I thought I had found peace in my new neighborhood, but when my only friend disappeared and everyone pretended nothing had happened, I knew this place had secrets and I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out about them.
Moving to this quiet, closed-off neighborhood was like a dream come true, or so I thought. The streets were lined with immaculate hedges, white fences, and houses that looked like they were straight out of a lifestyle magazine.
“This is it,” I whispered, clutching my keys. ”A new beginning.”
Inside, the house was everything I had hoped for: spacious, quiet and untouched. Sunlight streamed through the windows, painting golden streaks on the wooden floors. As I unpacked, however, I was overcome by a feeling of unease, as if I were being watched.
“Get a grip, Clara,” I muttered, shaking my head.
My curiosity was piqued and I peeked out through the blinds. Across the street, a man was standing by the window, staring. He didn’t look away, not even when our eyes met. His gaze felt invasive, as if he could see right through me.
“Who does that?” I whispered, drawing back the curtains.
The next day, I met Victoria. Her voice broke the silence as I fiddled with the shopping bags.
“You must be new!“ she said cheerfully, walking towards me.
“Yes,” I replied, startled.
“Don’t worry,” she said with a smile. ”I’m Victoria. Welcome to the neighborhood.”
“Clara,“ I said, shaking her hand.
“Let me guess,” she said with a teasing smile. “Has Collin been watching?”
I nodded and she laughed softly.
“Don’t let him scare you. He’s weird, but harmless.”
Victoria became a lifesaver, her warmth and charm a welcome distraction.
But as our friendship grew, so did Collin’s attention. He was no longer just watching from his window. He would stand by my mailbox, he would walk along the sidewalk and he would stand on his porch as if waiting.
One night, unable to bear being alone with him lurking outside, I called Victoria. “Would you like to come over for dinner?”
“Sure! I’ll bring wine.”
Her presence immediately put me at ease. Over dinner, I plucked up the courage to be honest.
“Why this neighborhood?“ she asked, filling our glasses.
“I’m leaving my husband. David. He’s a tyrant,” I admitted. “While the divorce is pending, I’m hiding here. People think he’s perfect, so I know no one would believe me.”
“Darling…”
“No, I have to show you. This is him,” I said, showing her a photo.
Victoria’s fingers clenched on the glass. The warmth in her eyes disappeared.
“Are you all right?”
“He just looks familiar, that’s all.”
The rest of the evening felt tense, although she tried to hide it.
“Don’t worry, Clara,” he said. ”Your secrets are safe with me.”
I wanted to believe that. For the first time in months, I felt lighter.
But the next morning, Victoria disappeared. Across the street, Collin was standing on his porch, watching.
No one was talking about Victoria, not even in passing. Her absence was like a wave that vanished before reaching the shore. It was unsettling, as if she had been erased.
“Maybe that’s how people are in small towns,” I muttered, watching Mrs. Peterson water her flowers, completely indifferent.
I wanted to ask her, to mention Victoria’s name and see if she would react, but I held back.
What if that made me seem nosy? Or worse, suspicious?
The silence about her disappearance struck me as strange. I would have expected at least a comment from someone as lively and charming as Victoria. But there was nothing.
One night, after wandering around the living room for hours, I made a decision.
“I need answers,” I whispered, looking for my coat.
The sun had just set when I approached Victoria’s house. The curtains were drawn and the porch light flickered weakly. Everything seemed wrong. Too quiet, too empty. I hesitated at the door and then turned the handle.
“Just a quick look. In and out.”
The door opened easily, as if it weren’t locked. Inside, the faint scent of her perfume lingered.
The living room seemed untouched. There were books on the coffee table and a cup of tea on the countertop, its contents dry and stained. It was as if she had disappeared at midday.
My eyes fell on a photo on the mantelpiece: Victoria with a small boy, about eight years old, wearing a mischievous smile. Something about his face jogged my memory.
“Why does he look familiar?” I muttered, brushing the frame.
Before I could think any further, the creak of the front door as it opened paralyzed me. My heart was pounding as footsteps echoed through the house.
Panicking, I squeezed into a narrow cupboard and covered my mouth with my hands to keep quiet.
Through the slats, I saw Victoria enter the room.
Why is she sneaking around her own house?
The answer came when I saw who was with her.
David. My husband.
Seeing him with Victoria made me feel sick.
“He lives next door,” Victoria said. ”You have to take care of this before I ruin everything.”
David nodded, his face dark and calculating, the same look I had seen so many times behind closed doors.
My chest tightened. My husband and my friend conspiring together. And the person they were conspiring against… was me.
I felt the walls of the closet closing in. My breathing was rapid and shallow, getting higher and higher in pitch. The darkness around me was suffocating.
Panic clawed at my chest, threatening to break me completely. I clenched my teeth, trying to stay still, trying not to make a sound.
I can’t stay here.
My fingers trembled as I clung to the edge of the closet door, waiting for the right moment.
Finally, their voices faded away, replaced by the sound of their footsteps heading towards another room.
“Now,” I whispered to myself, summoning up all the courage I had left.
I left the closet as quietly as I could. Each step towards the back door seemed like an eternity. I grabbed the doorknob, turned it slowly and pushed the door open just enough to slip through it.
The cool night air hit me like a slap in the face, but I didn’t have time to savour it. I took a step towards freedom…
And a hand gripped my arm.
“I’ve got you,” hissed a voice.
My stomach turned.
“Silence. Come with me,“ a voice whispered urgently in the darkness.
Then I turned, startled, to see Collin, my strange and disturbing neighbor, standing a few meters away.
”Collin?“
“Move,” he said quietly, grabbing my arm. “Now.”
I hesitated, but there was something in his tone that left no room for discussion. I followed him as he led me through a narrow, hidden gap in the fence into his garden. Once inside his house, Collin bolted and locked the door. His movements were quick and deliberate. He handed me a glass of water.
“Sit down,“ he said, pointing to a chair.
I sank into it, my legs barely able to support me. The glass trembled in my hands as I took a sip. My mind was racing, trying to reconstruct what had just happened.
“You have to stay here for now,” he said, leaning out of the window. “Victoria and your husband are on their way to your house.”
“Why… why would they…?”
He raised a hand to stop me. “I’ll explain, but first, breathe. You look like you’re about to pass out.”
I took a few ragged breaths, but it didn’t help. ‘Why are you helping me?”
“Because Victoria is my ex-wife,’ he said flatly, as if that explained everything.
”What?!”
“She made my life impossible for years,” Collin continued, his tone bitter but calm. ‘I stayed for the sake of our son, but she turned him into…her.”
He paused, and his eyes flickered with something resembling regret. ’Manipulative. Controlling. A little carbon copy of herself.”
I stared at him. ”What are you saying?”
She looked at me with pity. “That child… is your David. Victoria is his mother.”
The room spun. I grabbed the edge of the chair, feeling the floor fall away beneath me.
”No. That can’t be true.”
She paused, her eyes narrowed as if she were remembering something.
“When I saw you starting a friendship with Victoria, I got worried. My ex doesn’t make friends for no reason. He’s always playing some kind of game, and I knew there had to be something more.”
I blinked, trying to process his words. “So, you’ve been watching me?”
He nodded without a hint of apology. ”Yes. When Victoria gets involved with someone, it’s never for a good reason. I wasn’t sure what she wanted from you. When I saw you sneak into her house, I knew something was wrong.
“You saw me?”
“Of course I saw you,” he said, with a sharp but not unpleasant tone. ”I followed you. Then I heard them. David came for his wife, for you! But how did Victoria find out about you and David?”
“David’s photo… I showed it to Victoria. That’s why she disappeared.”
Collin frowned. “I see. That’s why I couldn’t let you go home alone. Victoria is dangerous, Clara. She’s manipulative and ruthless. You’re a target for her.”
I stared at him, my pulse pounding in my ears. His words made too much sense. Victoria had been so warm, so charming, but for her everything was a game. The weight of his words weighed on me, making it difficult to breathe.
“What can I do now? I escaped from David here. But thanks to Victoria, he was able to find me,” I whispered at last, tears stinging my eyes.
“Don’t worry. I’ve already called the police. They’ll be here soon. And believe me, David won’t hurt you again.”
His humor, absurd as it was, somehow cut through my fear.
“You’re taking it very lightly,” I said, smiling weakly as I wiped my face.
“Experience,” he said, raising an eyebrow. ”When you’ve survived Victoria, you either find a sense of humor or you go completely mad. I chose a little of both.”
A laugh escaped me, surprising in its volume. It felt strange to laugh in the midst of chaos. But Collin’s strange mixture of cynicism and kindness was exactly what I needed.
When the sound of the sirens grew louder, Collin got up and gestured towards the door. “Time to face it, eh?”
I nodded, getting up on shaky legs. ”Yes. Time to face it.”
I squared my shoulders, took a deep breath and left. The flashing red and blue lights painted the night sky and, for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, I felt ready to face my past and leave it behind.