You Look Worse Sober

Evelyn Mercer

***** 06:12 AM | Blackwood & Co. Books, Seattle*****

I woke up like something had been switched off inside me.

Not peacefully.

More like someone yanked a wire out of a machine mid-function.

My throat was dry, my head heavy, and my chest… still doing that thing where it forgot how to behave like a normal body part.

For a few seconds, I just lay there staring at the ceiling.

Grey. Familiar. Cheap paint cracking at the corners.

Normal.

That word felt fake.

Because I remembered him.

The rooftop.

The gold eyes.

The way the air changed like reality had been adjusted for his arrival.

I sat up too fast and regretted it immediately.

A cough ripped through me.

Sharp.

Wet.

I pressed my fist to my mouth until it stopped.

“Okay,” I muttered to myself. “No more rooftop drinking. No more emotional spiraling. No more….”

My sentence died when I noticed something on the floor.

A small black box.

My pill organizer.

I froze.

Slowly, I reached for it.

My fingers hesitated before touching it, like it might disappear or bite me.

It was real.

Neatly opened.

Every compartment filled correctly.

I stared at it.

“…No,” I whispered.

I had left it half-empty yesterday.

I knew I had.

I sat up fully now, heartbeat dragging itself awake.

My eyes scanned the room.

Nothing broken.

Nothing moved.

No footprints. No signs of forced entry.

Just silence.

Too clean.

My voice came out low.

“This is not funny.”

The room didn’t answer.

Of course it didn’t.

I swung my legs off the bed, ignoring the dizziness trying to pull me back down.

I picked up the pill box again.

Cold now.

Like it had been waiting.

“Hallucination,” I said firmly. “Stress hallucination. Brain tumor bonus feature. Great.”

I swallowed the pills anyway.

Because whether it was real or not didn’t matter.

I still had three months to die properly.

*****07:48 AM | Blackwood & Co. Books – Staff Entrance*****

The bookstore smelled like old paper and damp wood.

Safe smell.

Predictable smell.

I liked it because it didn’t remind me I was breaking apart.

Mina was already behind the counter, aggressively rearranging bookmarks like she could fix the universe through organization.

“You look worse,” she said immediately.

I dropped my bag. “Good morning to you too.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I’m serious, Eve.”

“I’m alive,” I said. “That counts as improvement.”

She walked closer, studying my face like she was trying to read a warning label.

“You didn’t sleep.”

“I did.”

“That was not sleep. That was emotional buffering.”

I leaned on the counter. “I hate how accurate you are sometimes.”

Mina opened her mouth again.

The door chimed.

We both turned.

A man entered.

Everything changed.

Not dramatically.

Not like lightning or music.

Just… pressure.

The air tightened slightly, like the room had become aware of something it didn’t like.

Tall.

Black coat.

Same as last night.

Kairen Vale.

He didn’t look around like normal people do.

He just entered and stopped.

Still.

Controlled.

Like movement was optional and unnecessary.

Mina immediately stepped in front of me.

“Who the hell are you?” she snapped.

His gaze shifted to her.

Not hostile.

Not interested.

Just acknowledging.

“You are irrelevant,” he said calmly.

Mina blinked once.

“…Excuse me?”

I stepped forward. “Hey…don’t talk to her like that.”

His eyes moved to me.

That was worse.

Because it felt like being measured without consent.

“I said I would return,” he said.

My stomach tightened.

“You also said a lot of weird things,” I replied quickly. “Like soul ownership and forty-day contracts and…”

A pause.

“You are still deteriorating,” he said.

Mina glanced between us. “Eve… what is this guy talking about?”

I forced a laugh. “Nothing. He’s… lost.”

Kairen didn’t react.

Instead, he looked past me.

At the shelves behind.

Books.

Rows of them.

Then.

A subtle shift.

The nearest shelf groaned.

One book slid out.

Hit the floor.

Then another.

Mina flinched. “What the…”

More books fell.

Not randomly.

Not chaotic.

Like something was loosening its grip on structure.

Kairen’s gaze sharpened slightly.

That was it.

No anger.

No warning.

Just… pressure increase.

The air felt heavier.

The shelves creaked again.

I stepped forward quickly. “Okay…stop…whatever you’re doing….stop it.”

He looked at me.

“You are unstable in proximity.”

“What does that even mean?”

He didn’t answer.

A flicker of something moved behind the glass window.

Outside.

Between rain streaks.

A shadow.

Not human shaped.

Not animal either.

Just wrong geometry.

Mina noticed it too.

Her voice dropped. “Eve… what is that outside?”

I turned.

My stomach dropped.

It was watching.

Not moving.

Just there.

Like it had been waiting for him specifically.

Kairen’s eyes shifted toward the window.

The moment he looked at it.

The shadow recoiled.

Fast.

Like it had been burned by attention.

It vanished.

Mina stepped back slightly. “Okay. Nope. I’m done. I don’t care who you are, but you’re not coming back here again.”

Kairen ignored her completely.

His gaze stayed on me.

“You did not report last night’s encounter.”

“I thought it was a hallucination,” I said flatly.

“Incorrect.”

“Comforting.”

A beat.

His eyes lowered slightly.

To my face.

Then my chest.

Like he was confirming something invisible.

“You are worsening faster than expected.”

I crossed my arms. “You keep saying that like it means something.”

“It does.”

Mina grabbed my arm. “Eve, I don’t like this. Who is he?”

I hesitated.

Kairen answered instead.

“Kairen Vale.”

Mina frowned. “That’s not helpful.”

“He is not here for you,” I said quickly.

That made her look at me instead.

“…What does that mean?”

I didn’t answer fast enough.

Kairen stepped closer.

Only one step.

Still minimal.

Still controlled.

But the air changed immediately.

Mina stiffened like her body suddenly remembered danger.

“I am here,” he said quietly, “because she called me.”

I snapped, “I did NOT call you…”

He looked at me.

And that stopped me mid-sentence.

Not because he raised his voice.

He didn’t.

Not because he moved aggressively.

He didn’t.

Just that look.

Certain.

Like he already knew the outcome of every argument I could make.

“You did,” he repeated.

Then his gaze shifted slightly.

To my wrist.

Where faint mark-like discoloration lingered under skin.

Mina followed his stare. “Eve… what is that on you?”

I pulled my sleeve down quickly. “Nothing.”

Kairen spoke again.

“You will continue to deteriorate.”

Mina stepped forward. “Stop saying that like she’s a broken machine.”

He didn’t look at her.

“That is not an insult. It is observation.”

I exhaled sharply. “Okay, I’m working. People are coming in soon. You can leave now.”

Silence.

Then.

Kairen reached into his coat.

Mina flinched instantly. “Don’t…”

He pulled out something small.

Not a weapon.

My pill organizer.

Again.

Mina blinked. “How did you..”

He placed it on the counter.

Neatly.

Like it belonged there.

Then looked at me.

“You skipped morning dosage.”

My mouth went dry.

“…You broke into my room?”

“No.”

“Then how…”

“I observed.”

Mina stared at me. “Eve…”

I ignored her.

“You can’t just monitor me,” I said firmly.

Kairen tilted his head slightly.

“You are inefficient alone.”

That landed wrong.

Not insulting.

Not kind.

Just… final.

Mina slammed her hand on the counter. “Okay, listen…creepy man…”

The lights flickered.

Once.

Twice.

A book on the nearest shelf cracked down the middle.

Mina froze.

I did too.

Kairen’s gaze shifted slightly toward the broken book.

Then back to me.

“Your emotional instability increases external disturbances.”

I swallowed.

“…You’re blaming me for that?”

“No.”

A pause.

Then:

“I am warning you.”

Outside.

The shadow returned.

Closer this time.

Pressed against the glass.

Not watching him.

Watching me.

My breath caught.

Kairen noticed immediately.

His voice lowered slightly.

“Do not acknowledge it.”

Too late.

The glass window trembled.

Mina backed away. “Eve, what is happening?”

I didn’t answer.

Because the shadow pressed harder.

Like it was trying to get in.

Kairen moved.

Fast.

Still controlled.

But fast enough that my brain barely tracked it.

He stepped between me and the window.

The air dropped several degrees.

The shadow froze.

Then.

It screamed.

Not sound.

Pressure.

The glass vibrated violently.

Books fell again from shelves.

Mina covered her ears. “What is that?!”

Kairen lifted one hand slightly.

The shadow collapsed inward.

Like space itself had been folded.

Gone.

Silence returned immediately.

Too sudden.

Mina was breathing hard. “Eve… what the hell was that?”

I didn’t answer.

Because Kairen was still standing there.

Perfectly still.

Looking at the window like it offended him.

Then he turned back to me.

Calm again.

As if nothing happened.

“You are attracting attention,” he said.

My voice came out smaller than I wanted. “From what?”

He didn’t answer immediately.

Then:

“Things that should not notice you.”

A pause.

“You should remain indoors after dark.”

Mina laughed once. Nervous. “Yeah, no. She’s not listening to you.”

Kairen finally looked at her again.

“You will ensure she complies.”

Mina stiffened. “Excuse me?”

He looked back at me.

“I will return.”

I exhaled sharply. “No, you won’t.”

But he was already turning.

Already leaving.

No dramatic exit.

No warning.

Just movement toward the door.

The air lightened slightly as he left.

Like the world could finally breathe again.

The bell above the door chimed once.

Gone.

Mina stared at the door.

Then at me.

Then whispered:

“…Eve. What did you bring into my bookstore?”

I didn’t answer immediately.

Because my eyes were still on the floor.

Where another book had fallen.

This one open.

Page blank.

Except for one line that hadn’t been there before.

Written in ink that looked too dark to be normal:

“FORTY DAYS REMAIN.”

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***