Chapter 4 The Shadow on the Steps

"I am not the boy you want me to be. But I am the one who waits when everyone else walks away."

The fourth letter sat unopened on Aria's lap for nearly an hour.

She didn't know what scared her more - the words she hadn't read yet... or the ones she already had. The letters were changing. Slowly. Shifting from sweet glimmers of attention into something heavier. Closer. Too close.

She remembered how her hands trembled reading that last line: "I just want you to think of me when you do."

At first, the mystery had felt like a story. Now it felt like a secret she wasn't meant to keep.

Downstairs, the clock struck 2:00 a.m. She hadn't moved.

She finally opened the envelope.

"I watched you again today. You seemed distracted. You were thinking about someone else. I don't blame you. But it stings."

"I shouldn't care this much. But I do. That's what makes this real. You matter more than you know."

Her stomach twisted. It was romantic. But also... possessive. How could someone care this much and still hide?

She folded the letter, tucked it under the others in her journal, and locked the window - again. Then she moved her desk in front of it. Just in case.

If they could get in once, they could do it again.

In the morning, she wore her thickest sweater and tied her hair into a low braid - anything to feel grounded.

At Bloom & Vine, the shop was unusually quiet.

Her aunt had gone to meet with a wholesaler, leaving Aria alone with the shelves of hydrangeas and soft music playing from the old radio.

Just before noon, the bell above the door jingled.

Aria turned and froze.

Kai Mercer walked in.

He looked tired. His dark hoodie was damp from mist, and his notebook - always present - was clutched under one arm.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," Aria answered, carefully.

"I was just walking past," he said. "Thought I'd see if the place smelled like lavender and judgment."

She smiled, though weakly. "Only on Tuesdays."

Kai's eyes scanned her face.

"You didn't sleep," he said.

"Nope."

"Because of the letters?"

Aria blinked. "You said you didn't know about them."

"I didn't. But I guessed. And now you just told me I was right."

She bit her lip, frustrated. "You're playing games."

"No," he said seriously. "I'm trying to figure out if I need to be worried about you."

Aria stared at him, heart thudding.

"There's something wrong about all this," Kai continued. "People don't leave poems in windows and then vanish. That's not love. That's obsession."

She swallowed. "You think someone's stalking me?"

"I think someone's watching you. Closely. Too closely."

"Do you think it's Rowan?"

Kai tilted his head. "You want it to be Rowan?"

"I... don't know."

He leaned against the counter. "He's quiet. Talented. Mysterious. Perfect for a secret admirer. But he's also never said more than five words to you."

"He said ten," Aria muttered.

Kai gave her a look.

Then: "Do you want me to help?"

"What kind of help?"

"We find out who it is," he said. "Together."

That night, they made a plan.

Aria would leave her window slightly open, just as it had been the first time. Kai would watch from the garden gate, hidden in the vines. If someone approached the house - he'd follow.

Simple. Quiet. Risky.

But it was the only way to break the pattern.

The air was cool by midnight. A single lamp flickered on the front porch. Aria sat on her bed, pretending to read, while Kai waited outside.

For a long time - nothing.

Then, a sound.

Footsteps.

Soft, deliberate, careful.

Aria barely breathed.

The shadow moved past the rose bushes, heading straight for her window. It paused. Then slowly, a hand reached out and placed something gently on the sill.

Kai saw it.

The figure turned to leave.

But Kai was faster.

He darted from the vines and followed, barefoot and quiet.

The figure moved quickly - down the alley, across the gravel path near the library - then cut through the old stone arch behind the post office.

Kai stayed back just enough to not be seen.

Finally, the figure stopped beneath a tree, turned, and pulled back their hood.

Kai's eyes widened.

He knew that face.

Inside, Aria opened the newest letter.

This one had no poem.

Just a question:

"Would you still read these if you knew they came from someone you once forgot?"

Aria read it three times, hands shaking.

Downstairs, someone knocked - not on the front door. On her windowpane.

She rushed to the window and opened it just as Kai came into view.

His hoodie was soaked, breath heavy, eyes full of a truth he didn't want to say.

"Who was it?" she asked.

Kai looked her straight in the eyes.

"It wasn't Rowan."

She swallowed. "Then who?"

Kai took a long breath.

"You're not going to like it."