Whisper in the dark

Mia woke before the sun did. Pale light slipped through the thin curtains, but it didn't warm her cold apartment or the thoughts tangled in her mind. She'd drifted in and out of restless sleep, haunted by flashes of Alex's smile, the quiet way his eyes had darted to the door when the commotion shattered their moment together.

She rolled onto her back, phone clutched to her chest. No calls. No messages. Just the silence that pressed in on her small studio, broken only by the faint hum of the city starting its day outside her window.

She told herself not to care. It was just one night, she reasoned. One conversation in a crowded gallery — and yet she'd stayed up half the night replaying every word, every laugh, every moment he looked at her like he was memorizing her face.

Mia dragged herself out of bed and shuffled to the tiny kitchenette that doubled as her dining space and half her living room. She spooned ground coffee into the machine, the familiar hiss and gurgle filling the emptiness as she stared at the small canvas propped on her easel. The painting was half-finished, colors clashing awkwardly, nothing like the vivid images in her head. It looked exactly how she felt — unfinished, restless, waiting for something she couldn't name.

She set her mug down on the counter, untouched. Maybe she should call him first. The thought made her laugh under her breath. Desperate, Mia. She hated that she felt this pull — hated it, but didn't want it to go away either.

She grabbed her phone for the tenth time that hour, thumbing over his contact — Alex. Just a name and a number she barely trusted to be real. She didn't even have a last name.

Her thumb hovered over the call button. She imagined his voice, warm and teasing — You trust me, don't you?

Before she could decide, her phone buzzed so sharply it slipped from her hand and landed on the countertop with a clatter. Her heart hammered in her chest as she snatched it up.

Unknown Number.

She didn't hesitate. "Hello?"

A pause. She heard faint wind, maybe traffic. Then his voice, soft and almost uncertain, slid through the line. Alex.

"Mia?" His tone lifted like he wasn't sure she'd answer. "Hey. It's me."

Relief washed through her, embarrassing in its strength. She perched on the edge of her stool, hugging her free arm around her waist to hide the tremor. "Hi. I was starting to think you'd forgotten me."

He let out a short laugh, but it didn't reach his voice the way it had last night. "Never. I'm sorry about last night — things got… complicated."

She wanted to ask what exactly had gotten so complicated. But she bit her tongue, staring at the swirl of coffee she hadn't touched. "Are you okay?"

A pause. She heard movement on his end — a door creaking, footsteps, a low voice in the background that made her skin prickle. Then his voice again, softer now. "Yeah, I'm okay. Listen, I want to see you. Make up for disappearing like that."

Her chest tightened, that dangerous hope flickering back to life. "Okay. When?"

"There's this place — Raven's Hollow. Have you heard of it?"

Mia frowned. She'd heard whispers. An old abandoned train station on the outskirts of the city, mostly used by bored teenagers and thrill-seekers. "Isn't that place… kind of creepy?"

Alex laughed, the sound warming the chill that had settled in her bones. "Maybe. But it's beautiful too, in its own way. I've wanted to shoot there for a while — the light, the old tracks, the graffiti. I thought you'd like it. Something about it reminds me of you."

She raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at her lips despite herself. "So I remind you of an abandoned railway station?"

He laughed harder this time. "You know what I mean. Mysterious. Unexpected. Worth exploring."

She caught herself smiling at her cracked kitchen tile like a fool. "So you want to take me to a haunted train station as a second date?"

"Haunted's just a rumour," he teased. Then his tone softened. "Say yes, Mia. I promise no loud party crashers this time. Just you, me, my camera, and a couple of coffees. Deal?"

She hesitated. Her mind screamed caution — You don't know him. He left you standing there without answers. But that whisper that had pulled her to the gallery in the first place was louder now — curiosity, maybe something more.

"Okay," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Deal."

"Good." He exhaled, relief evident through the static. "I'll text you the time and address."

A muffled voice cut through the line — low, angry. She couldn't make out the words, but she heard Alex reply sharply, something about waiting and not now. Her heart skipped.

"Alex?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady. "Is everything—"

"It's nothing," he cut in quickly, his warmth flickering back like a light switch. "I'll see you soon, Mia. I promise."

Before she could say another word, the line went dead.

Mia stared at her reflection in the blank phone screen. The hum of the coffee machine was the only sound in her apartment now.

Raven's Hollow. She'd never been. She'd never even thought of going. But tomorrow, she would.

She set her phone down next to her untouched coffee, her fingertips brushing the cool ceramic.

Outside her window, the sun finally broke free of the grey clouds, pouring gold onto the street below. Mia's chest tightened with something she couldn't name — excitement or dread, she wasn't sure.

All she knew was that with Alex, it felt like she'd stepped into something far bigger than a gallery night.

And this time, there would be no walking away before the truth found her.