The night hung like a heavy shroud around Lucas's apartment, pressing against the windows and doors with invisible, suffocating hands.
Inside, the dim light of a single lamp cast long, terrifying shadows across the living room. Aurora sat curled into one corner of the couch, knees hugged to her chest, a blanket wrapped around her like armor. She couldn't stop the way her eyes darted toward every creak and groan of the building settling for the night.
Lucas moved quietly around the space, double-checking locks he had already checked twice. She watched him, grateful beyond words that he was here ,that he had taken her in without hesitation. But even with him nearby, the terror clung to her ribs like ivy, twisting tighter every time the floorboards sounded.
"You're safe here," Lucas said quietly, glancing over his shoulder at her. His voice was low, measured and deep, the voice of a man used to holding the line even when the world burned around him. "I won't let anything happen to you."
Aurora tried to smile, tried to let the comfort he offered sink into her bones, but the fear was too deeply rooted. The face she had seen through the café window earlier that day ,Ethan's twisted smile, his burning eyes , it haunted her.
Lucas must have seen the struggle in her because he crossed the room, dropping down onto the couch beside her without a word. He didn't try to pull her into an embrace, didn't try to force the contact she wasn't ready for. He just sat there, a steady, solid presence.
They ended up watching something on TV , a stupid sitcom that neither of them paid attention to.
Lucas had picked it on purpose, something light and idiotic, a desperate attempt to force the room to feel normal again. But Aurora couldn't focus. Every time the laugh track erupted from the speakers, she flinched.
Lucas noticed. She caught him watching her out of the corner of his eye, his brow furrowed, his hands clenched into fists against his knees.
Finally, after what felt like an endless eternity of pretending, he reached over slowly, giving her every opportunity to pull away, and threaded his fingers through hers.
The contact was electric ,not romantic, not yet, but *real*.
Warmth seeped into her chilled skin.
She squeezed his hand back, a silent thank you.
They sat like that for a long time, two broken things trying to pretend they weren't.
Aurora jerked awake at midnight, her heart hammering in her chest.
It was silent. Too silent.
She sat up slowly, the blanket pooling around her waist. Lucas was asleep in the armchair across the room, head tipped back, mouth slightly open. The bat he had kept close by was leaning against the wall within easy reach.
Aurora's skin prickled.
Something was wrong.
Holding her breath, she slid off the couch and padded silently toward the front door. She pressed her ear against it, heart thundering.
At first, there was nothing.
And then ,so faint she thought she might have imagined it….
*Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.*
Aurora stumbled back, her throat closing with terror.
Someone was outside.
Panic flooded her system, but she forced herself to stay quiet, to think.
*Wake Lucas. Move.*
She raced across the room, dropped to her knees beside his chair, and shook his shoulder.
"Lucas," she whispered urgently. "Wake up. Someone's trying to get in."
He woke instantly, years of instincts kicking in. He grabbed the bat in one hand, motioning her to stay behind him as he crept toward the door.
Aurora followed, her breath frozen in her chest.
The scratching stopped.
Lucas peered through the peephole, cursed under his breath, then pulled back sharply.
"There's a note," he muttered.
Aurora frowned, confused. A note?
Lucas opened the door just wide enough to snatch the paper taped there and slammed it shut again immediately. He locked it with shaking hands.
Aurora hovered beside him as he unfolded it.
The words, scrawled in messy handwriting, made her stomach drop.
*"You can lock the doors,
hide behind your knight,
but princesses always fall.
See you soon."*
A cold shiver ran down her spine. She staggered back a step, her legs threatening to buckle.
Lucas dropped the note onto the coffee table like it had burned him.
He turned to her, his face carved from stone.
"I'm calling the police," he said, already reaching for his phone.
"No!" Aurora cried, her voice too loud in the stillness. She covered her mouth with her hands suddenly , then lowered it slowly. "What if he's still out there? What if calling them just makes him run?"
Lucas hesitated, jaw clenched.
He hated it ….hated feeling helpless but he nodded.
"Let's still call the while we wait," he said grimly. "We'll be ready."
Aurora clung to the bat now, gripping it so tightly her knuckles turned white.
The next hour crawled by in agonizing silence.
The police arrived eventually around 1am.
They took statements. Photographed the note. Dusted the door for prints.
Aurora sat numbly through all of it, her mind replaying the scratching sound over and over.
"Do you have somewhere else you can go?" one of the officers asked quietly.
Lucas answered before Aurora could even open her mouth.
"Yeah. We're leaving tonight."
The officer nodded approvingly, handed over a case number, and left.
As soon as the door shut behind them, Lucas turned to her.
"Pack," he said, no room for argument in his tone. "I'm taking you somewhere safe."
Aurora didn't ask where.
She trusted him.
She fled into the bedroom and threw her few belongings into a bag while Lucas loaded supplies into his car.
Within twenty minutes, they were gone, swallowed up by the endless stretch of road and the heavy, watchful dark.
The drive was silent at first.
Lucas kept one hand on the wheel, his posture tense, eyes scanning the shadows lining the road. His jaw was set in a hard line.
Aurora sat curled into the passenger seat, hugging her bag to her chest like it could somehow shield her.
"You okay?" Lucas asked finally, his voice low.
She managed a small nod.
"No, you're not," he said gently.
And somehow, hearing him say it ,acknowledging it made her want to break down entirely.
"I'm scared," she whispered. "I hate that he's making me live like this. I hate that I'm afraid of every noise, every shadow."
Lucas's hand left the wheel briefly, brushing against hers where it rested on her knee.
"You're not alone," he said simply.
Aurora bit her lip so hard she tasted blood.
The cabin couldn't come fast enough.
The sun was just beginning to glow over the horizon when Lucas pulled the car down a narrow dirt road almost completely hidden by trees.
Aurora blinked blearily out the window.
A cabin appeared through the mist like a secret, crouched low against the earth, built from weathered wood and gray stone. Smoke still clung to the old chimney, the memory of fires long past.
Lucas parked close to the door, got out, and scanned the area with sharp, precise movements.
"Stay inside the car," he said firmly.
Aurora nodded, watching as he disappeared around the back of the cabin, checking locks, setting up additional cameras he pulled from the trunk.
She wrapped her arms tighter around herself.
Would she ever feel normal again?