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My skin erupts with goosebumps as I feel a warm sensation pooling deep in my core. I lift my hand to touch him, wanting to feel his chest, but when I push my hand out, nothing is there. I look before me, and I am standing on the edge of a cliff, staring into a sea of crashing water. My hand pulls me forward, over the cliff’s jagged edge, and I fall.

I startle awake and grasp my chest— what the Hell happened? My breaths come out choppy and erratic. It was a nightmare. A nightmare where he came for me and I fell. How poetic of me.

I rub my eyes, coming back to reality. I scan my bedroom to see that everything is where I left it. All the doors and windows are closed. I scramble to my phone, which was thrown across my room, and pick it up,checking the time.

8:45 A.M. Fuck. I’m late, again.

4

Evelyn

It’s my senior year of college, and the only reason I’m here is that my parents insist I have a degree. I’m studying business administration because I plan on working for the family business after graduation.

I don’t even need the degree because we have hired other people with degrees to do the work. We sit back, fire people if required, and collect a check. My family runs an investment firm. It’s basically where rich people give you money to make them richer. And in return, we become richer. I think it’s a scam, but hey—if it pays the bills, I guess it doesn’t matter.

I rush into the building to sit in on the last half of class, feeling stupid for being late to an 8:30 A.M. class. I’m never late for class. Everything else, sure, but never class. I have to admit that I made myself even later by stopping to grab some coffee on my way in. I needed a pick-me-up.

I love my routines, and I feel so off when I stray from my schedule. Today was one of those rare days when I don’t care. To top it all off, this class is boring and I don’t have any friends in it, so I sit in the back and take notes quietly.

I have a few classes with Astra, but she usually hangs around Lucien and Harmony. Harmony is one of Astra’s best friends, aside from me. They have a lot more in common when it comes to partying. Harmony comes from Lucien’s world. His world consists of betrayal, deceit, and probably murder if I were to guess. Looking at the man, I can’t tell if he sells drugs or makes them. He seems intelligent, and it’s always the smart ones you have to look out for.

Lucien’s family is wealthy, but no one knows what they do for a living. He doesn’t talk about it, and he does leave for weeks at a time, which is what makes me think he kills people or he’s a high-class thief. I don’t know what Astra sees in him. He cheated on her three times in two years. Every time, he claims that he didn’t mean it. He doesn’t love them as much as he loves her. I call bullshit. He will never stop betraying her, and she thinks he’s a changed man. Every. Time.

Lucien’s friends are mostly older, and they graduated last year. He does keep his circle small. I don’t associate with them, so it makes sense that I don’t know any internal secrets that they have. Even though I wish I did.

My professor dismisses us, and I gather my bag. I need to get some air. I carry myself out of the building and head to a coffee shop near the outskirts of campus. I enjoy taking long walks, mainly to clear my head, especially after everything that happened in the past 24 hours.

It’s Autumn and the leaves have all turned. The air is crisp. The mountains look so picturesque at this time of year. I round the corner and admire the brick buildings that line the street.

I swing the door open as the bell rings, alerting the staff that they have a customer. I walk up to the register. The smell of fresh coffee beans fills the air.

“Hi Hun, what can I get ya?”

“I’ll take a medium Vanilla Latte, please.”

“Iced or hot?”

“Hot.”

“That’ll be $5.89.”

Irummage through my Louis Vuitton bag, searching for my card. God, I’ve got to clean out this bag. I find it hiding underneath a few crumbled-up receipts. Dad would kill me if I lost my card again. It’s the third one I’ve had in a year. I tap my card to pay and scan the small cafe, looking for a place to settle. I spot an empty table near the window and walk over to make myself comfortable.

The coffee shop is a small, family-owned establishment. The dark, minimalist design creates a clean and relaxing atmosphere—something I desperately need right now.

“Evelyn,” the barista calls. I swiftly move to retrieve my steaming hot beverage. Hopefully, this will soothe my nerves.

I take my seat and pull out my phone. I have an unread text from Astra, “Hey, sorry about the other night. You doing okay? Love u.”

I swipe out of her message, leaving her on read. She deserves to worry about me, after all, I’m always worried about her. She dismissed me after I told her that the masked lunatic had shown up again. I scanned the room for him, but had no luck. She was convinced I was “Seeing what I wanted to see”. Yeah, right.

I have another unread message— from the bane of my existence.

Didn’t you have a coffee already? —D

Beneath the text is a photo of me sitting by the window in the coffee shop. He’s watching me. How long has he been following me? Does he seriously have nothing better to do? I quickly stand up and move across the shop to the tables near the back. Now I sit tucked away so that I can stay away from prying eyes.

I grab my phone and send him a message back.