Chapter 12 12
Lyra’s POV
I didn’t sleep.
Not really.
I lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling while the night dragged itself across the sky, my body heavy and cold like it had been drained of something vital.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the club again, flashing lights, open mouths and frozen eyes.
I felt the pull in my chest all over again, that strange hum beneath my skin that didn’t belong to me but lived in me anyway.
I felt empty.
And scared.
My phone lay beside me with the screen dark, but I kept stealing glancing at it like it might cry at any second.
My heart jumped at every sound, then the wind, a passing car, the door creaking because of heat contraction.
I flinched when someone laughed outside.
I hated that.
I hated feeling weak.
This wasn’t it, Lyra. C'mon!
I wrapped my arms around myself and turned onto my side.
My body ached like I’d been running all night.
My head throbbed.
My throat felt dry.
Whatever energy had poured out of me at the club had taken something with it.
Something important.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
How did I even know that I was the one they were looking for?
What beef did they have with me?
Or is it just the siren?
The thoughts made my stomach curb.
My phone buzzed suddenly.
I almost gasped, jerking upright, heart eagerly racing like it could run out of my rib walls.
The screen had lit up with an unknown number.
Has Jaxon somehow gotten my number?
Is this what he's doing now?
Stalking me?
I stared at it for a long moment, debating whether to answer.
My fingers felt stiff when I finally picked it up.
“Hello?” My voice came out thin.
“Lyra,” a man said, smooth and careful.
“This is J Marcus, the club owner, your boss.”
My grip tightened.
“I just wanted to check on you,” he continued. “After everything that happened last night.”
My chest felt tight again. “I’m fine.”
A lie. A weak one.
“There’s been series of investigations,” he said. “Security footage, statements. The police were here early this morning.”
I sat up slowly. “And?”
“And it’s nothing you need to worry about. Just a misunderstanding. Those men weren’t after you. They were looking for someone else. A siren lady… according to them, at least”
I swallowed.
Only if he knew that I was the siren lady.
He'd probably call the FBI or the government on me.
I knew he wasn't lying but I had to at least clear any doubt already sitting in his mind.
Reverse psychology. I always knew you'd come in handy one day.
“I don’t think that’s true,” I said quietly.
There was a pause on the line.
“Lyra,” he said gently, “the club is safe. I wouldn’t call you if it wasn’t. You bring in people. Energy. We need you back.”
Need you.
Not you’re safe.
Not you’ll be protected.
Need.
“I don’t know,” I murmured.
“You can’t live scared,” he said. “Whatever happened last night, it’s over. Don’t let it control you.”
My fingers tightened even more around the phone.
A voice inside me whispered something else.
Don’t run.
Don’t hide.
You’ve done that before.
I closed my eyes.
I remembered Lila.
Another version of myself that had stayed small, stayed quiet, stayed afraid.
That girl had learned how to disappear.
She had learned how to survive by shrinking, by begging for her life and by crying.
No. I wasn’t her anymore.
Or at least… I didn’t want to be.
Lyra is in charge now.
“I’ll come,” I said.
Relief slipped into his tone. “Good. I’ll see you tonight.”
The call ended.
I stared at the blank screen for a long time.
My hands were shaking.
I hated that part of me wanted to curl up and cry. I also hated that another part of me felt… ready. Like something inside had finally decided to stop hiding.
I dragged myself out of bed and got dressed slowly, every movement heavy.
The mirror showed a tired girl with haunted eyes.
I barely recognized her.
When I stepped outside, the morning sun felt too bright and pestering as it graced my skin with it's rays.
Campus was already buzzing.
People turned when I walked past.
Some stared openly. Some whispered. Some looked away too quickly.
I felt their eyes crawl over me like fingers.
They know, a voice whispered.
They don’t know what, but they know something. That you're no ordinary girl.
I kept my head down and walked faster.
Then I saw him.
Jaxon.
He stood near the main building, talking to someone. Aria.
His posture was not relaxed and his eyes would occasionally take a break from Aria and searching the crowd like he was searching for something he’d lost.
For me.
My chest tightened.
I changed direction instantly.
I didn’t want to see him. I couldn’t.
I wasn’t ready for the questions, the worry, the way he looked at me like I was something fragile and rare.
All the time.
I took a longer path across campus, pretending to check my phone, ducking behind buildings when I spotted him again in the distance.
Every time I thought I’d lost him, I felt that pull again.
Like gravity.
Like a tether.
It made me angry.
I wasn’t a lost thing to be found.
I wasn’t something to protect.
I was stronger now.
Why wouldn't he just leave me alone and focus on that witch, Aria?
And yet… a part of me wished he would catch up. That he’d grab my wrist and tell me everything would be okay.
I clenched my jaw and kept walking.
The whispers followed me.
The stares burned My God!
By the time I reached my building, my nerves were fried thin.
I paused at the entrance, chest rising and falling, heart pounding too hard for no reason.
No.
There was a reason.
Something was coming.
I didn’t know what.
I didn’t know when.
But I felt it in my bones.
And for the first time, instead of running from it…
I stood still.
Let it come.