Short Stories

Prompt 2 - Paranoia

Ever since she was little, Sarah has been superstitious.
As a child, she would avoid cracks in the sidewalk, avoid any black cats she saw, and always made sure to wait until she stepped outside to open an umbrella in the rain. Most people eventually grow out of superstitions. They're just petty rumors and nonsensical stories that end up making life a little harder, after all.
Sarah, however, did not grow out of these beliefs. As she grew older, her paranoia grew with her. Don't shatter the mirror, avoid the number 13, don't leave your room past 3 am. The more superstitions she discovered, the more her paranoia grew, and the tougher her life became.

Today, she is 16 years old.
Her parents had left to visit a sick family member, but since she had school that day, she decided to stay home so she wouldn't miss her classes. After all, they'd be back before nighttime. A few hours alone after school couldn't be that bad, right? Well, that's what she thought.
Her house was huge. There were 2 stories with large rooms, and so much space that she could hear echoes from the footsteps downstairs. Many people would consider her lucky for living in a house so big. But Sarah hated it.
What if someone broke in? How would she be able to tell before it's too late? Someone could be watching from anywhere, and she wouldn't know it.

Because of this, Sarah liked to stay safe in the privacy her room so long as she wasn't spending time with her parents. She could never shake the feeling of being watched otherwise.
Deciding to stay home alone in order to attend school seemed like the smartest option at the time. But now that she's home, she began to regret it. Her stomach was in knots and her thoughts were moving a mile a minute - so she'd do what she always does and hide away in her bedroom. She had a lot of homework to keep her distracted until they got home anyway. It would just be for a few hours. Just a few hours until Mom and Dad get home.

And so, the hours passed.

By now, it was in the late hours of the night. Her parents still hadn't returned home, and they hadn't texted back or answered calls at all. Sarah began to fear the worst - the feeling of anxiety only became stronger and stronger with each minute.

She knew she should be asleep by now, especially on a school night, but she just couldn't do it. She was too uncomfortable. She stayed in her room for so long that she'd skipped dinner, and she hadn't gone to the bathroom in hours. Not to mention, she didn't feel comfortable going to sleep without her parents home. What if they were locked out somehow? She'd need to go downstairs to open the door, and she couldn't do that if she were asleep. Anxiety and hunger kept her awake. And as the clock ticked closer to 3 am, it just became worse.

3 am. The Witching Hour. It was then that the night was at its worst. According to superstitions, there were tons of paranormal activity that took place between then and 4 am. Sarah had promised herself that she'd never stay up that late, and by now, she feared that she would break it.
Sure enough, the hour arrived, and she was still wide awake.

It couldn't be so bad - or, it shouldn't be. No one believes in the witching hour current day, because "paranormal activity" just isn't real. Everyone knows that. But Sarah does not.

Her plan was to just stay in bed in order to hide, or fall asleep before 4 if she were lucky, even if her light remained on. Especially now, she was afraid of the dark.

And that's when she heard it.

There was knocking. It was coming from downstairs. It caused her eyes to widen and her pulse to skyrocket - she tried to convince herself to ignore it, but it came again, and again, and again...
It could just be her parents knocking at the front door, which was the only logical explanation. And if it was, she'd need to go downstairs and let them in. They'd freeze outside in the cold if she didn't!

Sarah was torn between saving her parents and staying safe. But as the knocking continued, her thoughts raced faster, and she began to feel guilt as time went on. If it were her parents, she was selfishly keeping them outside due to her own superstitious thoughts!

Without thinking any further, Sarah ran downstairs into the darkness of the house and straight towards the front door. But when she opened it, nobody was there.
She froze on the spot.
Nobody was at the door. Her parents still weren't home. And now, she's downstairs in a large, empty house as the knocking echoed through each room.
It hadn't stopped, not even when she opened the door. It came from everywhere and nowhere at once. She could only come to one conclusion - someone was here. She was not alone in the house anymore.

As she walked back to the stairs, she couldn't shake the feeling of eyes on her back. There was undoubtedly someone - something - watching her, and it made her feel queasy. She could investigate further, but as the feeling grew stronger, as the knocking grew louder, she decided not to risk seeing anything she didn't want to see.

She ran up the staircase and back to her room, slamming the door shut. Everything felt safer in here. The feeling persisted, but she was in her safe place. As long as she didn't leave, she would be just fine.

Then, finally, she heard footsteps. The dreaded noise made her heart stop - her theory was confirmed, and she was definitely not imagining things now. As quickly as she could, she dove for her phone and began to dial for 911, but before she could hit send, the door opened, and-

"Hello?"

Sarah stopped.

"Dad?" She asked, looking at the man in the doorway.
Sure enough, it was her dad. The footsteps, the knocking, the feeling of being watched. It all must've just been her parents.

"What are you doing awake? It's a school night. I know your mom and I were out longer than we thought we'd be, but you're a responsible kid," her dad scolded. Despite his annoyance, Sarah felt more relieved than upset with herself.

"Sorry, Dad. It was hard to sleep without knowing if you or mom were okay or not," she replied.

He just gave an accepting sigh. "I understand that. There was just so much traffic... but yes, your mom and I are okay. She was so tired that she went straight to bed, and you should too. Get some sleep, kiddo, because you'll need it for tomorrow."

"Okay, I will," she nodded, "have a good night, Dad. I love you!"

"I love you too. See you in the morning, okay?"
And with that, he shut her light off and closed the door.

She felt so much better now. She could hear her dad's footsteps as he returned to his room, and she could hear his door close. The noises have stopped. The feeling of eyes on her back went away. Her mom was asleep, her dad had went to bed, and after everything that happened tonight, it all turned out okay. Finally, the nightmare was over. She could finally rest now.
She tucked herself into bed, rested her head on the pillow, and closed her eyes.

And then she heard knocking at her bedroom door.