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

Leo nodded, sipping from his protein shake like this was just another Tuesday.

I frowned. "I don't know… sounds a little too dramatic. Like someone wanted the whole thing to be spiced up for effect."

"Exactly," Leo agreed. "That's the thing about rumors—by the time they spread far enough, they might as well be bedtime stories."

I leaned back, crossing my arms. "Still… if Aspen did hit him, that means something must've gone down. You don't just deck someone for no reason."

Leo nodded thoughtfully. "That's true… but, well, we'll probably never know the truth."

He's right though. You never really know people.

And that? That was the scariest part of all.

Anyway, if the fight really went down the way the rumors claimed—two professors brawling to the point where students had to intervene—wouldn't it have caused a massive commotion?

This was college, after all. A place packed with gossip-hungry students who wouldn't hesitate to circle around them like vultures, chanting 'fight, fight, fight!' while someone live-streamed the whole thing on Instagram.

I raised a brow. "Nah, this one's a reach, don't you think? Professors throwing punches like it's a high school locker room brawl? If that actually happened, it would've been all over the college paper. It's a big deal! And I guarantee you, those so-called 'witnesses'—the ones who supposedly stepped in to save the day—are probably the same losers who started the rumor in the first place. Just trying to sound cool for once."

Leo smirked but leaned forward, shaking his head. "I hear you, but here's the counterpoint: the fight didn't happen on campus."

He tapped a finger against the table for emphasis. *"That's why it's actually believable—no admin, no cameras, no official report."

I narrowed my eyes. "Still doesn't explain why it didn't spread faster."

Leo's smirk faded slightly, and he ran a hand through his hair before casually adding, "Well… one of the guys in the fight wasn't from our college. And the other?"

His grip on his protein shaker tightened, his voice dropping an octave. "It was that fucker, Dracken."

My stomach twisted, but I forced my face to stay neutral. There was something bitter laced in his tone—resentment, maybe.

Was he still holding a grudge from that night? Or had he always had some unspoken rivalry with Rome Dracken?

I mean, they didn't exactly seem like best friends before that party. If anything, there was always an odd tension between them.

Not that I had forgiven him either.

I frowned slightly, stirring my drink with my straw. "But he—I mean, Dracken—hasn't even been coming to college since that party."

The words tumbled out too quickly, too naturally, and I instantly regretted them when Leo's sharp gaze snapped to mine.

His expression shifted—subtle, but telling.

A look that said, 'Why do you know that?'

"Uh—he's in my classes, so… you know." I waved a dismissive hand, trying to downplay my obvious slip-up. "It's not like I keep track of his attendance or anything! I mean, I'm not blind."

Leo didn't say anything for a moment, just watched me with an unreadable expression before finally looking away.

"Who knows what really happened," he muttered, shaking his head. "And honestly? Who cares? The moral of the story: never trust college rumors. Half of them are made up by people with nothing better to do with their miserable lives."

With that, he let out a chuckle, pushing the conversation away, and I followed his lead, brushing it off.

But something about it lingered in the back of my mind.

Because if Rome Dracken hadn't been coming to college…

And as if fate itself had a twisted sense of humor, mocking me with a *ha, don't get too comfortable, we're still here*, my gaze flickered to something—or rather, someone—familiar.

76. Someone—Familiar