Chapter 63 The promise
The air on campus felt lighter than it should have, a gentle autumn breeze brushing across the courtyard, students moving about as if nothing had happened.
But for Lila, every sound carried weight.
Every laugh, every footstep, every sudden movement made her chest tighten.
She spotted Damian near the gym entrance, standing by his car, one hand running through his hair. His expression softened the moment he saw her.
“Lila,” he called, his voice careful. “Hey.”
She offered a small smile, hesitant but genuine. “Hey.”
For a second, neither of them spoke. The silence between them was heavy, filled with everything they both wanted to say but didn’t know how to start.
Damian broke it first. “I wanted to see you. To say I’m sorry.”
She blinked, confused. “For what?”
“For the trip.” He looked down, hands tucked into his jacket pockets. “If I hadn’t pushed you to go, maybe things wouldn’t have gone the way they did.”
Lila shook her head quickly. “You didn’t push me, Damian. I chose to go. You didn’t force me on that bus.”
He looked at her, guilt etched in the curve of his jaw. “Still… I should’ve been more careful.”
“None of it was your fault,” she said softly. Her voice trembled despite herself. “You didn’t write the note. You didn’t..” She stopped herself, the word kill felt heavy on her tongue.
Damian’s eyes flickered with something unreadable grief, maybe. Or anger. “I just keep thinking maybe if I’d been closer that night.”
“You couldn’t have known,” she whispered. “None of us could.”
For a moment, neither of them said anything. The only sound was the faint rustle of leaves scraping across the pavement. Then, slowly, Damian smiled with a small, tired curve of his lips. “You sound like the strong one here.”
“I’m not,” she admitted. “I’m just tired of being afraid.”
He nodded, understanding without needing to ask more.
They started walking down the path that wound past the fountain, their steps syncing naturally. Lila tucked her arms around herself, feeling the cold slip beneath her sleeves. Damian noticed and wordlessly draped his hoodie over her shoulders.
“You don’t have to.” she began.
“Yeah, I do,” he said. “You’re freezing.”
She smiled faintly, pulling the hoodie closer. It smelled faintly of cedar and soap, something grounding, and safe. “Thank you.”
He shrugged. “Least I can do after dragging you into a horror movie.”
That made her laugh. “You’re not funny.”
“Hey, you smiled. I’ll take the win.”
They walked in silence for a few moments more before Damian spoke again. “We have a game this Friday. Big one. The rival team is from Ridgeway.” His tone shifted, lighter now, as if he was trying to give her a bit of normal life again. “You should come.”
Lila looked up at him, surprised. “You still want me there? After everything?”
“Especially after everything.” He smiled gently. “You could use a few hours of noise and cheering instead of whispers and stares.”
Her lips parted as if to argue, but she stopped. Maybe he was right. Maybe pretending things were normal for a few hours wouldn’t be so bad.
“I’ll come,” she said finally. “I promise.”
His smile widened, that familiar brightness returning for just a second. “Good. That means I’ve got to play extra well. I can’t disappoint my lucky charm.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not your lucky charm.”
He grinned. “You will be. Just wait.”
He stepped forward then, hesitating for just a moment before pulling her into a brief but warm hug. She felt the strength in his arms, the quiet reassurance. For a few seconds, the world outside didn’t exist.
When he let go, she found herself wishing he hadn’t.
“Take care of yourself, okay?” he said softly.
“You too.”
He nodded once, then turned and walked away toward the gym, the afternoon sun catching in his hair. She stood there, watching his back until he disappeared inside.
For the first time in days, she almost felt steady.
“I didn’t expect to see you smiling again,” a voice said behind her.
Lila spun around, startled.
Asher stood a few steps away, his hands tucked into his jacket pockets, his expression unreadable. His dark eyes shifted between her and the direction Damian had gone.
“Asher,” she breathed. “You scared me.”
He tilted his head. “You were too lost in thought to notice anyone. Or maybe too busy watching him.”
Her cheeks flushed slightly. “I was just”
“I know,” he interrupted quietly. “You were talking. I saw.” He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “You’re still planning to go to his game?”
She hesitated. “I promised him I would.”
Asher’s jaw tightened. “After everything that’s happened, you still think that’s a good idea?”
Lila met his gaze, calm but firm. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea. But I made a promise, Asher. And right now, keeping promises feels like the only thing I can control.”
For a moment, he didn’t speak. The worry in his eyes softened into something quieter like a resignation, maybe.
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Fine. I won’t lecture you.”
“Good,” she said softly.
“But,” he added, “you’re not going alone.”
Lila frowned. “You can’t keep following me everywhere.”
“I’m not following,” he said. “I’m making sure you don’t end up like the others.”
The words hung between them heavily.
She didn’t argue this time. Because deep down, she was afraid he might be right.
They walked side by side toward the old garden behind the dorms, a quiet place students rarely used anymore. The benches were covered in moss, the flowers long gone for the season. It was silent there, away from the noise of campus, the kind of silence that pressed against the skin.
Lila sat down, wrapping Damian’s hoodie tighter around her. Asher stood for a moment before sitting beside her, leaving just enough distance that their shoulders didn’t touch.
He glanced at her hands. “You’re still shaking.”
She forced a breath. “I haven’t stopped since yesterday.”
“What happened?”
She stared at her lap. For a long time, she couldn’t find the words.
Then, slowly, she spoke.“When I got back from Mara’s, three packages were waiting for me,” she said. “Nora said they were from… from my ‘boyfriends.’” She gave a short, humorless laugh. “I wish she’d been right.”
Asher’s brows furrowed. “What was in them?”
Lila’s throat tightened. “A doll. Its head was cut off. Then roses. And a knife.”
Asher stiffened beside her. “A knife?”
“It smelled like chocolate,” she whispered. “Sweet and wrong. The kind that makes you sick.”
He cursed under his breath, his hand curling into a fist. “Did you tell Mara?”
“Not yet,” Lila admitted. “She’s already watching me like I’m about to break. I didn’t want her to think” Her voice cracked. “I didn’t want her to think I’m just paranoid.”
“You’re not paranoid,” Asher said firmly. “Whoever this is, they’re escalating.”
Lila swallowed hard, staring at the dead leaves near her shoes. “Nora saw everything. She was terrified. Then she..” Her voice faltered. “She hit me.”
Asher’s head snapped toward her. “She hit you?”
Lila nodded faintly. “She said I brought the killer here. That I put her life in danger.”
Her eyes burned as she tried to blink back the tears. “Then she left. Said she never liked red-haired girls.”
For a long moment, Asher said nothing.
Then, quietly, “She’s scared. People do stupid things when they’re scared.”
“I know,” Lila whispered. “But I still wish she hadn’t left.”
He looked at her then. The exhaustion in her eyes, the tension in her shoulders. The way she tried to stay calm even when she was falling apart inside.
“You shouldn’t have to go through this alone,” he said.
“I’m not alone,” she said, forcing a small smile. “You’re here.”
His lips twitched into something that wasn’t quite a smile, but close. “That’s not saying much. I can’t be everywhere.”
“No one can.”
Silence again. The breeze stirred a few dead leaves, brushing them across the bench. Somewhere in the distance, laughter drifted from the courtyard.
Lila closed her eyes for a moment, listening to it. Trying to remember what normal sounded like.
When she opened them again, Asher was watching her.
“What?” she asked softly.
He shook his head. “Nothing. Just be careful, okay?”
“I always am.”
He didn’t argue, but the look in his eyes said he didn’t believe her.
As the sky darkened, they stood up together, the silence between them strangely comforting. Asher walked her back to her dorm entrance but stopped at the steps.
“You’ll call me if anything happens?” he asked.
She nodded. “I will.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
He lingered for a moment longer, as if he wanted to say more but he didn’t. He just nodded once and walked away, hands shoved deep in his pockets.
Lila watched him until he disappeared around the corner. Then she turned toward the door, her stomach twisting with unease. The dorm windows glowed faintly in the dusk light, but it didn’t feel safe anymore. Not really.
When she entered, the room was silent. Nora’s side of the room was empty, the bed stripped bare. Lila sat down on her own, Damian’s hoodie still around her shoulders, and exhaled a trembling breath.
For a moment, she thought about calling Mara. Then she thought about the message from last night. She was the next, really? The next to die or the next to do what?
Her phone sat on the desk beside her.
She reached for it slowly, half-expecting it to vibrate again.
It didn’t.
But the night outside was still young.
And Lila could feel the eyes that always seemed to find her in the dark.
Later that night, as she finally began to drift off, she heard a soft knock at her door.When she opens it, she finds a single red rose lying on the floor.
And nothing else.
Lila's eyes darted around the hallway, but there was no one.