I didn't sleep that night.
I kept staring at the diary on my desk.
If Maya ever moves into Room 16, I need her to remember me.
How could Lena have known I would move into this exact room?
I picked up the diary again.
Most of the pages had been torn out.
Only a few remained.
The first one was dated seven years ago.
June 14.
She found out.
The next page said:
I told Maya we should leave, but she doesn't believe me.
I stopped reading.
Maya.
Again.
I turned the page.
If anything happens to me, she will know why.
My hands went cold.
A knock came from my door.
I nearly screamed.
“It's me.”
A man's voice.
I opened the door slightly.
A young man stood outside.
I'd seen him around the house before.
“I'm Ethan,” he said. “I live across the hall.”
I opened the door.
“Did you need something?”
His eyes moved past me.
Towards Room 17.
“You went inside.”
It wasn't a question.
I nodded.
His expression changed.
“You shouldn't have.”
“Why?”
He looked at me for a moment.
“Because people who go looking for Lena usually regret it.”
My heart skipped.
“You know her?”
He hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Who was she?”
Ethan looked down the hallway before answering.
“She lived here seven years ago.”
“What happened to her?”
“She disappeared.”
“Disappeared how?”
“Nobody knows.”
I remembered the diary.
“Was she my friend?”
His eyes snapped towards me.
“How do you know that?”
I didn't answer.
Instead, I went back inside and brought out the photograph.
“Is this her?”
Ethan stared at it.
“Yes.”
“And who's the other girl?”
He looked at me.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he whispered,
“You.”
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because I didn't believe him.
“That isn't possible.”
“It is.”
“I would remember her.”
“You don't remember a lot of things, Maya.”
The room suddenly felt smaller.
“What are you talking about?”
Ethan took a step back.
“Ask your mother what happened seven years ago.”
Then he walked away.
I stood in the doorway, watching him disappear down the stairs.
My mother.
I called her immediately.
She answered on the third ring.
“Maya?”
“Mum, what happened seven years ago?”
Silence.
A long one.
Then she asked,
“Why are you asking me that?”
I looked at the photograph in my hand.
“Who is Lena?”
The line went completely silent.
“Mum?”
When she finally spoke, her voice was trembling.
“Where did you hear that name?”
“I found a photograph.”
Another silence.
Then she said something that made my blood run cold.
“Maya, listen to me.”
“I'm listening.”
“Leave that house.”
“Why?”
“Because Lena is dead.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Then why did I see her last night?”
My mother's voice broke.
“You didn't.”
I looked towards Room 17.
The door was open.
And someone was standing inside.
Lena.
She lifted one finger to her lips.
Then she mouthed four words.
Don't trust Ethan.
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