Chapter Eleven — The Warning
1067 Words
For a few seconds, Damien didn’t say anything.
He simply stared at me.
“What exactly did they say?” he finally asked.
I repeated the words.
Stop asking questions about Damien.
His jaw tightened.
“Did they say anything else?”
“No.”
“Did you recognize the voice?”
“No.”
He looked around the cafeteria.
His eyes moved across the tables, the entrance, and the windows.
Like he was searching for someone.
“Damien?”
He looked back at me.
“Don’t answer unknown numbers again.”
I frowned.
“That isn’t helpful.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
He lowered his voice.
“Amara, please.”
The word caught me off guard.
Please.
Damien Carter rarely asked for anything.
“Why are you so scared?”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
He looked away.
“I just don’t want you involved in something that has nothing to do with you.”
I stared at him.
“But that’s the problem.”
“What?”
“Every time you say that, I feel like it has everything to do with me.”
He didn’t respond.
Maya quietly touched my arm.
“Amara, maybe we should go.”
I nodded.
I picked up my bag.
Damien followed us outside.
The moment we reached the walkway, I stopped.
“You knew.”
He frowned.
“Knew what?”
“The person who called me.”
“I don’t.”
“You looked like you did.”
“Because I was worried.”
“About me?”
His eyes met mine.
“Yes.”
The answer came too quickly.
I went quiet.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then he looked away.
“Just be careful.”
I wanted to ask what he meant.
Instead, I watched him walk away.
⸻
That evening, I sat on my bed staring at my phone.
Three strange things had happened.
The messages.
The warnings.
And now the phone call.
They all had one thing in common.
Damien.
I opened my messages and scrolled through the old texts.
Don’t wear blue tomorrow.
I warned you.
If you wear that dress tomorrow, Damien won’t be the only person watching you.
Ask him what happened two years ago.
I stared at the last message.
Two years ago.
Why did that number keep bringing it up?
I opened my browser and searched Damien’s name.
Nothing useful came up.
Just the usual university results and random student posts.
I was about to close my phone when another message appeared.
Unknown number.
My heart dropped.
You really should listen to him.
I stared at the screen.
Another message came.
Some truths are better left buried.
I immediately took a screenshot.
Then I blocked the number.
My hands were shaking.
A few minutes later, someone knocked on my door.
It was Maya.
“You okay?”
I nodded.
She walked inside.
“You don’t look okay.”
I showed her the messages.
Her face changed.
“Amara…”
“I know.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.”
She sat beside me.
“Maybe you should tell Damien.”
“I don’t want him thinking I’m scared.”
Maya gave me a look.
“Girl, you are scared.”
I sighed.
“Maybe a little.”
She squeezed my hand.
“Then don’t handle it alone.”
I nodded.
But there was something else bothering me.
The message said listen to him.
Who were they?
And why did they know Damien was already warning me?
⸻
The next morning, Damien wasn’t in class.
That shouldn’t have bothered me.
But it did.
I kept checking the door.
Five minutes passed.
Then ten.
Nothing.
The lecturer started.
Still nothing.
By the end of the lecture, I had checked my phone at least six times.
No message.
No call.
Nothing.
I hated that I was worried.
After class, I went to the library alone.
I needed to work on the project.
Maybe keeping busy would stop me from thinking about him.
It didn’t.
I opened my laptop.
Ten minutes later, someone sat across from me.
I looked up.
Adrian.
Damien’s brother.
“Hi,” he said.
I stared at him.
“Where’s Damien?”
“He had something to take care of.”
“What kind of thing?”
Adrian studied my face.
“You’re worried about him.”
“No.”
He smiled slightly.
“You don’t have to lie.”
I looked away.
“Is he okay?”
“He’s fine.”
I nodded.
Adrian was quiet for a moment.
Then he said,
“I heard about the call.”
My head snapped up.
“How?”
His expression changed.
“Damien told me.”
I stared at him.
“Why would he tell you?”
“Because he’s protective of you.”
The words made my heart beat faster.
“Protective?”
Adrian leaned back.
“Damien has always been…”
He stopped.
“Always been what?”
“Nothing.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“You’re doing the same thing he does.”
“Doing what?”
“Starting a sentence and refusing to finish it.”
Adrian smiled.
“Maybe you should stop asking questions.”
I didn’t smile.
“Everyone keeps telling me that.”
His expression became serious.
“Then maybe you should listen.”
I felt a chill run down my spine.
“Why?”
Adrian looked directly at me.
“Because not every secret is dangerous because of what it contains.”
He paused.
“Sometimes it’s dangerous because of who wants it revealed.”
Before I could ask what he meant, he stood.
“Take care of yourself, Amara.”
He walked away.
I remained frozen in my seat.
A minute later, my phone buzzed.
This time, it wasn’t an unknown number.
It was Damien.
Damien: Don’t talk to Adrian about this.
I stared at the message.
My fingers hovered over the keyboard.
Then I typed:
Me: Why?
The reply came almost instantly.
Damien: Because he knows why I started watching you.
My heart stopped.
I read the message again.
And again.
Why I started watching you.
I didn’t even notice when Adrian disappeared from the library.
All I could think about was one question.
How long had Damien Carter been watching me?
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