challenge

part 4

The sharp buzz of my phone yanked me out of sleep. 3:00 AM. My heart lurched, the kind of fear that settles deep in your gut before your brain fully wakes up. The screen glowed in the darkness, casting eerie shadows on the walls. Unknown Caller. My breath hitched. I knew that number. I'd blocked it months ago.

The ringing stopped. A few seconds of silence. Then—again.

My fingers trembled as I gripped the phone, dread curling around my spine. He wasn't supposed to have my number.

But he did. And he wanted me to know it.

My thumb hovered over the decline button, but something in me snapped. Enough.

I swiped to answer, pressing the phone to my ear. "What do you want?" My voice came out sharper than I expected, but I refused to let him hear the fear underneath.

Silence.

Then, a low chuckle—slow, deliberate, crawling under my skin like something rotten. "Miss me?"

My stomach twisted. I clenched the sheets in my fist, forcing steady breaths. "DELETE my number."

"Oh, come on." His tone was almost amused, like this was some twisted game. "You didn't think I'd let you go that easy, did you?"

The room felt colder. My pulse hammered in my throat.

I should have hung up. Blocked him again. But instead, I gritted my teeth and whispered, "Stay the hell away from me." Another laugh, softer this time. "We both know that's not gonna happen."

And then—click. The line went dead. I tossed the phone onto the nightstand and lay back down, forcing my eyes shut. It's nothing. He's nothing.

But my body refused to believe it. My skin felt too tight, my heart too loud in the quiet room.

Minutes passed. Then an hour. Sleep wouldn't come.

I turned onto my side. Then onto my back. Then my side again. Breathe. Relax. Forget it. But every time I got close to drifting off, my mind yanked me back—flashing images I didn't want to see. Memories I thought I'd buried.

Finally, I threw the covers off, frustration prickling at my skin. My chest felt tight, like I'd been holding my breath for too long.

I checked the phone. No new calls. No messages. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that somewhere, he was still watching.

6 DAYS LATER

"TOMORROW IS YOUR BIRTHDAY BEL ARENT U EXCIETED?" anna asks with excitement.

"No anna not really"

ALL BECAUSE OF HIM.

the days went really slow, past few days nights were unbearable. The quiet of my apartment felt suffocating, the shadows stretching too long, the walls pressing in closer. Every ring of my phone made my breath hitch. Every time it buzzed, my stomach twisted with dread—only to feel foolish when it was nothing. college was a blur. Conversations slipped through my fingers, faces became indistinct. People spoke to me, but their words barely registered. I was there, but I wasn't.

luca ignored me like nothing had happened and i had no problem with it either. i liked to keep it that way too.

after classes ended i headed home and actually had the energy to cook something after a week or two so i decided to make pasta with garlic butter.

I ate up and decided to sleep earlier than usual because i have been waking up in the middle of the night for the past few days. Too many nights without sleep. Too many nights on edge. The second I hit the bed, my limbs felt heavy, my eyelids drooping before I could even think.

And for the first time in what felt like forever—I slept.

Deep, dreamless, and uninterrupted.

Until midnight. When I jolted awake—heart pounding, breath caught in my throat,sweating profusely. Because something felt off.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand, the screen glowing in the dark. Half-asleep, I reached for it, expecting some random notification.

But when I saw the message, every ounce of drowsiness vanished.

Unknown Number: It's your birthday.

My breath hitched. My stomach twisted into a tight knot.

A slow, creeping chill ran down my spine as I stared at the screen, my fingers frozen over the keyboard. I didn't need to ask who it was.

 ON MY BIRTHDAY. 1 YEAR IT HAS BEEN SINCE THAT NIGHT. Endless. Suffocating. Paralyzing. Unrelenting. Sinister.

SRRY THIS CHAPTER WAS SHORTER THAN THE OTHER:> HOPE U LIKE IT 

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