The next day felt like it had been stretched into infinity. Eli barely managed to sleep, his mind consumed by the sound of J.M.'s voice, the promise, the warning, echoing in his thoughts. He'd been haunted before by the pull, but this.... this was different. Now, there was no denying it. His life had already begun to shift, and it was a path he couldn't walk away from, no matter how badly he wanted to.
He had to confront it. Had to find a way to break free, to put distance between himself and J.M. But even as the thought lingered in the back of his mind, he knew it was a lie. There was no escaping it. Not anymore.
The day dragged on. Eli tried to focus at work, but his thoughts were a whirlwind of confusion. Jason's words still clung to him like a shadow, his knowing smirk haunting his every move. Eli couldn't help but feel like the walls around him were closing in, that Jason was already too close, that J.M. was always lurking just around the corner.
Then, around midday, his phone buzzed again. It was a message from J.M.
> "You're avoiding me, Eli."
"I told you this would happen. You can only run for so long."
— J.M.
Eli's heart skipped a beat. His hand shook as he held the phone, the message staring back at him. It was too much. How could J.M. know? How could he always know exactly what Eli was doing?
He tried to fight it, tried to bury the gnawing fear in his chest, but it wasn't working. The feeling of being watched, always watched was becoming unbearable.
Before he could respond, his phone rang again. The number was private, just like last time.
He almost didn't answer it, but there was something magnetic about the call, an urge deep inside that wouldn't let him walk away.
His thumb hovered over the screen before he finally pressed 'Accept.' The moment the line clicked, J.M.'s voice greeted him again, calm and almost affectionate.
"You're slipping, Eli," J.M. murmured, the words as smooth as velvet, "I warned you, didn't I? You can't keep running from me forever."
"I—I'm not running from you," Eli said, the words barely above a whisper. He hated how his voice betrayed him. "I don't know who you are, J.M. I don't—" But the words caught in his throat. He couldn't finish the sentence. Didn't even know how to explain the tangled mess inside him.
"You know exactly who I am," J.M. interrupted softly, cutting through his hesitation. "You've always known, Eli. This... this is your choice. You've always been drawn to me, haven't you?"
Eli's chest tightened at the way those words hit him. It was as if J.M. had peered directly into his soul and found all the hidden parts that Eli had buried so deep, he'd forgotten they existed.
He wanted to deny it. Wanted to scream that J.M. was just some stranger, someone who had no right to say such things. But deep down, something in Eli knew it was true. J.M. was right. He had felt it from the very beginning the pull, the connection. It was there, undeniable and dangerous, and now it was unraveling him piece by piece.
"I'm not ready for this," Eli said, his voice barely above a whisper, the words escaping before he could stop them. "I don't know what you want from me."
J.M.'s laugh was soft, almost sad. "I'm not asking for anything, Eli. Not yet. But you will. Soon, you'll understand that this... this is the only way forward."
There was a long silence on the other end, and Eli's heart pounded in his chest. He felt it, that creeping sense of inevitability, like he was standing at the edge of a cliff, unable to look away from the abyss below.
"Don't be afraid," J.M. said, his voice suddenly tender. "I'm here. I'll always be here."
Eli's breath caught in his throat. The weight of those words pressed on his chest, and for the first time in his life, he felt the raw, aching need to trust. But he couldn't. He couldn't let himself be consumed by this, not now, not when everything felt like it was slipping out of his control.
"I don't know what you want from me," Eli said again, his voice more desperate this time. "You're just messing with me. You don't even know me."
"Don't I?" J.M. replied, his voice cool, distant now. "I know everything about you, Eli. Everything you've tried to hide. Every little crack you've kept hidden, I see it. I always have."
Eli felt like he was drowning. The words, the way they were spoken with such quiet certainty it was suffocating. "No… no, you don't."
But J.M. wasn't listening. "I'll prove it to you," he murmured. "I'll show you everything. Just trust me."
Before Eli could respond, the line went dead. He stared at the phone in his hand, his entire body frozen as the world around him seemed to spin.
What the hell was happening?
A knock on the door startled him. He jumped, quickly stuffing his phone into his pocket, trying to steady his breath.
When he opened it, Jason stood in the doorway, his eyes sharp and searching. Eli's stomach dropped. Jason had that look again, the one that told Eli he knew something wasn't right.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Jason said, leaning against the doorframe with a casual air, though the tension in his posture was unmistakable. "Everything okay?"
Eli didn't know how to answer. He didn't know what to say anymore.
"Yeah," Eli said, his voice hollow. "Everything's fine."
But Jason didn't buy it. He stepped inside without waiting for an invitation, his eyes never leaving Eli. "Come on, man. You don't have to hide it. Whatever it is, you can talk to me."
But Eli didn't know how to explain any of it. How could he tell Jason the truth? How could he explain J.M., the way the mystery pulled at him, the way his entire life had started to change without his consent?
He couldn't. Not yet.
But Jason wasn't going anywhere. He was here, and that knowing look never left his eyes.
"Jason," Eli said quietly, his voice faltering. "I think something is happening. Something I don't understand."
Jason's eyes softened, and he stepped forward, placing a hand on Eli's shoulder. "Whatever it is, we'll figure it out together."