Chapter 4: The Seventeenth Night

By night seventeen, I had stopped pretending.

I lay on the edge of my own mattress, stiff with anger, while Lucía slept between us like a wall.

Or at least, I thought she was sleeping.

Then I heard it.

Click.

My eyes opened instantly.

It was not the window. It was not the house settling. After that sound came a silence so deep I could hear the clock ticking on the dresser.

I pushed myself up slightly.

Lucía moved beside me.

Her hand slid beneath the blanket and wrapped around mine.

She squeezed once.

Softly.

It did not feel comforting.

It felt like a warning.

Don’t move.

Every hair on my arms lifted. I wanted to wake Esteban, but the words died in my throat.

Then I saw a thin line of light appear under the bedroom door, slicing the darkness like a blade… Continue Reading ⬇️