The diary creaked open, its spine groaning as if reluctant to share its secrets. The air that drifted out smelled of old paper, candle smoke, and something faintly metallic — like rust or dried blood. Astrid's fingertips trembled as she smoothed the first yellowed page.
The handwriting was beautiful, looping and precise, but the words it carried made her skin prickle.
"Today I saw him. I was so happy. If only he could see me the way I see him."
Astrid's throat tightened. The sweetness of it was off, too sharp, like sugar gone stale. She turned the page, her hand slow, hesitant.
"I brought him his favorite shirt, that way he will know I care."
The ink lines seemed heavier, pressed deep into the page as though Emberly had carved her devotion into the paper.
Another page.
"Each night I see him in my dreams. He's so big… I'm not sure I could handle it. But I will keep my virginity only to him."
Astrid's stomach lurched. The neat loops of handwriting twisted the words into something obscene, obsessive.
She tried to glance away, but her eyes caught on the mirror across the room. Her reflection stared back — pale, wide-eyed, as though she too were caught reading a secret meant to stay buried.
She turned the page again.
"I saw him smiling at another girl today, but it's not a problem. I know how to deal with pests like that. I'm the only one Matthew should smile for."
The strokes were jagged now, letters slashing across the paper like wounds. Astrid's palms dampened against the diary's cover.
Another page.
"He understands me more than anyone. I will do anything for him. ANYTHING!!!"
The words bled together, letters gouged into the page so deep the ink had bled through. Astrid flipped faster now, her breath shallow. She found recipes scribbled in the margins, lists of herbs and oils, small photographs of Matthew cut from somewhere and glued in crooked. And then—
Her stomach dropped.
A photograph of a doll. A crude figure made of cloth, black thread binding its limbs, a lock of hair tied to its head. A voodoo doll.
The edges of Astrid's vision blurred. She slammed the diary shut and gasped, her eyes snapping to the mirror again.
Her reflection had changed.
The face staring back at her wasn't hers. The features stretched, skin mottled and gray, lips curling too wide into a grotesque grin. The eyes glowed sickly green, gleaming with hunger.
Astrid staggered back, a cry breaking from her throat. The diary slipped from her grip and hit the floor with a heavy thud.
Pain cracked through her skull, sharp and blinding. The world tilted. She clutched her head, nails digging into her scalp as if she could claw the pain out.
A ringing filled her ears, high-pitched, relentless. It drowned her breath, her heartbeat, her thoughts.
And then the voice came.
"I'll do anything. Tell me what you want!!!!!"
It was Emberly's voice, but distorted, guttural, dragged from the depths of something inhuman.
The ringing grew louder.
"Matthew. Matthew. Matthew. Matthew. Mine. Mine. Mine. MINE!"
The chant snarled, growled, rattled through Astrid's bones. Her knees buckled. She sank to the floor, palms pressed against her ears though it did nothing to silence it. Her breath tore from her throat in panicked gasps.
"Ember?"
The voice was soft, near, human.
Astrid blinked, gasping. The sound shattered the illusion like glass. She forced her eyes up.
Her reflection in the mirror was normal again. Pale. Shaken. Hers.
And in the doorway stood Natalie, her brow furrowed, her voice hesitant. "Are you… okay?"
Astrid swallowed hard, her chest heaving. She forced a nod, her voice raw. "Just… a headache. A weird one."
But her gaze flicked back to the diary on the floor. The leather cover seemed to pulse, as though it was breathing.
She bent to pick up the diary. As she lifted it, a thin slip of paper slid free, fluttering to the floor.
Astrid reached for it. Her fingers trembled as she unfolded the note.
Four words. Jagged, almost carved into the page.
I know what you did.
The letters seemed to throb against her vision, black ink bleeding darker the longer she stared. Astrid's breath snagged in her throat. Her hand went cold, clammy, the paper sticking to her skin.
The room felt smaller, the air heavier. The silence pressed in, so tight she could hear her own heartbeat pounding like a war drum. She blinked hard, shoved the note back into the diary, and snapped the book shut as though that alone could silence it.
But it didn't.
Her pulse still thundered. Her hand shook as she shoved everything into the box, slamming the lid down with a force that echoed in the stillness of her room. She couldn't stop the thought that gnawed at her: Emberly wasn't just cruel. She was dangerous. Twisted. Maybe even monstrous.
The box felt heavier in her arms than it had before, as though it carried not memories but stones. Her palms sweated against the rough wood, her arms aching as she stumbled out into the hall.
She needed to hide it. To bury it again where it belonged.
The corridor lights hummed faintly overhead, their glow cold against the marble. Her steps were uneven, her breath jagged. She turned the corner too fast—
And collided with someone.
The box slipped from her arms and crashed to the floor. Its contents spilled across the marble in a chaotic scatter of paper, trinkets, and the diary itself, face-down, pages fanning open like a wound.
"Hey! Watch it."
The voice was sharp, defiant.
Astrid blinked up. A girl stood before her, younger but unflinching, her long jet-black hair pulled into a messy braid. Hazel-green eyes glared at her, cutting sharp as glass.
For a second, Astrid could only stare. She forced her breath steady, her voice low but firm. "Sorry. But a young lady like you should watch your mouth. No one's at fault here."
The girl's brows drew together. Her glare faltered, as though she hadn't expected to be corrected.
The silence stretched taut between them, thick with something unspoken.
Then
"Liana!"
Kayden's excited voice rang down the hall, breaking the tension like glass shattering. His little feet pattered against the marble as he ran up, his face lighting with joy.
Astrid froze. The name settled into her chest like a stone sinking into water.
Her lips parted slowly. "…Liana? As in the babysitter?"
The girl's expression didn't change. Not quite. Her mouth twitched, caught between a smirk and a sneer, but her eyes,those hazel-green eyes flecked with storm-gray,remained sharp, unreadabke