Jessica woke up at 3 AM with a strange feeling that she needed to check her windowsill.

“That’s typical horror movie thinking,” she said to herself. “Nothing good comes from looking into weird noises at 3 AM.”

Still, she quietly walked across the chilly hardwood floor in her fuzzy socks.

There, resting on her windowsill as if it belonged there, was a black velvet envelope.

“Oh, come on,” Jessica sighed. “This is exactly how every supernatural horror movie starts.”

She glanced around her room, half-expecting to spot a film crew. Surely no one acted like that in real life, right?

But the envelope was definitely real. It felt warm and almost… alive.

Despite all the warnings from horror movies, Jessica decided to open it.

Inside was a single dried red rose. The petals were dark crimson, nearly black at the edges, and they felt oddly warm. When she lifted it, the flower seemed to pulse once—like a heartbeat.

“Nope,” Jessica said out loud. “Absolutely not. This is where the smart girl calls her big brother and gets out of here.”

But her phone began buzzing already.

*Sky: Do you like it?*

*Jessica: How did you know I found it?*

*Sky: I told you we’re connected. Keep it close to your heart, Cinderella. It’s part of me.*

*Jessica: A part of you is a dead flower? That’s either really sweet or really creepy.*

*Sky: Everything beautiful dies, Jessica. But this rose will never truly die. As long as you have it, we’ll always be together.*

Jessica looked down at the flower in her hand. Even with all the horror movies telling her to get rid of it, she found herself carefully wrapping it in tissue paper and placing it in her nightstand drawer.

"This is how people end up on true crime podcasts," she reminded herself, but she couldn't bring herself to toss it away.

The next morning, Scott was flipping pancakes when Jessica walked into the kitchen, looking tired.

"You seem like you didn't get much sleep," he said, turning a perfectly cooked pancake.

"Weird dreams," Jessica replied while rubbing her eyes. "Hey, if someone sent you something creepy but kind of romantic, would you keep it or throw it out?"

Scott paused with his spatula halfway to the plate. "How creepy are we talking about?"

"Like... a dead flower creepy?"

"Wow, Jess. Someone actually sent you a dead flower?"

"It’s dried, not dead! That's totally different."

"Not really." Scott turned to face her completely. "Who sent you a dead flower?"

"I said hypothetically."

"And I'm saying hypothetically, anyone who sends dead flowers to my little sister will hypothetically meet my fist."

Sean wandered in with his hair sticking up all over the place. "Are we threatening people? Because I’m in. I just need coffee first."

"Sky sent Jess a dead flower," Scott explained.

"Who the heck is Sky?" Sean grabbed the coffee pot like it was a lifeline.

"Jessica's boyfriend," Scott replied.

"He’s not my boyfriend!" Jessica interrupted. "It was just a dried rose. It’s romantic in a gothic way."

"Gothic romance is just regular romance with more corpses," Sean pointed out, surprisingly clear-headed for someone just waking up.

"See? Sean understands me."

"I wasn’t agreeing with you," Sean clarified. "I was just saying your boyfriend gives off corpse vibes."

"He’s not my—" Jessica started to say again but then stopped. "You know what? You guys wouldn’t understand. You’ve never been in love."

"I've been in love," Scott said quietly. "And it never involved anything dead."

Something in his voice made Jessica pay closer attention to him. Scott had been in relationships, but he had never mentioned being in love before.

"With who?"

“Someone who didn’t work out.” Scott’s expression became serious. “The thing is, love should make you feel secure, Jess. It shouldn’t make you anxious.”

“I feel safe with Sky.”

“But?”

Jessica paused. “But sometimes it seems like he’s watching me even when we’re not talking.”

Scott and Sean exchanged glances.

“That’s not romantic, Jess,” Sean said softly. “That sounds like stalking.”

“It’s not stalking. It’s just… he notices things.”

“Notices what?”

“Me. My feelings, my thoughts. He knows when I’m sad or happy or…”

“Or when you find strange gifts on your windowsill?” Scott's tone turned sharp.

Jessica's eyes widened. “How did you—”

“Because I notice too,” Scott replied. “And I’ve seen you acting differently, staying up late, talking to someone who knows exactly when to message you.”

“That’s how people show they care about each other.”

“No, Jess. That’s what happens when someone is watching you.”

The kitchen went quiet except for the sound of Sean’s coffee maker bubbling away.

“I think you should block him,” Scott suggested after a moment.

“What? No way!”

“Just for a little while. See what it feels like to have some distance.”

“You don’t get it—”

“Then help me understand.” Scott's voice turned desperate now. “From where I stand, it looks like someone is manipulating my little sister, and I can’t just sit back and let that happen.”

Tears started to form in Jessica's eyes. “He’s the only one who truly understands me, Scott. If I block him…”

“If he really cares about you, he’ll wait for you.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Then he wasn't worth your time to begin with.”

Jessica looked at her brothers—Sean, who was now fully awake and worried, and Scott, whose protective instincts were clearly on high alert. She knew they cared about her, but they didn’t grasp what it was like to feel invisible for such a long time and then suddenly become someone’s entire world.

“I can’t,” she said softly. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t.”

She snatched a piece of toast and hurried upstairs, her phone already buzzing with a text from Sky.

*Sky: They don’t get us, do they, Cinderella?*

Jessica read the message, feeling a shiver run down her back.

How did he know?