Chapter Eight: He Knows..!!
610 Words
The smell of something burning pulled Tessa out of her thoughts.
“Ah—!”
She flinched, jerking her hand away from the hot pan. A sharp sting spread across her fingertips as she hissed in pain.
“Damn…”
She hurried to the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet.
Nothing.
No burn cream.
She searched every shelf again, growing more frustrated with each passing second.
Nothing.
The apartment fell silent.
Too silent.
Then—
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Tessa froze.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Slowly, she walked toward the front door.
“Who is it?”
Silence.
She hesitated before unlocking the door just enough to peek outside.
No one.
The hallway was empty.
A cold draft slipped inside.
She was about to close the door when something near the doormat caught her attention.
A small black plastic bag.
Her pulse climbed even higher.
She didn’t touch it immediately.
Instead, she stood there for several seconds, staring at it.
“What if there’s something inside…?”
Taking a cautious breath, she nudged it lightly with her foot.
Nothing happened.
Only then did she crouch down and carefully open it.
Inside…
A tube of burn cream.
Painkillers.
A box of bandages.
And…
A packet of salt.
Her brows knitted together.
“…Salt?”
Confusion replaced fear for a moment.
Who would leave something like this at her door?
Only one face flashed through her mind.
The man behind the ghost mask.
Without realizing it, she gripped the bag tighter before carrying it inside and locking the door.
She checked the lock.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Only then did she return to the kitchen table.
Carefully, she applied the burn cream to her injured hand.
The cool medicine eased the burning sensation…
But not the fear crawling beneath her skin.
“How did he know?” she whispered.
She slowly looked around the apartment.
The ceiling.
The bookshelf.
The smoke detector.
The wall clock.
Every dark corner suddenly felt suspicious.
“Is there… a camera?”
The thought sent a chill through her body.
She searched the living room with her eyes again.
No blinking lights.
No hidden devices.
Nothing.
She let out a shaky breath.
“No…”
“If someone had installed a camera inside my apartment… I would’ve noticed.”
Right?
She wanted to believe that.
She needed to believe that.
Her gaze drifted back to the packet of salt resting quietly on the table.
Why would he leave that?
Before she could think any further—
Her phone vibrated.
Unknown Number.
She unlocked the screen.
You’ll need the salt.
Tessa stared at the message.
This time…
The number didn’t disappear.
It remained there, as if it had no intention of hiding anymore.
She typed nothing.
She didn’t reply.
She didn’t block the number either.
Instead, she placed the phone face down on the table and returned to the kitchen.
She needed dinner.
She needed something normal.
Something that reminded her life still belonged to her.
She opened the grocery bags one by one.
Vegetables.
Milk.
Bread.
Eggs.
Her movements slowed.
She searched the bags again.
Then again.
Her eyes widened.
“…I forgot to buy salt.”
The words escaped her lips almost soundlessly.
Her gaze shifted toward the packet lying on the counter.
The room suddenly felt colder.
A knot formed in her stomach.
It wasn’t luck.
It wasn’t coincidence.
He had known.
But…
How?
The questions circled endlessly inside her mind.
She couldn’t find a single answer.
For the first time since moving into the apartment…
Home no longer felt like the safest place in the world.
She got the feeling someone keep looking at her..
- Writer
