When the Call Came at Midnight: Chapter Three

The rain refused to stop, and neither did my heartbeat. Adrian stood like a shield in front of me, facing the stranger who had appeared out of the storm as if he belonged to it. The lightning framed him in silver for a moment, and I caught a glimpse of sharp eyes that never once blinked.

The man’s presence unsettled me in a way that felt different from Adrian’s warning. Adrian’s fear had carried weight, but also… care. This man’s calm was emptier, like he already knew the end of the story and was just waiting for me to catch up.

“You’re too late,” Adrian said, voice low, controlled.

“Too late?” the stranger repeated, almost amused. “You dragged her here. Don’t pretend otherwise.”

My stomach knotted. Him? Adrian had brought me here? That couldn’t be true. He had warned me, hadn’t he? Or was the warning itself the lure?

I took a step back, my shoes slipping slightly on the slick boards. “What does he mean?” I asked, my words trembling in the storm.

Adrian didn’t answer at first. His silence was louder than any explanation. Finally, he turned his head toward me, rain dripping from his dark lashes. “You weren’t supposed to see this. Not tonight.”

The stranger chuckled under his breath, closing the gap by one deliberate step. “But she did. And now she has to choose.”

Choose? Between what? Between who?

The storm raged harder, waves crashing against the pier, the sound almost deafening. I felt trapped between two truths—Adrian’s warning and this man’s accusation.

“Adrian,” I said, louder this time. “Look at me. Tell me what’s happening.”

He finally faced me fully, and for the first time, I saw it: guilt. Not the kind born of lies, but the kind carved into someone who’s been carrying a burden too heavy for too long.

“I tried to keep you away,” he said softly, almost swallowed by the rain. “Because once you step onto this pier, you’re part of it. And part of me.”

Something in me wavered. Fear pulled one way, but his words, his confession, pulled the other. I should have run. I should have chosen safety. But instead, I stepped closer, close enough to feel the heat of him even through the storm.

The stranger’s eyes narrowed. “So, it’s true. You’re letting her in.”

Adrian stiffened. “She deserves to know.”

“Know what?” I demanded, the rain stinging against my skin.

The stranger tilted his head toward me. “That the man you’re trusting with your life is the same one who ruined mine.”

The words hit harder than the thunder above us. My breath caught, my eyes flicking between them. “What is he talking about?”

Adrian’s jaw tightened. “He’s twisting it.”

The man stepped forward, his face finally clear in the flicker of lightning. There was pain there, buried deep, but sharp enough to cut. “Tell her the truth, Adrian. Tell her why you’re really here every night. Tell her who you left behind.”

Silence. A silence so deep it drowned out the storm for a heartbeat.

I looked at Adrian, searching his face. And there it was again, that storm in his eyes, the same one that had drawn me to him. But now it looked different. It wasn’t just mystery. It was history. A past I hadn’t been told.

My voice cracked as I whispered, “Is it true?”

Adrian’s chest rose and fell, his hand clenching at his side. He didn’t deny it. Not immediately. And that pause, just that pause was enough to make the ground beneath me feel less solid.

Finally, his eyes met mine. “Yes,” he said. “But it’s not what you think.”

The stranger laughed bitterly. “It never is.”

I didn’t know who to believe. The pier suddenly felt like it was tilting, pulling me toward two different fates. The only thing I knew for certain was this: my life had shifted the moment I answered that midnight call. And no matter which truth came next, there was no going back.