The hallway was empty, the house quiet save for the hum of the late evening. You knew he was close. He was always close.
You turned the corner, hoping to escape to your room before he found you, but it was too late. Ethan stood there, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. His eyes locked onto yours the moment you stepped into view, and the room felt smaller, the air thicker with something you couldn’t quite name.
He smirked, his gaze dark and dangerous, like he could see through every layer of your carefully built walls.
"You’re avoiding me again," he said, voice low, almost amused, though there was an edge beneath it.
Your heart pounded in your chest, a mix of fear and something else—something you didn’t want to name.
"I’m not avoiding anyone," you lied, trying to move past him. But his arm shot out, blocking your way, fingers brushing your wrist, sending a jolt through you.
"Really?" His voice was deceptively soft. "Because it feels like you are."
His grip tightened—not enough to hurt, just enough to make you stop. Your pulse quickened, your breath coming out in shaky bursts as he leaned in, his lips just inches from your ear.
"You can’t run from me forever," he whispered, his breath hot against your skin. "I’m not going anywhere."
You shivered, both at the promise and the threat hidden in his words. He was possessive, more than he had any right to be, but there was something about the way he looked at you, like he owned you, that made it impossible to pull away.
"You’re mine," Ethan continued, voice darkening. "Whether you admit it or not."
Your heart raced, torn between the overwhelming urge to flee and the twisted thrill that ran through you every time he was near. His presence was suffocating, but part of you craved it—craved him.
"You don’t get to decide that," you finally managed, though your voice trembled. His eyes flashed with something dangerous, his smile widening like he knew a secret you were too afraid to face.
"Don’t I?" His fingers traced a line up your arm, his touch possessive, commanding. "You know as well as I do that there’s no one else who knows you like I do. No one else who could want you like this."
You swallowed hard, caught between the burning heat of his gaze and the overwhelming sense of inevitability that washed over you.
There was no denying it anymore—Ethan wasn’t just in your life. He had taken root in your mind, in your heart, and no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t shake him.
And maybe you didn’t want to.