I heard the noise at 2:45 am. It was a tiny noise, barely noticeable. It came from my living room. I was in the upstairs master bedroom with my door shut and my fan going on full speed. Maybe it's just human instinct to wake up to any form of noise that seems unsafe.
I quickly exited my bed and crept down the stairs after opening my door. The stairs didn't creek thankfully. As I got closer to the living room I slowed down and held my breath, listening for any other noises.
I stood for what felt like hours and suddenly not only did I hear a noise, but I saw a figure.
Resisting the urge to cry out and attack, I crept back up my stairs. I reached the 3rd to last step when the stairs made a long and heavy groan-like noise. I heard the sound of rustling and fast-paced footsteps. I still kept quiet and made my way to my room as fast as I could. I shut my door, locked it, and called the police.
"911 what's your emergency?"
"Yes hello, I'm- there's someone in my house."
"Do you live alone sir?"
"Uh yeah. Yes."
"Alright, now don't panic, okay, I'm gonna need you to hide. There will be people there shortly okay? Just hide."
"Okay."
"Can you stay on the line so I can listen to what's happening?"
"Yeah."
I held the phone up to my ear as I slept crept to the bathroom that was connected to my room and locked the door behind me. Climbing into the tub I lay down, pointing my feet underneath me. It was uncomfortable but safe.
"I'm hiding now."
"Okay sir, the police should be there in less than 3 minutes. Stay where you are in the meantime."
"Okay."
At this point my mouth was bone dry, not even the blood that formed from biting my lip way too much. I was craving water. For some reason, I have to take a piss too. But I'll hold it until I find safety.
I exhaled, trying to calm my nerves. Then there was an insanely loud pounding noise on my bedroom door.
I flinched so hard that I banged my head on the faucet, almost blacking out from the force of impact. The banging came again and my reaction wasn't as bad. I was more focused on the flood that was currently leaking from the back of my head.
"Sir, are you okay?"
"Yes, no. I don't know. I hit my head hard and now I'm bleeding."
"Okay, you need to apply pressure to the wound. Can you grab a towel or something?"
"Um yes, give me a second."
I carefully sat up and grabbed a hand towel, pressing it against my head.
"Alright got one."
"Now hold it there, it might hurt but it'll help with the bleeding."
"How much longer?"
"They are pulling up on your street now."
"Ok-"
The bedroom door opened and smacked against the wall, then it was quiet—all except for the sounds of rustling.
"They're inside my room!"
"Okay, sir calm down! Stop talking. The police are pulling up now! Stay there!"
I almost started to weep, fear finding itself deep in my bones. Oh, how I hated the feeling. I just wanted to go back to sleep.
I listened as best I could. The sirens grew louder by the second and so did the rustling that came from just outside the bathroom door.
It was close.
Out of an act of bravery and fear I grabbed the lid off my toilet and swung the door open, swinging at whatever was there but what I had found was nothing. No broken door and no sign of disturbance.
"What the hell?-"
"Sir! Are you okay?" Asked one of the police.
"Um yeah, I'm okay... Where's the intruder?"
"It probably ran off when it heard the sirens. I knew we should've kept them off."
"But it was right outside my bathroom door a second ago. And I could've sworn it kicked down my bedroom door."
"It's very likely that out of fear your Brian made you think it busted the door down when it probably just opened it and it hurt the wall hard. Now come here, I need to check your head."
I sighed, still concerned.
The cop led me outside where an ambulance was waiting and as well as the whole neighborhood.
It's been years since that happened. I still haven't forgotten the fear I felt. The most ever.
