Midnight Screams

Brianna jerked. She let out a strangled scream as her eyes popped open and sweat dripped down her forehead, a cold sweat clinging to her body. Her heart pounding against her ribs, her breath ragged gasps. She trembled, covering herself in her blanket, trying to calm herself down.

Her nightmares have been terrorising her since she had moved in to this house. It was constantly about her. Flying out of a roller coaster and falling to her death. She was used to it by now but it would get her every now and then.

She ran a sweaty hand through her short, disheveled hair, letting out a shaky breath, attempting to regain her composure. She swung her legs over the side of her bed and her bare feet met the cold floor. She stood up, a shiver running down her spine. The hairs in the back of her neck stood up, and she looked around, a knot in her stomach twisting with paranoia. She shook it off, not wanting to startle herself more than she already was. Deciding to get a glass of water as her throat felt dry, she made her way to the kitchen.

She took a moment, allowing the refreshing water to quench her thirst. As she set her glass down, the tap ran once more. A slow, deliberate, drip, drip, drip. As if someone had done it. The door was locked, the windows were shut. But nobody except her was here, so who could it have been?

A prickle of unease traced its way up her spine. She slowly turned around, scanning the area, her hand instinctively moving to close the tap. It was still dark outside, meaning it was just past midnight. She quickly hurried to her room, shutting the door shut firmly. She sits on her bed, making her way under the covers, grabbing her pillow, as if using it to comfort herself, or maybe protection. Her eyes snapped to her bedroom door, still feeling anxious. Laying down in her bed, she forced herself to sleep no matter the thoughts that made her mind run. Just as she was on the verge if drifting off, she heard a knock on her back door. She abruptly sits up, swallowing hard as to why someone would be here at this hour. She got out of bed for the second time and moved towards the door, reaching her trembling hand out and opened her bedroom door. It wasn’t just the fact that someone would be here at this hour, but that no one knocks on her back door, let alone come.

She took a deep breath and crept up to her back door, her brows crinkled. After a moment of hesitation, she opened the door.

“H-Hello?” She stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. Her eyes widened in a mixture of fear and discomfort. There was nobody in sight.

“Maybe it’s just someone pranking me.” She told herself, trying to disguise the fear to make it seem as though it didn’t bother her, but deep down, she was terrified.

Was she hearing things? Was it someone messing with her? Or something…else?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a fierce gust of wind flying at her face, causing her hair to fly in different directions. She stumbled back, as gasp escaping her lips by the wind that anonymously hit her. Her eyes darted around the empty street, searcing for a source. But there was none. There wasn’t a soul on the streets. It was just her, and her spiralling thoughts. She quickly shut her door, feeling scared. She ran to her room, and jumped under her covers, her blanket cocooning her, helping her feel some sort of comfort in the fear that gripped her heart. She stared at the ceiling, unable to peacefully sleep. She tossed and turned for a long time, too shaken by the occurances to even think about a good night’s rest. She hugged her pillow tightly, her eyes heavy with exhaustion but couldn’t sleep.

Suddenly, her ears were filled with soft, scraping sounds coming from her bedroom door. She tried to ignore them but her mind was reeling with possibilities of what they could be or who it was. Her jaw dropped as she saw the handle twisting, a shot of adreline hitting her.

Without second thought, she grabbed her phone, calling her boyfriend, Andrew.

She held the phone up to her ear, breathing heavily. He didn’t answer the first time, leaving her momentarily at despair. She tried again, praying he’d answer this time and he wasn’t already sleeping.

“Come on, pick up, pick up, pick up.”

But to no surpise, he didn’t answer, meaning she had to go through this alone, fueling her anxiety to the brink..

Her eyes flickered to the door, the handle was fully twisted. Her phone slipped from her numb fingers, clattering to the hard floor. The door creaked open, and she looked away, covering herself with her blanket. She didn’t look; she couldn’t look. As the door opened wider, a shadow detached itself, the air thickened, heavy with unspoken threat.

She peeked through, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever it was. Her eyes darted to the figure.

“Brianna.” It whispered, sending a bone-chilling shiver up her spine. Her breathing quickened, her body trembled and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out whatever was haunting her.

“No. This isn’t real. I’m imagining it. I’m hallucinating all this. I must be dreaming.”

Her fingers went to pinch her arm, but when she felt the pain of the pinch, the weight of the situation came crashing down on her shoulders. Realisation hit her like a slow, creeping poison, tightening its grip until she was paralysed with the reality.

It wasn’t a dream.

But something far more sinister.

She glanced at it once more, seeing a figure that would be beyond her nightmares. She felt lightheaded, her head feeling fuzzy. The edges of her vision became black and darkness consumed her.

———

Brianna stirred slightly, the sun crept into the room, and her eyes fluttered open. She rubbed her eyes, wiping away any tiredness remaining.

She sat up, her eyes locked on the door. Her mind recalled the event that had occurred last night. Even thinking about it caused her to shudder. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was all true. It couldn’t have been. Right?

She shook her head, denying all of it. Instead of thinking about it, she freshened up—brushing her teeth, washing her face, and wore her outfit for the day.

She stared in the mirror for a couple of minutes, second guessing herself about if what she had seen the previous night was real or not.

She cleared her head, not wanting to freak herself out again. As she was about to the living room, she didn’t even realise until now that there were scratch marks on her door from the back. Like it was from some animal.

Before she could think about what had caused this her phone vibrated, and she ushered back to her room, lifting it of the ground, relieved to see it was her boyfriend.

“Hey, baby. Why did you call me last night? Is everything okay?”

He asked, sounding confused but also concerned.

“I—uh. I’m just really freaked out. Can you please come over?”

She replies, her voice laced with worry and fear.

“Okay, I’ll be right there. Bye, baby.”

“Bye.”

She cut the call and made her way to the living room, not wanting to stay in her room until he arrives. She leaned back on the couch, her leg bobbing up and down and starts eating away her nails. The anxiety ate away at her soul.

Eventually, Andrew came and knocked on her front door. She ushered to the door, opening the door and threw herself in his arms before he had the chance to speak.

“Woah—baby, what’s wrong?”

She couldn’t answer and instead sobbed on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back with his hand, trying to calm her down.

“I-I’m…scared. I don’t know what’s going on,” she says, her voice full of vulnerability and fear. Her voice breaks his heart, and he plants a kiss to her hair.

“Don’t worry. I’m here now,” he soothes. “You have nothing to worry about”. He strokes her hair, his touch gentle. He pulls back, wiping her tears with his thumbs and walks inside, his hand holding onto hers as he closes the front door and leads her to the couch.

She stayed silent for a moment, and he did too. He decides to push it a bit, wanting to know why she was so scared, but kept his words formal and not a way that were sensitive to her or creep her out more than she already was.

“Baby, can you tell me what happened?” He asked, his hand still resting on her back. She leaned back on the couch and teared.

“Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out together,” he replied, his voice firm yet worried for her. He reached out and held her hand in his, silently telling her he’ll always be here for her no matter what.

After a moment of thinking, she finally spoke up and shared everything that happened to last night. Her voice wavered as she tried to recollect her thoughts. His face was etched with tension and concern, his mouth gaped open at what he’s hearing.

She stopped talking, her head hung and she tightened her grip on his hand.

“Brianna, I’m sure you’re imagining all this, or you were dreaming. I don’t think ghosts are real,” he replied, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation. She turned her head to look at him, shaking her head.

“No. It couldn’t have been a dream. I felt it. I saw it. I saw the scratches on the door. I saw all of it. I couldn’t have been imagining. What I saw, was not an animal, but a figure.”

His gaze drifted to her bedroom for a moment before returning back to her face.

“Baby, I think you were dreaming. Ghosts are not real. They’re just made up stories to freak people out. And, for the scratches, it could have been an animal. There are many racoons in our area and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the cause.” He countered, his voice low and reassuring.

She thought about his words, wondering if it was just a dream, and that she was overthinking it. Even the scratches, they could have been from an animal. Like he said, ghosts aren’t real.

She met his gaze and he give her a small smile, his gaze softening with affection and care. She rested her head on his shoulder, feeling safe and loved. They stayed like that for a while, silence hanging in the air and Brianna eventually drifted off, her breathing slow and steady. He smiled at her with fondness, his hand reaching out to her cheek and his thumb gently caressed her soft skin, a reminder to always protect her.

He decided it was best if she’d sleep on her own bed and stood up, carrying her small body in his arms, bridal style, and walked to her room, tucking her in bed. His gaze lingered on her peaceful expression, but he could still see the unease in her features. He frowned and brushed her hair out her face, which caused her to relax even more, soothing her even in her subconscious state.

She slept for a few hours, not releasing Andrew had left an hour ago. She stirred, opening her eyes to see that she was in her room. She sat up and yawned, stretching her limbs. She let out a content sigh, feeling better than before. She looked around and didn’t see Andrew, wandering around her house and called his name. She made her way to her kitchen and her stomach rumbled, a sign her stomach needed food. Instead of looking for him she gave into her hunger and began to make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich, her favourite snack. She sat on her counter, taking a bite of her Sandwich and her hunger subsided, replaced with satisfaction.

She noticed a note and a bar of chocolate on her dining table, and she saw it was from Andrew. She picked up the note that read:

Hey baby, I hope you’re doing okay now. You’re probably wondering where I went but don’t worry, I had something come up at work and had to leave immediately. I’ll be back to check on you tomorrow. I Love you.

From Andrew.

P.S- I brought your favourite chocolate. Don’t wait to gobble that up xx.

A small smile graced her features as she finished reading the note. She spotted the bar of caremel chocolate where the note originally was. She greedily opened it and took a bite, her eyes closing as it melted in her mouth, savouring its delicious taste. The sweet caramel added more flavour and she couldn’t resist eating it all. Once she had eaten it all she discarded the wrapper in the trash.

She settled on the idea of having a nice, long, warm shower to freshen her mind. She slid of the counter and walked to her room, picking out some silk pyjamas and two towels. One for her hair and one for her body.

As she strolled into her bathroom, she undressed, throwing her clothes into her overflowed laundry basket. She kept procrastinating on doing her laundry. She turned on the shower 5 minutes in advance as it took a few minutes to warm up.

She stepped into her shower as soon as she was naked. Steam filled the small bathroom, blurring the edges of her mirror. The tensions of the day melted away as the hot water cascaded over her shoulders. She didn’t rush. Instead, she took her time. She washed her body first, letting the grime and stress that was clinging to her skin wash away. She closed her eyes, tilting her head back, the warm water easing the knot in her neck.

Next, she grabbed the bottle of her shampoo, that helped her hair become more healthier than before. She squirted it out onto her palm, rubbing her hands and massaging her scalp, throughly cleansing her hair. She hummed to herself softly, a small sound other than the shower running.

Then, she reached for her lavender-scented body wash, the fragrance a calming balm. The lathered it over her hands and massaged it into her skin with slow, deliberate strokes. She paid attention to the small details—the delicate skin behind her knees, the curves of her hips, the softness of her inner wrists. This wasn’t just cleansing; but an act of self-care.

After washing the body wash off her skin, she worked through the end of her hair using a rich, coconut-scented cream, despite having shoulder length hair, maybe shorter. She let out a sigh, rubbing her smooth skin.

She was having the time of her life until she saw movement from the corner of her eye. Although she had a curtain shielding her from naked eyes, she was still worried. The figure didn’t move, it just stood still, as if it was right outside the curtain.

There was no way she could protect herself, she was in the most vulnerable state. The shower.

She froze, unable to think straight. She swallowed hard, her heart thumping against her chest.

“W-Who’s there?” She questioned, her voice trembling, betraying her attempt to be brave. Her eyes mirrored the anxiety that she felt, her hands shaking in fear.

“Andrew…if this is you, it’s not f-funny. You’re freaking m-me out.”

Silence.

Her eyes were filled with terror and plea, hoping it was her Boyfriend. But..the silhouette didn’t look masculine, it looked more feminine. Although she couldn’t see, she could tell it was..a woman.

Her hand reached out, but she hesitated for a second, taking a deep breath and pulled the curtains open. She opened her eyes, her eyes widening in disbelief.

Nothing was there…