Sarah jolted awake, her heart hammering in her chest. Sweat clung to her skin, and for a moment she thought she could still hear the faint whispering from the basement echoing in her ears. She didn't understand what it was, or why part of her wanted to return while the other part screamed at her to stay far away.
Confusion and fear gnawed at her until she dragged herself into the shower, letting the water run over her trembling body. On her way out, she glanced at her mother's locked door—silent, shut, impenetrable—before slipping outside to school.
At school, Sarah kept to herself. Her mind wandered back to the strange, unnatural things that had been happening. Nothing in her life made sense anymore. Everything felt as if it were spiraling out of her control.
During sports time, she sat quietly on the sidelines. The boys played basketball, their sneakers squeaking against the court. Her gaze wandered, landing on the new kid—Adrian.
The girls around her couldn't stop swooning. One even shouted, "Adrian, I love you!" as if he were some kind of celebrity. Sarah rolled her eyes. She couldn't understand the fuss. She didn't want to understand it.
Adrian moved with effortless skill, scoring again and again. When the game finally paused for a break, the girls swarmed him, each shoving a water bottle in his direction as though offering a prize. But Adrian didn't even glance at them. His eyes scanned the crowd… until they landed on her.
Sarah froze.
Without a word, Adrian walked past the disappointed crowd of girls, straight to her. He pointed at the bottle in her hand.
"Are you drinking that?" he asked.
Before Sarah could answer, he plucked it from her grip and tilted it back, drinking deeply.
Gasps rippled through the sidelines. Some girls looked at Sarah with envy, others with scorn. Lila—the girl who had been swooning over Adrian since day one—glared daggers at her before storming off, her face twisted in anger.
Sarah shot to her feet, glaring at Adrian. "What do you think you're doing? You can't just take my bottle without asking!"
She didn't bother to take it back. Instead, she stormed away, heat rising to her face.
Behind her, Adrian smirked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. His voice carried after her.
"I like it when you get angry," he said, almost teasing. "Feels like I'm being scolded by my girlfriend."
Sarah's steps quickened. She didn't know what unsettled her more—the whispers that haunted her… or Adrian's unsettling attention.
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