Page 17

SIXTEEN

FREYA

I opened my eyes. Last night had been like a bad dream, one that never turned into a nightmare. Even though I was afraid of him, my body let me believe I wasn’t. His touch made me shiver, yet something deep inside me twisted and turned, eager to let him in.

What was happening to me?

I didn’t want his touch. I didn’t want him. And yet, I was drawn to him, the way a hand hovers over a flame, lured by the heat but knowing I would burn if I got too close.

He was gone. I didn’t hear him leave. And yet, a quiet, shameful part of me hoped he would stay.

I bit my lip as I stood, searching the room as if he were still here. But the space was empty.

Today was supposed to be the day we explored Blackthorn, but all I wanted was to stay locked inside these four walls. Last night, I even considered running. Maybe I should have.

I stepped toward my closet and opened the door. My old sneakers sat in the corner, untouched.

Maybe I should go for a run.

People always said that running helps clear the mind, but for me, it wasn’t about peace—it was more about what would happen if I had to escape it. If I had to escape this place, him. I needed to be ready.

I grabbed a pair of sneakers from the pile of unzipped clothes, along with a pair of black leggings. The tight, lightweight, long-sleeved tank top hugged my upper body as I pulled it on. Leaning down, I put the leggings on, then the shoes.

Closing the closet, I caught my reflection in the mirror. The tight fabric sculpted my body, making me two sizes smaller. I turned slightly, noticing the curve of my hips; I didn’t look bad—quite the opposite.

Maybe this wasn’t a bad idea after all.

I gathered my hair into a high ponytail, grabbed my phone, and slid my headphones on. I pressed play, and the song Tiffany’s I Think We’re Alone Now filled my ears.

With the music pulsing, I stepped out.

I started slow. Jogging through the hallway, past the square, and across the bridge leading outside. But as soon as my feet hit the earth beyond the bridge, I picked up speed.

Grass stretched out in front of me, melting into the dark line of the woods. No people, no animals, nothing but open space.

I was alone.

And for the first time in a while, that felt good.

My ponytail bounced with each step, the wind whipping against my skin as I pushed harder. The burn in my lungs deepened, but I didn’t stop.

I ran faster.

But no matter how alone I was, the feeling of being watched clung to me like a shadow.

The sky was cloudy, heavy, and restless, threatening rain. Still, I pushed forward, winding deeper into the mountains. Something was gnawing at my gut, a discomfort that I couldn’t get rid of. On impulse, I turned, and I saw him.

Am I dreaming?

He stood in the distance, his hood up; this time, there was no mask, only a smile curved the corner of his lips as he followed me. His face remained hidden, his chin low, the shadow of his hood hiding everything but that haunting smile.

I didn’t hear him. I didn’t feel him. I had no idea how long he had been there, watching, waiting.

I ran.

Faster.

But no matter how much distance I tried to put between us, he never let me go too far.

I couldn’t do this anymore.

My pulse pounded in my ears as I turned right, crossed an open field, and headed back toward the academy. This time, he didn’t follow.

Still, I didn’t stop.

The music drummed in my ears, drowning out my thoughts, my fear. The Academy loomed ahead, and just as I reached the bridge, my phone buzzed.

“Run, Little Star, run.”

I slowed, whipping my head around, scanning the landscape.

But he was gone.

Then he appeared from the distance, moving towards me once again.

I did the only thing I could. I ran.

Back to the academy. Through the square. To the house. To the dorm.

By the time I reached my door, my breath was ragged, my heart hammering against my ribs. And before I even caught my breath, Stella stood in front of my room, leaning against the door, clutching her laptop and two notebooks tightly to her chest.

“Hey,” I breathed, bending over, palms braced against my knees.

She hesitated before speaking. “Can we talk?”

Something in her voice made me look up. She was nervous.

“Yeah,” I said, fumbling for my keys. I unlocked the door and pushed it open, stepping aside so she could enter first.

She moved straight to one of the chairs near the bookshelf, setting her laptop and notebooks down on the coffee table. I hesitated, glancing back into the hallway.

Was he still out there?

But there was nothing. No one.

I shut the door and walked over, lowering myself onto the opposite chair.

Stella’s fingers hovered over the keyboard of her laptop. She looked up at me, hesitant. “Do you ever… check on people after you meet them? Just to make sure they’re okay?”

I blinked. “No,” I said, chuckling breathlessly. “Never thought to do that.”

She bit her lip, then opened her laptop. “I took a cyber class yesterday. We were shown how to check anyone in Blackthorn.” A pause. “So... I did.”

I stiffened. “You checked me?” My voice rose, cutting her off.

Her eyes flickered downward, her fingers gripping the edge of the keyboard. “...And Blue.”

I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling sharply. “I admire your honesty, but that’s kind of messed up,” I muttered, bringing my nails to my lips, nervously biting at the edges. My throat tightened. “Did you…?” I swallowed. “Did you find something about me?”

Her eyes met mine. “I did.”

The air between us grew heavy.

“But,” she hesitated, “I found nothing on Blue.”

I leaned forward, gripping the side of my chair. “What do you mean?” My pulse picked up again. “Is that good or bad?”

“It’s bad,” she muttered, her fingers flying over the keyboard. The glow of the laptop screen reflected in her wide eyes. “It’s like she doesn’t exist.”

“Did you say anything to her?” I asked, running my fingers past my lips, a nervous habit I couldn’t shake.

“No,” she admitted. “I didn’t want to seem like some creep who stalked her on her first day of school.”

“Yeah...” I pushed myself up from the couch, pacing toward the armchair. “Do you think her name is fake or something?”

“Maybe,” she said hesitantly. “And honestly? I’m afraid to dig any further.” She scratched her forehead before reaching into her pocket. Her fingers fumbled for a moment before she pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. She hesitated, then handed it to me. “I found this this morning. Someone taped it to the mirror in my room.”

I unfolded the paper, and the words scrawled in uneven red ink sent a shiver down my spine. I read them aloud.

“Did you show this to anyone?” I asked, passing it back to her.

“I can’t,” she admitted, eyes darting to the laptop screen. “Because when I was checking on you... I may have hacked into some files I probably shouldn’t have.”

I stiffened. “What do you mean, hacked ?“ My hands raked through my hair, my elbows pressing into my knees. “What the hell did you do?”

Without a word, she turned the laptop toward me. The screen flashed with a black-and-white photograph. A woman with dark hair, pale skin, and the uniform of the Blackthorn Academy. She smiled gently, but something haunted her eyes.

“This is Adeline Ravenshaw,” Stella said. “She died here.”

A lump formed in my throat as I instinctively reached up to rub the back of my neck. “What does that have to do with me?”

Stella hesitated before saying, “She was your aunt who attended Blackthorn in 2006 and 2007.”

My stomach knotted. The room in my grandmother’s house—those pictures on the wall. I saw her picture, but I never knew. My grandmother hid her. Hiding the room. Hiding everything from me.

“Well, technically she wasn’t,” Stella corrected. “Your grandma adopted her in 2005. So... she was, I guess?” She shook her head, then tapped a key. “Anyway, the official records say she committed suicide. But—“

“But what?” My voice was sharper than I intended. The anger wasn’t for Stella. It was for my family. For their secrets. For the way I was finding out about my blood from a girl I had met yesterday.

Stella turned the laptop back to herself, typing furiously. Then, after a few seconds, she spun it toward me again.

My stomach dropped.

The screen flickered, each new image more harrowing than the last. The bathroom, dimly lit and sterile. The water, dark and thick with blood, splashed on pale skin. Adelina’s body lay still in the tub, her arms limp at her sides, her wrists open like a silent confession. But it wasn’t the wounds that had me clenching my fingers around the edge of the table.

Her face.

Her lips were spread too wide, the skin cracked in jagged lines that ripped into her cheeks, revealing teeth that should have been hidden. A frozen, creepy smile.

And on the floor beside the tub, a flower. Deep red, the petals velvety and untouched on the cold, smooth tiles. A dahlia.

The room around me suddenly seemed smaller, the air thin, the glow of the screen the only source of warmth. But that didn’t reach me either. My breath curled in white tendrils before me, the unmistakable hum of something unnatural pressing against the silence. Then, the faintest whisper—too close. Too real.

The sound lingered, eerie notes floating through the air, each one sending ice through my veins. That song. That damned song.

I pressed a trembling hand to the door, my breath ragged. The wood was cold under my fingers, colder than it should have been.

Inside, the music box continued its melody.

I swallowed hard and reached for the handle. It turned too easily, as if something was waiting for me on the other side.

The hinges groaned as the door swung inward.

The music box stood on my bed, its lid open, and the little ballerina inside spun in slow, jerky circles. The melody stuttered, the notes squirmed as if the song itself was gasping for air.

A shadow stretched across the floor. Not mine.

A whisper slid across the room, right behind me.

Then—cold.

Some kind of force hit my chest, throwing me backwards, stealing the air from my lungs. The door slammed shut in my face, slamming the walls shut.

Silence.

Except for the music box. Still playing. Still spinning. And somewhere in the room beyond, something else was waiting.

I stumbled, my pulse hammering in my ears. “I swear—“ I choked out, still winded. “That music box was at home. I left it at home. ”

I turned to Stella, my voice just above a whisper. “Do you think she was murdered?”

Stella’s face had lost all color. “Yes,” she breathed. “And someone covered it up.”

I swallowed hard, sinking back into the armchair. My fingers trembled as they brushed against my lower lip.

Everything I thought I knew was unreal. And something told me we weren’t meant to uncover the truth.

“I know we shouldn’t dig,” she said, “but this isn’t the first time it’s happened.”

“It hasn’t?” I asked, blinking at her.

She shook her head. “There was a girl killed the same way. In 2009,” She closed the laptop, exhaling sharply. “Someone’s doing this,” she whispered. “And I think it’s going to happen again.”

I swallowed hard. “I found a letter Adeline got from someone named L,” I admitted. “I thought maybe they escaped together. Maybe that’s why my grandma kept her room untouched.”

Stella’s gaze locked onto mine. “People keep rooms untouched when they lose someone,“ she said quietly. “Not when they think they’ll come back.”

A shiver ran down my spine. “Now I know,” I whispered, a single tear slipping down my cheek. My breath caught as a dark thought surfaced. “What if that L killed her?” My chest tightened, panic rising.

Stella reached into her pocket and pulled out the letter. “L wasn’t the one who seemed upset.” She unfolded it, her fingers smoothing over the creased paper. “But this tic tac toe A and O ? Whoever they are...”

I nodded slowly.

Stella stood up. “Tonight, we get class schedules and uniforms,” she said, shifting the mood. She turned to the door, pausing. “By the way, where’s Ava?”

“How would I know?” I frowned.

“Because she’s supposed to be your roommate,” she reminded me. “She was assigned this room yesterday. She didn’t show up?”

“No,” I said. “She didn’t.”

I wasn’t fond of Ava, but I silently prayed that L hadn’t done anything to her. If he had, I wouldn’t forgive him.

“Oh,” Stella muttered. “Let me call her.”

She pulled out her phone and dialed. The call rang. No answer.

“That’s strange,” she murmured, trying again.

Her expression darkened. “I...” her voice wavered. “I’ll try to find her.”

Gathering her notebooks and laptop, she moved toward the door. But as she swung it open, she stopped dead.

Ava and Oscar stood in the hallway, tangled together in a heated kiss. His hands roamed her body, his mouth devouring hers.

Stella rolled her eyes and pushed past them, shoving them aside.

“What the fuck is your problem?” Oscar barked, glaring at Stella. But Ava barely reacted, pulling him back in for another kiss.

Then, without looking at me, she murmured against his lips, “See you tonight.”

He turned his head slightly, raising two fingers in a mock salute before strolling off.

I stood in the center of the room, arms crossed.

“What?” Ava snapped as she stepped inside, slamming the door shut behind her.

I exhaled sharply. “You could have at least told your sister you weren’t staying in your assigned room.” I gestured toward the room to the right. “That one.”

Ava rolled her eyes. “This is exactly why I didn’t want to be here in the first place.” With that, she spun on her heel and stormed off to her room.

The tension lingered long after she was gone, and slowly, I turned toward my door. My pulse pounded as I reached for the handle, dreading what I might find inside.

I pushed it open.

The room was still.

The music box was gone.

A chill ran through me. My skin prickled as unease slithered down my spine.

I was losing my damn mind. And no one could save me from myself.