“Theresa,” Tessa said more seriously now. “What happened?”
Theresa shook her head. “Nothing. Just… weird people at that event.”
Tessa didn’t look convinced. “Define weird.”
Theresa started walking again. “Arrogant. Delusional. Thinks he can predict strangers’ lives.”
Tessa blinked. “That’s specific.”
“It’s not,” Theresa said too fast.
Tessa stared at her. “You’re lying badly.”
Theresa sighed. “Can we just go?”
But even as she said it, she felt it again.
That strange awareness.
Like something was behind her thoughts.
Like something was waiting.
She ignored it.
Until later that day.
⸻
It happened in a place it shouldn’t have.
Not a luxury hall this time.
Not a controlled environment.
Just campus.
Normal people. Normal noise. Normal life.
Theresa was leaving the library when she stopped mid-step.
Because he was there.
Standing near the walkway like he belonged there.
Like he had always belonged there.
Theresa’s fingers tightened around her bag.
“No,” she whispered.
Tessa noticed immediately. “What?”
Theresa didn’t answer.
Her eyes stayed locked on him.
Adrian Vale.
Same stillness.
Same calm presence.
Same unsettling certainty.
Tessa followed her gaze.
Then frowned. “Who is that?”
Theresa swallowed. “Nobody.”
But her voice didn’t sound convincing.
Tessa squinted. “That’s not nobody.”
Adrian’s eyes lifted.
And found Theresa instantly.
Like he had been waiting for that exact moment.
Theresa stopped walking.
Again.
Tessa looked between them. “Okay… why is he staring like that?”
Theresa whispered, “Because he does that.”
Tessa turned fully now. “Does what?”
But Theresa couldn’t move.
Because Adrian was already walking toward them.
Slow.
Direct.
Unbothered by the fact that he stood out even here.
Students moved around him without touching him.
Like instinctively avoiding something they didn’t understand.
Tessa stepped slightly in front of Theresa without thinking.
“Do you know him?” Tessa asked under her breath.
Theresa’s voice was tight. “Yes.”
Tessa blinked. “When did you meet him?”
“Yesterday.”
Tessa stared at her. “Yesterday you met a man like that and didn’t tell me?”
Theresa whispered, “I didn’t think I’d see him again.”
Tessa looked back at Adrian. “Well, he clearly didn’t think that.”
Adrian stopped in front of them.
His attention didn’t move to Tessa first.
Only Theresa.
“You didn’t leave,” he said.
Theresa frowned slightly. “Excuse me?”
His tone was the same as before. Calm. Certain.
“You were supposed to leave.”
Tessa’s head snapped toward Theresa. “What is he talking about?”
Theresa ignored her. Her focus stayed on him.
“I don’t report my movements to strangers,” she said sharply.
A pause.
Then Adrian spoke again.
“You’re still here.”
Theresa exhaled sharply. “Yes. I live here.”
Something flickered in his expression.
Not surprise.
Adjustment.
Like he was updating information.
Tessa stepped forward slightly. “Okay, who are you and why are you talking to her like that?”
Adrian finally looked at her.
Just briefly.
Then back to Theresa.
“You didn’t tell her,” he said.
Theresa frowned. “Tell her what?”
His gaze held hers.
“That you met me.”
Tessa turned slowly to Theresa. “You met him and didn’t tell me everything?”
Theresa whispered, “Tessa, please.”
But Adrian continued.
“You reacted the same way,” he said.
Theresa’s jaw tightened. “What are you even talking about?”
He stepped slightly closer.
Not enough to threaten.
But enough to feel intentional.
“You resist immediately,” he said. “Then you rationalize it after.”
Theresa froze slightly.
Because that sounded too accurate.
Tessa looked between them again. “Okay, this is getting weird. Who even are you?”
Adrian answered without looking at her.
“Adrian Vale.”
Tessa repeated it slowly. “Adrian… Vale?”
Something in her tone changed instantly.
Recognition.
Or warning.
Theresa felt it.
Tessa stepped back half a step. “Wait… like that Adrian Vale?”
Theresa frowned. “What does that mean?”
Tessa turned to her. “Theresa, do you know who this is?”
Theresa shook her head slightly.
Tessa looked back at Adrian, then lowered her voice. “People don’t just talk to him.”
Theresa swallowed. “I noticed.”
Adrian’s eyes stayed on her.
Not reacting to Tessa’s fear.
Only observing Theresa’s confusion.
“You’re not where I expected,” he said.
Theresa snapped, “Stop saying things like I’m a calculation.”
A pause.
Then Adrian said quietly,
“That’s because you are not predictable.”
That silence hit harder than the words before it.
Theresa felt it in her chest.
Tessa glanced at her. “Theresa… what is going on?”
Theresa didn’t answer.
Because for the first time since yesterday…
she didn’t have a simple answer.
Adrian finally stepped back.
Just slightly.
Like before.
Like distance was something he controlled.
“You will leave again,” he said.
Theresa exhaled sharply. “Stop saying that.”
He didn’t.
He just looked at her like he already knew she was wrong.
Then he turned and walked away.
No urgency.
No hesitation.
Like he hadn’t come to chase her.
Just to confirm something.
Tessa grabbed Theresa’s arm immediately. “Okay. You are explaining everything. Right now.”
Theresa stared at where he had been standing.
Her voice came out quieter than she intended.
“I think he thinks he understands me.”
Tessa frowned. “And do you?”
Theresa didn’t answer.
Because she wasn’t sure anymore.
And that scared her more than him showing up twice.
- Writer
