Page 41 of Fractured Loyalties
It moves with the tiniest creak, and then it swings open just a few inches. Enough for a sliver of hallway light to cut across the floor, and enough for me to see the silhouette in the doorway.
My entire body goes rigid.
The figure doesn’t move. It just stands there, filling the space with a wrongness that makes my skin crawl. I can’t see a face, just a shadow backlit by gold from the hallway sconces.
It doesn’t say anything. It doesn’t take a step. It just…watches.
I want to fucking scream. I want to throw something at it. But there’s onlyoneperson I know it could be, and I absolutely do notwant to let him know anything I’m feeling.
“Leave me the hell alone, Roman,” I say, my voice sharper and bolder than I expected it to be.
The figure doesn’t answer.
Instead, it leans an inch further into the room, as if testing the air for movement or something—like a freaking ghost.
“Roman, if you’re trying to scare me, it’s not funny.” I push the words out, hardening them with anger. “I’m serious, get the hell out of my room.”
Still,nothing.
I shove the sheets off, forcing my legs to swing over the edge of the bed. The movement must jolt something in the watcher, because they take a single step back, and then another. It’s still slow, as if they’re not quite sure whether they should leave or stay and finish what they came to do.
“Fuck off, Roman,” I try again, raising my voice.
The silhouette just tilts its head—just a fraction, but enough to make me want to claw out of my own skin.
Fucking mockery.
I reach for my phone, my thumb hovering over the flashlight function, but that movement sends the person running. They slip into the hallway, closing the door behind them with a gentleness that makes my stomach churn.
I sit there for a long time, holding my breath and waiting for the door to creak again, for the figure to return and finish whatever they were going to do.
But nothing happens. The room stays quiet.
The only proof that anything happened at all is the sweat slick on my forehead and the way my heart keeps hammering, refusing to be soothed.
He’s probably waiting outside and planning to scare me or something.
That has me on my feet, frustrated. My knees feel weak as I tiptoe to the door, pressing my palm to the cold wood. I listen, counting off seconds in my head, but the house is perfectly still.
I crack the door just an inch. The hallway is empty, the floors immaculate, the sconces lit in their usual pattern. There’s no sign of Roman, no sign of anyone.
What the fuck?
I slam the door shut and lock it. I back away from it, not turning my back until I’m under the covers again.
“Always lock your door, Ivy,”I hear Roman’s warning in my head.
Now I can’t sleep. I can’t even close my eyes.
Instead, I stare at the door and try to remember if Roman’s shadow ever looked like that. Could it have been a house staff member playing a prank? Could Roman have just put them up to it to scare me?
That would make sense. He is an asshole.
But no matterwhoit was, someone came to watch me…
And that’s unsettling enough.
Seventeen
