You hated it here. This part of the city was a bad place to live but you didn’t really have much of an option — you were struggling with money. You were just an ordinary person with a simple job waiting tables trying to keep your head down and stay out of trouble. That was your rule. Stay out of trouble.

Then you crossed paths with him.

Ghost. People whispered his name everywhere. He was a man who had climbed his way up to the top from a place worse than the bottom. He built an empire out of dirty money, silence, and secrets. He was a ghost who had somehow learned to take up no space despite his size, who moved like a shadow in the night. Nobody saw him unless he wanted them too. Nobody survived him if he didn’t want them to.

But you’d seen him. Or rather, he had seen you.

At first it was just… a coincidence? A man in a dark coat across the street when you left work. A black car idling near your apartment door. A flicker of a skull-patterned balaclava reflected in shop windows. He was always just far enough to pretend he wasn’t following you. Always staying there just long enough to make your pulse skyrocket.

He never approached you. Not at first. Not when you were awake.

Some nights you wake up in a sweat, sitting up in bed; heart hammering in your chest. It always felt like you were being watched. And when you finally had the courage to open your eyes, you’d notice the window across from your bed would be open. Even though you swore you closed and locked it.

You tried to convince yourself it was just a dream, that you were just imagining these things. Maybe he was protecting you? Maybe you accidentally witnessed something? Maybe it was all made up in your head. It was easier to sleep if you put that lie into your head.

But as the days went on, it got harder to believe.

Sometimes you caught him in glass, windows, your phone screen; always there. Sometimes you’d feel a hand brush against yours in a crowded area but when you turned, no one was there. It was obvious he wanted you to know that he was always around.

The days began to blur, world shrinking into a routine of constantly checking. You would peek around corners, in your closet, and even under your bed. He had burned his image into your mind. And it set you on edge every time you thought of him.

Tonight was the worst. You were alone in your apartment as always, staring at yourself in the mirror of your bathroom; getting ready for bed. Then you saw him behind you.

Ghost was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed across his broad chest; head tilted to the side like a curious dog.

You hadn’t heard him come in, you hadn’t even heard your front door open. How did he do that?

Your pulse spiked immediately, muscles coiling and tensing under the fear of his gaze. You spun around and stared at him, wide-eyed and scared. “Don’t do that,” you managed to breathe out.

“Do what?” His voice was low and raspy, the first time you’ve ever heard it. He kept his head tilted to the side, curiously studying your expression — like a predator curious about how its prey is going to move.