CHAPTER3
1503 Words
QUIET THING's BREAK TOO
Karly barely sleep.
Every time she closed her eyes, she sees the window.
Slightly open.
The curtains moving slowly in the cold air.
The photograph on her desk turned just enough to let her know someone had touched it.
By four in the morning, she stopped trying to sleep entirely.
Now, standing alone in the kitchen with a mug of coffee growing cold between her hands, Karly stared blankly at the rain sliding down the window above the sink.
The house was quiet again.
Too quiet.
Her eyes drifted toward the back door.
Locked.
Then toward the hallway.
Still dark.
Still silent.
Karly hated how aware she’d become of every little sound lately.
The creaking floorboards.
The pipes inside the walls.
The wind brushing against windows.
Everything made her tense now.
Everything felt wrong.
“You’re doing it again.”
Karly flinched slightly.
Jayden walked into the kitchen half-awake, rubbing a towel against his damp hair.
“Doing what?”
“you stare at nothing like you’re in a horror movie.”
Karly looked away quickly. “I’m tired.”
“You’re always tired.”
He opened the fridge before frowning immediately.
“Why do we never have real food?”
“We do.”
“No. We have ingredients.” Jayden grabbed orange juice. “That’s different.”
Normally Karly would’ve smiled.
Today she couldn’t manage it.
Jayden noticed instantly.
His expression shifted slightly as he leaned against the counter.
“You okay?”
Karly nodded too fast.
“Fine.”
“Right.” He studied her carefully. “You know your face gets weird when you lie?”
“My face does not get weird.”
“It literally does.”
Karly took a sip of coffee to avoid responding.
Jayden sighed quietly.
“You should take a break from work tonight.”
“I can’t.”
“You need sleep.”
“I need money.”
That ended the conversation.
Because reality always did.
A few minutes later, Lily shuffled into the kitchen wearing fuzzy socks and an oversized hoodie that nearly swallowed her whole.
“Morning,” she mumbled.
Karly immediately softened.
“Morning, bug.”
Lily sat beside her quietly.
Too quietly.
Karly noticed the dark circles beneath her sister’s eyes.
“You didn’t sleep either?”
Lily shrugged.
“I kept hearing noises.”
Karly’s grip tightened around her mug.
“What kind of noises?”
“I don’t know.” Lily looked down at the table. “Maybe the storm.”
Maybe.
Karly wanted to believe that.
She really did.
But something deep inside her kept whispering otherwise.
And that scared her more than anything.
By the time Karly reached campus, exhaustion sat heavily behind her eyes like a permanent headache.
The cold morning air stung her skin as she walked through crowded sidewalks filled with students rushing between buildings.
Everyone looked alive.
Laughing.
Talking loudly.
Complaining about assignments.
Meanwhile Karly felt like she was watching life happen from behind glass.
Distant.
Disconnected.
Invisible.
She adjusted the strap of her bag higher against her shoulder while entering class quietly.
The lecture hall buzzed with conversation.
Karly slipped into her usual seat near the back.
Safe.
Unnoticed.
At least that’s what she wanted.
Halfway through the lecture, her professor called her name.
“Karly?”
She didn’t respond.
“Karly Bennett?”
The room suddenly felt too quiet.
Karly blinked quickly before realizing people were staring at her.
Heat rushed into her face.
“Sorry,” she murmured.
Her professor frowned slightly. “Are you with us today?”
A few students laughed softly.
Karly forced herself to nod.
“Yes.”
But even she knew it sounded unconvincing.
The rest of class passed painfully slowly.
Her notes barely made sense.
Words blurred together.
Numbers looked meaningless.
And every few minutes, Karly caught herself glancing toward the door for reasons she couldn’t explain.
Like she expected someone to walk through it.
Or worse…
Like someone was already watching.
By afternoon, her exhaustion had turned into irritation.
Which meant work was going to be unbearable.
And unfortunately, she was right.
The diner smelled like burnt coffee and grease by the time Karly tied her apron around her waist.
Customers filled nearly every booth while waitresses rushed between tables carrying trays and shouting orders over the noise.
Maya spotted her instantly.
“Oh my God,” she said dramatically. “You look dead.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m serious, Karly. Your eyes look scary.”
Karly grabbed a notepad. “That’s comforting.”
Maya followed beside her anyway.
“You didn’t answer my texts again.”
“I was busy.”
“You’re always busy.”
Karly stayed silent.
Maya’s expression softened slightly.
“Hey.” She lowered her voice. “I’m not trying to annoy you.”
“I know.
“Then talk to me.”
Karly froze for half a second.
Dangerous sentence.
Very dangerous.
Because people only asked questions when they sensed something was wrong.
And Karly had spent years making sure nobody noticed.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” she said carefully.
Maya didn’t look convinced.
“You’ve been acting weird lately.”
Karly scribbled an order onto her notepad too hard.
“I’m tired. That’s all.”
“That’s not all.”
The quiet certainty in Maya’s voice made something uncomfortable twist inside Karly’s chest.
She hated this feeling.
The feeling of someone getting too close.
“I said I’m fine.”
The sharpness in her tone surprised both of them.
Maya blinked.
Karly immediately looked away.
Guilt settled heavily in her stomach.
“I’m sorry,” she muttered quietly.
Maya crossed her arms. “Karly…”
“I just don’t wanna talk about it.”
A long silence passed between them.
Then Maya sighed softly.
“Okay.”
But her expression said she still wasn’t convinced.
And somehow that felt worse.
The night dragged painfully slow after that.
Orders.
Coffee refills.
Fake smiles.
At around nine-thirty, Karly carried a tray toward booth seven before stopping abruptly.
The booth was empty.
But she could’ve sworn someone had been sitting there seconds ago.
Her heartbeat quickened slightly.
Weird.
“Karly?”
She turned quickly.
A customer pointed toward the coffee pot behind her.
“You forgot my refill.”
“Oh sorry.”
Focus.
You’re losing focus.
Karly forced herself to breathe steadily while returning to work.
But unease followed her for the rest of the shift.
Like something invisible kept lingering just outside her reach.
Watching.
Waiting.
By the time she finally clocked out, rain had started again.
Of course it had.
The streets glistened beneath blurry streetlights while cold wind wrapped around her as she walked home alone.
Everything felt too quiet tonight.
Even the city sounded distant.
Karly unlocked the front door carefully before stepping inside.
Silence greeted her immediately.
Jayden’s bedroom light glowed faintly beneath his door upstairs.
Lily was probably already asleep.
Normal.
Everything looked normal.
So why did her chest still feel tight?
Karly locked the door behind her before slowly heading upstairs.
Her room waited at the end of the hallway exactly how she left it.
Dark.
Still.
Carefully, she stepped inside.
Nothing moved.
Nothing looked strange.
Karly released a breath slowly.
Maybe she really was losing her mind.
Her phone vibrated suddenly in her pocket.
Karly nearly jumped.
Breathing unevenly, she pulled it out.
Unknown Number.
Her stomach dropped instantly.
One unread message waited on the screen.
Karly stared at it for three long seconds before opening it.
"Lock your window."
Her entire body went cold.
Because this time....
The window beside her bed was already locked.
- Writer
