Depraved Valentine (St. Valentines)

Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

RAFE

I didn’t mean to follow her. At least, not at first. It wasn’t some grand plan. But when Charli left my place—well, there was something in her eyes, something I couldn’t shake. Something that told me she wasn’t telling me the whole truth.

She’d been distant the last hour or so. We were still doing the same things, the same routines. She’d smile, laugh, and kiss me, but something felt… off. Like she wasn’t really there.

I had tried to push it down. I tried to brush it off as nothing—maybe she was just stressed from school, or maybe I was just being paranoid. But tonight, when she kissed me goodbye with that extra softness in her touch, I couldn’t ignore it anymore. So when she left, I decided to follow her.

I didn’t know where she was going. I didn’t even know why I felt like I had to find out. But I needed to know. Something had changed, and I was starting to get this sick feeling in my gut that told me whatever it was, I wasn’t part of it.

She was walking quickly, heels clicking against the pavement, head down like she was trying not to be seen. I kept my distance, staying behind her, blending into the shadows of the quiet street. She didn’t look back. Didn’t seem to notice I was there, following her every step.

When she reached the club, I stopped a few yards away, hidden behind a parked car. I watched her disappear inside. I didn’t know what I was expecting—maybe that she’d turn around and see me, or maybe she’d wave, just to let me know everything was fine.

But she didn’t. She went inside like it was a routine thing. Like she wasn’t worried about anything.

I stood there for what felt like an eternity, my heart hammering, unsure of what to do next. Part of me told me to just walk away. That it was stupid to be doing this. But the other part, the one that couldn’t quiet the gnawing in my chest, told me to stay.

So I stayed and wondered why she didn’t just tell me she was going out tonight. I could’ve moved plans around to make time for her another night. I never would’ve said no.

It was a while before Charli came back out. She was with someone. A guy. I couldn’t make out much at first—they were too far away—but the way they were talking, the way they were laughing, it didn’t sit right. There was a familiarity in the way he touched her arm, the way she responded, that I couldn’t ignore. It was… different.

My throat tightened as I followed them at a distance, keeping to the shadows, staying out of sight. They made their way through the city, heading toward a part of town I didn’t recognize. I had no idea where they were going, but I couldn’t bring myself to look away.

They stopped at an apartment building—one I hadn’t seen before. She didn’t live here. I knew that much. But the way she looked at the building, the way she gave the guy a smile that seemed a little too bright, a little too familiar... it didn’t feel like just a friendly walk home.

I stayed across the street, hidden behind the corner of a building. My heart was racing now, a pit opening up in my stomach as I watched them stop at the entrance. She turned to the guy, a small laugh leaving her lips as she fumbled with her keys.

I don’t know what I thought would happen next. Maybe she’d just turn around and head back to her own place. Maybe she’d call me, text me, or something. But she didn’t. She went inside. With him.

I stood there for a long time, staring at the door. It felt like hours. The whole world seemed to freeze at that moment. There were a million things I could’ve done. I could’ve gone back home, pretended I hadn’t seen any of this. I could’ve told myself it wasn’t a big deal—that maybe it was just a friend, maybe she was just helping him with something.

But none of that felt true.

As I stood there, the cold creeping in, I felt a part of me starting to unravel. The air around me felt thick, like I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the apartment door, waiting.

The worst part? I could hear them inside. Not them specifically, but the muffled sound of their voices, their laughter. The way it sounded like they were comfortable with each other, too comfortable.

I moved closer, stepping onto the sidewalk, my sneakers barely making a sound against the pavement. I was drawn to the door now, like I couldn’t pull away even if I wanted to.

And then, like an instinct, my hand reached for the door handle. I step inside the lobby as they enter the elevator. Thankfully, it’s one of those elevators that shows what floor it's stopping at on the outside.

I patiently wait until it stops on the ninth floor.

Once it comes back down to the lobby, I push the number nine and wait as it goes up. Nothing is going through my mind. Everything is blank. I’m moving on autopilot.

I get to the floor, and at the very last second, I see Charli and that guy enter a room, and the door shuts. I quietly make my way over to the door and look at the number on it—ninety-two.

I don’t know what I was expecting, what I thought I’d hear if I pressed my ear up against the wood. Maybe I thought I’d hear something—something that would explain all of this, make sense of it in a way that wouldn’t shatter everything I thought I knew about Charli.

But it didn’t.

I just stood there, listening to nothing but the quiet hum of the city, the steady beat of my heart in my ears, wondering what I was even doing here.

I wanted to walk away. I did. But my feet wouldn’t move. I was stuck in this moment, this space between confusion and reality, unable to make sense of it.

And then, just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, the sound of a door opening came from inside. Charli’s voice drifted through the wood, just faint enough that I could barely catch the words, but clear enough to send a shiver down my spine.

“Sleep tight,” she said, her voice soft, too soft. “It’s over.”