\u201cWhen I got home, my neighbor confronted me: \u201cYour house gets so loud during the day!\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s not possible,\u201d I replied. The next morning, I f3ked leaving for work and hid under my bed\u2014hours later, a voice entered my bedroom, and I froze.
\nAs soon as I got home, my neighbor, Mrs. Halvorsen, was standing on her porch with her arms crossed, looking more irritated than usual. \u201cThere\u2019s so much noise coming from your house during the day, Marcus,\u201d she complained. \u201cI swear I heard someone shouting inside.\u201d
\n\u201cThat\u2019s impossible,\u201d I replied, juggling my grocery bags. \u201cI live alone, and I\u2019m gone all day.\u201d
\nShe shook her head firmly. \u201cI don\u2019t know what to tell you. I heard yelling again around noon. A man\u2019s voice. I even knocked, but no one answered.\u201d
\nHer words made my stomach tighten, but I laughed nervously. \u201cProbably just the TV. I sometimes leave it on to scare off burglars.\u201d
\nInside, the house felt wrong. I set my groceries down and checked every room. Everything was in place. Windows closed. Floors spotless. Nothing missing. No footprints. I told myself my neighbor must have been mistaken.
\nThat night, sleep was impossible.
\nThe next morning, after pacing in the kitchen for half an hour, I called my manager, claiming I felt sick, and stayed home. At 7:45 a.m., I opened the garage door, drove my car out just enough to be seen, then turned off the engine and quietly pushed it back inside. I slipped in through the side door, moved fast to my bedroom, and slid under the bed, pulling the comforter just enough to hide. My heart pounded violently.
\nMinutes stretched into hours. Silence weighed heavily. Around 11:20 a.m., just as doubt crept in, I heard the front door open.
\nSlow. Careful. Familiar.
\nFootsteps moved through the hall with the confidence of someone who belonged here. Shoes scraped lightly on the floor\u2014a rhythm I knew but couldn\u2019t place. My breath caught.
\nThe footsteps entered my bedroom.
\nA low, irritated voice muttered, \u201cYou always leave such a mess, Marcus\u2026\u201d
\nMy blood ran cold.
\nHe knew my name.
\nAnd the voice was hauntingly familiar.
\nFrozen with fear, I watched his shadow stop beside the bed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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