AkumaQuil

He inches closer, a single finger roaming her heated skin. Breath mingling with breath. 

A loud bang vibrates through the room, so thunderous as if god himself was furious.

Slowly he looks up staring out the large glass windows to the backyard, 

"You have a visitor." His rasps calmly.

"Who?" Rose quickly fires, feigning ignorance. She knew well enough who it was. Her nightly visitor has arrived.

Surprising, He only visits when she is alone.

"One who comes out at night. Lurking in the shadows, in the darkness... just like its intensions."

He looks down still leaning on top her, once more pinning her with his intense gaze.

"Are you afraid?" His voice dead serious, eyes going back to look outside.

And Rose lied, "No." 

But is it a lie when her fear was never really rooting enough to make her run the other way but instead often getting mixed with exhilaration.

"You should be."  

He leaves her staring wide eyed on the sofa and goes to stand before the glass panes.

"It's not happy to see me here. I can see the raging pits of fire in it's gaze. Ready to burn me right where I stand." he chuckled, sounding most sinister, "It definitely wants to rip my innards out."

"You should take off your shirt." He suggests casually.

"Excuse me?"

"Let's see if it riles him up even more to shatter instead of just slamming the windows like a wuss." He rouses under his breath, his excited provocative tone not escaping Rose's attention. 

What the hell is he up to?

"This isn't funny." Rose sputters out, standing up from the couch.

"I'm not trying to be." He faces her again, sporting a deadpan face. 

"Whatever. You think I'm one of your stupid fan girls to take my shirt off just because you want to rile someone up? Besides, there's probably no one outside and you're only making it up to see my boobs like a pervert."

His eyes roams her from top to bottom, there was distaste evident in his gaze.

"When he comes at night and leaves a little something for you, maybe then you take off your clothes for him... like a slut." Rome stared into her eyes with nothing behind those icy orbs to show for a lack of meaning behind his words. Because he means every single thing he says to her.

"Get. Out. Now!" Rose boomed furiously. 

"Whatever, I was leaving anyway. This has become boring." He walks towards her front door.

"Wait. How do you know he comes at night and leaves something?" her eyes narrow.

"Because I've seen it before."

"You saw him? It is a real guy?" Rose wanted to confirm, for some reason she thought otherwise.

"I never said I saw him. I've only seen it happening to someone else." 

"Whom?" 

"You don't need to know." He closes off.

"Then at least tell me what happened to her? Can I meet this person?" 

"You can't." Refusing calmly he was almost out the door when Rose pleads against hope.

"Please."

"You can't because she disappeared." Those were the words that finally did it. Brought her racing heart and buzzing head to a sudden halt. "Never to be seen again." 

 "When he stops visiting, that's when you should be most afraid." His words rang like a siren in the silence of her mind as he left.

Now she felt true fear for the first time.

==

In the embrace of her ancestral town, Rose seeks refuge from the echoes of her past. 

Little does she know, her return to her roots will awaken dormant shadows, shattering ordinary her existence. 

For when the darkness falls over the town, from the pitch black rises a shadowy figure that haunt her nights. 

In the darkness he sweeps her off the ground in terrible fear and the allure of sinister intrigue.

And once the sun comes, a man with a god awful attitude, haunts her in the broad day light. Causing her to swell with pure disdain. 

With each passing night, it draws closer to Rose, casting a chilling spell that both terrifies and exhilarates her.

Thrust into a labyrinth of mysteries can she navigate the treacherous path laid before her, or will her nightly visitor consume her whole?

He Comes At Night

"Yup. Only friends. For now." I exhaled before he could press further. "And before you start interrogating him, let me just say—he's one of the good ones. A more gentle kind of guy. So no, you don't need to put him through a full-scale inquisition. We're not even dating, he just lent me his jacket after—" I caught myself again. "Anyway, I'm returning it tomorrow."

Instinctively, my hands reached over my shoulders, expecting the familiar weight of the jacket. Instead, I grasped the soft fleece of my blanket. My brows furrowed.

Oh, right. I had grabbed this from the chair upstairs when I came down.

But if I'm wearing this, then where is Leo's jacket?

As if on clue, a soft chime echoed from the patio, the wind playing with the delicate strands of the windchime. The sound sent a strange shiver down my spine.

My gaze drifted toward the glass doors leading to the back of the house. From here, I could see straight to the edge of the woods.

More of last night's events began piecing themselves together.

Running through the house. Recklessly heading into the woods. Wandering alone, aimlessly, vulnerable beneath the darkened canopy of trees.

Maybe I was intoxicated—not by alcohol, but by something else entirely.

The adrenaline, the thrill, the wildness of the night. But now, in the clarity of morning, all my courage had drained away, leaving behind a stark realization.

I had been incredibly, unbelievably lucky.

Excitement aside, I had been careless to think I could waltz into the woods at night and come out unscathed. Just because I felt invincible didn't mean I actually was.

I chewed on my nail—a habit I knew I should break. Jake's warning glare made me stop.

My gaze fixated on the trees. Rough yet strangely smooth from this distance. I was sifting through my memories, trying to recall where I had left the jacket when it came to me—

A fallen tree trunk. I had sat on it. And then... I had laid down.

No wonder I got cold. Good going, genius.

"Go freshen up. Breakfast is almost ready," Jake called, shaking me from my thoughts.

I turned to head upstairs, but as soon as I took a step, the blood drained from my head, leaving me dizzy.

Another realization struck, nearly knocking the air from my lungs.

I looked down slowly, my breath catching in my throat.

My nightdress. A simple cotton white.

But that's not what I had worn last night.

My gaze snapped to Jake, who was still bustling around the kitchen, blissfully unaware of my internal panic.

"Um… Jake?" I called, my voice hollow.

"Yeah?" he answered, not looking up.

"Around... well, way after midnight. Why?"

"Did you check on me?" My voice was steadier now, but only because I forced it to be.

He hesitated, then turned to me, looking slightly guilty. "No. But now that I think about it, maybe I should have. I just found your phone and scarf by the door, so I assumed you got home and crashed. I figured I'd let you sleep it off." He sighed, rubbing his neck. "I should've checked on you. Parenting 101, right?"

He looked so sorry and guilty that if I wasn't reeling with my own issues right now I'd have felt like comforting him and telling me he is doing the best of his abilities and it was more than enough.

My issues were much more promising. Like the fact that if it wasn't him and I don't remember getting myself up from that tree trunk crossing all the way back into the house, getting up to my room, changing my clothes and getting in to bed; then how did I get here and...

More importantly, who the hell changed my clothes?!

My eyes darted to the glass doors again. Beyond them, the trees loomed, silently watching from it's dark depths.

What the hell happened to me last night?

66. A Simple Cotton White