Part 16
The city was loud, but Ethan only heard silence.
Days blurred together inside his apartment — curtains closed, lights dim, phone turned face-down.
He couldn’t bear to open social media anymore.
Every notification felt like a reminder that the world had moved on without him.
He tried writing again, tried to find his rhythm, but every lyric came out wrong.
Every melody sounded like a confession.
When he closed his eyes, he saw flashes — stage lights, smoke, Adrian’s calm eyes.
And sometimes, in between those images, a face he didn’t recognize.
Pale.
Unsmiling.
Watching.
He told himself it was exhaustion.
Just guilt playing tricks.
But the next morning, when he woke up, he found something lying on the piano.
No one had been in the apartment.
He lived alone.
He stared at it for a long time before picking it up — and noticed the faint smudge of lipstick on the petal.
His throat tightened.
He threw it away.
But hours later, he swore he could still smell it — faint and sweet, like something that didn’t belong.
Adrian was starting to feel the same pull.
His days were full — rehearsals, interviews, meetings — yet he couldn’t shake the feeling of being followed.
He’d glance over his shoulder and catch a flicker of movement, but when he turned, there was nothing.
His assistant said it was just stress.
He almost believed her.
Then, during a soundcheck for his upcoming tour, the lights flickered.
Just once — a small surge, a brief blackout.
When they came back on, the big LED screen behind him had glitched.
For a second, it showed a face — faint, ghostlike — before returning to the tour logo.
Adrian said nothing.
He just stood there on the empty stage, staring at the blank screen, his pulse hammering in his ears.
That night, back at home, he checked the mirror before bed and froze.
There, behind him — barely visible — was a shape in the reflection.
Tall.
Still.
Almost smiling.
He spun around.
Nothing.
The room was empty.
Only his reflection remained, calm and steady.
But as he stared at it longer, he realized something that chilled him:
the reflection wasn’t breathing when he was.Adrian woke suddenly — heart pounding — with the same whisper echoing in his head.
Someone’s here.