Ishove my phone under my pillow a few minutes after three in the morning. I’ve been in bed for hours, and I know I need to sleep, but I’m just not tired. I thought about texting Kate a few hours ago, but I don’t want to keep her up if she’s not having a hard time sleeping.
A creak in the hall that I might have ignored a week ago has me holding my breath and tugging my covers up to my chin. The faint noise of my doorknob turning sounds so loudly I’m convinced my mom should be able to hear it down the hall. I slit my eyes, pretending to be asleep, but my heart is beating too fast.
The door creaks open slowly with an eerie whine, revealing an empty hallway. The tiny glow from the nightlight in the bathroom makes the hallway just a little brighter than my dim room.
There’s no one there.
My breaths start coming in short pants, and a shiver racks my body even though I’m under the covers. A footstep creaks, but there’s still no one to be seen. When I feel the edge of the bed shift, I scoot back against the headboard and scream, “Mom!”
The thud of her feet hitting the floor comes fast, but not fast enough. Something that I want to pretend is just a breeze brushes across my jaw, but it was too tangible to be the wind.
My ears pop as my mom skids down the hall in a T-shirt and underwear. Her hands are up, as if she’s ready to attack, but they are empty. “Lethe?” she murmurs as her steps slow when she sees me backed up against the headboard, cowering in my empty room.
“Did you have a bad dream, sweetheart?” She walks through the open door and leans over the spot where I swear something was just sitting.
I’m too choked up to even speak. I swallow, but it doesn’t help me remove my tongue from the roof of my mouth.
“It’s okay,” she coos while running her hand over my head. My eyes search the room, but I don’t see anything. “Lie down, go back to sleep.”
I don’t think I’ll ever sleep again. “Someone was in here,” I tell her in a low whisper.
“It was just a dream, Lethe. No one is here,” she promises, but she doesn’t know the truth.
I reach for her wrist and grip it tightly. “Somethingwas here,” I say again, but this time it’s more of an accurate representation, because she is right, it wasn’t someone.
“It was a dream, sweetheart.” She’s looking at me with sad, disbelieving eyes. I don’t blame her. I don’t know what to believe myself. Every second that passes makes it all seem more unreal. Maybe I did fall asleep and it was a dream.
I gulp and search the room again. The clock on my table says 3:42—over half an hour since I put my phone away. My shoulders relax a little, and I tell myself she’s right. I must have dozed off. There’s no other explanation for what I thought I saw or the elapsed time.
“There you go,” Mom murmurs when I uncurl from my cowering position and slide my legs back under the blankets. “It’s totally normal. There’s a lot going on, and your mind is processing.”
“Okay.” I nod.
“Do you want me to sit with you for a little while, until you fall asleep?”
“No,” I tell her quickly. There’s no way I’m going back to sleep, and I don’t need to keep her awake too. “It must have been a dream.”
She leans in and kisses the top of my head. “My door is open, just call if you need anything, but no one can get in the house. It’s all locked up and the alarm is set. You’re safe, sweetie.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I tell her, not feeling her words but appreciating them all the same. When she goes to leave my room, she starts to close the door, and I have a moment of panic. Should I tell her to leave it open? But then I won’t know if he comes back or be able to tell if he’s watching me from the hallway. “Sorry I woke you,” I say after a short pause.
“It’s okay. That’s what I’m here for.” She smiles sleepily.
When my door clicks closed, I look around again. My room is dark, but the lights from outside cast a low glow, allowing me to see all the familiar shadows. I lie awake for hours, waiting for something to happen, but just before the sun rises, I finally drift off for a few hours.
* * *
“Mom, it’s fine, go.”I’m practically pushing her out the door. She’s been reluctant to leave me alone, and I don’t think I helped matters last night when I freaked out.
“Okay, well, Mickey said you were welcome over there if you want. Kate might like the company.” It’s a nice way of giving me an excuse to go over there and be with her and her family without feeling like I’m too afraid to be alone.
“Nah, I’m just going to watch some TV and play with my phone. Her mom’s been at work all week, I’ll let them be.”
“All right.” She sighs. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Don’t forget to set the alarm.”
“I won’t,” I promise.
The second she pulls out of the garage, I set the alarm, but when I turn to face the kitchen, the house feels so much larger than it usually does. The little black cat calendar my mom has had since I was a kid shows the date is October 30th, also known as Devil’s Night. Normally, most of our high school would end up at a field party, but I just can’t see that happening this year. Even if it did, I wouldn’t go.
