the phone, I see it’s from Unknown.
Scary stuff, huh? Just imagine what I could’ve done…
There’s a picture attached to the message. I open it and gasp when I see it’s a photo of me sleeping. I drop my phone and crouch down in the aisle, not knowing what to do next. Tears fill my eyes as I think about the fact that this person watched me sleep. Unknown has invaded my personal space.
Alone doesn’t even begin to describe how I’m feeling right now. The worst part is that no one will believe this is even happening, since Unknown will probably erase all the evidence.
I hear my boss call out to me from the front counter. “Uh, Dani, he’s waiting.”
Regaining my composure, I grab the phone and stand up. Wiping my eyes, I say, “I’m coming, Joan.” Quickly checking my messages from Unknown again, I see they’re all gone… just as I suspected they would be.
Chapter Fourteen
When I get home, I grab a kitchen knife from the wooden block on the counter and proceed to lock every door and every window, then check under every bed and in every closet. I would’ve grabbed the gun my dad keeps in the house, but he seems to have put it in a new hiding place.
I hate the fact that I beat my dad home and he’s not here for an extra level of protection. I make sure not to overlook any access point or hiding place during my search. It takes me about twenty minutes to secure the majority of the house. The only thing left then is to take care of my bedroom.
Every possible horror movie scenario enters my mind as I approach the bedroom door. I feel my heartbeat pulsing throughout my entire body and hear it hammering in my ears. I’m pretty sure it’s beating so loud that if there is someone in the house, he or she has already heard me coming.
The door to my room is slightly ajar. I push it the rest of the way with my foot, holding the knife in the “ready to stab” position. The creak of the door makes me even more uneasy as I slowly creep into the room. I see the closet door is shut, and my window looks closed from where I’m standing. Never letting down my guard, I head over to the window to check and see if it’s actually shut and locked. I’m surprised to find it is.
“Okay, so if the window is locked, how did the person get in?” I ask myself.
Suddenly, a noise sounds from the closet. If hearts could explode from fear, I’m pretty sure mine would. I’m so scared that I can’t even muster a scream.
It’s odd, but my fear causes me to be intensely focused. All I see is the closet door in front of me. The rest of the room is one big blur. Another shuffling sound emanates from the closet and I jump back, waiting for someone to rush out at me.
“Screw this shit,” I mutter, cautiously retracing my steps back to the bedroom door, but never taking my eyes off the closet.
As I reach the door, I look at the knife in my hand and feel empowered, like I can take on anything. A false sense of empowerment, I’m sure, but I’m getting tired of this. If no one is going to believe me anyway, I might as well face it head-on.
“Just so you know, I’ve got a huge fucking knife, and I’m not afraid to use it,” I call out at the closet as I approach it.
Clasping my hand around the door’s handle, I count to ten in my mind, take in a deep breath, and fling it open. I swing the knife around wildly into the dark of the closet, just in case someone is standing there. When I don’t connect with anything, I reach for the chain attached to the closet light and pull it, casting the whole space in a soft, golden glow. On the floor, I see a few boxes that have fallen off the shelf, their contents strewn everywhere.
“So that explains the noises,” I try to convince myself. My heart slows and a sense of calm comes over me as I realize this was a false alarm. Kneeling down, I begin to collect my belongings and stuff them back into the boxes. Putting them back on the shelves, I click off the light and close the closet door.
Then someone takes hold of the hand