Chapter 24
Moe
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Jillian curled up beside him on the couch, her head resting against his shoulder. Moe could feel her exhaustion in the way her body leaned into him, in the way her breath slowed, in the way her fingers curled lightly against his arm like she needed the contact to relax.
He didn't blame her. He needed it too.
It was hard to be away from her when she went inside the nursing home to work. Even though he stayed in the parking lot, she was out of reach. The shadow could get her before he reached the front desk.
But he couldn't deny her access to her mother. Their time was limited, and as he was learning, it was rare for her mom to be coherent and know Jillian. Most days, her mom stared out the window and was unreachable.
Tonight, the house was quiet. It reminded him of being back in Everstill.
The air was too heavy, like it was waiting for something to happen.
Moe kept looking to the far corners of the room.
The corner where the shadow had stretched itself a week ago.
He didn't trust the silence. He didn't trust the dark.
He didn't trust Everstill.
Jillian stirred beside him, lifting her head. "You're tense."
He didn't look at her. "It's not done with me."
She swallowed, her voice soft. "I know."
He finally turned toward her. Her eyes were tired, but brave. She wasn't pretending she wasn't scared. She'd chosen to stay with him. That mattered more than anything Finn had experienced in his life.
He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. "You should sleep."
She shook her head. "Not if you're awake."
He pulled her closer, letting her rest against him again. She fit there too easily, like she'd been meant to be in his arms long before he ever crossed the veil.
The quiet stretched. The air thickened. And then it happened.
A cold ripple slid across the back of his neck like a hand dragging icy fingers along his skin. Jillian stiffened instantly.
"Moe...," she whispered.
He didn't let her finish. He stood, pulling her with him, keeping her behind his body as he faced the corner.
The darkness was already there.
The shadow peeled itself from the wall, stretching upward as if unfolding from whatever place it had come. The air pressed against his chest, heavy and wrong, making it hard to breathe.
Jillian grabbed his arm. "It's stronger."
He stepped in front of her, blocking her completely. "Stay behind me."
The shadow didn't move toward him. It didn't react to him at all.
It angled toward the other side of the room, trying to reach Jillian.
Even with him standing between them, the darkness shifted, sliding along the wall, stretching sideways, reaching around him as if trying to find her face, her breath, her pulse.
Jillian gasped. "Moe—"
He moved instantly, shifting to block it again, but the shadow slid along the ceiling, repositioning itself, always angling toward her.
The truth hit him hard.
"It's not me it wants. It wants you," he said, voice low and rough.
Jillian's fingers dug into his arm. "Why?"
He didn't know how to answer. But he knew what Finn had told him.
The men who lived in Everstill weren't just trapped there.
They were held there, bound by their own darkness until someone loved them enough to pull them free.
Love was the one thing Everstill couldn't control, couldn't predict, couldn't cage.
And Jillian...she was the kind of door that didn't just let someone pass through.
She was the kind that could redeem a man. The kind Everstill feared. The kind Everstill wanted to break.
The shadow pulsed, a slow, deliberate throb that made the lights flicker.
Jillian whispered, "Moe... I can feel it."
He grabbed her hand, squeezing hard. "Don't let it in."
The shadow stretched again, reaching, testing, pressing against the edges of the room like it was trying to find a crack in her.
Moe stepped forward, fury burning through him. "You're not touching her."
The darkness froze.
Then it recoiled. It pulled back into the corner, folding itself into a thin line, then snapping out of sight like it had been yanked away.
The air lightened. The lights steadied. The room returned to normal.
Jillian sagged against him, shaking. "It wasn't just watching this time."
He held her tight, his arms wrapped around her, his chin resting on her hair. "No. It was testing you."
She swallowed hard. "Testing... what?"
He pulled back enough to look at her, his hands on her shoulders. "Your strength. Your fears. Your breaking point."
She trembled. "Moe... I'm not a door like Finn thinks. You kidnapped me and forced me into Everstill. Why would it want me?"
He cupped her face gently, his thumbs brushing her cheeks. "Regardless of how I took you, you're the door it wants."
Her eyes filled with fear.
"We are stronger." He leaned his forehead against hers. "I'm not letting it take you."
She breathed out shakily. "And I'm not letting it take you."
Because the darkness had shown its hand, Moe knew one thing with absolute certainty.
The real fight was about to begin.