Heart Bound

One Secret At a Time

Kyrie's POV

The house was dark and quiet, as it always was. I closed the door behind me, locking it and taking a deep breath, but I couldn’t shake the tension in my chest. I’d been on edge all night, but now that I was alone, the feeling only grew stronger.

I headed to the kitchen to grab a glass of water, hoping to clear my mind, but when I looked out the window, my heart stopped. Just at the edge of the streetlight’s glow, near the end of my driveway, was that same shadow—a figure, just barely visible in the darkness, watching me.

I blinked, and it was gone.

I stumbled back, my pulse racing, clutching the counter to steady myself. I told myself it was just my imagination, that maybe I was letting the night get to me. I made my way upstairs, I kicked off my shoes at the door, sighing as I set my bag down. Just as I was about to head up to my room, I heard footsteps in the hallway. My brother Kade leaned against the wall, his arms crossed, a bored look on his face.

"Where’s Mom?" I asked, glancing around. Usually, she was either cooking or asking about my day the second I walked through the door, but tonight, the house was eerily quiet.

Kade shrugged, scratching the back of his neck. "She’s been… I don’t know, weird, lately. She went out somewhere, I guess. No idea where."

I frowned. Mom was always a little overbearing, always in everyone’s business, so her absence felt strange, unsettling even. “Did she say anything? She didn’t leave a note?”

“Nope,” Kade said, yawning as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “She was just gone when I got back from practice. Dad’s in the study. You could ask him.”

Just then, Dad’s voice echoed down the hall. “Dinner’s ready! Let’s go, you two!”

I shot Kade a look, but he just shrugged again, heading toward the dining room. I grabbed my bag and took the stairs to my room, hoping a quick change and a break would clear my mind. When I walked into my room, I set my bag down by the door, kicking off my socks and pulling a hoodie out of my closet.

As I changed, a strange feeling crept over me, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. I heard something—a voice, low and distant, barely a whisper. I froze, listening hard, but it was gone as quickly as it came. Shaking my head, I told myself it was just my imagination, probably a lingering effect of that shadow outside the cafe. Maybe my nerves were still on edge.

I grabbed a towel and headed into the bathroom, eager for a hot shower to wash away the day. As the warm water poured over me, my thoughts drifted back to Cal, to the way he’d looked at me in the cafe, his dark eyes intense and almost… curious. I felt a warmth in my chest that had nothing to do with the water. Ridiculous, I thought to myself, rolling my eyes. He was just being polite. Just hormones and an overactive imagination, that’s all it was. And yet, there was that pull, that strange, undeniable connection I felt with him, even if I couldn’t explain it.

When I finished, I wrapped a towel around myself, glancing at my phone on the counter as it buzzed. A text from Channing.

**Channing**: Hey, everything good? You looked kinda freaked out tonight.

I smiled, a bit of that tension melting away. Channing always knew when something was bothering me.

"Kyrie": Yeah, just a weird night. Thanks for walking me home.

"Channing": Anytime. And don’t let the shadows get to you. It’s probably just your birthday coming up, messing with your head. :)

I laughed softly, typing out a quick reply.

"Kyrie": Lol, maybe you’re right. Thanks, Chan. See you tomorrow.

I set my phone down, feeling a bit more grounded, and headed downstairs for dinner, where Dad was already sitting at the table. He was scrolling through his phone, his expression unreadable, as Kade took his seat across from him.

“Hey, Dad,” I said, sliding into my usual spot. “Kade said Mom’s out somewhere?”

Dad looked up, giving me a reassuring smile. “She went to see Grandma. She’ll be back in a couple of days. Something about helping her with the house.”

I raised an eyebrow, exchanging a look with Kade. “I didn’t know Grandma needed help.”

Dad shrugged, keeping his tone casual. “Just some things she wanted done around the place. Mom insisted on going.” He gave me a reassuring look, but there was something off about it. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but his words felt… rehearsed, like he’d prepared an answer before we even asked the question.

We ate in near silence, the quiet clinking of forks filling the room. Kade shot me the occasional look, like he was wondering if I was noticing how strange all of this was too. Just as I was about to ask more, Dad’s phone rang, breaking the silence.

“Sorry, I need to take this,” he muttered, glancing at the screen. His expression changed, turning serious as he stood up from the table, already stepping out of the room. “I’ll be right back.”

Kade and I sat there, both of us staring after him. He usually left work at the door, rarely taking calls during dinner, which only made his abrupt exit seem even stranger.

“Okay, is it just me, or is everyone acting weird tonight?” I said, lowering my voice.

Kade shook his head, his brows furrowed. “It’s not just you. Mom disappearing, Dad getting all serious over some call… I don’t like it.”

“Maybe it’s just one of those days,” I said, though even I didn’t believe it. Something felt wrong, lurking just beneath the surface, and I didn’t know what it was. But I could feel it—a change, a tension building that I couldn’t ignore.

And as I sat there, staring at the half-empty table, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the ordinary life I’d known was about to unravel, one secret at a time.