Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
| Sariyah Henry | | 22 years old |
———
Sariyah's breath felt too loud in the quiet space between them.
D'kazi had been watching her. Following her. He had invaded her life in ways she still didn't fully understand. And yet, right now, she wasn't thinking about the messages or the fear clawing at her only minutes ago.
She was thinking about what he'd just said.
You.
That was why he had started talking.
She was the reason.
Her fingers curled into the fabric of her jacket, her body still tense, still caught between fight and curiosity.
"That doesn't make sense," she said, shaking her head. "I—I don't understand."
D'kazi said nothing, just watching her with that unreadable gaze.
"I mean, why me?" she pressed. "I'm not special. I'm just—" She exhaled sharply. "I was just a normal girl in high school. I barely knew you. I don't even think I spoke to you."
"You didn't," he murmured.
"Then why?"
He was silent for a long time, as if weighing his answer, choosing each word carefully.
Then, finally—
"Because you saw me."
Sariyah's heart stuttered.
She blinked. "What?"
D'kazi's gaze didn't waver. "Everyone else looked past me. Teachers. Students. Even my own family." His voice remained steady, calm, but there was something raw beneath it. Something aching. "But not you."
Sariyah's stomach twisted. She searched her memories, trying to find what he was talking about, but all she could remember was a quiet boy who kept to himself. She had noticed him, sure. But she noticed everyone.
She hated seeing people alone.
But that wasn't the same as seeing someone the way he made it sound.
"I don't..." Her voice trailed off, and she swallowed hard. "I don't remember doing anything."
His lips parted slightly, as if surprised she didn't understand.
Then, almost hesitantly, he spoke.
"The first time," he murmured, "was junior year."
Sariyah felt her pulse in her throat.
"You dropped your books in the hallway." His voice was quiet, his eyes flickering with something deep—something she couldn't place. "Everyone just walked past. But you bent down to help me pick them up."
Sariyah blinked.
She barely remembered that.
To her, it had been nothing—a simple gesture, something anyone would have done.
But to him...
She exhaled shakily.
"That was it?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
His gaze darkened slightly. "No."
A beat of silence.
"After that, I started watching more," he admitted. "Not in a bad way. Not at first. I just... paid attention." His fingers twitched again, like he wasn't used to talking this much. "You were always kind. Always smiling at people, even when they ignored you. Even when they didn't deserve it."
Sariyah didn't know what to say to that.
She had never thought much about it.
But D'kazi had.
"I started waiting for you," he continued. "Not intentionally. Not because I wanted to. It just... happened. My eyes would find you in the hallways. My ears would catch your voice in a crowd." He exhaled slowly. "I didn't understand it at first. But then I realized—"
He paused, gaze flickering over her face like he was memorizing every detail.
"You were the only one who ever saw me."
Sariyah's chest tightened.
She should have been scared.
And she was.
But she was also something else—something she didn't want to name.
Because the way he said it—so quiet, so certain—sent a shiver down her spine that wasn't entirely from fear.
"...So that's why," she murmured.
D'kazi tilted his head slightly.
She swallowed. "That's why I'm the only person you've ever talked to."
He nodded.
Her stomach flipped.
She should have run. She should have screamed. She should have done something.
