The sun had slipped low behind the trees when I finally peeled myself away from my bed, my phone still clutched in my hand like a lifeline. The screen lit up again—another message from the unknown sender. My chest tightened at the familiar buzz, and a shiver ran down my spine. I didn’t even want to look, but I couldn’t stop myself.
You shouldn’t have tried to ignore me.My fingers trembled as I held the phone, staring at the words. My mind raced. Ignore them? I hadn’t tried. I’d been cautious, careful. But every message, every photo, every little whisper of knowledge felt like a trap closing in. My stomach knotted, and my heart thudded in my ears.I typed back, my fingers hovering over the screen as I tried to steady my breathing: Who are you? What do you want from me?Almost immediately, the reply came. You already know.I froze. The words were so simple, yet they carried a weight that made my stomach drop. Already know? I shook my head,The night pressed in heavy, the kind that swallowed and wrapped the world in a suffocating stillness. Lila sat cross-legged on her bed, the pale glow of her phone the only light in the room. It illuminated her face like a cruel spotlight, highlighting the tension etched into her jaw, the tear-gloss sheen in her eyes.Her screen still showed the last message, waiting for her acknowledgment like a taunt.Does he tell you he loves you? Or does he just say it because you need to hear it?She hated how the words sank under her skin, how they poisoned the very place Anthony’s voice used to soothe her. She wanted to delete them, block the number, pretend this had never crawled into her world. But she couldn’t. She never could. Every time she silenced the phone, every time she told herself she was done, the messages found their way back to her like a shadow she couldn’t outrun.Tonight, though, she was done being passive. Tonight, she couldn’t shove it aside anymore. Somethi
The glow of Lila’s phone felt like fire against her palm. Another message had arrived—no name, no picture, just the same number that had haunted her for weeks.“He’ll never love you the way you think. He belongs to me.”She squeezed her eyes shut, every word carving deeper into the insecurities she thought Anthony’s presence had healed. She should have ignored it. She’d promised herself she would. But her thumb hovered over the keyboard like it had a mind of its own.Who are you? What do you want from me? she typed, heart slamming in her chest.The reply came instantly.“I want what’s mine.”Her breath caught. Fingers trembling, she typed again. You don’t even know me. Why are you sending me this?This time, instead of words, an image arrived. Her own face, taken from across the street outside her apartment. She was unlocking her car, wearing the same denim jacket she’d had on earlier that week. Her blood ran cold.The phone nearly slipped from her gr
Lila woke to a dull ache in her chest, the kind that came after too many days of pretending she was fine. She rolled onto her side, the morning light slipping through her curtains in pale streaks that painted her face gold. Her phone sat on the nightstand, screen dark, waiting.She hesitated before reaching for it, afraid of what she might find there. Every time she unlocked it lately, there were new messages waiting, like a shadow she couldn’t shake. Still, her fingers moved, almost on their own.The notifications glared back at her.Unknown Number: Did he tell you where he was last night?Unknown Number: Funny how you trust someone who hides things.Unknown Number: I could show you more.Her breath caught, stomach twisting. She wanted to throw the phone across the room, but instead she sat up and typed back with shaking hands.Lila: Who are you? Why are you doing this? What do you want from me?The reply came instantly, as though the sender had been
The next morning, Lila awoke with a tight knot in her stomach. Her phone lay on the nightstand, buzzing insistently with a message from the unknown sender. She hesitated before looking, her thumb hovering over the screen, but curiosity—mixed with a strange, nagging fear—won out.I see everything. Don’t think you can hide.Lila swallowed hard, her fingers trembling as she typed: Why are you doing this? Who are you?No response came immediately, but the tension lingered, prickling against her skin like static. She let out a long breath, trying to steady herself. Her room felt smaller somehow, walls pressing in, shadows of the previous day’s events still heavy in the corners.Nicole and Mae were waiting outside, cheerful and loud as ever, trying to mask their own unease. “Morning, sunshine!” Nicole called when Lila finally emerged, forcing a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.Mae waved, holding a bag of snacks. “Ready for our mission?”
The morning sunlight was soft as it filtered through Lila’s curtains, but the warmth did little to ease the tension curling in her chest. The previous night’s messages from the unknown sender still felt like ice, lingering on her skin and in her thoughts. She sat at her desk, phone in hand, scrolling through the endless notifications she hadn’t dared open. Each buzz, each vibration made her heart jump.Nicole and Mae were already on their way, texting rapid-fire plans to keep her mind off the growing sense of unease. Lila tried to respond with enthusiasm, but her replies were short, clipped, and cautious. The shadows of last night still hovered over her, invisible but undeniable.You think you can go about your life untouched?The message appeared, chilling her to the bone. Photos followed immediately—snapshots of her breakfast nook, her shoes by the door, a blurred image of the street outside. Someone had been outside, waiting, watching.Lila’s h
The house felt unusually quiet when Lila returned from her day out with Nicole and Mae. The sun had fully dipped below the horizon, leaving a cool shadow in her bedroom. She dropped her bag on the floor and sat on the edge of her bed, pulling her knees close. Her phone buzzed again—another message from the unknown sender.Did you think you could ignore me?Her chest tightened. Each new message felt like a hand around her throat. Lila gripped the phone, staring at the screen. The photos that had come earlier still haunted her—images of Anthony, images of herself, snapshots of moments that should have been private. How did they have them? Who could possibly know so much?Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, trembling. She typed carefully: Why are you doing this? Who are you? What do you want from me?Almost instantly, the reply came: To see how strong you really are.Lila pressed the phone to her chest, letting out a shaky breath. Her dia