✨ Episode 9
"What the heck, April? No way. I thought you'd changed." I laughed, my jaw dropping at the scene in front of me.
There she was—April, my chaotic best friend—straddling some guy on the living room sofa like she was auditioning for a scandalous drama series. Her hair was wild, lips swollen, and the look in her eyes said she couldn't care less about my sudden appearance.
"Come on, Tracy," she called, laughing breathlessly. "Give us some privacy, will you?"
The guy beneath her—who I later learned was Brian—looked caught off guard for about two seconds. But he recovered faster than I expected, smirking slightly as if this sort of thing was normal.
Without a word, I turned on my heel and walked out. I'd just gotten back from a morning jog, hoping some air and movement would help clear my head. I hadn't even processed all the chaos from the night before—Zane's words, his closeness, that kiss I should've run from. But walking into my best friend's post-orgasm glow? Yeah, that was a new low.
I grabbed a cold bottle of water from the fridge and leaned against the kitchen counter, gulping it like it could wash the awkwardness away.
April's still crazy, I thought.
"Tracy!" she yelled from the living room, dragging my name like a spoiled child wanting attention.
"What now?" I called back, annoyed.
"I've gotta introduce Brian to you! Unless, of course, you've already seen enough of him." Her voice dripped sarcasm like honey, and I didn't have the strength to roll my eyes.
"Some random guy, huh?" I mumbled under my breath.
"No babes, seriously. Come here."
I groaned but threw on a hoodie and headed toward the living room, still smelling like sex and stale wine. I half expected the guy to be gone already—but nope. He stood there now, shirtless, tall, and too calm for someone who was just caught half-naked.
"This is Brian," April beamed. "My boyfriend."
I blinked. "Boyfriend?"
She nodded like a giddy teenager. "Yes. And Brian, this is Tracy—my ride-or-die, the stubborn, emotionally unavailable queen of drama herself."
I wasn't even offended. Because my eyes had locked on Brian's face. He was attractive, sure—tall, lean, sculpted jaw, light stubble. But it wasn't his looks that caught me.
It was his eyes.
Something about them... something old and uneasy.
It hit me like a whisper in the back of my head. I knew him. Or at least... I'd seen him before. Somewhere. But where?
"Nice to meet you," he said casually, holding out his hand.
I stared at it, then slowly shook it, not saying anything yet. His skin was warm, but there was tension in his touch.
He pulled away quickly.
"I'll go clean up," he said and excused himself, disappearing down the hall like he couldn't get away fast enough.
April flopped onto the couch, stretching like a cat in sunlight. "You like him?"
I didn't answer immediately.
She narrowed her eyes at me. "Tracy?"
"Where did you meet him?" I asked instead, still staring at the hallway he'd gone through.
She propped her head up with one hand, playful smirk still lingering. "A bar. Few weeks ago. He was standing alone near the jukebox looking all haunted and sexy. I walked up, gave him my number, and... well, here we are."
I sat beside her slowly. "Something feels off about him."
April's eyes widened. "You felt it too?"
I turned to look at her, confused. "Wait—what do you mean?"
She sighed dramatically. "Okay, don't freak out. But sometimes, in the middle of the night, he talks in his sleep. Weird things. Like names. Places. Even numbers. It freaked me out at first, but I figured, you know, maybe military trauma or something."
Goosebumps prickled my arms. "What names?"
"I don't know… Mira came up once, I think." She paused, eyes narrowing. "Why?"
Mira. My aunt's name.
That couldn't be a coincidence. It felt like the air had been knocked from my lungs. Suddenly, everything felt too still.
"April," I said carefully, "I think I've seen Brian before."
She blinked. "Where?"
"I'm not sure. But he looked at me like he recognized me too. And now you're telling me he says my aunt's name in his sleep?"
April frowned, sitting up. "You think he's... following you?"
"I don't know. But something's wrong. I can feel it."
We sat in silence for a moment. Even April wasn't smiling now.
Then she said, "Tracy... do you think he has something to do with Zane?"
I flinched at the name. Zane. The one person I was trying not to think about. The one person who had kissed me like he meant it and disappeared like I didn't.
"I don't know. But I need to find out."
April sighed. "If this guy turns out to be some kind of psycho, I swear I'm joining a convent."
I smiled faintly. "If this guy turns out to be connected to anything… I'll confront him."
April suddenly stood, heading to her bedroom. "Then you'll need this."
She returned holding a small taser. "Just in case."
I took it with a nervous laugh, but deep inside, something was shifting.
Brian wasn't just April's boyfriend.