Chapter 5

The next few days were strangely quiet.

Chloe went to work during the day and spent her evenings glued to her phone on the couch, completely ignoring me.

I didn't speak to her either. We coexisted like ghosts.

Mason did come by every night around nine. He would knock on the door, check the lock on the front door, and leave only after making sure it was secure.

Meanwhile, the building’s Snapchat group chat was full of gossip about me.

"That Harper in 702 is such a drama queen. She’s making sweet Chloe’s life a living hell."

Someone even tagged me, telling me to "stop bullying a young girl."

I ignored every single message.

On the fifth day, Mason called to tell me he had found a new tenant who would move in over the weekend.

On the sixth day, I breathed a sigh of relief. I scheduled the movers for Saturday morning.

Friday night. I packed all my important documents and cash into my backpack and placed it under my pillow. I plugged my phone in, fully charged, right next to me.

Before going to sleep, I double-checked my bedroom door, making sure the lock was turned all the way.

At 2:00 AM, I woke up.

A sliver of light was coming through my bedroom door.

It was open.

The moonlight from the living room was spilling onto my floor.

A cold sweat broke out across my back.

I had locked the door. I had installed a new lock. The only key was supposed to be under my pillow.

I reached under my pillow.

The key was gone.

Then it hit me. I had left my jacket in the living room this afternoon, and my keys were in the pocket.

Chloe had taken them.

I held my breath and grabbed my phone. Just as the screen lit up, the door was pushed wide open.

A man in a black baseball cap stepped into my room, a folding knife open in his hand.

Seeing that I was awake, he paused for a second, then let out a low chuckle.

"You're awake."

I gripped my phone tightly, my thumb frantically tapping the emergency speed-dial without looking.

The phantom pain on my neck flared up violently.

"Where's the money?" He pointed the blade at me.

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice steady.

"The backpack under my pillow. There's about two thousand dollars in cash. My laptop is in the desk drawer. You can take it all."

He walked over, grabbed the backpack, and quickly checked the cash. He stuffed it into his pockets, then pulled the laptop from the drawer, tucking it under his arm.

Everything was going so smoothly that he let his guard down. But as he turned to leave, my phone suddenly rang.

He looked down at my screen. It was an incoming FaceTime call from Chloe.

He looked at me, a sadistic grin spreading across his face.

"Answer it. Put it on speaker."

I swiped the screen. "Chloe? What are you doing?"

"Hey, Harper! Is there a guy in your room right now?"

My face went cold. "Did you do this? Are you insane?!"

Chloe’s voice came through the speaker, dripping with twisted excitement.

"Hey, handsome! My roommate isn't bad-looking, and she’s got a great body!"

"Don't be picky! She’s always lecturing me about how real romance doesn't exist. Why don't you show her what 'destiny' feels like tonight?"

The intruder froze for a second, then burst into a crude laugh. He turned back to me.

"Wow. Your roommate is pretty generous."

"Chloe!" I screamed, my voice shaking. "You unlocked the door just so a robber could 'gift' me a fantasy?"

The line went quiet for two seconds before Chloe spoke up, completely self-righteous:

"Harper, don't be ungrateful! I wanted this destiny for myself, but since you've been so mean to me lately, I decided to let you have him! You don't have to thank me!"

The man laughed out loud, shoved my phone into his pocket, and stepped toward my bed.

"Well, since your roommate put in a good word for you, it would be rude of me to leave without having some fun, wouldn't it?"

My fingers finally managed to hit the emergency SOS button on my smartwatch.

The moment the call connected, I screamed the address at the top of my lungs:

"7 Oak Street, Apartment 702! Armed robbery! Help me!"

The man’s expression changed instantly. He lunged at me to grab my wrist.

I rolled off the bed, pulling the heavy duvet over myself to block him.

He grabbed my ankle and dragged me back, my knee slamming hard against the bed frame.

"You bitch! You called the cops?! Now you're dead!"

"I was gonna let you live, but you asked for this!"

The cold blade pressed against my neck, just like in my past life, cutting a thin line into my skin. I felt a warm trickle of blood.

I fought with everything I had, but my strength was nothing against a grown man.

My muscles began to give out.

Was it going to end the same way again?

I closed my eyes, ready to accept the inevitable.

Suddenly, the bedroom door was kicked off its hinges.

Three police officers stormed in, their flashlights and firearms aimed directly at him.

"Police! Drop the knife! Get on the ground now!"