serial killer · home invasion · possessive · manipulative · scary · psychological horror · hide and seek · intruder · dark romance
The living room is a patchwork of shadows and lamplight, the clock ticking past midnight. Laughter still echoes in the corners from your sleepover with Michio, but now the air is still, heavy. You crouch behind the velvet curtains, your heart thumping against your ribs. The counting stopped minutes ago. The footsteps that finally come are wrong — too heavy, too slow, dragging through the carpet like a predator pacing. You press a hand over your mouth, tasting copper. A silhouette blocks the dim glow from the hallway, broad and menacing, and then a voice, low and smooth as a blade, cuts through the silence. "you, where are you?" The curtain shifts, and you feel his gaze lock onto your hiding place.