Justin walked through the front door and shut it gently behind him. He put his keys and phone down on the table next to the door.
"Drew? You home?" he called out. There was no response. Walking down the hallway he saw the door to Drew's room was open and the light was on.
"Drew?" he said again, poking his head into the room. It was empty.
"That's weird," Justin said to himself. He shrugged and was about to walk away when he saw what looked like a note on the bed. Walking over, he leaned down to pick it up. The words were all in black ink and looked like they had been scrawled out quickly by someone in a panic. Justin frowned as he read the note out loud: "You shouldn't be here."
He turned it over in his hands. The other side was blank. There was no signature, no explanation, just those four words staring up at him.
"Is this some kind of weird joke?" he asked the silence, hoping Drew's voice would respond. There was no answer. He put the note down on Drew's pillow and sighed.
"Maybe Ethan is in on this," Justin said, walking back to the front room to retrieve his phone and text his other roommate. Before he made it back to the table, something on the couch caught his attention. He turned and stared at it for a second, then chuckled.
"Alright, how many of these am I gonna find?" he said to himself. He leaned over and picked up a piece of paper identical to the first with the same ominous message, "you shouldn't be here."
"What a waste of paper," Justin said to himself, walking back to Drew's room to collect the other note and throw them both away. As he stepped in the room he reached his hand out for the note on the pillow but stopped short.
"I know I put it right here," he said, looking down at the pillow that was bare except for a dark blue pillowcase. He looked all around the room, on top of the desk and under the bed but found nothing.
"Am I losing my mind?" he questioned. He walked over to the small trash can that sat next to the window, crumpled up the note from the couch and dropped it in.
"Whatever. I don't have time for this. I'm hungry," Justin decided, walking to the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway and stared at the scene in front of him. The door to the fridge was wide open and on the counter was a cutting board with two pieces of bread, one of them half covered in mayo.
"What in the world is going on today?" Justin said, exasperated. He slammed the fridge door shut and stepped over to the counter looking down at an open container of lunchmeat and a half made sandwich.
"I guess I'm having a sandwich," Justin decided, slapping a few pieces of ham and a slice of cheese onto the bread. He closed up the lunchmeat container and put the bag of cheese slices on top. Opening the fridge door, he was about to put them on the shelf but what he saw there made him stop.
Laying on the shelf no longer in a ball but still crinkled, was the note. "You shouldn't be here."
"This is impossible," Justin said, closing the fridge without putting the food away. He mindlessly set it back down on the counter and walked out of the kitchen staring straight ahead.
Making his way back to Drew's room, he stood over the trash can. Taking a deep breath he hesitantly peered down at it and his heart skipped a beat. The can held an empty soda bottle and a chewed up piece of gum. But no note.
"Alright maybe I just need to clear my head," Justin told himself, running his fingers through his hair. He could feel himself starting to sweat. He walked into his room and flipped on the light. Peeling off his dirty work clothes, he walked over to his laundry basket to throw them in.
"What in the hell...?" he swore, looking down into the basket. At the bottom was the crumpled note staring up at him. "You shouldn't be here."
"I don't know how Drew is doing this but it's not funny," he muttered to himself through gritted teeth. Dropping his clothes in a pile on the floor, he reached into the basket and pulled out the note. Tearing it into little pieces, he crumpled them all into a ball and shoved it into the trash can.
"Alright, your prank is over," he called out to the empty house. "Wherever you are, Drew, you can come out now. You got me."
He waited for a few seconds but nothing happened.
"If he was trying to make me feel like an idiot, it worked."
Justin put his clothes into the basket and walked into the bathroom. He turned the shower on to as hot as he could take it and stepped in. The hot stream of water felt soothing as it cascaded down his back and over his shoulders.
"Maybe I overreacted," he thought to himself as he soaped up his loofah. "Drew was just blowing off steam with a dumb prank. I'll just think of a way to get him back."
Justin finished his shower and turned off the water feeling much better. He reached for his towel and wrapped it around himself. Stepping out into the steamy bathroom, he stood in front of the mirror.
"Wow, I guess it's not over yet," he sighed, feeling his shoulders tense up again. Four words had been carefully written in the condensation on the mirror. "You shouldn't be here."
Justin grabbed the hand towel and started to wipe away the letters
"Drew just won't stop with this," he griped, wiping and wiping in circles. As he continued to wipe the mirror, he noticed what looked like a small black dot forming in the center. Every time he made a circle with the towel, the dot got bigger and bigger. Justin yanked the towel away from the mirror but it was too late. The black dot continued to grow and grow until it was the size of his face.
"I don't think Drew is doing this," Justin admitted, taking a step back. He began to feel a slight pull coming from the mirror and the black dot continued to expand. Justin tried to take another step back but the pull was too strong. He reached around frantically for something to grab onto but the black dot pulled him forward and slammed his body against the sink.
"Drew! Ethan! Anybody!" he yelled, flailing helplessly. The black dot was now the size of the entire mirror and was swirling violently while pulling Justin toward it. He felt himself being lifted off his feet.
"Help! Somebody help me! I'm getting-"
Justin never got to finish his sentence. In one instant he was enveloped by the black dot, the mirror returned to normal and the house was once again silent.
It was getting dark as Ethan walked through the door.
"Hey guys," he called out, assuming both Drew and Justin were home since their cars were outside. He was greeted by silence.
"Well that's weird," he said, looking down at Justin's phone that still sat on the table by the door.
"Whatever. Guess I have the place to myself for a while."
He walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge to grab a soda.
"Oh sweet. Free sandwich," he said, picking up the ham and cheese sandwich from the cutting board. He saw the ingredients still sitting on the counter and shrugged deciding to put them away later.
Collapsing on the couch, he kicked off his shoes and reached for the TV remote. With the push of a button it came to life. Ethan hit play on his favorite show and then frowned as the screen went black.
"What on earth?"
The screen crackled and made a buzzing noise and then went silent. Ethan stared in shock at the screen as four simple words appeared across it: "You shouldn't be here."
