CHAPTERFIVE
Adena hadn't planned to spend the night at Nova's place — but when Nova offered, her voice calm and certain, something in Adena softened and said yes.
Now she stood in Nova's living room, wrapped in a hoodie far too big to be hers, and sipped tea from a black ceramic mug that said Don't Touch Me (Unless You Mean It) in white block letters. It felt like the kind of joke Nova would make — half sarcastic, half serious.
The apartment was dimly lit, all warm-toned lamps and cozy chaos. A stack of books leaned precariously on the arm of the couch. A record player sat silent near the window, a velvet curtain half drawn across the glass.
Nova moved around the kitchen, barefoot and humming under her breath. Adena watched her from the edge of the couch — the gentle sway of her body, the little frown she made while reading the tea label, the way her fingers moved with such quiet confidence.
"You okay?" Nova asked suddenly, turning toward her with a tea bag in hand.
Adena nodded quickly, a little too fast. "Yeah. I just… haven't been in someone else's space like this in a while."
Nova smiled as she joined her on the couch, folding her legs beneath her. "Want me to make it less intimate? I could start asking intrusive questions about your credit score."
Adena laughed despite herself. "That actually might make it more intimate."
They sipped their tea in silence for a moment. Then Nova leaned back, head tilted to the side.
"Can I ask you something?"
Adena glanced over. "Sure."
"Do you always tense up when someone's kind to you?"
The question hung in the air, soft but sharp.
Adena blinked. "I… I don't mean to. It's not like I don't want it. I think I just… don't trust that it's real. Or that it'll last."
Nova nodded slowly. "I get that. But I need you to know — I'm not offering you a trap. I'm offering you space. To be. To feel weird. To feel nothing. To feel everything. Whatever comes up."
Adena felt her chest tighten, but not in the painful way. It was the kind of pressure that came with vulnerability — with being seen and not having to flinch away from it.
"I'm not used to that," she whispered.
"I know," Nova said, leaning in just slightly. "But you deserve it."
Adena's eyes flicked to Nova's lips before she could stop herself. She looked away quickly, clearing her throat. "You're really good at this emotional stability thing."
Nova grinned. "Don't be fooled. I eat my cereal with a fork to avoid the milk."
Adena let out a surprised laugh, and Nova's smile softened.
Then, gently, Nova leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead — lingering just long enough for Adena to close her eyes and feel it settle into her bones.
But just as the silence began to warm into something soft and safe, Adena's phone buzzed on the coffee table.
She glanced down. A single text. ANDREW:I shouldn't have said all that. You didn't deserve it. Can we talk?
Her stomach clenched.
Nova noticed the change in her. "Everything okay?"
Adena hesitated. "It's... Andrew."
Nova's eyes flickered, but her voice stayed steady. "What did he say?"
"He wants to talk." Adena looked away, guilt creeping up her throat. "And I don't know what to do. I told myself I was done. I meant it. But now that he's reaching out..."
Nova didn't speak right away. And when she did, her tone was gentle — but unmistakably firm.
"You don't owe him your peace."
"I know," Adena said quickly. "I just... I don't want to feel like I'm running away from everything. I want to be sure I'm not still that girl who kept hoping he'd change."
"You're not her anymore," Nova said, softer now. "But you're allowed to be unsure. Just don't forget how far you've already come."
Adena bit her lip. "What if I mess this up? With you, I mean. What if I'm too much — too broken — too stuck in old wounds to give something new a chance?"
Nova leaned closer again. This time she didn't touch her, but her voice felt like a hand on Adena's back.
"Then I'll wait. Or I'll walk beside you. But I won't ask you to rush your healing just so I feel secure."
Adena felt her throat tighten. "You really mean that?"
Nova smiled, then finally kissed her forehead again. "Yeah. I do."
But in her heart, Adena knew this wasn't over. Not yet.
And somewhere in the quiet hum of Nova's apartment, that single message from Andrew still buzzed like an echo, threatening to pull her backward just when she'd started to look forward.
Adena sat on the edge of Nova's bed, her phone screen glowing dimly in her hand.
She hadn't replied.She didn't even know what she'd say if she did.
Andrew's message sat there like a landmine. One wrong tap and everything she'd built inside herself might come crashing down — the calm, the resolve, the first tender steps toward letting someone new see her.
She looked over her shoulder.
Nova was in the bathroom brushing her teeth, humming a song Adena didn't recognize. The sound was distant, normal, grounding.
Adena turned back to her phone and locked the screen.
It's just a message.Just pixels.But somehow it felt like a ghost.
"Everything okay?" Nova's voice floated in from the doorway. She leaned against the frame, eyes soft but watchful.
Adena nodded, then shook her head. "I don't know."
Nova walked over and sat beside her, close but not touching. "You don't have to figure it out tonight."
"But I kind of do," Adena said. "Because if I wait too long, I'll think myself into circles. I'll turn it into a thousand what-ifs."
"You always do that?" Nova asked gently.
Adena gave a tired smile. "Habit. Survival skill. Curse."
Nova tilted her head. "You want to talk it out? Or sit in silence until it gets less heavy?"
Adena hesitated, then said, "Can I ask you something weird?"
Nova grinned. "Please do."
"What made you like me?"
The question came out small, hesitant. Not fishing for compliments — just reaching for something to hold onto.
Nova didn't miss a beat. "You looked like someone who'd learned to carry storms, but still stopped to notice the quiet. Like maybe you'd forgotten you were soft. But you are."
Adena blinked, caught off guard by the precision of it.
"I thought I was messy," she said.
"You are," Nova replied with a teasing smirk. "But I like messy. I like real."
There was a pause.
Then Nova added, "I also like the way you look when you're trying not to cry. Like you're daring the world to challenge your strength."
Adena laughed. It wasn't loud, but it cracked something open.
She leaned forward, resting her forehead against Nova's shoulder. "I'm scared."
Nova didn't ask of what. She just wrapped her arms around her and held her quietly.
"Then be scared," Nova whispered. "Just don't disappear into it."
They sat like that for a while, the silence broken only by the rhythmic beat of Nova's heart. When Adena finally pulled away, there was a calm in her eyes that hadn't been there before.
She picked up her phone. Opened the message. Read it one more time.
Then deleted it.
She didn't reply.
She didn't need to.
Not tonight.
Nova, watching her from across the room, didn't ask what she did. But she smiled — the kind of smile that said I trust you to know what's right for you.
And when Adena slipped under the covers beside her, Nova kissed her forehead once more. Gentle. Steady. Reassuring.
That night, Adena dreamt not of Andrew, not of apologies or regret — but of ocean waves and wild wind, and Nova's hand reaching through it all.
The afternoon sunlight filtered through the cafe windows, casting golden stripes across the wooden table where Nova and Adena sat. A soft playlist hummed in the background, but the quiet between them spoke louder than any melody could.
Nova stirred her drink absently, eyes flicking up to Adena every so often. "You've been quiet since the bookstore. Still thinking about that weird guy?"
Adena nodded, fingers tracing the rim of her coffee cup. "Yeah. Something about the way he looked at me—it was like he knew me. But I've never seen him before."
Nova leaned forward, concern etched across her brow. "Want me to ask around? I have a few friends who work downtown. Maybe someone's seen him before."
"No… it's probably nothing." Adena offered a shaky smile, though it didn't reach her eyes. "I'm just being paranoid."
Nova didn't press, but her gaze lingered a moment longer before she nodded. "Okay. But if it turns into something… we handle it together."
The words settled on Adena's shoulders like a warm coat. Together. She didn't realize how much she had needed that reassurance until she got it.
As they stepped outside, a gust of wind whipped Adena's hair into her face. Nova reached out to tuck a strand behind her ear, and her fingers brushed against Adena's cheek with surprising tenderness.
"You okay?" Nova asked softly.
"I don't know," Adena admitted. Her eyes locked onto Nova's lips for a beat too long before she turned away, embarrassed by her wandering thoughts. "There's just a lot going on in my head right now."
Nova tilted her head slightly, as if trying to read her. "Then don't be in your head. Be here with me."
Before Adena could respond, Nova leaned in and kissed her gently on the forehead. The simple gesture sent a wave of warmth crashing through Adena's chest, confusing and comforting all at once.
"I'm here," Adena whispered.
And in that moment, she almost believed she could be.
Later that evening, Adena sat alone at the bus stop, fingers drumming against her thigh. Nova had gotten a last-minute call from work and had to leave after their café date. Adena had insisted she'd be fine, brushing off Nova's concern with a half-smile. But now, in the dying light of dusk, that confidence wavered.
The streets were mostly empty, the orange-pink glow of the sunset casting long shadows on the pavement. A couple walked by hand-in-hand, laughing quietly, and Adena found herself staring after them, wondering what it must feel like to be so unafraid.
A flicker of movement across the road snapped her back to reality.
She turned her head.
A man in a dark hoodie stood near the alley, barely visible in the dim light. He wasn't doing anything—just standing there. Still. Watching.
Adena's pulse quickened.
She looked away, pretending she hadn't noticed, but her eyes betrayed her—darting back too quickly.
Still there.
Was he the same man from the bookstore? Or was she letting her anxiety get the better of her?
The bus headlights appeared in the distance. Relief. She stood, ready to board, but something made her glance back toward the alley.
Gone.
Her heart thudded harder now, not out of fear—but something eerier. Like she was being hunted, and the hunter wanted her to know.
She climbed onto the bus, barely acknowledging the driver, and made her way to the window seat. As the vehicle pulled away from the curb, she pressed her face to the glass and scanned the sidewalk.
Nothing.
But deep inside, she knew she hadn't imagined it.
The apartment felt colder than usual when Adena stepped inside. She turned on the hallway light and instinctively locked the door behind her—deadbolt and all. Her eyes scanned the living room, then the kitchen, the corners, the windows. Everything was just as she left it. Still, the unease from earlier clung to her like wet fabric.
She tried to shake it off.
You're just being paranoid, she told herself.
The buzz of her phone broke her thoughts. It was Nova.
Nova:Hey. Made it home safe?Adena:Just walked in. Everything's fine.Nova:You sure? You sounded weird earlier.Adena:Just tired. Maybe overthinking. I'll be okay.
There was a pause. Then Nova replied:
Nova:You can call me if anything feels off. Even in the middle of the night.
Adena stared at the screen longer than she meant to. She didn't reply right away. The weight of those words—the gentle offer, the quiet care—felt like a balm she hadn't known she needed.
Before she could respond, another message pinged.
Nova:Seriously. I mean it, Adena.
She smiled softly, fingers poised above the keyboard.
Adena:Thank you. Really.
After a short silence, Nova sent one last message:
Nova:Also… I might've mentioned you to my friends. Just warning you in case you randomly get invited to some rooftop thing this weekend.
Adena let out a soft laugh. Nova always knew how to lighten the mood just enough.
She didn't even notice how quiet the room had become.
Adena moved to her bedroom, changing into something more comfortable—old sweatpants and an oversized tee. The normalcy of her routine gave her a temporary sense of control. She tossed her phone on the nightstand and sank into bed, her body finally beginning to relax.
A soft breeze drifted in from the slightly cracked window. She had left it open earlier, hoping to air the place out. She got up to shut it, but paused when she thought she heard a sound.
A footstep?No—probably the building settling.Or the neighbors upstairs.
She locked the window anyway.
The light flickered for just a moment before returning to normal. A surge of adrenaline flushed through her body.
"Calm down," she whispered to herself. "You're being dramatic."
But the hairs on the back of her neck stood.
She moved back to her bed, pulling the covers over herself. Her eyelids grew heavy… but the feeling that something was off wouldn't leave.
Then—A noise.Not outside.Inside.
Before she could turn toward the sound, the lights cut completely. Pitch black.
Her breath caught in her throat.
"A power outage?" she said aloud, to herself, trying to rationalize. Her voice trembled.
Then—too fast to process—she heard the bedroom door creak.
"Who's there?" she said quickly, her voice sharp now. She grabbed her phone, only for it to slip from her hands and fall to the floor with a soft thud.
Silence.
Then a rush of movement. A heavy weight pressed her into the mattress, a cloth shoved over her mouth before she could scream.
Panic surged. She flailed, fought back, but the person was stronger. There were two of them.
"Don't fight," a low voice growled.
Everything blurred—adrenaline, fear, confusion. She smelled something sharp on the cloth—something chemical.
Her vision started spinning. Her limbs weakened.
Darkness crept in, like a tide she couldn't resist.
The last thing she heard before blacking out was the shuffling of feet and the click of her front door closing behind them.