Unseen Eyes

The air had begun to shift again.

It was in the way the trees outside Elena's apartment rustled—too deliberate, too slow. It was in the hum of the hallway lights when she returned from school. In the way she felt watched even in a crowded lecture hall.

Elena sat in the back of the library, pretending to study, her eyes flicking toward the window every few seconds. She couldn't see him. But she knew.

She always knew.

Luca hadn't shown himself since the night he walked her home in the rain and handed her the umbrella. No texts. No flowers. No gifts. But his absence was louder than his presence.

It was like walking through fog, reaching for something that had always been there, only to find emptiness.

She found herself hoping to catch a glimpse of a hoodie disappearing down a hallway. She lingered at the corner café longer than usual. Her sleep grew restless.

It wasn't just obsession anymore. It was withdrawal.

Her roommate, Chi, noticed. "You okay? You've been spacing out lately."

Elena gave her a half-smile. "Just tired."

But the truth was worse. She missed the silent tension. She missed the strange safety she felt when she knew someone was watching. Someone who didn't ask, didn't speak—just watched.

She hated herself for it.

And then, it started again.

Her door was locked. She remembered locking it. But the curtain had shifted slightly by morning. Her favorite necklace—one she hadn't worn in months—sat neatly on her desk.

The following day, she found a page torn from her notebook on her bed, with her own handwriting copied at the top: "Don't forget to breathe."

It was a line she had written in her diary weeks ago.

Her chest tightened. He had been there. Again.

But he still hadn't shown himself.

She walked home slower that night. Letting the shadows grow longer behind her. Pausing in front of alleyways, hoping he would step out again like he had that night in the rain.

Nothing.

It was worse than fear. It was silence.

At school, she caught Liam looking at her again. He smiled once, hesitant. She smiled back—polite, nothing more. She needed a distraction, but not him.

Still, she let him sit beside her at lunch.

He talked about random things—his new part-time job, some party someone was planning soon. Elena nodded along, barely listening. But Luca's name kept creeping into her thoughts. Not his name. Just the weight of him.

That night, she stood at her window long after the lights were off. Just standing. Watching.

And then she saw it.

Across the street, tucked into the shadows of the trees—barely noticeable. A figure. Still. Waiting.

Her heart leapt.

She didn't move. Didn't open the window. Didn't wave.

But she felt her pulse calm.

He was still watching.

He hadn't left.

And that was all she needed to sleep again.