Page 4 of Don't Watch Alone
“Get the fuck outta here!” someone shouts from inside, their tone unclear and pissed as hell.
I don’t even hesitate—I slam the door shut so fast it nearly bounces back at me. My stomach drops and my face lights up like a damn Christmas tree. Fuck. I just walked in on two people mid-whatever-they-were-doing, and now I’ve got an unwanted snapshot of sweaty bodies and bedroom eyes burned into my brain forever. I mutter a shaky apology to the closeddoor, because apparently that’s who I am now, and stagger a few steps back, cringing so hard I feel it in my teeth.
There’s another door farther down, and I pray to every half-drunk party god that this one’s the bathroom. I don’t even care if it’s clean—all I want is a sink and no human genitalia.
I push it open and practically moan with relief. Tile floor, mirror that’s seen better days, sink crusted with mystery gunk—perfect. No moaning. No panting. No eye contact. I’m in the clear. I step inside, shut the door, and lean back against it, trying to catch my breath and push the horror of that last room out of my head. The air in here is stale and reeks faintly of bleach and whatever cleaning product they half-assed this place with, but I’ll take it.
I grip the edges of the sink like it’s the only thing keeping me upright, splash cold water on my face, and just breathe. Just fucking breathe.
I step out of the bathroom, still embarrassed, the image of that couple tangled up like they forgot where they were. It is now seared intomy brain. I head back toward Jade, who’s exactly where I left her.
“You were in there forever. You good?” she asks, eyeing me like I might be hiding a secret.
“Yeah,” I mutter, heat climbing up my neck. “Just...awkward. Walked in on a full-blown hookup. Like, no shame at all.”
Jade’s eyes go wide, her mouth turning in disgusted amusement. “Ugh, I hate that. Makes you want to bleach your eyes and start over.”
Before I can say more, Tony slides up beside me and hands me a drink. “Hey, I was thinking,” he says, casual as ever. “What if we hit the movies? Not this Friday, next one. That new movie Don’t Watch Alone drops. Already checked the times at the mall’s theater.”
I blink, trying to dismiss the mental image still burned into my mind. “That the slasher with the kids trapped in the mall? All getting killed off one by one?”
“That’s the one,” he says, grinning like it’s the best idea he’s ever had. “Figured we could go all out and watch it in the mall.”
“That’s wrong,” I laugh, my anxiety seeping into it. “Super crazy. Slasher horror movie in a mall. What could go wrong?”
“What are y’all plotting?” Jade asks, nosey as ever, sliding back into the conversation.
“Tony wants us to see that mall massacre movie,” I say.
Jade lights up. “Hell yes! I’m so in. We’re getting a huge popcorn with extra butter too, right?”
She and Tony are already off and running, talking about snacks and seats like it’s all finalized. But something shifts inside me. It starts small—a weird flutter in my chest, then a slow roll of dizziness. The conversation fades, the music becomes fainter. Everything feels... distant.
I try to focus on Tony’s voice, but his words twist around each other. My vision starts to blur.
“Guys…” I say, or try to. My own voice sounds muted, as if my head is under water. “I... I don’t feel right…”
Jade turns, a worried expression fills her face. She reaches for me, saying something I can’t catch. Then the floor drops out from under me.
Darkness crashes in.
The noise, the lights, the movie talk, even the gross bedroom memory, all gone. Swallowed by blackness.
Where the fuck am I?
Chapter three
Blaiz
Iopenmyeyes.The room’s a mess of color and clutter, none of it is familiar. There is an unfinished canvas that is leaning against the wall. Books are slanting like they’re about to fall on top of a damaged nightstand. A grinning ceramic skull stares me down from the surface of the nightstand.
Shit. This isn’t Tony’s place—his reeked of burned pizza and old beer. It’s not Jade’s either; hers always smells like one of those spa ads. And it sure as hell isn’t mine. My place is clean, controlled, and also boring as hell. This is… somewhere else. But where?
I shift and nausea courses through my stomach. That’s when I see him.
Tony. Sprawled out beside me, mostly wrapped in the sheets. His head of hair is wild,and his face buried deep in the pillow. He is motionless. Almost perfectly still.
A feeling of overwhelming fear hits me immediately.
