Part 3 — The Voice Came Home Before His Mother Did
(Part 1) ➡️ https://storiesworld.us/archives/9745
(Part 2) ➡️ https://storiesworld.us/archives/9746
Aiden sat frozen on the edge of his bed.
The voice sounded exactly like his mother.
Not almost.
Not nearly.
Exactly.
Every instinct told him to go downstairs.
But the timing bothered him.
His parents weren’t supposed to be home yet.
Trying to calm himself, he grabbed his phone and called his mother.
She answered immediately.
Traffic noise echoed through the speaker.
Cars.
Engines.
Road noise.
She was clearly driving.
Aiden felt his stomach tighten.
If his mother was still on the road…
Who had just called his name?
Trying not to alarm her, he simply said:
“When you get home, call me. I’ll help with the groceries.”
His mother agreed and hung up.
The house fell silent again.
For the next half hour, Aiden stayed inside his room.
Every small sound made him nervous.
The house seemed different somehow.
Too quiet.
Too still.
Eventually his phone rang.
His mother.
“We’re home.”
Relief flooded through him.
Finally.
Everything had a simple explanation after all.
He stood up.
Then he heard his mother’s voice again.
Not through the phone.
Outside his bedroom door.
“Honey, come outside.”
Aiden froze.
His phone was still pressed against his ear.
His mother was speaking through it.
Yet somehow her voice was also standing outside his room.
Slowly, he walked to the window.
He pulled back the curtain and looked outside.
The driveway was empty.
No car.
No headlights.
No sign that anyone had arrived.
The voice outside the door spoke again.
And this time, Aiden knew something was terribly wrong.
(Part 4) ➡️ https://storiesworld.us/archives/9749