Everything stopped.
The air.
The sound.
My breath.
That voice—
Right behind me.
"You never learn."
Cold.
Familiar.
Wrong.
I turned.
Fast.
Too fast.
Nothing.
The room was empty.
My chest tightened.
"No…"
This wasn't possible.
I stepped back.
Heart racing.
"Show yourself," I said.
Silence.
Then—
A small sound.
Behind me.
Again.
I spun—
Still nothing.
My pulse was out of control now.
"This isn't funny," I said.
A low chuckle.
Close.
Too close.
"It wasn't funny back then either."
My blood ran cold.
"You…" I whispered.
Silence.
Then—
A shadow.
Moving.
From the corner.
Slow.
Deliberate.
And then—
He stepped into the light.
My heart stopped.
Because I knew that face.
But it wasn't the same.
Bruised.
A scar along his temple.
Eyes darker.
Colder.
Alive.
"No…"
My voice failed.
"That's not possible…"
He tilted his head slightly.
"You said that before."
My chest tightened.
"You were dead."
A small smile.
"Clearly not."
I couldn't move.
Couldn't think.
Because he was right there.
Right in front of me.
"You left me," he said.
No anger.
No shouting.
That made it worse.
"I thought—"
"You thought I was dead," he cut in.
A pause.
"And that made it easier."
"It wasn't like that—"
"It was exactly like that."
Silence.
Heavy.
Because I had no answer.
"You hit me," he continued.
Each word slow.
"You pushed me."
Another step closer.
"You watched me fall."
My breathing broke.
"And then…"
He stopped right in front of me.
"You walked away."
I swallowed hard.
"I didn't know what to do…"
"That's not true."
His voice dropped.
"You knew exactly what to do."
Silence.
"And you didn't."
That hit deeper than anything else.
"I was scared," I said.
"I was dying."
That broke me.
"I didn't know you were alive!"
His eyes darkened.
"You didn't check."
I stepped back.
"I'm sorry."
The words felt weak.
Useless.
"I didn't mean—"
"Stop."
Sharp.
Cold.
"Don't do that."
"What?"
"Don't pretend this was an accident."
My chest tightened.
"It was!"
He laughed.
Low.
Empty.
"No," he said.
"It was a choice."
Silence.
Because part of me…
Knew he was right.
"What do you want?" I asked.
A long pause.
He looked at me.
Really looked.
Then—
"What you took."
"That doesn't make sense—"
"My life," he said.
That hit.
Hard.
"You didn't die."
"No," he said.
"But I lost everything."
A pause.
"Because of you."
Silence.
"What about Noah?" I asked suddenly.
That made him smile.
"You care now?"
"Where is he?"
He stepped aside slightly.
And pointed.
Behind me.
Slowly—
I turned.
My heart dropped.
Noah.
Still tied.
Still alive.
But barely.
"What did you do to him?" I said.
"Nothing," he replied.
"Yet."
I turned back.
"You touch him—"
"What?" he cut in.
"You'll stop me?"
Silence.
Because I didn't know if I could.
"You couldn't stop me then," he said.
"What makes you think you can now?"
My fists clenched.
"This ends now."
He smiled.
"No."
A pause.
"This is just the beginning."
And then—
Everything went dark.
Pain.
Sharp.
Sudden.
The world tilted.
And the last thing I saw—
Was him.
Standing over me.
Watching.
Waiting.
🖤 Poem — Lucas
I faced the past
thinking I could stand
but some ghosts return
with blood on their hands
and the truth I ran from…
now makes its demand