Chapter 3: Eyes That Haunt Me

Hailey.

I bolt down the corridor towards the exit, my legs moving faster than my brain.

My heart pounds heavily in my chest. My breath comes out in ragged gasps, but I don't stop. I can't.

Not when I've just seen something strange in Rhys's eyes. His light brown eyes practically glow red. Or am I beginning to see things now?

The moment I get to my room, I push the door open with more force than necessary.

Maya, my roommate, jumps out of bed. Her palms clutch her chest as if trying to stop her heart from pounding.

“Jeez, Hailey,” she says, fear widening her eyes. “You almost got me killed,” she says, sighing in relief as she looks behind me and sees no one.

“I'm not being chased,” I shrug, acting like I almost collapsed from fear a few minutes ago.

“But you ran in like you were being chased by the grim reaper,” she yells, her face scrunching up.

“I'm sorry,” I mutter, biting my lower lip as I stare at the walls of the room.

My eyes land back on Maya and she rolls her eyes. She sighs again and falls back on the bed.

Slowly, I move towards the other side of the bed. I drop my backpack on the nightstand beside me, my mind drifting back to Rhys.

I pull my phone out of my backpack. My fingers hover over the screen as I type.

Is it possible for human eye color to change?

What other creatures do we have apart from humans?

I sigh and hiss at all the responses I get online. Logically, human eye color doesn't change.

Why the hell did Rhys's eyes change?

“Maya,” the name slips from my lips before I can stop myself.

She turns toward me, her eyebrows raised. “What's up? Did you make a bad decision again?”

My lips almost curl into a smile. She knows I always run to her whenever I make silly, bad decisions.

“No,” I shake my head, and she puffs out a breath.

“So what is it?”

It seems like someone is having a bad day.

I should stop whatever I'm about to ask her. It seems like she's not in a good mood, but I can't stop.

“Huh… something happened tonight,” I say, my voice dropping low.

Maya's eyebrows twitch as she locks her eyes on me and motions for me to continue.

“Is it possible for human eyes to change color?” I ask her and she furrows her brows.

“Change color?” she shakes her head. “I'm not sure that's possible. Only werewolves—” she swallows the rest of the sentence.

My heart skips a beat!

Werewolves?

Do they even exist?

“You know about werewolves?” I ask her and she shakes her head too fast.

Then, she forces a laugh, too sharp to be casual. “No, I don't know anything. They are just… stories. I just read about them in books.”

“Do they exist?” I push further.

I don't even know why I'm asking her. Everyone knows werewolves do not exist. We only read about them in books.

“Werewolves don't exist,” she says, her voice too sharp.

She quickly reaches across the room and clicks the lock on the door.

My heart slams against my ribs and my throat goes dry.

Maya looks so scared. If she says werewolves do not exist, why does she look like one is staring at us right now?

I swallow hard, my eyes darting around the room. It feels like someone is watching me from the shadows. I sit upright, then stare outside the window.

Everywhere is dark except for a faint glow of red. A cold chill runs down my spine.

Red!

It feels like Rhys is standing outside the window, watching me with those red eyes I saw earlier.

“Can you see that?” I point out to Maya.

She bolts upright, looking through the window. “There's nothing, Hailey. There's nothing… let's just sleep,” she snaps, her fingers trembling as her eyes dart to the window like she knows what's out there.

“I'm sorry,” I mumble under my breath.

My fingers tremble as I close the window in a rush. But I can't shake off the feeling that something is wrong.

Why does it feel like I'm seeing things now?

Am I just being paranoid?

Suddenly, I hear the echo of footsteps. My eyes narrow as I glance towards Maya. Her eyes are closed, like she's already asleep.

Is it just in my head?

Am I imagining things?

I snap my eyes shut, telling myself I've already worked too hard today. And I'm just overstressed. But sleep doesn't come.

I toss and turn on the bed. Each time I close my eyes, I see him—Rhys. His light brown eyes turn red.

I get out of bed and head towards the bathroom. I splash water on my face, my fingers gripping the sink like it could steady me.

The cold water slides down my skin, but the pounding in my chest doesn't stop. When I raise my head, my reflection stares back at me in the bathroom mirror. Wide eyes, pale skin.

And for a brief second, my reflection's eyes glow red. I stumble back, breath caught in my throat as every part of my body shakes uncontrollably.

When I look again, it's gone. As if it were never there. It's just me and my tired face.

I let out a sigh, the sound broken.

In the morning, my eyes are already swollen. But I don't care. I need to get to the school library to find answers.

I need to know if werewolves are real. If they are not, then why do I feel like one has been stalking me since last night?

“Hey, Hailey,” a baritone voice stops me in my tracks.

My breath stutters. Every part of my body freezes. I don't need to turn to know who it is. But I turn slowly and see him.

Rhys Soren.