Every night at midnight,
I hear footsteps in the hall.
Slow and heavy, one by one,
then silence by my wall.
I live alone.
At least, I thought I did.
Last night, I heard breathing
coming softly from my bed.
I held my breath and listened,
the breathing stopped instead.
Then a whisper touched my ear:
“Why did you stop?”
I ran toward the bedroom,
but the door was locked from inside.
I could hear something laughing
on the other side.
I searched for the spare key,
my hands shaking as I tried.
Then my phone began to ring.
The caller was me.
I answered.
Nothing.
Just breathing.
Then my own voice whispered:
“Whatever you do…
don’t look behind you.”
I froze.
Because the voice wasn\'t coming
from the phone anymore.
It was coming
from directly behind me.
I felt something cold
rest against my shoulder.
A mouth whispered:
“You always turn around.”
I closed my eyes.
And waited.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Then I heard footsteps running away.
I opened my eyes.
The hallway was empty.
But my bedroom door was open.
And written across the wall
in fresh, wet letters:
“HE\'S BEHIND YOU.”
I didn\'t turn around.
I didn\'t breathe.
Because something behind me
started breathing first.
And then,
it laughed with my voice. 🩸
BY LILLY.