Maya couldn't stay in her room.
Not after those messages.
Her thoughts were too loud.
Her fear too real.
So she did something reckless.
She left the house.
The streets were quiet, the night air cold against her skin.
Without fully realizing it, her feet led her to one place.
Ethan's house.
She stood outside the gate, staring at it.
What am I doing?
Before she could change her mind—
The gate opened.
Ethan stood there.
Like he had been expecting her.
"Maya?"
She froze.
"I…" she hesitated. "I got messages."
His expression darkened instantly.
"What kind of messages?"
She showed him her phone.
As he read them, his jaw tightened.
"I told you to stay out of this," he said.
"And I told you I can't," Maya shot back.
Ethan looked at her, frustration and something else flickering in his eyes.
"You don't understand how dangerous this is."
"Then help me understand!"
Silence.
The tension between them grew.
Then Ethan sighed.
"Come inside," he said.
Maya blinked.
"What?"
"If someone's watching you," he added, "you shouldn't be standing out here."
She hesitated.
But deep down—
She knew she trusted him.
It didn't bother her much.
Even if she didn't fully understand why.