❤️🔥Apartment 304🥵: chapter 3
587 Words
Don’t Look Back
My entire body went numb.
The figure at the end of the hallway stood completely still beneath the dim kitchen light.
Tall.
Thin.
Smiling.
And something about that smile felt deeply wrong.
Not human.
Not normal.
I blinked hard.
Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me.
Maybe the shadows—
Then the figure moved.
Fast.
The hallway light exploded instantly.
Glass shattered across the apartment.
I screamed.
And suddenly Ethan pulled me behind him.
“Stay back.”
His voice came out sharp and deadly calm.
Nothing like before.
Darkness swallowed the hallway again.
For one terrifying second…
silence.
Then—
Heavy footsteps charged toward us.
My heart nearly stopped.
Ethan grabbed my arm tightly and shoved me toward the apartment door.
“Run.”
“What about—”
“NOW, Ava.”
Something crashed violently against the hallway wall behind us.
I didn’t argue again.
I ran.
Barefoot.
Terrified.
The hallway outside Apartment 304 felt colder now.
The flickering lights overhead buzzed loudly while I stumbled toward my apartment door with shaking hands.
Behind me—
A deep growl echoed from inside Ethan’s apartment.
Not human.
Definitely not human.
I nearly dropped my keys trying to unlock my door.
“Hurry…” I whispered desperately to myself.
Another crash thundered from Apartment 304.
Then silence.
Complete silence.
The door finally unlocked.
I rushed inside and slammed it shut immediately before locking every lock I had.
My chest heaved violently.
What the hell was happening?
I backed away from the door slowly, trying to calm my breathing.
Maybe this was some sick prank.
Maybe Ethan was insane.
Maybe I was insane.
Then—
Three slow knocks echoed from the other side of my apartment door.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
I froze instantly.
Every muscle in my body locked.
“Ethan?” I whispered carefully.
No answer.
The hallway outside remained completely silent.
I stared at the door nervously.
Part of me wanted to ignore it.
The other part needed answers.
Stupidly…
I moved closer.
Another knock.
Slower this time.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
My hand trembled as I reached toward the peephole.
And looked through it.
Nothing.
Empty hallway.
I frowned.
That made no sense.
I heard the knocking clearly.
Then suddenly—
A voice whispered directly beside my ear.
“Don’t open it.”
I spun around with a scream.
Nobody there.
The apartment was empty.
Cold terror flooded my chest.
I was not imagining this anymore.
Before I could move—
My phone rang loudly.
I nearly threw it across the room.
Unknown Number.
My shaking fingers answered immediately.
“H-Hello?”
Heavy breathing echoed through the speaker.
Then Ethan’s voice spoke quietly.
“Ava, listen to me carefully.”
Relief hit me instantly.
“Oh my God, what is happening?!”
“You need to stay inside your apartment tonight.”
His voice sounded strained.
Like he was in pain.
“And no matter what you hear…”
Something wet dripped softly through the phone.
Like water.
Or blood.
“…do not open the door.”
A horrible scraping sound suddenly echoed from the hallway outside my apartment.
Slow.
Dragging.
Getting closer.
My breathing stopped completely.
Ethan cursed quietly under his breath on the phone.
“Ava.”
The scraping stopped directly outside my door.
Silence.
Then slowly—
Something scratched against the wood.
Long nails.
Careful.
Patient.
A soft female voice drifted through the hallway.
“Ava…”
My blood turned ice cold.
Because the voice sounded exactly like mine.
- Writer
