Cherreads

Chapter 22 - CHAPTER 22

One evening, as he sat alone in his room, he felt the weight of Lina's threat hanging over him. He opened his notebook and began to jot down his thoughts. "She's not the person I once knew," he wrote. "I have to do something before it's too late."

But as he wrote the words, a dark thought entered his mind—what if he couldn't retreat anymore? What if he needed to protect himself? The thought that he had to defend himself against Lina became more and more urgent. He thought of his family. He wanted to protect them, but how could he do that when he couldn't even defend himself against Lina?

In the days that followed, he began to feel paranoid. He constantly looked over his shoulder when leaving school and felt like Lina was following him everywhere. He spent his time watching her in the park, where she often laughed with Tim. Every laugh he heard drove him crazy. Why couldn't she just give up?

One night, lying in bed, he clutched his pillow as if it were the only support he had. In his mind, he pictured Lina standing before him, a blade in her hand, ready to strike. He trembled at the thought. What if she really had nothing to lose?

In his jumbled thoughts, the idea suddenly surfaced that he had to act before it was too late. He imagined how he would confront her—or better yet, how he could stop her. A shiver ran down his spine as he thought that he had to take care of not only himself, but also his family.

"What if I don't stop her? What if she hurts my family?" he muttered, and the idea that Lina might hurt his siblings or his parents made him shiver. Fear closed around his heart like an icy embrace.

At school, he began to have strange and disturbing thoughts. During recess, he saw Lina talking to Tim and smiling at him. The image burned itself into his memory, and it seemed he couldn't stop thinking about it. How easy could it be to lose control of everything?

As he was plagued by the image of the two, a wave of anger and despair overcame him. What if he didn't act quickly enough? He imagined himself standing there with a gun in his hand, ready to end everything. But then the thought came: What would happen to my family? What if I couldn't stop Lina and she targeted my parents and siblings?

In the nights that followed, he repeatedly sneaked back to his siblings to make sure they were safe. But the more he thought about it, the more his mind reeled. It was as if a dark veil were descending over his thoughts. The idea that he had to take matters into his own hands grew stronger.

Over and over, he imagined himself meeting Lina and confronting her. But then, a feeling of powerlessness overcame him, and in a desperate attempt to control his thoughts, he grabbed a pen and began scribbling on the blank pages of his notebook. "I can't let her hurt me or my family. I have to make a plan."

But the more he planned, the more he noticed his own reality beginning to overtake him. Thoughts of what he might do to Lina turned into a constant obsession. He couldn't think clearly, and the darkness spreading within him felt increasingly inevitable.

One night, with the moon high in the sky and the light streaming through his window, he looked out the window. He felt as if darkness waited outside his walls—and perhaps within his own heart. In that moment, he realized he was no longer who he once was. Lina had unleashed something within him, and he didn't know if he'd ever get it back.

The days passed, and Lukas increasingly felt like a prisoner of his own thoughts. The pressure Lina exerted on him became unbearable. It was as if she crept into his mind like a shadow, clinging ever closer to him, so that he could hardly think clearly. The more he tried to distance himself from her, the more she seemed to consume him.

At school, he noticed his classmates staring at him. He could hear the whispers circulating about him—and he knew they knew what was going on between him and Lina. Every time he saw Lina, his adrenaline surged. Her gaze was like an ominous harbinger, driving chills into his heart. He felt uncomfortable in his own skin, as if he were an actor in a nightmare from which he couldn't escape.

One afternoon, as he walked through the park, he saw Lina sitting on a bench. She seemed to be talking to someone, but her gaze was fixed on him. He could feel the way she was watching him, and it felt as if she were looking directly into his soul. A shiver ran down his spine. How much did she know about him?

His heart was racing, and he knew he had to confront her, to find out what was going on in her head. It was as if he was driven by an incessant urge to confront her. But at the same time, a paralyzing fear overcame him. What if she really was crazy enough to harm him or his family?

He decided not to let her provoke him. But inside, a storm was brewing. In a mixture of despair and rage, he imagined what might happen if he didn't stop Lina. Thoughts he'd never had before came to mind—thoughts that frightened him. He imagined himself confronting her, but this time he was willing to risk everything.

The nights were becoming increasingly unbearable. He could no longer ignore the darkness enveloping him. As he reached for his notebook to write down his thoughts, he noticed the pages becoming increasingly dark. "Lina is a threat," he wrote. "I must act before it's too late."

One night, unable to sleep again, he got up and went to his window. The moon was bright, and the light fell on his face. Suddenly, a thought struck him: What if he could show Lina that he was stronger? Maybe then she would leave him alone. Maybe he could make her fear him.

He couldn't stop thinking about it, and as the sun rose, he was determined. He knew he had to scare Lina to put her in her place.

At school, he began to take cautious steps. He watched her, analyzed her behavior, and waited for the right moment. Tim was still by her side, and Lukas felt the anger growing inside him. How could Tim be so blind?

On Friday evening, as dusk fell, Lukas sneaked out of the house. He had a plan. He would no longer make Lina feel like she had control over him. He wanted to confront her, not just as a weak boy, but as someone ready to fight back.

With a storm of emotions inside him, he set off for the park where he knew she would be. I'll stop her before it's too late.

When he arrived, he saw her—alone on the bench, a mischievous smile on her lips. At that moment, he felt a mixture of anger and fear. She noticed him, and her gaze cooled as she leaned back. Lukas stepped closer, the darkness around him seeming to shrink as he walked toward her.

"Lina," he began, his voice trembling with suppressed anger. "We need to talk."

She looked at him with a mixture of amusement and confusion. "Oh, Lukas. What do you want? You can't escape me. You're not the only one who's afraid."

Her words made him pause, and the darkness lurking within him seemed to stand still for a moment. "I've had enough of your games. You're playing with fire," he said, trying to maintain control of his voice.

Lina grinned. "Fire? You have no idea what fire really is, Lukas. Believe me, I'm not the one in danger here."

At that moment, Lukas realized he couldn't wait any longer. It was time to regain control.

Lukas sat at his desk, staring at the screen, but the letters blurred before his eyes. Thoughts swirled in his head, catching on. He couldn't ignore Lina anymore, even if he tried. Her constant presence gnawed at him, and he felt like he was trapped in a nightmare.

He knew she was watching him. Every time he was at school, he felt her eyes on him. It was unsettling and yet alluring. What did she want from him? He had repeatedly signaled to her that he wasn't interested, yet she didn't seem to give up. Her determination was driving him crazy.

With each passing day, a dark suspicion grew within him. He began to think that Lina wasn't who she claimed to be. There was something in her gaze that drove him to pull away. Was she really just a desperate girl looking for an escape? Or was she far more dangerous than he could have ever imagined?

For the past few nights, he'd been having nightmares about her family. It was as if all his deepest fears were manifesting. Thoughts that revolved around the concept of violence and destruction. He couldn't get Lina out of his mind, and the thought of what she might do if she continued to intrude into his life made him nervous.

"I have to find a way to distance myself," he muttered to himself. But how? It seemed impossible to distance himself from someone who pursued him so obsessively. The more he tried to avoid her, the more it felt like she was pushing him toward an abyss where he couldn't find any purchase.

He felt the threads of control over his life slowly tearing apart, and the panicked thought that everything he held dear was in danger made him lose his composure.

Lukas couldn't think clearly anymore. Thoughts about Lina and the way she looked at him wouldn't leave him alone. Every interaction, every fleeting glance, fueled his fear and anger. He felt as if he were balancing on a tightrope, with darkness lurking beneath him.

He wanted to distance himself from her, but it was as if she hung over him like a shadow. The more he tried to distance himself, the more she seemed to cling to him. What if one day she crossed the line? What if her obsession led him to a point where he couldn't go back?

"I have to stop thinking about her," he whispered. But that was easier said than done. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her face. Her smile was a desperate game of tag, leading him astray, while her eyes sparkled with secrets and dark intentions.

He felt as if she wasn't just watching him, but also controlling him. A perfidious game in which he didn't know the rules. What did she really want? And what was she willing to do to win him over?

The thought of what could happen if he wasn't careful haunted him. What if she targeted his family? The thought that Lina could threaten his loved ones was unbearable. He felt a lump forming in his throat. The things he'd seen in his nightmares were nothing compared to the reality that was slowly revealing itself to him.

It was time to take a step. One last attempt to free himself from her influence. He would ignore her, even if it meant breaking apart inside. Maybe she'd stop when she realized her games weren't working. But deep down, he knew that wasn't the solution. Something inside him told him things would get worse before they got better.

He had to gather himself before the darkness swallowed him whole.

The days passed, and Lukas felt as if he were trapped in a labyrinth from which there was no escape. Lina was everywhere; Her presence invaded every corner of his life. Even his thoughts seemed to be controlled. He often saw her at school, staring at him with those piercing eyes. Sometimes he felt as if her gaze was stripping him bare, tearing away his innermost fears and worries.

The moments when she approached him became increasingly intense. She often spoke to him, trying to start a conversation, but he chose silence, which she seemed unable to bear. The ridiculous cheerfulness she tried to present was like a masked attack to him, testing his defenses. She asked questions that penetrated his thoughts, but he revealed nothing of himself.

In one of the rare moments when he dared to confront her, he said, "You should back off a bit, Lina. This is getting too much." But the moment he said that, he saw the sparkle in her eyes, and his words didn't seem to have any effect. Instead, she only seemed to cling to him more tightly.

"I'm just worried about you, Lukas," she replied in a voice as sweet as honey, but which only made him uncomfortable. "I just want you to be happy."

"You don't know what this means," he murmured, wondering inwardly how she could be so unaffected by the truth around him. It was as if she lived in an alternate reality where her obsessive feelings were just fine.

After his encounter with her, he sat alone in his room, staring at the wall. He wondered how he could make her understand that he didn't want her. But every time he took a step toward freedom, she seemed to come even closer, as if she sensed his escape.

Thoughts of his family were like a shadow that constantly followed him. What if she harmed not only him, but them as well? The thought made his blood run cold. He had to act before it was too late.

Lukas began to observe his surroundings. He noticed that Lina sometimes appeared near his house, especially when he was out with friends. This realization caused a cold feeling of fear to rise in his stomach.

One night, while he was trying to calm himself down and finally sleep, he heard a noise. It was quiet, but it was enough to wake him. His heart pounded loudly in his chest. He jumped up and crept to the windowsill. Through the small gap between the curtains, he saw her—Lina. She stood in the shadows, her eyes fixed on the house.

A shiver ran down his spine. It was clear: she was watching him. And in that moment, he knew it wasn't just a phase. It was serious.

Darkness began to descend upon his life, and he felt helpless, trapped in a game whose rules he didn't understand.

Lukas woke up in the days that followed with a constant feeling of threat. Lina's presence seemed to lurk everywhere, invisible but tangible. His thoughts revolved incessantly around her, and he could no longer think clearly. Every step he took was overshadowed by the fear that she would be standing around the corner, watching him, stalking him.

At school, he tried to ignore her, but it was useless. Her eyes followed him through the hallways, as if she were mentally retracing his every move. He could no longer distinguish whether she was actually there or whether it was only his imagination driving him mad.

Once, he caught her sneaking into his classroom when he was alone. Her presence was overwhelming, as if she had sucked the air out of the room, and he felt his control over his life slipping away. His heart pounded as he tried to send her away, but Lina remained calm, as if she had the power to direct his every action.

"Lina, stop," he said sharply, but she only smiled slightly, as if she knew he didn't mean her words.

"Why are you so tense?" she asked, her voice soft, almost innocent.

"Because you're destroying me!" he shot back without thinking. It was the first time he'd shown his frustration so clearly, and for a moment, Lina seemed taken aback. But the smile quickly returned as she leaned forward and whispered, "I'm not destroying you, Lukas. I'm protecting you."

That was the moment Lukas realized there was no way to push Lina away. She lived in her own world, a world where he was the central figure, and nothing he said or did would change that.

The more he tried to ignore her, the more he lost himself in a web of fear and anger. He began to avoid his friends, including Tim, because the shame of being followed was consuming him. He couldn't explain to Tim what was really going on. How could he make anyone understand?

Lukas's sleep became increasingly restless. He often woke up in the night, the oppressive feeling of Lina's eyes on him. He had nightmares in which she not only followed him, but kept coming closer—and he couldn't escape.

One night, he woke up drenched in sweat and reached for his phone. It was 3 a.m. Without thinking much about it, he opened his messages and started texting Tim.

"Tim, I need your help. I can't do this alone anymore."

But before sending the message, he paused. Would Tim even understand? Would he believe him? Or would he think Lukas was overreacting? Doubts overwhelmed him, and he deleted the message before putting his phone away and going back to bed. But sleep was no longer there.

With each passing day, Lukas felt himself spiraling deeper into madness. The fear ate away at him, and the uncertainty about what Lina would do next was driving him almost crazy.

Lukas could barely bear the weight piling up on his shoulders. Every second felt as if she was taking more and more control over his life. When he woke up in the morning, the first thing on his mind was Lina—where she was, what she was doing, and whether she was waiting for him somewhere again. This uncertainty made him restless and preoccupied. Most people around him noticed that something was wrong, but no one could understand how deep the fear was within him.

Tim noticed the change, but he said nothing. He seemed too absorbed in his own thoughts, and Lukas wondered if Tim was also affected by all of this. But he couldn't tell him. Every time he thought about it, his mouth filled with a bitter taste of shame and fear.

More Chapters