Things We Do In The Dark: A Novel Novels & Stories

He added. ​Later that night, the city lights reflected off the wet pavement below, casting dancing, blurred shapes across the ceiling of our bedroom we were tangled together under the duvet, the aftermath of our lovemaking still hanging heavy and sweet in the air this right now was our sanctuary a place where no cameras clicked, no blackmailer held our lives for ransom, and no expectations loomed buut still as I lay there, tracing the lines of his body in the dark, I felt a sudden, sharp clarity The "Decision" we had made months ago the choice to run, to burn our pasts to the ground had been the climax of a dark thriller, but this? This was the beginning of something else something tougher

In the flashes I could see him, leaning against the edge of the desk, staring at me the way he always stared at me, like I was the only thing in a room he had already memorized. "You're not afraid of the dark, are you, Anastasia?" "No." "Then why is your breathing faster than it was a minute ago?" ‘Because the dark took the walls.’ That was the truth and I wouldn't say it. In the light there were rules. There was a company and a title and a line I had drawn. But the dark erased all of it. The dark… it left just him and me and the storm and the thing that had been building between us for weeks with nowhere left to hide.

And the act of making something, of putting together instead of tearing apart, was the thing that pulled me off that floor. You don't fix the world by burning it. You fix it by making soup at midnight with someone who loves you. The dark blue light died. Not gradually. Like a fist unclenching. And what it left was nothing. No golden warmth. No creation light. No severing cold. The three doors in my chest closed, all of them, and the silence that followed was the loudest thing I had ever heard. I slid down the wall. My hands were dark. Ordinary. Empty.

I tried to touch his, intertwine our fingers so he wouldn't let go. But then, he was ripped away again, and Everything went white. I woke sitting upright, my breathing sharp and uneven, heart clawing at my ribs. The dark room loomed around me, foreign enough that it took a second to remember where I was. Lucien’s mansion. The glass house. My pillow was damp. My hands were shaking. And worse of it all—my throat hurt. Because I had been speaking out loud. It was more than a dream. A dream that felt too real.

Seven days since his dark eyes had traveled slowly up her body before meeting hers with a knowing smirk. "That's an intimate placement," he'd said, his voice like gravel and sin. "You sure you can handle it?" The double meaning hadn't been lost on her. Now, standing outside "Ink and Sin" at 7:45 PM....the last appointment of the night....Maya took a deep breath and pushed open the door. The shop was exactly as she remembered: dark walls covered in flash art, the smell of antiseptic and ink, heavy metal playing low through the speakers. But it was empty now. Just her and....

So I opened the first door on my left, ran inside, and closed the door behind me. It was dark, but I didn’t dare switch on the light. Darkness became my friend the moment I realized it no longer held the power to hurt me but rather the ability to liberate me. There was nothing to fear in the dark. Nico showed me that for people like us, darkness turned into our playground. A place where we could acknowledge our deepest, most sordid desires and embrace the shadows that cling to our souls. I’d learned to love the dark. Footsteps came down the hall. It was him. My master.

Still, the way he said it, like the words made me feel small. “Tell me, Snow,” he pressed, voice dipping lower. “What kind of books do you read?” My stomach dropped and panic fluttered in my chest. If he knew, if he even suspected. The facade I’d built so carefully for my parents would crumble to dust. He couldn’t know that behind closed doors, I consumed more dark romance and filth than any good girl should. The sound of the front door swinging open snapped the moment in half. I blinked, tearing my gaze away just in time to see my dad stride in. Relief flooded me so fast my knees almost buckled.

Because whatever is waiting for me in there— Whatever they built— Whatever they think will stop me— They’re wrong. I move forward. Straight into the dark. And the moment I cross the threshold— The door slams shut behind me. Locking. Sealing. Cutting off everything. Including the way back. And ahead— A single light flickers on. Revealing something I didn’t expect. Not guards. Not walls. Not traps. But— Rows. Of people. Dozens. Standing perfectly still. Eyes closed. Silent.

I'm met with emptiness even though my eyes stray to the darkness in the corner of the room where the moonlight streaks fail to reach. I don't see him, however, something says he is in there, in the shadows watching me. I mean, that's the only time apex predators are out for the kill; in the dark. “Theodore!” I yell towards the door with a frantic voice. It's not helping matters that my ankle is cuffed against my wish. Oh, God! “Theodore isn't here to save you. You are with me now.” The voice is deeper, darker, promising dangers more than his words speak.

’’, I mumbled to myself. Finally finding the perfect book, it is an age-gap mafia and enemies to lovers romance book. There was a couch in the library, I made my way to it and started reading. I lost count of the time. Reaching my room with the book in my hand, I see Rowan standing in front of my room. I braced myself to face him. ‘’Where were you?’’, he spewed the bitter words in my face. He was fuming, for what reason?Did he look for me?