That evening was quiet,too quiet againMrs Knight had just returned from her sister’s house,she dropped her small bag on the chair,her body was tired,her mind was calmShe was happy to be back,she missed her son,she missed the houseMrs Harrison was in her room,Clara was with Ava,Eric was inside the guest room,the house was full,but still heavyMrs Knight walked into the sitting room,she sat down slowly,she removed her shoesThen the phone rangShe looked at it,her heart jumped a little,she did not know whyShe picked it“Hello,” she saidA strange voice replied,“Hello please am I speaking with the Harrison family,”Mrs Knight frowned“Yes,yes I am,” she answeredThere was a short pauseThen the voice spoke again,“Please don’t panic,but Ryan has been involved in an accident,he is at the hospital now,”The world stoppedMrs Knight felt her breath leave her chest“What?” she shoutedHer hand started shaking,the phone almost dropped“What did you say,” she asked again

The waiting room was quiet except for Clara’s soft sobs, Ava biting her lip, Mrs Knight sitting stiffly in her chair, her hands folded tightly in her lap, and Eric standing silently by the wall, his eyes fixed on the emergency doorsMinutes felt like hours, each sound from the hallway made them jump, every step of a nurse, every beep of a machine was too loud, too sharpFinally, a doctor came out He was tall, his face serious He looked at them one by one“Family of Ryan Knight,” he said slowly, “Yes doctor that’s us,” Clara said “Can we see him,” Ava whispered The doctor shook his head “Not yet,” he said, “he is stable for now, but his condition is serious” Mrs Knight’s hands shook violently “Serious,” she whispered, “he is my son, he cannot be hurt” The doctor nodded “I understand,” he said, “he lost a lot of blood, he needed surgery, and we did our best but he still needs monitoring” Clara’s chest tightened “Is he going to be

The house felt heavier that morning, the air thick with worry, Mrs Knight sat in the living room, her eyes tired, her hands folded on her lap Clara, Ryan’s wife, sat beside her, her arms crossed tightly, her face pale Ava was sitting on the floor, hugging her knees, her eyes red from crying The sound of the doorbell made all of them jump Mrs Knight slowly got up and walked to the door she opened it carefully, her heart beating fast Deputy Cole stood there, his hat in his hand, a serious look on his face “Good morning, ma’am,” he said calmly, “May I come in?” Mrs Knight nodded, stepping aside to let him enter Clara stood behind her, Ava still on the floor, watching silently Cole walked in slowly, his eyes scanning the room, taking in the worried faces of the family “I heard about Ryan,” he said softly, “he is still in the hospital, I know and you are all worried” Mrs Knight’s eyes filled with tears, “Yes, Deputy Co

Clara was sitting on the sofa, arms crossed, her eyes fixed on the phone in her hand Ava was by the window, looking outside she could not stop thinking about Ryan, his accident, and now the strange silence around the house Ever since the accident, Clara's uncle had not returned no one knew where he was he left early one morning and had not come back the house felt empty in a strange way as if someone was watching, as if something was about to happen Clara's phone beeped she picked it up quickly a message from her friend, but she barely read it her mind was on Ryan, on the accident, on the strange calls she had been noticing Eric kept making calls every time the phone rang, Clara felt her heart jump she tried to ignore it but the tension in the house was growing the calls were always short, always whispered, and sometimes the line went dead she could not understand what he was saying or to whom Mrs Knight noticed it too sh

Clara slept on the small couch in the hospital waiting room that night, her body was tired but her mind refused to rest, the lights were dim and the smell of medicine filled the air, nurses passed now and then, their footsteps soft, everything felt heavy like the night itself was watching her Her eyes were closed but her thoughts were not calm, Ryan’s face kept appearing in her mind, the way he lay still on the bed, the sound of the machines, the fear sitting in her chest refused to leave even in sleep Then the dream came In the dream, Clara was standing inside the house, the Harrison house, but it did not look normal, the walls were dark, the air thick, the lights flickered like they wanted to go off, she called for her mum, for Ava, for Ryan, but her voice sounded strange, like the walls were swallowing it She walked slowly through the hallway, her legs felt heavy, every step hard, whispers filled the air, many voices at once, angry voices, warning voices, voices full of hat