The Beginning
The Beginning
Lucy’s POV
I woke like I’d been dragged back from the dead.
Every inch of me ached.
Not the ordinary kind of soreness either. This was deep, bone-level exhaustion, the kind that made me feel like my muscles had been wrung out and hung to dry.
My thighs trembled when I shifted. My hips protested. Even my shoulders hurt.
The bedside clock glowed 2:03 a.m.
I groaned softly and rolled onto my back, instantly regretting it.
Ethan and I had spent the night lost in each other…hours of restless hunger and collapsing laughter and brief moments of sleep only to wake and start all over again.
Every time I thought we were finally done, he’d hand me water, brush the hair from my face, and wait until I could breathe properly again…
Then pull me right back under.
At some point I’d stopped being able to move much at all.
At some point my voice had gone hoarse from every gasp and cry.
I used to think that I was insatiable…that no one would understand the deep hunger. But after meeting Ethan, I’m beginning to wonder if I was really insatiable.
The guy was a maniac in bed.
At some point I’d started wondering if the man was human or some kind of machine built purely to ruin me.
And the worst part?
I loved every second of it.
Being wanted like that. Craved like that. Looked at like I was the only thing in the world worth touching.
He wasn’t in bed. Where could he be by this time?
I pushed myself upright with a hiss and pain flared everywhere.
“Jesus…”
The duvet slipped down, exposing bruised skin marked with kisses and bites along my neck, my thighs, the curve of my hip.
I stared at them, flushed despite myself.
Then I frowned when I didn’t hear him in the bathroom. I thought since he wasn’t in bed, maybe he was relieving himself.
“Ethan?”
My voice sounded terrible…rough and scraped raw like sandpaper.
No answer.
I cleared my throat, wincing at the friction.
“Ethan?” I called again… Still nothing.
I dragged myself off the bed and nearly collapsed when my knees buckled. Wonderful. I shuffled toward the kitchen, one hand pressed to my lower back like an eighty-year-old woman.
The apartment was quiet.
Too quiet.
I filled a glass with water and gulped it down greedily, throat burning as the cold slid through me.
That nightmare from a few days ago tried to crawl back into my head.
The garage.
The blood.
Jenna.
I shoved it away.
No.
Not now.
Almost every night Ethan stayed over, I slept fine. No dreams. No flashes. No voices.
But naps in the afternoon, when he was gone?
That’s when they came back.
I set the glass down and glanced around one more time.
“Ethan?”
Maybe he got called in at the precinct.
He’d left before sometimes, but he always left a note.
I checked the fridge.
Nothing.
No scribbled message. No sarcastic little heart doodle. No Back soon, troublemaker.
My unease sharpened.
I checked the bathroom.
Empty.
The balcony.
Empty.
The living room.
Empty.
The whole apartment suddenly felt wrong.
Then…
CLANG.
A sharp metallic sound from the hallway.
I froze instantly. Every nerve in my body lit up.
I’m pretty sure that I am home alone, because I checked the whole place and Ethan is gone.
Did someone break in?
My phone.
Where was my phone?
Should I call Ethan?
Another sound came.
Closer this time.
Breathing.
Heavy.
Wet…like someone that just came out of a pool and probably had water in his mouth.
But there was something layered beneath it. Something…off.
Like two breaths happening at once.
Like one throat trying to contain two voices…you know…like in movies during exorcism.
I felt the hairs rise all over my arms.
No.
Nope.
Absolutely not. There is no way that was real. Could my mind be playing tricks?
I took one cautious step toward the hallway.
Thank God the lights were on because if the power suddenly went out, I would—
The apartment plunged into darkness just then and I gasped in horror.
“...fuck.”
My own whisper sounded tiny.
The only light now came from the moon through the windows, painting everything silver and wrong.
I moved forward slowly, barefoot, trying not to make a sound.
Then I heard it.
The floorboard creaked ahead of me.
Not from my steps.
This was heavier.
Dragging.
Something was dragging its feet across the floor.
My pulse exploded.
I backed up slowly…
And just then, whatever was out there started running.
Fast.
Straight at me.
I screamed and spun around, sprinting for the bedroom.
Behind me, something thundered through the dark.
I could feel it gaining.
Could feel something cold at my back like a breath from someone freezing to death.
Tears blurred my vision as I crashed into the room, slammed the door shut, and threw my weight against it.
A second later…
BANG!
The door shook violently.
Not knocking.
Impact.
Like someone was hurling their whole body against the door.
I cried out and shoved the dresser toward the door with shaking hands. It scraped loudly across the floor before wedging against the frame.
Another slam.
The wood groaned.
Another.
I ran to the bed, grabbed my phone, and dialed Ethan’s number with trembling fingers.
A ringtone chirped beside me.
I turned and right there by his own side of the bed… His phone lay on the nightstand.
My blood turned to ice.
Where the hell had he gone without it?
The pounding continued.
Again.
Again.
Again—
Then stopped.
Just like that.
Silence.
I stood there panting, tears sliding down my face, hands clamped over my ears.
Nothing.
No breathing.
No footsteps.
No movement.
Slowly, I lowered my hands.
Maybe it left.
Maybe it was never—
I swallowed hard and crept toward the door.
One careful step at a time.
The dresser stood crooked against it.
My heart hammered so hard I thought I’d faint.
I was inches away when the doorknob slowly turned.
My breath caught. Oh my gosh! Is it back?!
“Lucy?”
Ethan’s voice rang out, right outside.
Warm. Familiar. Urgent.
“Lucy, why is the door locked? Are you okay?”
Relief hit so hard my knees nearly gave out.
“Ethan—” I murmured frantically.
I rushed to move the dresser, dragging it aside with frantic strength I didn’t know I had.
But then, I froze.
My fingers slipped from the wood in total confusion and fear.
What if that wasn’t Ethan by the door?