Stop Pretending”

Every night at 2:17 a.m., my phone rang. No name. No sound. Just vibration.Tonight, I answered it. A whisper said, “Why are you standing behind me?”I dropped the phone. Because I live alone.I checked the mirror before sleeping. Nothing behind me.At 3:00 a.m., I felt someone breathing. Slow. Cold.In the mirror, I saw myself… still sleeping.The house was silent after midnight. Too silent.The house was silent after midnight. Too silent. I heard footsteps in the hallway, slow and careful, like someone trying not to be noticed. I held my breath and checked the lock. It was still closed. Then my phone lit up. Unknown: Don’t turn around. My heart raced. I was sitting on my bed, facing the wall. The mirror was behind me. The message came again. Unknown: You’re not alone anymore. I didn’t turn around. I didn’t scream. Because in the mirror, I could already see someone smiling… with my face.The security camera showed me sleeping in my room. But I was standing in front of the screen, watching it. The timestamp changed. The “me” on the bed slowly opened his eyes and smiled at the camera. Then my phone vibrated. Message: Now switch places.I started hearing my name when no one was around. Soft. Familiar. At first, I thought it was my imagination. Until one night, my phone recorded a voice note by itself. When I played it back, it was my own voice saying, “Stop pretending you’re alive.”