Chapter Three
1313 Words
Ava's POV
I tried to distract myself.
I really did.
I turned on the TV, flipped through channels, scrolled endlessly on my phone, even attempted to unpack the rest of my things. But nothing worked. My mind kept circling back to him.
To the way he looked at me.
To the things he said.
To the things he didn’t say.
I sighed, dropping onto the couch and staring blankly at the ceiling. The house felt too big now. Too quiet. Like it was holding its breath.
He wasn’t the one I should be worried about.
That sentence replayed in my head again.
What did he mean by that?
I sat up slowly, a strange uneasiness settling in my chest. Maybe I was overthinking it. Maybe he was just being dramatic, like he always seemed to be.
Or maybe…
A faint sound cut through my thoughts.
I froze.
It came from upstairs.
A soft creak.
Like a door.
My heart skipped. I glanced toward the staircase, my stomach tightening.
Ethan left.
I heard the door.
So… who was that?
I let out a small breath, trying to calm myself. It was probably nothing. Old houses made noise all the time. Wood shifting. Pipes. Something normal.
Still…
I stood up slowly.
“Hello?” I called out, my voice quieter than I intended.
No answer.
The silence that followed felt heavier than before.
I swallowed.
Okay. This was stupid.
I wasn’t a child. I wasn’t going to stand here scared of some random noise.
I forced my feet to move, walking toward the stairs. Each step felt louder than usual as I climbed, the creaking beneath my feet making my nerves worse.
When I reached the top, I paused.
Everything looked the same.
Too the same.
My door was slightly open. I was sure I had closed it.
A chill ran down my spine.
“Ethan?” I called again, even though I knew he wasn’t here.
Nothing.
I stepped forward slowly and pushed my door open.
My room looked untouched.
Except…
My bag.
It was on the bed.
I was sure I left it on the floor.
I stared at it, my heart starting to race.
“No… no, I moved it,” I muttered under my breath. “I must have.”
But I didn’t remember doing that.
At all.
A sudden feeling crept over me.
Like I wasn’t alone.
I turned quickly, scanning the room.
Nothing.
Empty.
Still.
But the feeling didn’t go away.
It got stronger.
I backed out of the room slowly, my breathing uneven now. “Okay… okay, you’re just being paranoid.”
Yeah.
That had to be it.
I turned toward the hallway—
And froze.
At the far end of it, a door I hadn’t noticed before was slightly open.
A thin line of darkness inside.
I frowned.
That door wasn’t open earlier.
Was it?
I hesitated.
Every instinct in me said to go back downstairs. To ignore it. To pretend none of this was happening.
But something else pulled me forward.
Curiosity.
Or maybe stupidity.
I took a step.
Then another.
The air felt different as I got closer. Colder.
Quieter.
Like the rest of the house had faded away.
When I reached the door, I paused, my hand hovering just above it.
“This is ridiculous,” I whispered.
Still…
I pushed it open.
The room inside was dim. The curtains were drawn, blocking most of the light. It looked… unused. Like no one had stepped in there for a long time.
But that wasn’t what caught my attention.
It was the wall.
Covered in photos.
My breath hitched.
I stepped inside slowly, my eyes scanning the images.
They were all… me.
Different angles.
Different moments.
Some looked recent.
Some didn’t.
My chest tightened.
“What the hell…?”
My fingers trembled as I reached out, pulling one of the photos off the wall.
It was me.
Outside.
Yesterday.
Standing by the car when we arrived.
I dropped it like it burned.
“No. No, no…”
This wasn’t real.
This couldn’t be real.
My heart was pounding so hard it hurt.
Someone had been watching me.
Before I even got here.
A noise behind me made me spin around.
The door slammed shut.
I gasped, stumbling back.
“What—”
The handle rattled.
Locked.
My breath came out in short bursts. “Hey! Hello?!” I rushed to the door, grabbing the handle and twisting it hard. “Open the door!”
Nothing.
“Stop playing! This isn’t funny!”
Still nothing.
Panic started to rise, thick and suffocating.
I stepped back, my eyes darting around the room again.
The photos.
All of them staring back at me.
Watching.
Waiting.
A soft sound filled the room.
A whisper.
So faint I almost thought I imagined it.
“Finally…”
I froze.
My blood ran cold.
That voice…
It wasn’t Ethan.
I turned slowly, my body stiff.
“Who’s there?” I whispered.
Silence.
Then—
A shadow shifted in the corner of the room.
My heart stopped.
Someone was there.
Watching me.
And I hadn’t noticed until now.
A small, shaky breath left my lips.
“Stay away from me.”
The shadow moved.
Closer.
My back hit the wall.
I had nowhere to go.
My hands clenched into fists, even though I knew it wouldn’t help.
“Don’t come any closer—”
A loud bang cut me off.
The door behind me burst open.
Light flooded the room.
And just like that…
The shadow was gone.
I blinked, disoriented, my chest heaving as I turned toward the doorway.
Ethan stood there.
His expression dark.
Dangerous.
His eyes scanned the room quickly before landing on me.
“What are you doing in here?” he demanded.
I could barely speak. “I… I didn’t… the door—”
His gaze shifted to the walls.
To the photos.
Something changed in his face.
Something I couldn’t read.
Then his jaw tightened.
“Who told you to come in here?”
“No one!” I said quickly. “I heard a noise and then the door was open and—”
“You weren’t supposed to see this.”
The way he said it made my stomach drop.
“You knew about this?” I whispered.
He didn’t answer.
Which was answer enough.
Anger flared through my fear. “Ethan, what is going on? Why are there pictures of me? Who was in here just now?!”
His eyes snapped back to mine.
“What do you mean?”
“There was someone here!” I said, my voice shaking. “In the corner. I saw them. I heard them!”
His expression darkened even more.
“That’s not possible.”
“I’m not lying!” I snapped. “Something is wrong in this house!”
Silence.
Heavy.
Tense.
Then he stepped closer, lowering his voice.
“You need to listen to me very carefully.”
Something in his tone made my heart race all over again.
“Stay out of this room,” he said. “No matter what you hear. No matter what you think you see.”
My brows furrowed. “Why?”
He didn’t hesitate this time.
“Because if you don’t…”
He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to a whisper.
“It won’t stop at watching you anymore.”
My breath caught.
“What does that mean?” I asked, barely audible.
But he had already stepped back.
Already turning away.
“Ethan—”
“Just stay away from that room,” he said firmly, cutting me off.
And then he walked out.
Leaving me standing there.
Shaking.
Surrounded by pictures of myself I never knew existed.
And one terrifying thought echoing in my head—
If it wasn’t Ethan watching me…
Then who was?
- Writer
