Don’t Answer the Phone

Lena’s phone rang at 3:00 a.m.

She woke with a jolt, heart hammering. The room was dark except for the pale blue glow of the screen on her nightstand.

Unknown Caller.

She frowned. Her breath was still heavy from sleep, her mind foggy. Who the hell would call her at this hour? Probably a wrong number. Maybe a scammer.

The phone rang again.

A strange unease crept up her spine. She hesitated, but then, curiosity won. She answered.

“…Hello?”

Silence.

Then, a whisper.

“Don’t look at the window.”

Lena sat up straighter, her skin crawling. The voice was barely audible, breathy, almost inside her ear.

She turned, her gaze drifting toward the window—but at the last second, she stopped herself.

Her curtains were open.

Outside, the neighborhood was still. Dark houses. Empty street. Nothing unusual.

Her throat felt tight. “Who is this?”

Static crackled on the other end. Then, the whisper again.

“If you look, it will see you.”

Her body went rigid.

It.

Lena’s hands clenched the blanket. The air in her room suddenly felt wrong, thick, suffocating.

The call disconnected.

Then—

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Her stomach twisted.

The sound was coming from the window.

Slow. Deliberate. Testing.

She forced herself to stay still, her breath shallow. She tried to tell herself it was a tree branch, maybe a loose shutter—but she lived on the third floor.

Another tap. Closer.

A shiver ran through her body.

Then, silence.

Lena’s pulse pounded in her ears. Maybe if she just stayed quiet—

Her phone buzzed again.

She jumped. The glow of the screen felt blinding in the darkness.

Unknown Caller.

Her shaking hands almost dropped the phone. She didn’t want to answer. Every instinct screamed not to.

But she did.

This time, the whisper was urgent.

“It knows you’re awake.”

Her breath hitched.

Slowly, painfully, she forced herself to look straight ahead. Not at the window. Not at the movement she thought she saw in her peripheral vision.

The whisper returned, barely a breath.

“Don’t move. Don’t speak. Don’t even breathe.”

A shadow shifted outside.

Lena squeezed her eyes shut.

It was there. Right outside her window. Watching. Waiting.

A long moment passed. The air felt heavy, electric.

Then—

The window latch clicked.

Her eyes snapped open. The window was unlocked.

No. No, no, no. She was sure she had locked it.

She clutched the blanket to her chest, her entire body frozen in terror.

The latch lifted.

Her phone slipped from her hand.

A slow creak filled the room as the window slid open.

The night air was wrong, too still, too silent.

Then, a breath.

Right behind her.

She turned.

The last thing she saw was her own reflection in the dark glass—

And the thing standing behind her, smiling.