I sprinted toward the front entrance, my heart hammering against my ribs. I had to get there first. I couldn't let anyone else in the house open that door. Reaching the threshold, I threw my weight against the frame and gripped the door handle. The cold metal sent a sharp chill right up my arm.
"You finally decided to come out."
The sudden voice made me jump. I spun around to find my sister standing by her bedroom door, leaning casually against the frame. Before I could offer anything more than a tense, awkward smile, the doorbell blared through the hallway a second time.
My heart dropped straight into my boots.
Pressing my eye against the peephole, I squinted, but everything on the other side was pitch black. I couldn't see a single thing. A terrifying thought flashed through my mind: What if he's covering the lens with his hand to hide his face? I tightened my grip on the handle, completely paralyzed by indecision. Should I open it or not?
Breaking the heavy silence, my sister spoke up from the hallway. "You won't be able to see anything through there. The stairwell light broke a few days ago and hasn't been fixed yet. Just ask who it is." Shrugging, she turned and walked back into her room.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced my voice out, though it came out much quieter than I intended. "Who... who is it?" I wasn't even sure if the person standing in the dark corridor could hear me.
"It's me, Benny."
Hearing that voice made my stomach flip, but a massive wave of pure relief instantly washed over me.
It was Neel.
I pulled the door open, my mind racing as I wondered what on earth he was doing here at such an hour. It couldn't have been him sending those messages—why would Neel ever do something like that? As the door swung halfway open, the warm light from the hallway illuminated his face. He was dressed casually in black trousers and a white t-shirt with full black sleeves. Before I could even process his presence, he stepped across the threshold and pulled me into a swift, brief side hug.
"What's up, bro?" my sister called out, raising a hand in greeting as she stepped back out of her room.
"Tomorrow is my day off," Neel explained, passing by me to greet her. "So I thought I'd come over and see how Benny is doing."
I stood frozen by the entrance. But just as I reached out to finally close the door behind him, a sharp chime echoed from my pocket. I pulled out my phone.
"I'm waiting for you."
The words on the screen made my breath hitch. I instantly halted the door, leaving it ajar. "I'm going up to the rooftop," I announced abruptly, grabbing the edge of the door.
My sister turned to me, her expression instantly hardening into an irritated frown. "Neel just got here. Why are you running off to the rooftop now? Stay and talk to him for a bit. Everyone has been worried sick about you."
Looking at her face, I could see the mounting exhaustion and irritation in her eyes. I knew everyone in the family was reaching their breaking point with how I had been acting. Just a few mornings ago, my dad had lost his temper, shouting through the house while my mom was gently knocking on my door, begging me to eat breakfast. I had just told her to leave the tray on the floor outside. After that burst of anger, Dad hadn't spoken a word to me.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Neel asked, taking a step toward me.
"No, I just... I want to get some fresh air," I insisted, quickly pushing the door open wider to slip out.
Deep down, I knew Neel probably felt like I was completely shutting him out. Ever since Grandpa passed away and I locked myself in my room, he had texted and called me constantly, and I had ignored every single attempt—just like I had done with everyone else. He had even come to the house a few times just to catch a glimpse of me, and I hadn't stepped out once. Now, the moment he finally saw me, I was walking away again. But right now, the stalker was my text priority.
I turned and bolted up the dark concrete stairwell.
When I reached the heavy door leading out to the roof, a faint, desperate wish crossed my mind that there might be other neighbors up there. But I knew better. The rooftop was always completely deserted at night.
Steeling my nerves, I paused to gather my courage. Just as I was about to step out, my eyes caught a heavy wooden mop handle leaning against the stairwell wall—likely left behind by the building's cleaning lady. I lunged forward and grabbed it, twisting it behind my back to hide it from view, holding it tightly with both hands. If things went south, at least I had something to defend myself with.
Taking a deep breath, I gripped the makeshift weapon and stepped out into the open air.
The night was incredibly dark, making it nearly impossible to see. But as my eyes adjusted, I managed to make out a silhouette standing by the edge. It was a tall guy with broad shoulders. He was leaning slightly to his right, his forearm resting against the perimeter railing. As I crept silently toward him, a tiny, glowing crimson ember cut through the darkness. A cigarette.
Panic seized me. I froze, completely at a loss for what to do. Should I turn around and run back downstairs?
I took a cautious step backward, but my heel caught on a stray piece of debris. Lose my balance, my arms flew out from behind my back to stabilize myself, and the heavy wooden stick slipped from my grip.
CLATTER!
The loud, echoing crash shattered the heavy silence of the night. I instantly screwed my eyes shut, praying to the universe that he somehow hadn't heard the noise.
"You really start destroying things the absolute second you walk in, don't you?"
The voice sliced through the quiet, and it instantly made my eyes snap open. It was a voice I knew by heart. A deeply, undeniably familiar voice.
It can't be.
But it was. It was Anin.
He was leaning his back against the railing, casually crushing the glowing cherry of his cigarette out against the concrete ledge. I stood there, utterly stunned. I had never seen him smoke a single cigarette in my entire life. In fact, I had no idea he even touched them. Maybe none of us really knew that side of him.
Trying to regain my composure, I stood up straight and aggressively brushed the dirt and dust from my palms.
"Why are you up here?" I demanded, looking around the empty space. "Don't tell me you came all the way to our building's rooftop just to smoke? Does your mom know about this?"
"I'm not a child." he replied, his voice low.
Ignoring his remark, I walked past him, my eyes frantically scanning the dark corners of the roof, searching for any sign of the texter. But there was no one else here. Only Anin. An unexpected wave of relief washed over me just knowing I wasn't entirely alone with a stalker. I walked a few paces away from him, turning my back so he wouldn't be able to see my phone screen, and quickly checked my inbox.
There were no new messages. Did the stalker see Anin up here and decide to run away? It seemed like the only logical explanation.
"You seem incredibly anxious," Anin noted. He was still leaning back against the railing, his eyes tracking my erratic movements as he reached into his pocket and pulled out another cigarette, placing it between his lips.
Seeing him do it again sparked a sudden flash of annoyance in me. I marched right up to him, reached out, and forcefully plucked the unlit cigarette straight out of his mouth.
"You completely reek of smoke," I snapped, glaring up at him. "Just how long have you been up here doing this?"
"None of your concern," Anin said, his tone dropping as he reached out to snatch it back. "Give it back to me."
Anticipating his move, I quickly whipped my hand behind my back, stepping out of his reach. "Oh, it's definitely my concern. I think I'll deliver this little piece of hot news to your mom first thing tomorrow morning."
Anin let out a dry, humorless chuckle, stepping forward. "Do you really think I'm afraid of anyone?"
As he advanced to take the cigarette back, I instinctively began to back away, my eyes locked on his. "Seriously, since when did you even start smoking?"
"It almost sounds like you're actually concerned about me," he murmured, his pace quickening as he closed the distance between us, his shadow looming over me.
"I'm not concerned about you at all," I shot back, my voice wavering slightly as I kept retreating. "I'm just curious."
"But I want you to be concerned about me."
Before the words could even register, Anin lunged forward. He grabbed me firmly by the shoulder, his momentum forcing me backward at a rapid pace until my shoulder blades slammed hard against the solid brick wall of the stairwell exit.
My breath caught in my throat. His sudden, aggressive proximity terrified me. His left hand remained clamped on my shoulder, while his right hand came up, slamming against the wall right behind my head, effectively trapping me in the space between his arms.
"What... what are you doing?" I whispered "Did something happen?"
Anin didn't answer right away. His dark eyes were locked onto mine, intense and unblinking in the moonlight.
"Can you stop hating me now?" he asked softly.
The bizarre, desperate question hit my brain like a physical shock wave. The puzzle pieces in my mind violently swirled, shifting into a terrifying new reality.
I stared up at him, my breath shaking. "Are... are you the stalker?"
I looked into his eyes, searching for a denial, but the fierce intensity in his gaze suddenly melted away, softening into something deeply vulnerable and entirely telling. And in that quiet, devastating shift, I got my answer.