Chapter 13 – Unquiet Shadows

The hum of the city outside their duplex was a stark contrast to the silence inside. Days had passed since Masquit’s fleeting appearance, but Macklin couldn’t shake off the image — that sharp gaze, the almost imperceptible smirk, and the way he seemed to vanish into thin air.

Tanny had noticed his quietness, but she was too distracted by her own unease to pry. Something in her had shifted. She moved through the house like someone half-present, half-elsewhere — lost in thoughts she wouldn’t share.

Lucinda had chalked it up to “teenage mood swings.” But Macklin wasn’t so sure.

One evening, as rain tapped against the windows, Tanny sat at her desk, absently sketching the shape of a black cube. She didn’t even notice until her pencil snapped.

From the other room, Macklin overheard her sigh — a sound so heavy it almost made him speak up. Almost. But the memory of Masquit’s eyes still held him in place.

Something told him that whatever Tanny was going through, and whoever Masquit was… they were connected.

---

Later that night, Macklin finally couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Tanny,” he said from the doorway, leaning against the frame, “can I ask you something?”

She looked up, startled, as if yanked from another world.

“What?”

“Did you… notice anything strange about that photographer? Masquit?” His voice was casual, but his eyes searched her face.

Tanny froze. The question felt like someone had just unlocked a door she’d been keeping shut.

“Yes,” she said quietly. “More than strange.”

Macklin stepped into the room, curiosity sharpening. “What do you mean?”

Tanny hesitated, then exhaled like someone giving in. She told him everything — the strange sounds in her room, the black cube with its faint glowing lines, the feeling of being watched, the nights where shadows seemed to move on their own. She even mentioned looking out the window once and catching the briefest glimpse of someone who might have been Masquit.

By the time she was done, Macklin was silent, processing. The sound of the rain seemed louder now.

“So you’re telling me…” he began slowly, “…that this guy shows up at our house, disappears without a trace, and somehow you’ve been having creepy paranormal… cube problems since then?”

Tanny gave a humorless laugh. “That’s one way to put it.”

Macklin didn’t laugh back. He just looked out the window into the dark street beyond, the faint reflection of his own face staring back. Something in him told him this wasn’t just a coincidence — and if Masquit was involved, then they were already in deeper than they realized.