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I listened to his footsteps cross the house.

The front door opened with its familiar twang when he left.

I lay awake. The lamp stayed lit beside me.

The clock glowed. 4:26. Everything was plugged in.

Everything worked. My phone rested on my chest.

Maybe I had unplugged my own things.

Maybe I had somehow moved my own phone before I woke.

Maybe I had stood beside my own bed and snapped my own fingers.

That one stopped me.

I stared at the ceiling. No.

There were reasonable explanations. There had to be. The house settled around me.

A small pop came from somewhere in the wall.

I flinched. Plumbing. Wood. Air ducts. Anything.

I waited. Nothing followed. My breathing slowly settled. Then I remembered the touch.

Not a dream. Not a sound.

A finger. Hard against the top of my head.

I reached up and touched the same spot.

My scalp felt completely normal. Of course it did.

I pulled my hand away. 4:31.

I watched the clock change. 4:32. 4:33.

Eventually I closed my eyes. Behind them I saw the backyard. Blue pool light.

Black trees. My phone screaming from the grass.

Dad and Riot moving toward it.

Chief standing at the tree line, listening. I opened my eyes again.

The room was bright enough now. Nothing in the bathroom. Nothing beside the bed.

Nothing in the doorway. I told myself that until I almost believed it.

Then, from somewhere outside—

Snap.

My eyes opened wider. I waited. Nothing.

A branch, I decided. A twig.