CHAPTER 4

SOPHIA'S POV

“Are you sure you don’t want to go out with me tonight?” Carol asked for what felt like the millionth time today.

She leaned against my car, arms crossed, eyes full of mischief. The setting sun cast a warm glow over the campus parking lot, making her blonde curls shimmer. She always looked effortlessly put together, like she had all the time in the world to focus on her appearance, while I felt like I was barely keeping myself together.

“Some other night,” I said, fishing my keys out of my bag. “After this semester is over.”

Carol groaned dramatically, throwing her head back. “You are such a grandma, you know that?”

I laughed, shaking my head. “Of course, I know.”

She pouted but didn’t push further. She knew me well enough to understand that when I made up my mind about something, I wasn’t easily swayed.

“Fine,” she huffed. “But don’t think I’m giving up. One of these days, I will drag you out of that lonely house of yours and force you to have fun.”

I smirked. “Looking forward to it.”

Carol rolled her eyes, but I could see the fondness in them. She reached out and gave me a quick, tight hug. “Drive safe, Soph. And try not to spend all night drowning in your essay.”

“Not a chance,” I muttered, knowing full well that my laptop would probably stay shut for the night.

I slid into the driver’s seat, shutting the door as Carol waved and walked off toward her own car. I let out a deep sigh as I leaned back against the seat, my body already feeling the exhaustion settling in.

Today had been long. The kind of long that made my bones ache, my mind sluggish. I hadn’t been able to focus on anything—not my classes, not the conversations, not even lunch. My thoughts kept drifting back to last night.

The man in the woods.

The way he had just stood there, watching me.

I shivered at the memory. It was unsettling enough knowing I had a stalker, but what disturbed me more was the way he revealed himself. It wasn’t random. It wasn’t an accident.

He wanted me to see him.

That thought alone made my stomach twist with unease.

I forced myself to shake it off. Maybe I had imagined it. Maybe the police were right, and I was just overthinking things.

Still, the uneasy feeling lingered as I started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

The drive home was quiet, the soft hum of the engine and the occasional flicker of headlights the only company I had. The roads stretched out before me, empty and dark, leading me back to that lonely house—where, for the first time, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be alone.

I pulled into the driveway, the low hum of my car’s engine the only sound cutting through the quiet evening. As I shifted into park, my hands clenched the steering wheel, my gaze immediately drifting toward the tree line—the exact spot where I had seen him last night.

The sun had yet to fully set, leaving the sky painted in soft hues of orange and pink, but the shadows beneath the trees were already stretching long and dark. My stomach twisted at the thought of him standing there again, hidden among the branches, just watching.

I should go check. Maybe I’d find something—footprints, disturbed earth, anything to prove to myself that I hadn’t just imagined the whole thing.

But as soon as that thought entered my mind, I shoved it away. What if he’s still there? The idea made my skin prickle. If I went snooping and actually found him, what then? I had no idea who he was or what he wanted. The fact that he revealed himself so deliberately last night made it clear—this wasn’t just some lost stranger passing through. He wanted me to see him.

That alone was enough to keep me from going anywhere near those woods.

I sighed, trying to shake off the lingering unease. Grabbing my bag and keys, I stepped out of the car, locking it behind me. The air was cool, carrying the scent of damp earth and pine. The wind rustled through the trees, sending a chill down my spine that had nothing to do with the weather.

I walked up to the house, my keys jingling in my shaky fingers as I unlocked the front door. Stepping inside, I let out a slow breath, comforted by the familiar scent of lavender and old wood.

Home.

Safe.

At least, that’s what I tried to tell myself.

I tossed my bag onto the couch and headed straight for my bedroom, eager to collapse onto my bed and let sleep take me. I had barely gotten any rest last night, and my body was beginning to feel the weight of it.

But the second I stepped into my room, my blood turned to ice.

There, sitting neatly on my bed, was a huge teddy bear.

My breath hitched, my pulse roaring in my ears as my eyes darted across the room. The bear was positioned perfectly at the center of my bed, its dark, beady eyes staring straight at me. Beside it, lying on the pillow, was a folded letter.

I swallowed hard, my heart hammering so loudly I thought it might burst from my chest.

This wasn’t mine.

I hadn’t left this here.

Someone had been inside my house.

My legs felt like jelly as I forced myself to move closer. Every step felt heavier than the last, my body screaming at me to turn around and run.

But I couldn’t.

My trembling fingers reached for the note, my breath catching as I unfolded it. The handwriting was neat, precise. Almost too careful.

"Did you like my gift? I thought you needed something to hold at night. You looked lonely."

My hands clenched around the paper, my entire body breaking out in cold sweat.

I wasn’t crazy.

I wasn’t imagining things.

He had been inside my house.

My sanctuary. My safe place.

Violently, I shoved the teddy bear off my bed, the sight of it making my skin crawl. My stomach twisted painfully as the realization sank in.

He had been here.

And I had no idea when.

My breath came in sharp, ragged gasps as I took a shaky step backward, my mind racing with a thousand thoughts at once.

The front door was locked when I got home.

I hadn’t seen any broken windows. No forced entry. No signs that someone had broken into my house.

Which could only mean one thing.

He has a key.

A cold wave of terror rushed through me, chilling me from the inside out. My skin prickled, the hairs on my arms standing on end as the weight of the realization settled over me.

He could come in and out as he pleased.

He could have watched me while I was sleeping.

He could be inside right now.

I spun on my heel, my eyes darting wildly around the room as panic clawed at my chest. The house felt suddenly smaller, suffocating, as if the walls were closing in on me. Every shadow seemed deeper, every corner darker, and for the first time, my home—my safe place—felt like a trap.

“Fuck!” I screamed, the sound bouncing off the walls, but it did nothing to ease the suffocating dread building inside me.

This was more than a stalker standing in the shadows, playing mind games. This was something worse. Something more dangerous.

I rushed to the front door, my fingers fumbling as I double-checked the lock. Still in place. I ran to the windows, checking each one with frantic desperation. Not a single latch was broken. The back door was locked. The kitchen window—locked.

There was no sign of forced entry anywhere.

My breathing grew more erratic as my thoughts spiraled into terrifying possibilities. How long has he had a key? Had he been inside before today? Had he watched me sleep? Had he stood in my room, just like he had stood outside my window, quietly watching?

I felt sick.

My fingers trembled as I grabbed my phone, my heart hammering against my ribs as I quickly dialed 911. The ringing felt like it lasted forever, each second stretching out endlessly until finally, a voice answered.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

I sucked in a sharp breath. “I need officers to come to my house right now.” My voice shook, but I didn’t care. I was done pretending to be calm. “Someone’s been inside my house.”

“Are you in immediate danger?” the dispatcher asked, her voice professional but calm, as if she was trying not to spook me further.

“I—I don’t know,” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. “I didn’t see anyone, but when I got home, there was something in my room that wasn’t there before. And my doors were locked when I left.”

“What was left in your room?”

“A teddy bear. And a note.” My throat tightened. “The note said, ‘Did you like my gift? I thought you needed something to hold at night. You looked lonely.’”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. A silence so long it made my skin crawl.

“All right, ma’am,” the dispatcher finally said, her voice a little more urgent now. “Stay where you are. Officers are on their way. Are you alone in the house?”

“Yes,” I whispered. My own voice felt foreign to me.

“Is there a place where you can lock yourself in until the officers arrive?”

I nodded, then realized she couldn’t see me. “Yeah. My bedroom has a lock.”

“Good. Go there now. Keep your phone with you, and don’t open the door for anyone except the police.”

I nodded again, my legs barely holding me up as I made my way to my room, locking the door behind me. I sat on the bed, staring at the teddy bear on the floor where I had thrown it, my stomach twisting into knots.

Ten minutes felt like an eternity.

The sound of sirens approaching nearly made me sob in relief. A few moments later, I heard the faint sound of knocking.

“Miss?” A deep voice called from the other side of the front door. “It’s the police.”

I hesitated, my body still frozen in panic, before forcing myself to move. Peeking through the peephole, I saw two officers standing on my porch.

I unlocked the door, my hands still trembling as I stepped aside. The officers entered, their presence a stark contrast to the eerie silence of my house.

One of them, a tall man with sharp blue eyes, spoke first. “You called about an intruder?”

I nodded rapidly. “Someone was inside my house while I was gone. I don’t know how they got in, but they left this—” I gestured toward my bedroom, leading them to the scene.

The officers surveyed the room, their gazes settling on the teddy bear and the note. One of them picked up the paper, reading it with a frown.

“Did you notice anything else unusual?” the other officer, a woman with dark brown hair pulled into a tight bun, asked.

I shook my head. “No. Just that.”

The male officer sighed. “We checked all entry points, and there’s no sign of forced entry.”

I swallowed hard. “I know.”

“Do you live alone?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure no one else has a key?”

“No one except my parents,” I said firmly. “And they live hours away. They wouldn’t have left this.”

The female officer exchanged a glance with her partner before looking back at me. “It’s possible that whoever this was had a key. Either they copied it or somehow got their hands on it.”

I clenched my fists. “So what do I do? Change the locks? Move?”

“For now, we recommend changing your locks immediately,” the male officer said. “We’ll file a report and keep an eye on the area. But if you notice anything else—anything—call us right away.”

I nodded, frustration bubbling beneath my fear. They were trying to help, but I could see it in their faces—they didn’t have any real leads. Whoever he was, he had been careful.

Too careful.

As the officers wrapped up, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t over.

Not even close.