The girl’s breath hitched as she stared at the bloodied message. A chill crawled up her spine.
Then—a soft shuffle behind her.
She turned slowly. A dark figure stood in the doorway, barely visible in the dim light. Silent. Watching. A glint of metal—a knife—caught the faint glow from the hallway.
Her chest tightened. She slammed the bathroom door and locked it with trembling hands. Silence followed. Then—scratching. A slow, deliberate drag of metal against the wood.
A whisper seeped through the cracks:
"I liked the way you trembled."
The doorknob rattled. Then, nothing.
She barely had time to exhale before she heard it—
A creak. From her bedroom.
The door.
He was now in her bedroom.
To be continued...
