Free Web NovelChapter 14: Stay With Me
he’s inside the building now.
Kai stared at the message like it might rearrange itself into something less real.
It didn’t.
His brain read it, rejected it, then read it again anyway, like repetition might change the meaning.
Around him, nothing in the room had changed. The stream was still live. Chat was still flying. Notifications kept buzzing across his phone in bursts that should’ve felt overwhelming but instead felt strangely distant.
Everything outside his screen felt muted, like the world had been turned down in volume.
But underneath all of it was a single thought he couldn’t shake.
Someone might be in the building.
Or maybe not.
Both options felt equally wrong.
"Kai."
Luna’s voice cut through it immediately.
Soft. Steady.
"I’m here."
Something in his chest loosened at that. Not much, just enough for him to realize how tight it had been in the first place.
He hated that reaction more than the fear itself.
His eyes drifted toward the apartment door.
Nothing moved. No shadows under the crack. No sound beyond the low hum of electronics and rain against the window.
Just a locked door and a feeling that it might not matter.
The chat had completely lost control.
Peepee_666: BRO CALL THE COPS
Boobykiller_051: WHY ARE WE STILL LIVE
WetHamster_420: I FEEL LIKE IM WATCHING A CRIME DOCUMENTARY
TaxFraudEnjoyer: CHAT IF HE DIES WE ALL GET TRAUMA
Kai exhaled through his nose, rubbing his face.
His hands were shaking a little. Not enough for anyone to notice, but enough that he did.
Another message popped up on his phone.
Unknown number.
apartment 4C right?
He froze.
That wasn’t his apartment number.
He stared at it for a second too long before another message arrived.
nvm wrong streamer lol
Then, after a pause:
sorry
Kai let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
"What the hell is wrong with people?"
Nobody answered. Not chat. Not the room. Not even the silence, because the stream itself still filled the space with noise that didn’t feel real anymore.
His phone buzzed again.
This time Discord.
Luna.
He opened it immediately.
Don’t show this on stream.
A pause followed. The typing indicator blinked, disappeared, came back again.
I think somebody is trying to scare you.
Kai almost laughed.
"That’s the most obvious thing you’ve said all night," he muttered.
A small, unexpected laugh came through his headset in response. It lasted half a second before fading.
But it was real.
Luna continued.
No. I mean... somebody wants attention.
That made him stop.
Because it wasn’t just obvious anymore.
It was correct.
The photos. The messages. The timing. None of it was escalating in a straight line. It was performing escalation. Manufactured fear designed to keep him reacting, keep chat engaged, keep everything moving.
Attention as currency.
That thought settled heavier than the rest.
Kai spoke before he fully meant to.
"...Derek."
The chat detonated instantly.
Jacksonvill3_89: OH MY GOD
Peepee_666: THE VILLAIN ARC
WetHamster_420: BRO GOT A FINAL BOSS
Kai shook his head quickly.
"No, not like that."
But Derek had been right about one thing earlier.
This should’ve ended hours ago.
Instead it had grown legs.
Now it wasn’t just a stream anymore. It was a spectacle. A story unfolding in real time for over a hundred thousand people, each of them waiting for the next turn.
And that meant more eyes.
More noise.
More chance for someone unhinged to get involved.
Luna’s voice came again, quieter now.
"Are you scared?"
The question hung there.
Kai looked around his apartment. The glowing monitors. The rain-slick window. The half-finished drink on his desk.
Then the viewer count.
Over a hundred thousand.
A number that used to feel like success.
Now it felt like exposure.
"...Yeah," he admitted.
No joke. No deflection.
Just the truth.
A pause followed.
Then Luna, barely above a whisper:
"Me too."
That made him blink.
"You?"
"Mhm."
Her voice was smaller now. Not fragile exactly, but stripped of its usual steadiness.
"What are you scared of?"
The question slipped out before he could stop it.
Silence followed.
Long enough that he thought she wouldn’t answer.
Then—
"That you’ll stop talking to me."
The room seemed to shrink around him.
Not because of anything outside the call.
But because of what was inside it.
No manipulation. No angle. No performance.
Just fear.
Simple. Direct.
Human.
Kai swallowed.
His mind tried to push him toward distance, caution, every rational boundary he should’ve had in place.
Instead, what came out was quieter.
"Why would I do that?"
A breath left her.
Relief.
That was the worst part.
Not the fear.
The relief.
Because it meant she had been expecting rejection already.
Kai didn’t have time to think further.
A loud metallic sound echoed somewhere deeper in the building.
Not the hallway. Lower. A stairwell maybe.
His head snapped up.
The chat exploded again.
Peepee_666: NOPE
Boobykiller_051: I HEARD THAT TOO RIGHT
TaxFraudEnjoyer: THIS IS HOW MOVIES END
His phone buzzed again.
Another unknown number.
He opened it without thinking.
A photo loaded.
Stairwell. Concrete. Emergency lights.
And on the wall in black marker:
LUNA WAS HERE
Kai stared.
Something in his stomach dropped hard enough to make him dizzy.
Because it wasn’t just the message.
It was the intention behind it.
Too obvious. Too clean. Too perfectly aimed.
Someone wasn’t just trying to scare him anymore. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
They were trying to redirect him.
To make him doubt her.
To turn this into a story where she became the threat.
His headset stayed silent.
For the first time all night, Luna didn’t speak immediately.
Then—
"...Kai."
Her voice had changed.
Not louder. Not sharper.
Just hurt.
And that hurt felt heavier than anything else so far.
Before he could respond, a new message appeared in their Discord.
Luna:
I promise that wasn’t me.
And right after he read it—
a sound came from his apartment door.
Not a knock.
Not this time.
A slow, testing turn of the handle.
Click.
Click.
Click.
The deadbolt held.
But whoever was outside wasn’t knocking anymore.
They were checking.
Quietly.
Patiently.
To see if it would open.
