Aria's POV
The vase shattered against the wall, missing my head by inches.
"You stupid, clumsy girl!" Aunt Moira's voice cut through Thornewood Blooms like a knife. "That was worth more than you'll earn in a month!"
I stood frozen, pieces of broken ceramic scattered around my feet. My hands were shaking. I hadn't meant to knock it over. I was just trying to dust the shelf like she'd told me to.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'll clean it up. I'll pay for it—"
"Pay for it?" Aunt Moira laughed, but it wasn't a nice laugh. It was the kind that made my stomach hurt. "With what money? You think I'm giving you anything for your birthday next week? You're lucky I let you live here at all."
Two more days until I turned eighteen. Two more days until I could finally leave this place.
But leave and go where? I had no money. No friends. No family except the aunt who hated me.
I was completely alone.
"Get out of my sight," Aunt Moira snapped. "Close the shop and go upstairs. And don't you dare touch anything else."
I grabbed the broom with trembling hands and swept up the broken pieces as fast as I could. My throat burned with tears I wouldn't let fall. Not in front of her. Never in front of her.
The flower shop felt colder than usual as I locked the front door twenty minutes later. December wind rattled the windows. Through the glass, I could see the town decorated for Christmas—lights strung across the streets, wreaths on every door, families walking together with shopping bags and smiles.
Nobody looked at me. They never did.
I was invisible. I'd always been invisible.
I grabbed the trash bag and headed to the alley behind the shop. The cold air bit at my face, but I didn't mind. At least out here, I could breathe.
"Shadow?" I called softly. "You here, boy?"
A soft meow answered me.
The black cat emerged from behind the dumpster, his green eyes glowing in the dim light. He was the only friend I had in this whole town. I'd been feeding him for months, and he always showed up like he knew when I needed him most.
"Hey, buddy." I knelt down and pulled out the sandwich I'd saved from lunch. "Sorry it's not much. Aunt Moira's been watching me like a hawk."
Shadow rubbed against my hand, purring loudly. His fur was soft and warm, and for a moment, the knot in my chest loosened just a little.
"Two more days," I told him, scratching behind his ears. "Two more days until I'm eighteen. Then I can figure out how to leave. Maybe get a job somewhere far away. Somewhere nobody knows me."
The cat tilted his head, like he was really listening. Sometimes I swore Shadow understood every word I said.
"I just wish..." I stopped, feeling stupid. "I wish someone would see me. Really see me. Like I matter. Like I'm not just... nothing."
Shadow meowed again, louder this time. Almost like he was trying to tell me something.
"I know, I know. I sound pathetic." I stood up, wiping my eyes. "Thanks for listening though. You're the best thing in my life, you know that?"
As I turned to go back inside, something strange happened.
The roses in the shop window—the ones I'd arranged this morning—they moved.
Not from wind. The window was closed.
They moved like they were reaching toward me. Their petals shuddered and trembled, and for just a second, I thought I heard...
Whispering.
Soft voices, too quiet to understand. Coming from the flowers.
I froze, my heart pounding.
That was impossible. Flowers didn't move on their own. Flowers didn't whisper.
I was just tired. Stressed. Imagining things.
But then Shadow hissed.
His fur stood straight up. His green eyes were locked on something above me, and the sound coming from his throat was pure warning.
Slowly, I looked up.
On the rooftop across the street, barely visible in the darkness, was a man.
He was watching me.
I couldn't see his face clearly, but I could feel his eyes on me. Heavy. Intense. Like he could see straight through me.
My breath caught in my throat.
How long had he been there? Was he following me? Was he dangerous?
I stumbled backward, my pulse racing. "Shadow, come on. We need to go inside."
But when I looked down, the cat was gone.
Vanished. Like he'd never been there at all.
I spun around, searching the alley, but there was no sign of him. No paw prints in the dirt. No movement in the shadows.
"Shadow?" My voice came out small and scared.
Nothing.
I looked back up at the rooftop.
The man was still there. Still watching.
And then he moved.
He stepped to the edge of the roof, and even from this distance, I saw his eyes change. They glowed silver. Actually glowed, like moonlight trapped in glass.
This wasn't real. This couldn't be real.
I ran.
My hands shook so badly I could barely unlock the back door. I threw myself inside, slammed it shut, and locked every bolt.
My heart hammered against my ribs. My whole body was shaking.
What did I just see? Who was that man? Why were his eyes glowing?
I pressed my back against the door, trying to breathe, trying to think.
The apartment above the shop was dark and cold. Aunt Moira was already in her room, probably asleep.
I was alone.
Like always.
I stumbled to my tiny bedroom and locked that door too. My hands were still trembling as I pulled out my phone to call... who? I had no one. No one who would believe me. No one who would care.
My phone screen lit up with a notification.
A text message. From a number I didn't recognize.
My blood turned to ice as I read the words:
Two more days, Aria. Then everything changes. We've been waiting for you. Stay safe until then. —A Friend
I dropped the phone like it burned me.
How did they know my name? How did they know about my birthday?
Who was watching me?
And why did the message sound less like a promise and more like a threat?
Outside my window, the roses in the shop began to glow with a faint silver light.
And somewhere in the darkness, I heard Shadow's voice—except it wasn't a meow anymore.
It was a man's voice, deep and ancient, whispering words I couldn't understand.
I was losing my mind.
Or something impossible was about to happen.
And I had no idea which terrified me more.