Darkness.
That was the first thing.
Not silence.
Not fear.
Just…
Darkness.
My head throbbed.
Heavy.
Like something was pressing from the inside.
I tried to move.
Pain shot through my body.
Sharp.
Real.
I was alive.
That was the second thing.
I forced my eyes open.
Slowly.
Everything blurred at first.
Shapes.
Shadows.
And then—
Light.
Weak.
Flickering.
A single bulb hanging from the ceiling.
Swinging slightly.
Back and forth.
I was sitting.
No—
Tied.
My wrists pulled tight behind the chair.
My legs restrained.
My chest tightened instantly.
"No…"
Memory hit me.
The house.
The video.
Him.
And then—
Nothing.
"You're awake."
That voice.
I froze.
Slowly lifted my head.
He was there.
Leaning against the wall.
Watching.
Waiting.
"You hit harder than before," I said.
He smirked slightly.
"Practice."
Silence.
Heavy.
"How long?" I asked.
"A few hours."
My stomach dropped.
"Noah?"
A pause.
He didn't answer.
"Where is he?"
"Alive."
That wasn't comforting.
"For now."
My jaw tightened.
"You touch him—"
He pushed off the wall.
Walked closer.
"You don't get to make threats."
A pause.
"Not anymore."
I held his gaze.
"You want me," I said.
"Then let him go."
He laughed.
Low.
"You still think this is about choices."
"What do you mean?"
He crouched in front of me.
Close.
Too close.
"You made your choice that night."
My chest tightened.
"And now," he said
"I make mine."
Silence.
"What do you want?" I asked again.
He studied me.
Long.
Carefully.
Then—
"I want you to feel it."
That word again.
Feel.
"What?"
"What I felt."
A pause.
"Helpless."
My breathing slowed.
Controlled.
"I said I was sorry."
He smiled.
"That's the problem."
"What?"
"You think this is about forgiveness."
Silence.
"It's not."
His voice dropped.
"It's about balance."
A chill ran through me.
"You left me there."
Each word deliberate.
"So now…"
He stood.
"…you stay."
My chest tightened.
"For how long?"
A pause.
He looked at the door.
Then back at me.
"Long enough."
The bulb flickered again.
The room felt smaller.
He turned.
Started walking away.
"Wait."
He stopped.
Didn't turn.
"Why didn't you kill us?" I asked.
Silence.
Long.
Heavy.
Then—
"Because death is easy."
A pause.
"And you don't deserve easy."
The door creaked open.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"To bring the others."
My heart stopped.
"No—"
The door shut.
Hard.
Darkness crept back in.
And then—
A sound.
Soft.
From the corner.
My head turned.
Slow.
"Noah…?"
A weak movement.
A breath.
He was there.
Barely conscious.
"Lucas…" he whispered.
Relief hit me.
Hard.
"You okay?" I asked.
"Define okay…"
Even now…
He tried to joke.
"You idiot," I said quietly.
Silence.
Then—
"He's not done," Noah said.
"I know."
"He's going to bring them here."
My chest tightened.
"I know."
Another pause.
"He's going to make us watch."
That…
That hit different.
My grip tightened against the restraints.
"No," I said.
But even I didn't believe it.
Because now—
I understood.
This wasn't revenge.
This was punishment.
And it had just begun.
🖤 Poem — Lucas
I sit where I left him
tied to the past I denied
now silence surrounds me
where truth cannot hide
and the pain I abandoned…
has come back alive