Page 76 of Like A Moth To A Flame

What had I said in return?

Curiosity? Oh, right.

Maybe I wanted to find out how many lives I had left.

My phone buzzed again.

The place where we first met.

I blinked, narrowing my eyes at the words on the screen. The place we first met? Another footstep from upstairs answered that question for me. The guest room, it had to be. Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves, I forced myself to move up the stairs. Each step I took seemed to echo loudly in the quiet house, and I winced at the noise. When I reached the foot of the stairs, I hesitated.

Why was I doing this? Why was I playing this stupid little game?

Curiosity,my thoughts reminded me.

The stairs creaked under my weight as I ascended, the steps groaning in protest. The darkness upstairs seemed thicker, heavier, as if it held its breath, waiting for me to make a move. I clutched the phone as though it were a lifeline, guiding me towards an unknown fate.

The darkness seemed to swallow me whole as I reached the top, the only source of light emanating from my phone screen. My grip on it tightened as I crept down the hallway, my heart beating erratically in my chest.

I turned around the banister, peering into the darkness behind the guest room door. It was open. Had I left it that way? I couldn’t remember now. My mind raced with a million thoughts, but one thing was clear—I was a terrified rabbit waiting outside of the lion’s den.

I paused at the doorway, my hand trembling as I pushed it open with a slow, deliberate hand. A dim light bathed the room, casting eerie shadows across the walls.

He had to be in here.

I walked around the bed to the other side. He wasn’t here.

I knelt, feeling the hard floor digging into my bare knees as I dropped to the floor, peering under the bed. Nothing but dust bunnies and old shoe boxes. Just as I moved to stand, a movement caught my eye. Between two of the boxes, a shadow stirred just outside the door. I heard the rhythm of heavy footsteps, and as I watched, I saw his boots moving past the door and down the stairs.

I sucked in a deep gasp and straightened, my blue eyes wide in the darkness.

Lifting my phone, my fingers shook as I typed.

I found you!

Jumping to my feet, I hurried from the room, striking my hip against the frame of the door as I plodded out into the hallway. Squinting down the stairs, I saw a tall shadow duck around the corner into the living room.

I win, I thought to myself. But was this a game I really wanted to play, let alone win?

I took the stairs two at a time, stumbling and nearly falling when I made it to the bottom. Jumping around the corner, I stood looking at an empty living room. I saw the journal lying open and forgotten across the couch, the shadeless lamp, and the cluttered coffee table—but not much else.

But I had seen him. I had seen him step through here.

Was I going insane?

Or was he toying with me, making me doubt my senses? I clutched my phone tightly; the screen illuminating the room like a beacon in the night. Every shadow seemed to come alive, dancingat the edge of my vision. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, drowning out any rational thought.

A sudden noise from the kitchen made me jump, my pulse skyrocketing. Without thinking, I darted towards the sound, my feet barely making a sound on the hardwood floor. The room was bathed in darkness, the only light spilling in from the living room and the moonlight filtering in from outside. I hesitated at the doorway, my breath catching in my throat. It was empty. How?

I didn’t hear his footsteps or the sound of his breath, but I could smell that familiar scent of musk, smoke, citrus, and leather.

He was here. He had to be.

Just as I moved to turn, a shadow cloaked in darkness came up behind me, and the icy grip of arms wrapped around my waist, pinning my arms down and ripping me up off my feet.

A choking gasp escaped my lips as I thrashed against his hold, my phone slipping from my fingers and clattering to the floor. I thrashed against his hold, feeling the room spin around me as he lifted me off the ground. A cold dread settled in the pit of my stomach. His breath ghosted over my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.

“Wrong, Vanessa. I foundyou,” he whispered, his hot breath tickling my ear as he spoke.

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