I woke up to silence.
Not the calm kind.
The kind that feels wrong.
For a second, I didn’t move. Just lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to figure out what had pulled me out of sleep.
Then I realised.
No footsteps.
No distant voices.
No movement in the house at all.
My chest tightened slightly as I sat up, instinct kicking in before logic had time to catch up.
Something wasn’t right.
I grabbed my phone from the bedside table.
No new messages.
No missed calls.
Nothing.
That should have reassured me.
It didn’t.
Because after everything—
Silence felt worse than noise.
I got up quickly, pulling on a hoodie and stepping out into the hallway.
Empty.
Too empty.
“Elena?” I called quietly.
No answer.
I walked further down the hall, my footsteps echoing slightly in the
