Lila's eyes snapped open, her breath shallow and uneven. The soft hum of the morning light seeped through the curtains, casting gentle shadows across the room. She sat up abruptly, a sudden, disorienting wave of panic washing over her.

Her fingers grazed her lips, still tingling with the phantom sensation of Adrian’s kiss. She could feel the heat of his body pressing against hers, the weight of his hands, the softness of his breath in her ear.

But as the fog of sleep began to clear, so did the truth. Her heart dropped into her stomach as she took in her surroundings. The couch. The empty space beside her. There was no one here.

It was all a dream. Her hands flew to her face in disbelief.

A suffocating silence filled the room, and Lila's hands gripped the edges of the couch as she tried to steady herself. The emotions of the night before—the kiss, the words, the way Adrian’s gaze had held hers—seemed so real. But now, as she sat there, she realized it had all been a figment of her imagination, spun out of the intense longing that had been simmering in her heart since she’d met him.

Her phone buzzed suddenly, and she glanced at the screen, hoping for some kind of sign, some kind of tether back to the reality she’d briefly inhabited in her dream.

It was a text from Jenna. “Where are you? Want to do lunch? Need deets on the mystery man from the wedding.”

Lila stared at the message for a moment, her pulse still quick from the dream. She swallowed hard, trying to steady her breathing. The dream had felt so real, too real to ignore. But now, it was like waking up from a beautiful, broken dream. It stung—the sharp sting of disappointment mixed with confusion.

She typed a quick reply to Jenna, her fingers fumbling slightly on the keys. “Yes, please. I’ll be there. I had the craziest dream about him.”

The message sent, but her mind was still on Adrian. She couldn’t shake the image of his face, his voice, the way his lips had brushed against hers. The way he’d pulled back, leaving her yearning for more.

But it was all a dream. None of it was real.

Lila pushed herself off the couch, her legs still weak from the sudden rush of emotion. She needed to clear her head. She needed to get out of the apartment, to step into the sunlight and away from the haze that had settled over her mind.

After a long, hot shower and a cup of coffee, she called Jenna. Her friend answered on the first ring, her voice warm and curious.

"Hey, you okay? I got your text about a dream involving Mr. Mysterious," Jenna said, clearly amused.

Lila chuckled softly, but it felt hollow. "Yeah, about that... it was... wild. I mean, I’m still trying to figure out if it was real or not. But it was just a dream, right? Like... he was here, at my place, and we... I don’t know."

"Whoa, slow down!" Jenna interrupted, laughing. "Are you telling me this guy was at your place in your dream?"

Lila bit her lip, sitting down on the kitchen counter. "Yeah. He came over. We talked, kissed... but when I woke up, it was like he’d never been here. It felt real though. Like, too real."

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line. Jenna’s voice came through, softer now. "That’s... intense. But hey, sometimes our dreams are just our minds trying to tell us something. Maybe you're just feeling all those emotions from meeting him, and it got jumbled up in your head."

Lila sighed, running a hand through her damp hair. "I know, but it doesn’t feel like that. It felt so vivid, Jenna. I mean, I’ve had dreams before, but this one? It was... different."

"Well, whatever it was, it sounds like you need to talk to the guy. Find out if it was a dream or something more," Jenna teased, trying to lighten the mood.

Lila smiled weakly, but the thought of Adrian suddenly brought a flutter to her chest again. She didn’t know if it was the dream that had made her heart race, or if it was the real Adrian who had left her longing for something she wasn’t ready to admit.

As if on cue, her phone buzzed again, pulling her out of her thoughts. She glanced at the screen, her heart giving a strange lurch in her chest.

Adrian.

The text read: “Hey Lila, I know this is a little forward, but how about we grab dinner sometime soon? I’d really like to see you again.”

Her fingers trembled slightly as she read the words again. A date. Adrian wanted a date. And just like that, Lila’s dream and reality collided in the most unexpected way. She stared at the screen, a mix of excitement and confusion swirling inside her.

Is this real? She thought, her heart hammering in her chest.

She couldn’t help but smile, her thumb hovering over the screen as she considered her reply. Should she say yes? What if he was just like every other guy, playing games, leaving her wanting more and then disappearing? But this felt different. There was something about Adrian that made her want to take the leap, to break free from the walls she’d built up.

But before she could type a response, another message popped up, this time from an unknown number. It was short, to the point, and left Lila feeling cold all of a sudden.

The message read: You will die.

Lila’s breath hitched, her hands shaking as she stared at the cryptic message. Her mind raced, trying to make sense of it. Was this some kind of sick joke? Someone trolling her? Or was it something more sinister?

She felt a chill crawl down her spine as she stared at the screen, the words lingering in her mind, echoing over and over.

You will die.

Her phone slipped from her hands, falling to the floor with a soft thud, but Lila didn’t move. She was frozen in place, a strange sense of dread filling the pit of her stomach. And then, in the silence of her apartment, she heard it.

A faint knock on the door.

It was barely audible, but it was there. And it was the last thing she needed.

Her heart thudded in her chest, and she slowly stood up, her knees unsteady as she approached the door. Was it him? Adrian? Or someone else?

With her hand trembling, she reached for the doorknob, her breath caught in her throat.

The door creaked open.....