The room was quiet, too quiet, as I stood at the edge of the guest bed, watching Elena sleep. Her breathing was uneven, and her face was pale, but at least she was here safe, under my roof. I didn’t trust her to be alone tonight.
I had wrapped her in a blanket and made sure the heater was on full blast. Still, she looked small, almost fragile, curled up on the bed. I leaned against the doorframe, running a hand through my damp hair. My mind was a mess.
What the hell had I missed?
She’d jumped into that freezing pool like she had nothing left to lose. That thought alone twisted my gut. She was breaking right in front of me, and I hadn’t seen it.
I sighed and rubbed my face. I needed answers. Answers she wasn’t ready to give. My eyes caught sight of her bag on the floor, half-opened. Her phone buzzed again, the screen lighting up.
It wasn’t intentional… I swear it wasn’t but my eyes caught the message that flashed across the screen.
“Elena, don’t come back here. Your dad will sell you to the debtors. Stay at the university. Please, my daughter.”
I froze. The words stared back at me, clear as day. My heart sank as the realization hit me like a freight train.
“Sell her?” I muttered to myself. “What the hell is going on?”
I picked up the phone without thinking, my hands trembling slightly. More messages appeared, some unopened, all from the same number. Her mother.
“I begged him to stop, but he won’t listen.”
“Elena, stay away from here.”
“If you come back, I don’t know what will happen to you.”
The more I read, the harder it was to breathe. My jaw clenched as anger started bubbling in my chest. How long had she been carrying this? How the hell had she been managing to go to classes, to smile-even faintly when this was her reality?
“She’s dealing with all this and still manages to show up every day?” I muttered under my breath, shaking my head.
I sank down onto the edge of the bed, the phone still in my hand. My eyes flickered to Elena, sleeping pifully, her face etched with exhaustion even in sleep.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I whispered, though I knew she couldn’t hear me.
A part of me felt guilty for going through her messages, but what choice did I have? She wasn’t talking, and I couldn’t help her if I didn’t know what was going on.
I stood up and walked to the door, running my fingers through my hair again. My mind raced as I tried to piece together what I had just learned. Her father. Debtors. Her mother begging her to stay away.
What kind of life had she come from?
I headed to the kitchen to grab some water, hoping it would help me think. My steps were slow, heavy with the weight of what I had just discovered.
As I reached for a glass, I felt a vibration in my pocket. Frowning, I pulled out the phone, thinking it was mine, but it wasn’t. It was hers.
Her phone.
I stared at it, my pulse quickening. Another message had come in, but this one wasn’t from her mother.
It was from an unknown number.
“You think you can hide forever? Your time is running out.”
The words chilled me to my core. My grip on the phone tightened as a new wave of anger surged through me. Whoever this was, they were threatening her. And judging by the way it was worded, it wasn’t the first time.
I couldn’t stand still. I paced the kitchen, my mind racing. Elena wasn’t just struggling she was trapped in something dangerous than I’d imagined.
I scrolled through her phone, looking for more messages from this unknown number. There were dozens, all laced with veiled threats and warnings. Some were direct, others cryptic, but all of them screamed danger.
“Damn it, Elena,” I muttered, slamming the phone onto the counter. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
I leaned against the counter, trying to calm the storm inside me. But the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Not at her, but at the people who had pushed her to this point.
My fists clenched as I thought about her father, the debtors, whoever the hell was sending these messages. How could they do this to her?
I glanced back at the phone. Another message had come in.
“Don’t make us come looking for you.”
I swore under my breath, my hands gripping the edge of the counter. Whoever these people were, they weren’t bluffing. And Elena was right in the middle of it.
I needed to talk to her. I needed answers. But not tonight. She was barely holding herself together as it was.
I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, I’d get the truth out of her.
For now, all I could do was make sure she was safe. I grabbed the phone and walked back to the guest room. She was still asleep, her breathing shallow but steady.
I placed the phone on the nightstand and sat down in the chair across from the bed, my eyes never leaving her.
This wasn’t just a student I was dealing with anymore. This was Elena. And she needed help, whether she wanted to admit it or not.
As I sat there, the events of the night replayed in my mind. The pool. The messages. Her mother’s desperate pleas.
My chest tightened as I thought about how close I had come to losing her tonight. And for what? Because she thought she had no one to turn to?
Not anymore.
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees, my eyes fixed on her sleeping form.
“You’re not alone, Elena,” I whispered. “Not anymore.”
The phone buzzed again, but I ignored it this time. Whatever was coming, I’d deal with it. I didn’t know how yet, but I would.
Because I couldn’t let her face this alone. Not when she was breaking right in front of me.
And as I sat there, watching over her, one thought kept repeating in my mind.
I wouldn’t let her fall. Not again. Not ever.