YOU WERE CHOSEN
1178 Words
đź–¤ Chapter Nine: You Were Chosen
Haven didn’t sleep.
She stayed on the couch, fully dressed, the unfamiliar phone still clutched tightly in her hand. Every small sound in the building made her flinch—the creak of pipes, distant footsteps, a door closing somewhere far away.
None of it felt normal anymore.
Nothing did.
By morning, the crack in her door looked even worse in the daylight. It ran jagged across the wood, a visible reminder that the night hadn’t been a dream.
It had been real.
Too real.
Her eyes drifted back to the phone.
It hadn’t rung again.
No new messages.
Just silence.
But it didn’t feel like peace.
It felt like waiting.
---
She didn’t go to work.
For the first time since she started at the café, Haven called in sick. Her voice had been steady enough on the phone, but her hands were still shaking when she hung up.
She couldn’t focus.
Couldn’t pretend.
Not after last night.
Not after him.
Not after whatever that was.
---
By midday, the quiet had become unbearable.
The walls felt closer.
The air heavier.
Her thoughts louder.
Haven pushed herself up from the couch and started pacing, her bare feet soft against the floor. She needed answers.
And there was only one person who might give them.
She looked down at the phone again.
Hesitated.
Then pressed call.
It rang once.
He answered.
“I was wondering how long it would take.”
Her chest tightened. “Who was at my door?”
No greeting.
No hesitation.
Straight to the point.
A brief pause came through the line.
“Someone who shouldn’t have found you.”
Her grip tightened. “That doesn’t answer my question.”
“It’s the only answer you’re getting right now.”
Frustration flared through her fear. “You knew it was going to happen.”
“Yes.”
The calmness in his voice made something twist in her chest. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“I did.”
Her brows furrowed. “Telling me not to open the door is not the same thing.”
“It kept you alive.”
The words hit harder than anything else he had said.
Her breath caught slightly.
Alive.
“Why would someone be trying to get into my apartment?” she asked, her voice quieter now but no less demanding.
Another pause.
Longer this time.
As if he was deciding how much to say.
Then—
“Because of me.”
Silence fell between them.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Haven’s heart pounded. “What does that mean?”
“It means,” he said slowly, “you’re not invisible anymore.”
Her stomach dropped.
“I was never—”
“You were,” he interrupted. “Before me.”
The certainty in his tone made her go still.
“People didn’t notice you,” he continued. “They didn’t look twice. They didn’t care where you were, what you were doing.”
Each word landed heavier than the last.
“And now?” she whispered.
A pause.
Then—
“They do.”
A chill ran down her spine.
“Why?” she asked, though she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer.
His voice lowered slightly.
“Because I do.”
Her breath caught.
The words lingered in the silence, heavier than anything else he had said so far.
“This is insane,” she said quickly, shaking her head as if he could see her. “You don’t just notice someone and suddenly their life—”
“You think this is about noticing?”
His interruption was quieter this time.
But sharper.
“Then what is it about?” she demanded.
Another pause.
And this one felt different.
More serious.
More real.
“It’s about interest,” he said finally.
Her grip tightened on the phone.
“And once I take an interest in something…”
He didn’t finish the sentence.
He didn’t need to.
Her chest tightened. “So now people are coming after me because of you?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
No denial.
Just truth.
Haven let out a slow, unsteady breath. “Then fix it.”
The words came out stronger than she expected.
“If this is your world, then fix it.”
Silence followed.
Long enough to make her question if she had gone too far.
Then—
“I am.”
Her brows pulled together. “How?”
“You’re still there, aren’t you?”
Her stomach twisted.
That wasn’t comfort.
That was reality.
“You’re not safe,” he continued. “Not the way you were before.”
Her heart pounded. “Then what am I supposed to do?”
Another pause.
Short this time.
Decided.
“You come with me.”
The words hit instantly.
Her breath caught.
“No,” she said immediately.
Firm.
Certain.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
Anger flared through her fear. “I always have a choice.”
“Not anymore.”
The calm certainty in his voice made her chest tighten again.
“You said this was because of you,” she continued. “So fix it without dragging me into whatever this is.”
“I can’t.”
Her pulse quickened. “Why not?”
A pause.
Then—
“Because you’re already in it.”
The words settled like a weight.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Haven shook her head, even though he couldn’t see it. “No. I’m not part of your world.”
“You were chosen.”
Her breath stopped.
The phrase echoed in her mind.
Cold.
Unsettling.
“What does that mean?” she whispered.
For the first time since the call started—
Damien hesitated.
Just for a second.
But she heard it.
“It means,” he said slowly, “this didn’t start with me.”
Her heart skipped.
“Then who did it start with?”
Silence.
Then—
“I’ll tell you when you’re here.”
Her grip tightened. “No. You tell me now.”
“No.”
The refusal was immediate.
Final.
“Come with me, Haven,” he continued, his voice quieter now but no less certain. “Or stay there and wait for them to come back.”
Her chest tightened painfully.
Because now—
She knew that was a real possibility.
“You have until tonight,” he added.
Her breath caught. “What happens tonight?”
Another pause.
Then—
“They stop knocking.”
The line went dead.
Haven stood there, the phone still pressed to her ear long after the call ended.
Her thoughts spun wildly, her heart refusing to slow.
Chosen.
Not invisible.
Already part of this.
Her eyes moved slowly toward the door.
To the crack still running through it.
Then to the window.
The quiet outside felt different now.
Heavier.
Watching.
Waiting.
Haven lowered the phone slowly, her grip tightening around it.
Because for the first time—
Running didn’t feel like an option anymore
- Writer
