The next morning, Ethan awoke feeling drained, as if he had run a marathon in his sleep. His body ached, and his mind was clouded with fatigue. He rubbed his eyes and glanced at the clock, realizing he had to prepare for class. The routine felt almost normal, but the weight of the previous day hung over him like a dark cloud.
As he went through the motions of getting ready, a nagging thought crept into his mind: where was his roommate, Jacob? Ethan remembered that they had planned to hang out the night before, but Jake had never returned. He wondered if his friend had gone out or if something had happened. The uncertainty gnawed at him, adding to his already frayed nerves.
With a sigh, Ethan finished getting dressed and grabbed his backpack, trying to shake off the unease. He needed to focus on class, but the ghost's presence and his roommate's absence loomed large in his thoughts.
On his way to class, Ethan couldn't help but notice the stares he was getting from different people, and he couldn't shake the weirded-out sensation that accompanied it. 'What could possibly be wrong?' He brushed it off, convincing himself it was just his imagination.
However, the reason for the attention became clear as soon as he entered the classroom and met up with his friends, Ryan and Alex. "Woah! Ethan, you look like you haven't slept for days," Ryan exclaimed, concern etched on his face. Alex chimed in, "Yeah, Ethan, are you doing okay?"
Ethan furrowed his brow, confused. He felt fine—or at least he thought he did. "I had slept the entire night, though," he mumbled, but his friends heard him and exchanged skeptical glances that screamed disbelief. The weight of their concern only added to his growing unease.
The day dragged on, each hour feeling like an eternity. Ethan felt disconnected from everything around him, as if he were moving through a dream. The routine of classes and lectures blurred together, and he found it increasingly difficult to focus. He was only able to go through the motions because it was all so familiar, yet the nagging feeling of something being off gnawed at him.
When he finally returned home, the absence of his roommate, Jacob, hit him like a cold wave. The silence in their apartment felt oppressive, amplifying the sense of unease that had been building within him. Negative thoughts spiraled in his mind, and he tried to distract himself by taking a shower, hoping the hot water would wash away his worries. Afterward, he sank into the couch and mindlessly played games on his phone, but the distraction was fleeting.
Just as he thought he might find some peace, he caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye. His heart raced as he turned to look, and there it was—the ghost. It stood in the shadows, staring at him with an eerily calm face, its expression unsettlingly serene. Ethan froze, his breath hitching in his throat. The world around him faded away, leaving only the ghost and the suffocating silence.