Chapter 3 - Shadows and Secret

The morning felt colder than usual.

I walked through the gates with the same quiet steps, eyes down, arms folded tightly around my books. Just another day playing the role they all expected—the silent one, the weak one, the girl who doesn’t fight back.

They whispered. They always did.

“She’s so weird...”

“Didn’t she sit near Mikaela yesterday?”

“Creepy timing, no?”

I didn’t care. Let them talk.

Let them look, judge, and guess.

They’d never know the truth anyway.

I took my seat at the back of the classroom like always—close to the window, away from everyone else. I didn’t bother greeting anyone. I never did.

And yet… I could feel it.

That stare again.

I didn’t look, but I didn’t need to. Zeke Navarro sat two seats away, eyes on me like he was trying to solve a puzzle he couldn’t quite crack.

I flipped open my notebook, calm and detached, and started writing meaningless notes just to keep my hands busy.

“Quiet, huh?” he muttered under his breath, barely audible.

I said nothing. Not even a glance.

He was trying to get close.

That made him dangerous.

But not because I knew who he was.

Because I didn’t.

And unknowns were always the most dangerous kind.

After school, I stayed in the shadows like I always did. The halls emptied, students scattered to their after-school activities, but I lingered, waiting for the right moment to slip away unnoticed.

I stepped outside, the cool breeze brushing my face, and made my way toward the gates, keeping my pace slow and steady. But tonight, something felt off.

The hairs on the back of my neck prickled. That feeling. The one that told me I wasn’t alone.

I glanced back—nothing. Just a few students heading to their cars, a teacher walking down the hallway.

But the feeling didn’t go away.

I turned the corner and walked past the old building. It was quieter now, the streetlights casting long shadows across the pavement. I heard the faint sound of footsteps behind me. Too steady, too precise.

Someone was following me.

I didn’t break my stride. Didn’t even look back. I kept walking, but now every step felt like a countdown.

I turned into a narrow alley. The footsteps got louder, closer.

When I reached a dead end, I paused. No turning back now. I’d had enough of this chase. I didn’t need to look at them to know who it was.

“Why are you following me?” I asked, voice calm, low, but with a hint of warning.

There was silence for a moment. Then, a familiar voice spoke.

“I’m not following you,” Zeke Navarro said, stepping out from the shadows with that same unreadable look in his eyes. “Just… making sure you're not in danger.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Are you always this nosy?”

“I don’t know. Am I?” he replied with that strange, quiet smile.

I stepped closer, my gaze hardening. “You should stay out of things you don’t understand.”

He raised an eyebrow, leaning in slightly. “What if I want to understand?”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I turned, walking away without another word.

I didn’t stop walking, but I could feel his eyes on my back. There was something in the way he stared—like he was trying to peel away the layers, to figure out what lay beneath the surface.

But he wouldn’t find what he was looking for. I made sure of that.

The alley curved, and I moved toward the street, my footsteps quickening. The sound of his footsteps didn’t fade away, but they stayed behind me, keeping the same distance, as if he were still there, lurking in the shadows.

It was getting to be too much. He was persistent. Too persistent. A nagging question kept popping into my mind—why didn’t he give up?

I glanced back.

Zeke stood at the mouth of the alley, watching me, his figure a silhouette against the fading light. The smile was gone, replaced with something colder, something deeper—like he knew more than he let on.

I felt my heart beat are still calm, and I still didn’t stop. I shall not.

As I passed through the school gates, I took one last look behind me. He was gone. But that lingering feeling of being hunted didn’t.

This wasn’t over. It couldn’t be.

And somehow, I knew he wasn’t just following me out of curiosity. Zeke Navarro had his own agenda—one that I wasn’t ready to figure out just yet.

But I would. I had to.

But the game had started, and I had a feeling it wouldn’t end until I figured out exactly who he was and what he wanted.

**➶➴➶ End of Chapter 3 ➶➴➶**

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