Chapter 24: Don’t Let It Touch You
945 Words
Chapter 24: Don’t Let It Touch You
Sofia couldn’t breathe.
Not properly.
Not with that thing standing in the same room as her.
It didn’t move like a person.
It didn’t exist like one either.
And yet—
It was there.
Watching her.
Waiting.
Her fingers tightened around Adrian’s hand without her realizing it.
His grip on hers was firm.
Steady.
Grounding.
“You’re not alone,” he had said.
But right now…
It felt like she was standing at the edge of something far worse than loneliness.
The shadow tilted its head again.
Slow.
Unnatural.
Like it was studying her.
Sofia’s heart slammed against her chest.
“Adrian…” she whispered, her voice barely holding together.
“I know,” he said quietly.
His tone had changed again.
Not cold.
Not distant.
Focused.
Protective.
Dangerous.
“Don’t move,” he added.
Her breath trembled.
“I’m not planning to,” she whispered.
The shadow shifted.
Closer.
Sofia stiffened instantly.
“Adrian—”
“I said don’t move.”
His voice was sharper now.
Urgent.
Her body locked in place.
The thing stopped just a few feet away from them.
Too close.
Far too close.
The temperature dropped again.
The air turned icy.
Sofia’s breath came out in thin, visible clouds.
Her entire body trembled.
Not just from fear.
From something deeper.
Something unnatural.
The shadow leaned forward slightly.
As if trying to see her more clearly.
Her chest tightened painfully.
“It’s… looking at me,” she whispered.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Adrian didn’t answer.
But she felt his hand tighten around hers.
The shadow moved again.
This time—
Faster.
Sofia gasped as it suddenly appeared inches closer.
Her heart nearly stopped.
“Don’t let it touch you,” Adrian said immediately.
The warning hit her hard.
“What happens if it does?” she asked, her voice shaking.
Silence.
Her stomach dropped.
“That bad?”
“Yes.”
Her pulse spiked violently.
“Then do something!” she whispered urgently.
Adrian stepped forward, pulling her slightly behind him.
Placing himself between her and the thing.
“I already am,” he said.
The shadow paused.
Then slowly—
It shifted direction.
Trying to move around him.
Toward her.
“No,” Adrian said firmly.
His voice carried something else now.
Something stronger.
Something commanding.
The air seemed to tighten around them.
Sofia watched in shock as the shadow recoiled slightly.
Like it heard him.
Like it understood.
“What… is happening?” she whispered.
Adrian didn’t look at her.
But he answered.
“It listens.”
Her heart skipped.
“To you?”
A pause.
Then—
“For now.”
That didn’t make her feel better.
Not at all.
The shadow shifted again.
Slower this time.
Careful.
Like it was learning.
Adapting.
Sofia’s breathing became uneven.
“It’s not going away…” she said.
“No,” Adrian replied.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
“As long as you’re here… it won’t.”
Her chest tightened.
“So I’m just supposed to live like this?”
Silence.
That silence again.
Her heart sank.
“Adrian…”
Before she could say more—
The shadow lunged.
Sofia screamed.
Everything happened too fast.
One second it was standing still—
The next, it was right in front of her.
Cold.
Dark.
Reaching.
Adrian moved instantly.
He pulled her back sharply, his arm wrapping around her as he dragged her away from it.
“Stay behind me!” he snapped.
Her heart pounded violently as she stumbled against him.
The shadow stopped just inches from where she had been standing.
Her breath came in short, panicked bursts.
“It tried to touch me…” she whispered.
“I know.”
Adrian’s grip tightened around her protectively.
For a moment…
Neither of them moved.
Then—
The shadow let out a sound.
Not a voice.
Not exactly.
But something close.
A broken whisper.
Distorted.
…come back…
Sofia froze.
Her blood ran cold.
“Did you hear that?” she whispered.
“Yes.”
Her fingers clutched his shirt tightly.
“It sounded like…”
She couldn’t finish the sentence.
But she didn’t need to.
Adrian already knew.
“Like her,” he said quietly.
The realization hit Sofia hard.
The woman in the photographs.
The one who died.
The one this thing was connected to.
Her chest tightened painfully.
“It’s calling me…” she whispered.
The shadow moved again.
Slower now.
Less aggressive.
More… intentional.
Like it wasn’t trying to attack anymore.
Like it was trying to reach her.
That somehow made it worse.
“Adrian… what does it want from me?”
A pause.
Then—
“To finish what it started.”
Her heart stopped.
“What does that mean?”
He finally looked at her.
And this time—
There was no hiding it.
No distance.
Just truth.
“It didn’t get to take her,” he said.
A chill ran through her.
“And now… it thinks you’re the same.”
Fear crashed over her completely.
Her grip on him tightened.
“I’m not her,” she said quickly.
“I know.”
“Then why won’t it leave me alone?”
Adrian’s gaze darkened.
“Because it doesn’t care about the truth.”
The shadow took another step.
Closer.
Relentless.
Sofia’s breathing broke again.
“Then how do we stop it?”
For a moment…
Adrian didn’t answer.
And that silence—
That hesitation—
Terrified her more than anything else.
Because it meant one thing.
He didn’t know.
Or worse—
He did.
And the answer wasn’t something she was ready to hear.
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