Page 47 of Specters & Spotlights

Her heart plummeted.

Him.

Her ex. Her mistake. A ghost from her past.

It couldn’t be. He wasn’t⁠—

But the air shifted. Her whole body knew before her brain could catch up. That wasn’t him. Not anymore.

He looked at her. Smiled.

That cold, knowing smile. A smile that had no place in this warm little pocket of joy.

His lips moved. No sound. Just two words:

Found you.

Elise didn’t breathe. Didn’t blink. Didn’t move.

She screamed.

Then he vanished. Not like a person walking away. Not like something leaving a frame. Just—gone. Like smoke sucked from a room.

The brewery stilled, though the karaoke music buzzed on, indecent in its cheer. Heads turned. Eyes locked on her. The warmth she’d just begun to nestle into evaporated.

“Elise?” Graham’s voice was soft, close. Too gentle. “What happened?”

She stood up so fast her chair scraped loudly. Her hands fumbled for her bag.

“You didn’t see anyone?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

Graham followed her gaze. “Outside? No. Just… street.”

“Okay,” she said, starting to back away. “I–I need to go.”

“Wait,” he said, brows furrowed. “Are you alright?”

Nick arrived like he’d stepped out of the woodwork—bright-eyed, a touch tipsy, but instantly attuned.

“Hey,” he said breezily, stepping into the space between her and whatever Graham had just started to say. “Elise, didn’t you say you promised me a round of karaoke hell before midnight? Your pick: Celine or Meatloaf.”

Elise blinked, heart still thudding in her ears.

“I—”

Nick leaned in closer, voice quieting. “Do you need to leave?”

She nodded. Once, firmly.

Without missing a beat, Nick offered Graham a sheepish shrug. “Sorry, man. She owes me a duet,” he joked, already steering Elise toward the door.

He snagged her bag from beside the bar without slowing, slinging it over his shoulder like they did this all the time.

As they slipped out the back, Elise glanced over one last time. Graham was by the bar, still watching. His brows were knit in confusion, maybe concern… and something like disappointment.

Elise looked away. The night had shifted. Something had cracked open. It no longer felt safe or still. In the hush of the alley, her heart still hammered in time with a song she hadn’t meant to sing.

The past was no longer resting.