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"You look worked up." Dad said, watching me take my anxiety pill.

"Just helped someone find a missing kid." I answered.

"That caused an attack?" He asked.

"It just required a lot of running. I was scared for the kid." I lied and smiled at myself for being such a great liar. Lying to them didn't hurt anymore. Telling the truth would hurt them more than hiding it.

After making sure dad had finished everything on his plate and taken his sleeping pills, I left for home at 10 PM.

Sitting in the bus, the three words written in red which looked really spooky, were on my mind every second. Kelly was probably bribed by the guy to make her write that.

Someone who's really good at pranking must've done it. A pretty brat.

I first thought of Edwin, but he wasn't pretty. He was good-looking and, as much as I hate to admit, hot. The second possible suspect I thought of was...Elijah Berryman- pretty and as he had shown me very well, a prankster.

Around half past 10, I got off the bus and started walking towards my house which was at around 600m walking distance.

We lived in a not-so-posh villa area. Several organised lanes of houses ran across a 2 Kilometre distance. All the houses had the same infrastructure, the same colour and the same sized back and front yards. It always gave me a sick feeling somehow. It was like we were living in the world of Minecraft.

It wasn't snowing, which was why it was foggy and to be exact, a little more foggier than usual. The lanes were deserted.

Everyone must be having dinner or a movie night.

I sighed. I had to cook dinner for myself. I didn't have the energy to stand for another minute, so I couldn't imagine standing at the kitchen island and cooking my ass.

I'll starve.

I stood frozen at the front door, with the keys in my hand. I never thought I would have to think twice before entering my own house. Where else could I even go?

Look, Gwen, It's a guy pranking you. The whispers might be your own mental issue which is better than having something real around you. Just keep calm and suppress the stupid paranoia as much as you can.

I thought before pushing the key into the key hole and twisting it to the left.

It was pitch dark because mom had the good habit of closing all the windows and drawing the curtains before leaving the house. I couldn't even see my own hand when I waved it in front of my face.

"Years of practice. I know where the switch is." I muttered while closing the door behind me and taking small, careful steps ahead.

I had walked in the dark like this several times since I was young because mom's had this habit from her childhood. It was passed on to her by her mom and she expected me to learn the same thing for security. I mean, she could leave a table lamp on at least.

I tumbled upon the rug and fell on my belly.

"Ow! I would never learn this stupid habit." I cried in pain, getting on my knees and picking up my backpack.

I pulled out my phone from my bag, which I had kept turned off since the biology class.

I long-pressed on the power button and waited for it to turn on. The moment it turned on, I flashed the screen light ahead of me and walked to the hall. I then turned the lights on.

I walked back to the door but didn't find my bag which I had left on the floor,"Where's my...ba-"

"Oh no no no no no. No!" I yelled, grabbing a handful of my hair and pulling them hard enough to separate them from the roots.

"I must've- I think I kept it in the rack." I told myself and rummaged through the rack beside me. It had nothing but shoes inside.

"My room, I went upstairs, didn't I? Yeah, I did. I must've kept it on the bed." I said and turned on my heel back to the hall when my heart skipped a beat. The phone fell out of my hands.

A black figure was standing in one corner across the hall, exactly opposite to me, facing me. A boy. He stood behind the table, beside the couch, almost embedded into the light brown curtains behind him.

I screamed my soul out and in a juncture, I was out of the house as I ran through the doorway, leaving the doors wide open.