LOGINLola didn’t remember who moved first.Only that suddenly the space between them felt charged like a wire stretched too tight, humming, begging to snap.Jake’s hand was still at her jaw, his thumb warm against her skin. Damon was behind her, solid and steady, his chest rising and falling against her
The door down the hallway clicked shut.Soft.Careful.Deliberate.Lola felt it in her bones before she processed it in her head.Someone was still nearby.Jake moved instantly, crossing the room to the door and pressing his ear against it. Damon shifted closer to Lola, his presence solid, grounding
The hallway lights hummed softly overhead, casting long shadows that made everything feel unreal like Lola had stepped into a version of campus where nothing familiar could be trusted anymore.Jake shut the door behind them, locking it.Then he locked it again.Damon leaned against the wall, arms cr
Lola didn’t move.The knock echoed againsoft, controlled, patient.Not the kind of knock made by someone in a hurry.Not the kind made by someone unsure.This was someone who knew she was there.Her phone trembled in her hand. She checked it instinctively.No signal.Her breath came shallow as she
Lola’s fingers tightened around her phone until her knuckles blanched white.The message on the screen didn’t disappear, didn’t fade it pulsed back at her like a warning carved into stone.“Stop looking for her.”A chill crawled up her spine.Her instincts screamed call someone, call Damon, call Jak
Lola rushed back across the courtyard, Ethan’s warning replaying in her skull like an echo she couldn’t shut off.Go back to your dorm. Lock the door. Don’t open it for anyone except Damon or Jake.Her chest tightened. Her footsteps quickened.The nighttime air felt sharper, heavier like the campus







