The journal never left Lena's side.
She read every word again that night, heart thudding with each page.
Jay sat across the room, arms crossed, watching her. "You believe him, don't you? The one who wrote this."
"I don't know what to believe," Lena whispered. "But some of the things he wrote… they're too personal. Too close. He knew what we did, what we said. Like he was always there."
Jay looked away. "Maybe he was."
That silence between them deepened.
"Do you think he's dangerous?" she asked.
Jay didn't answer immediately. "If he's like me… he's desperate. That's more dangerous than anything."
She stared at the last page. One sentence, written in jagged ink:
"If I can't have her, no one will."
A chill ran down her spine.
They decided to leave the lake house at dawn.
Jay packed quietly while Lena stood outside, watching the fog roll across the water.
She remembered the summer nights they used to swim here. His laugh echoing through the dark. The way the stars reflected in his eyes.
She couldn't shake the feeling that someone else was watching now.
Back in the car, the radio crackled with static. Then music.
Jay frowned. "It's off. The radio's not on."
A voice filtered through the static.
"You can't run from yourself, Jay."
Jay slammed the button. The music stopped.
They didn't speak for miles.
Back at Lena's apartment, she tucked the journal in a drawer. As she turned to close the window, she froze.
A photo lay on her windowsill.
A Polaroid.
Of her and Jay. From earlier that day.
Taken from the woods.
On the back, scribbled in ink:
"Only one of us gets to stay."
Lena's knees buckled. Jay rushed over, grabbing her just in time.
"We need help," she said. "We can't do this alone."
"I know someone," Jay replied. "Someone from the facility. She helped me escape. Maybe she can help us now."
"Can we trust her?"
Jay looked down at the photo. "We don't have a choice."
That night, Lena couldn't sleep. Shadows twisted across the ceiling. She could still hear the voice from the radio. The crack in the mirror. The feeling that no lock could keep him out.
Not the one who looked like Jay.
Not the one who knew her better than anyone ever had.
Not the one who still believed she was his.