The Man Across the Street
1273 Words
POV: Amy
The scream sliced through the night.
Not an ordinary, startled shriek—
but a raw, tearing sound that carried terror in every note.
Nathan was already moving.
“Inside lights off,” he ordered.
I flicked the switch.
Darkness swallowed the living room.
My pulse thundered in my ears.
Nathan pressed a finger to his lips, signaling silence, then crept toward the window and peeked through the blinds.
I stayed frozen in place, breathing shallow, Ethan rigid beside me.
For a moment, the world outside was unbearably still.
Then Nathan whispered,
“Don’t panic.”
Three words that guaranteed the opposite.
“What do you see?” I choked.
He didn’t answer immediately.
Then—
“He’s here.”
A chill shot through me.
“Rafe?” I whispered.
“No,” Nathan said. “One of his men.”
I wasn’t sure which answer terrified me more.
Nathan motioned us closer.
Slowly, I stepped to his side and peered through the blinds.
Across the street, under a flickering streetlight, stood a man.
Tall.
Still.
Dark coat.
Face shadowed, but posture rigid—like he was carved from waiting.
Just like Ethan described.
He wasn’t looking at his phone.
Wasn’t pacing.
Wasn’t distracted.
He was watching.
My building.
My window.
Watching me.
As if he felt my eyes on him, he lifted his face.
The streetlight hit just enough to reveal a sharp jaw, slick black hair, and eyes that seemed too calm for the chaos he carried.
His gaze locked on the window—
and even from across the street,
I felt it.
Cold.
Calculating.
Patient.
He lifted two fingers to his temple—
a mock salute—
as if acknowledging he saw me.
I jerked back from the window with a strangled breath.
Nathan’s voice was low steel.
“We’re leaving. Now.”
He grabbed my duffel and slung it over his shoulder before I could speak.
Ethan didn’t move.
His mind was still stuck on the shadow outside.
“Nathan,” he said carefully, “what happens if we stay?”
Nathan’s eyes flicked to him.
“He comes in.”
My stomach dropped.
“And if we go?” Ethan pressed.
Nathan’s jaw flexed.
“He follows.”
The room fell quiet.
Ethan swallowed.
“So… there’s no good option.”
“No,” Nathan said.
“But only one keeps us alive.”
Ethan looked at me—fear roughening his features.
“This is insane,” he whispered.
I wanted to agree.
God, I wanted to.
But the truth was standing across the street.
“I’m going with him,” I said.
Ethan nodded once, jaw tight.
“Then I’m not letting you go alone.”
Nathan opened his mouth to argue—
but didn’t get the chance.
Because a sudden bang against the stairwell door made all three of us flinch.
Someone was inside the building.
Nathan stiffened.
“They’re early,” he muttered.
His phone buzzed.
He glanced at the screen—face paling.
“Downstairs is blocked.”
My heart twisted.
Ethan stared at the door like it might explode inward.
“What do we do?”
Nathan took two steps toward me—
close enough that I could see every strained line on his face.
“Amy,” he said quietly, “if anything happens, you run. You don’t look back. You don’t wait for either of us. Do you understand?”
My throat closed.
“No.”
“Amy—”
“No.”
I shook my head hard.
“I’m not leaving you. Either of you.”
Nathan’s eyes flickered—something like pain flashing beneath the urgency.
Another bang—closer this time.
Maybe a floor down.
“We don’t have time,” he snapped.
He grabbed my wrist.
“Emergency exit. Roof access.”
Ethan blinked.
“The roof? That’s where we’re going?”
“We don’t have a choice.”
Nathan pulled me toward the hallway. Ethan followed, his breath unsteady.
As we slipped out of the apartment, the hallway lights flickered.
Somewhere below, a door slammed—
and the footsteps started.
Slow.
Heavy.
Deliberate.
My pulse pounded loud enough to drown everything else.
Nathan led the way up the narrow concrete stairs.
One flight.
Two.
The footsteps followed—
measured.
Unhurried.
Almost playful.
Ethan kept glancing back, jaw clenched.
“Why is he taking his time?” he whispered.
Nathan didn’t look back.
“Because he wants us scared.”
I was.
Terrified.
By the time we burst through the rooftop door, I could barely breathe.
Night air rushed over us—sharper than before.
The city spread out below, glittering and oblivious.
Nathan scanned the roof—looking for anything, anyone.
“Stay close,” he ordered.
I didn’t let go of him.
Ethan hovered near the door, listening.
“Shouldn’t we lock it?” he asked.
“It won’t matter,” Nathan said.
My body trembled.
Nathan guided us toward the far corner where a maintenance ladder led to the adjacent building.
Lower roof.
Possible escape.
He motioned to Ethan.
“You first.”
Ethan nodded and grabbed the ladder.
But before he descended, he paused and looked at me.
“I won’t leave without you. Promise.”
I tried to smile.
It didn’t reach.
Then he disappeared over the edge.
Nathan turned to me.
“Your turn.”
I grabbed the ladder, gripping the cold metal.
Halfway down, the rooftop door slammed open.
I froze.
The footsteps stopped.
I couldn’t see him.
But I could feel him.
Stillness
—heavy as stone—
filled the air.
“Amy,” Nathan whispered sharply,
“don’t look—just go.”
But I couldn’t move.
Because a voice—low, chilling, almost amused—floated across the roof.
“Well,” the man drawled,
“you’re even prettier up close.”
My blood froze.
He laughed softly.
A terrible, casual sound.
“I can see why he’s so fond of you.”
Nathan stepped forward, placing himself fully between me and the voice.
“Back away,” he warned.
“She’s not yours.”
The man ignored him.
“Where’s David?” he asked.
Nathan didn’t answer.
The man tsked.
“Wrong answer.”
I heard a scuffle—
metal scraping, feet shifting.
Ethan shouted my name from below—
“Amy, MOVE!”
I forced myself to keep going—hands shaking as I slid down the ladder faster.
I reached the lower roof just as a sound split the air—
A grunt.
A hit.
Nathan.
I whipped around—
He staggered backward, knees buckling, breath knocked from his chest.
The man towered over him—
tall, dressed in black, face shadowed but eyes glinting like silver.
He looked down at Nathan with mild annoyance—
as if disappointed he’d fallen too quickly.
Nathan tried to get up—
but the man kicked him once, hard, and he crumpled.
“Nathan!” I gasped.
The man turned his head toward me.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Even from the upper roof’s edge, I could feel his attention like a hand around my throat.
He smiled.
“There you are.”
Ethan grabbed my arm.
“We have to go!”
But I couldn’t move.
Couldn’t tear my eyes away.
Because the man on the roof—
the one who’d come for me—
tilted his head and said,
almost politely:
“Tell David I said hello.”
Then—
with terrifying ease—
he stepped off the edge.
And vanished into the night.
Leaving Nathan collapsed on the rooftop
and my heart
falling
with him.
- Writer
