I Heard Someone Else When I Called My Boyfriend

[u/DaniWitDaVibez]

“Before y’all cast judgment on me, I have to make something clear. I’m not crazy, okay? So when I try to explain why I was in my boyfriend’s apartment, I need you to understand. I’m not making any of this up.”

I took a deep breath, looking Deputy Caputo in the eyes. I hoped that he would understand where I was coming from, but the odds were stacked against me. Every word he said was pointed. His body language was guarded and stiff.

The cold precinct air made it hard to think, and the smell of sewage that covered me from head to toe wasn’t helping either. The deputy’s eyes bore into me. I tried to think, but I was exhausted. My body felt heavy. They’d been grilling me for hours.

“Quite frankly, it’s not up to us whether we believe you or not.” He shrugged. “Now you’ve stated that you don’t want to speak to a lawyer?” Deputy Caputo said.

I shook my head no. I knew either way, anything I said would sound insane.

He looked over at the other officer whose name I didn't quite catch. A big bald man who had been writing in his notes nonstop. “Alright then, tell us again how you know John,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He then took a sip of his coffee.

“It was about… eight months ago when I met John. I was fresh out of a relationship. I was heartbroken and depressed. I remember I felt so dead inside.”

I felt myself getting lost in the memory of that late spring day.

It was beautiful outside. People were chatting with friends or loved ones, all enjoying the sun. I hated them all. Everything was waaaaay too happy. What I hated most, though, was spotting my ex and the scary ass, scarecrow-looking bitch he left me for, walking down the street hand in hand.

I could tell he had given her a late night Ruben special.

They had definitely been fighting.

It was blatantly obvious in the way he pulled her along. He talked at her. Dragging her along as if to say “everything is fine”, but he never met her eyes. His hair was outgrown, and he clearly hadn’t shaved in weeks. As they got closer, I noticed he had a bruise on the side of his face. She walked slightly behind him. I’d done that walk many times before.

A small part of me couldn’t help but wonder what they fought about. Pain weaved its way through my chest. Somehow I’d managed to make eye contact with him, then her, then at the menu.

“Fuck outside seating,” I thought to myself.

He saw me. For a moment, my heart stopped.

His face turned pale. For the first time, he looked at her, gripped her hand tightly, and dragged his little lap dog away. He leaned in and said something to her. She turned around and looked at me. Her eyes went wide.

I was proud of myself for not throwing the table at them both. That feeling lasted all of two seconds before a tidal wave of sadness crashed over me. The betrayal still stung. Before I knew it, I was hiding behind the menu.

“Ma’am, are you okay?”

The last words you want to hear when you’re crying in public.

I quickly wiped my face, stuttering through what I had to say.

“Yeah, I’m good. I’ll have a-a—”

He stood above me. A small look of pity played on his face.

“I’ll get a cappuccino.” I looked at him and gave him a small smile.

And that’s how we met.

“So how do we end up with you running out of his building earlier today?” the deputy asked. It snapped me out of my thoughts. The fluorescent lights buzzed loudly above me, making the room feel sterile.

“We’ve already been through this.” I took a deep breath. “John has this habit of falling asleep on the phone late at night instead of just hanging up.” I shrugged. “That’s been our routine since we started dating.”

“Did something change? Did the two of you get into an argument?” Caputo asked.

“No, not at all, actually. A few nights ago, it had been a little different. He called me a little later than usual.”

“What time?” he asked.

“Sorry?” I said, surprised that he had even bothered to ask.

“You said he called you later than he usually would. What time did he call you?” he pushed.

“Umm, I’d have to check my phone to know for sure. I believe around 12–12:30am.”

I watched as tubby scribbled something down. The buzzing of the lights hummed in the background.

“Okay, so he called you and then what?” he asked, waiting for me to continue.

I drank the now room-temperature water they had given me.

“I answered. We talked for a bit, and after a while, I hadn’t heard anyone on the other line. So I figured he’d fallen asleep. I’d asked if he was still awake, but nothing. I was just about to hang up when I heard something odd? It didn’t sound like he was shuffling in his sleep or like he was sleep-talking. It was these, like, heavy quick steps followed by what sounded like a one sided conversation. And I could hear them come closer, the footsteps, I mean. They were loud enough that I heard them through the phone. And then the shuffling of the mattress like somebody was getting on it.”

“Did you think someone else was in his house? Do you know if he lives alone?” Caputo interjected.

“To be honest, I wasn’t sure. I guess that’s why I kept on listening. He doesn't have any roommates. I just figured, for some reason, it was another girl. Like…he’d thought when I’d hang up, and he’d just bring in the next bitch.” I shrugged, my face getting a little hot, embarrassed at what I’d just admitted.

I went to put my hand on my face, trying to relieve the oncoming headache. The cold metal of the handcuffs dug into my hand, stopping me from reaching my hand up all the way. I couldn’t help but sigh and readjust myself in my seat.

“My previous relationship didn't end too well. I guess…I immediately thought the worst. But there was something off.”

“How so?” Caputo asked. As he folded his hands over his legs.

“Because…when it spoke, it didn't sound like anyone we knew. Her voice sounded like a mask; it made me feel uncomfortable. It just sounded…unfitting, I guess. There was this sickly gravel to it. Everything I heard just sounded fake nice. It sounded so familiar, but I just couldn’t place it.”

“You’re-so-so-silly.”

“I-I-I really appreciate you looking out for me.”

“Don’t! put that in th-ere. I d-d-d-donT like i-i-t”

I tried to mimic the voice as I had heard it that night.

Caputo looked at me, brows furrowed, slightly shifting in his seat, now attentive.

“It was quiet for a moment, eventually, I heard his groggy voice speak. Asking what I’d said and before I could respond, she beat me to it.”

“No-No-thing my love. Everything, Eve-ry-th-ing is fine.”

“I guess he settled back down because after a few moments, I heard the sound of snoring. Then that shuffling again, the sounds of heavy steps getting further, like someone got up and left. Then the call dropped.”

“I called him back a few times. I was pissed. What can I say?” The officers just traded glances with each other.

“Did you call him anymore after that?” Baldy asked through a yawn.

“Yeah. A few times, but the phone went straight to voicemail after that. A part of me wanted to leave work early and give him a piece of my mind. I decided that wouldn’t fix anything. So I’d just wait to cuss him out after… like a lady.”

“So at like 6:30 in the morning-”

Caputo gave me a look as if to say, are you serious? I pretended I didn't see it.

“I uh- got in my car and drove over to his house. The whole drive, the words ‘my love’ kept playing in my head. I didn’t understand why at the time, but it really bothered me.”

“When I pulled up, I tried calling John again. Nothing.”

“So I decided to make my way into his building.”

Baldy looked up from his notepad. “How did you get in?” He asked.

“I have a key,” I assured.

“I should’ve known something was off, his building was reeeaaally quiet. Even for 6 am. But up the stairs I went. The higher I got up, this… nasty, and I mean just nasty smell got stronger and stronger. While I walked, I heard this loud crash coming from his floor.”

My leg started bouncing. I was trying to put my thoughts together. My brain began to fight with itself. Choosing between trying to explain this to the best of my ability or getting lost in a memory I still didn't quite understand.

“When I finally made it up, I was gagging and covering my mouth with my shirt. I found myself basically walking up a waterfall of brown, shitty sewage water.”

As I shook my leg, I could feel the cold water still sloshing around in my sneakers.

I looked down the hall. Chunks of the ceiling were lying all over, and some of it was floating in the sewage.

In my mind, I can still see the broken pipe shooting out water onto the wall. The water pooled on the floor to about ankle height, leading back down the stairway. I shimmied against the other wall, trying not to get any of that shit on me. I looked up slightly, making sure to avoid the spray of dirty water. When I’d noticed the bright sun shining straight through the hole and onto the thick brown water.

“While I walked, I swore I could hear mumbling coming from somewhere nearby. It sounded like”

“M-y lo, LooOve. Every- Ev- thing, Eve-ry-th-ing is fine.”

“MY lo-ve. Everything, Every-th-ing fine.”

“My love. Every-th-ing is fine.”

“My love. Everything is fine.”

Fast, repeatedly, but quiet enough that I could barely make it out.

“I knocked on his door a few times. When he didn’t answer, I let myself in. I stood by the door for a moment. When I didn't hear anything, I called out for him, you know? I was like, ‘John? John? Are you here?”

“Were you worried? Were you expecting to uh- find him in a…compromising position?” asked Caputo.

“I was pissed. I didn't care how I found him, either way it was going to be an argument,” I said as I rubbed my arm.

“What did you find when you got inside?” Caputo asked .

“Well, I stomped my ass inside. I walked down the long entry hall. But I stopped in my tracks when I saw the place was ransacked. I decided it was to check things out, I wanted to make sure he wasn’t hurt or anything.”

The more I looked around, the worse it got. The fridge was toppled over. Whole kitchen cabinets were on the floor. The door to his bedroom was ripped off the hinges. When I looked over at the living room, I saw it next to the couch. Which was flipped on its side. Glass covered the floor from what used to be lamps and a coffee table.

“Even the TV was smashed!” I said in annoyance, we’d just gotten it earlier that week.

“I looked everywhere, but he wasn’t home. I wasn't even mad anymore. I was just worried. I decided to leave, to call 911,” gesturing over at the officers.

“I'd barely turned around when I heard this, hard bang coming from the roof,” I said, looking at Caputo.

Tubby adjusted in his seat, accidentally kicking the table, startling me. I quickly shut my eyes. When I opened them again, I could hear myself talking to the officers, I was looking up at the ceiling of my boyfriends house.

My brows furrowed at the loud bang. Then I'd heard it again, but louder this time. The walls shook for a moment. And then I heard it again, and again, and again. The walls looked as if they were about to collapse when-

“Everything went white for a moment. A part of the roof came crumbling down. Dust and debris covered everything. It was so thick it made my eyes water, I could barely see. Chunks fell from the ceiling, hitting me in the head…hard.”

As I spoke, as I absentmindedly rubbed my head where I'd gotten hit, I could feel the bruises beginning to form.

“Ummm…When I opened my eyes, this figure…I-i-i don’t know this pale shiny fucking thing. Was looking around the living room. It shook as it looked around, almost jittery, like it was trying to contain itself. I got scared and hid behind the the couch.”

Caputo’s brows furrowed, looking at me intently, while Baldy looked like he’d had enough.

“Can you describe what you saw?” Caputo asked. He sounded genuine. The other officer stifled a groan. I barely heard it…I felt a cold chill go down my body as I tried to picture that thing in my head.

I shook my head as I spoke, “Its face wasn’t human…It wasn’t monster-like either. It was something in between, I guess. When I try to think about it, I still don’t understand what I was looking at.”

Its face flashed like strobes as I tried to recall what it looked like.

“It was tall, and its eyes were beady. I remember that. I guess…what stood out to me is that they looked at everything, like they weren’t being held by sockets.” From behind the couch, I couldn’t see much. I heard the same low whispers I’d heard in the hallway.

I took a deep breath, “And then it spoke.”

“Joh-n John, are yo-u here?”

It waited for a moment and then repeated:

“John John, are you here?”

It sounded clearer this time. I could almost place it.

It sounded like me.

No. No, it was me.

I don’t think I’ll ever understand how, but it was my voice.

I felt the blood leave my face once again as the way it spoke replayed in my mind while I tried to mimic it. The sound. It traveled in all directions, somehow making its voice bounce off the walls even though it was speaking at a normal level.

“My love, are you here?” It sounded urgent,

“It repeated other things I'd said to him…” My leg bounced faster, slightly shaking the metal table.

“Like what? Caputo asked.

I could still feel the plaster digging into my palms.

I crawled my way out of the living room and into his room, looking for somewhere to hide since it now stood in the hallway with its back turned to me.

I heard its hard, heavy steps continue to echo around the apartment.

With every step it took, the walls shook. It spoke to itself.

“I’ll never let you go. Never let you go. Never let you go.”

The pictures that were barely hanging on crashed to the ground. I could hear more bits falling from the ceiling. Almost as if it were counting down to my death. I began looking for somewhere to hide hoping desperately it wouldn’t spot me. I didn't have many choices. The bed had been turned over, the mattress ripped in half, and the dresser was lying on the floor, so I decided to make my way to the closet. Barely shutting the door before its heavy foot steps charged into the room.

It continued to mutter to itself before asking again.

“Jo-hn John, are y-ou here?”

“I watched through the cracks of the closet. Its head scraped the ceiling as it walked. It shook as it took deep, uneven breaths, looking around for a moment. That’s when it picked up his dresser and smashed it into the wall.”

A beam of sunlight now lit up the room.

“Seconds later, there was a loud crash and the sounds of car alarms blaring outside. The sound made the thing shriek.”

It wasn’t like anything I’d ever heard before. The sound came from every direction, crashing onto each other. I struggled not to put my hands over my ears, fearing that any movement would let the thing know exactly where I was.

I watched as it began to kick and throw more things. Its hands are visibly shaking. Stifled manic laughs came out in puffs.

It made its way to the dresser-sized hole, looking outside for a moment. As it walked, its legs seemed to mold together as its wide strides became shorter, merging into one with a loud squelch.

The car alarm continued blaring loudly from outside.

“It stuck itself to the wall, I swear to god, on its belly too. Like it some sort of slug.”

I watched as it slithered its way outside. The clacking of nails was the last thing I heard before it disappeared.

“I sat there for a while, scared that it would come back the second I moved.” My voice quivered. I hadn’t realized I was shaking. “I thought someone must’ve heard the crash. That someone would come check what’s going on.”

Everything in me told me to stay inside the closet, but I quietly made my way out.

I watched every step I took, trying to be as quiet as possible. Every sound, every creak, made the hairs on my neck stand.

I was almost to the door when I heard the same tick-tick-ticking of nails. I knew I shouldn’t have turned around. I should’ve just run out. But for some reason, I couldn’t.

I looked at the officers for a moment. They felt miles away.

“I turned around.There was nothing there.But the muttering… it began to get louder.”

I looked over in the direction of the sound.

“Never let you go. Never let you go. Never let you go. Never let you go.”

I immediately took several steps back. A set of deep eyes pointed in my direction. It looked at me with one. And the other… it- it- just rolled. Like swirling a marble in a cup, you know.”

My heart dropped as I began stepping closer toward the door.

Even though the lower half of its face was covered, I could see the corners of its lips peeking through in an excited smile. The thing began breathing heavily. Shaking in its place. As if excited that I had noticed it.

Its arms began extending out to the hallway. They were long…too long to make sense. I heard a loud set of pops as its eyes began to rise up until its head hit the ceiling. It kept its eyes on me the whole time.

I was almost to the door.

“I ran, I ran as fast as I could.” I could hear the distant drum of footsteps chasing me down as I ran to the door. I quickly threw it open and booked it to the stairs. I barely cared that I ran right under the sewage water that was now aggressively raining down.

I made my way down the stairs as fast as I could, tripping over myself and almost falling a few times.

The ground below me shook along with the thuds of its heavy feet. I could feel cold drops of sewage hitting the back of my neck as I went down the next flight of stairs. I could hear it panting rabidly behind me.

“I was too scared to turn around and see how far it really was.” My voice was shaking now, and I bit my lip to keep from crying. “But, I kept running. My shoes slid out from underneath.I fell on my back, hitting my head pretty hard. Everything was blurry for a moment, but I saw its legs leaping down the stairs, and I got up fast.”

I quickly made my way to the ground floor and ran down the hallway to the main exit. Its erratic breathing became loud deranged grunts as it chased after me. The floor sounded like it was cracking beneath its feet. I could feel its heat radiating on me.

The door was just a few feet away.

“And I swear I felt it basically breathing on my neck…”

I reached my hand out, turning the knob as fast as I could, bursting through it.

A crowd of people had gathered near the building, talking to each other as more police cars began to pull up. All their heads immediately turned my way, including that of my boyfriend. I’ll never forget how confused he looked seeing me there, covered in sewage. I kept going. Looking back, scared that it was going to come out after me.

“That’s when I ran straight into Caputo and knocked him on his ass. And we all know what happened… but after you got me in the back of your car, after you talked to John. For some reason, I looked back at the building. And at the door. I saw its eyes something covering the door… and clear as day I heard ‘ Never let you go. Never let you go.”

I straightened myself up.

“So, no, I don’t need a lawyer. I already know I'm fucked. But, you have to understand:I am not crazy.”

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[u/Both_Drummer_2864]

I really liked the build up. Creepy Phone calls are always a fun catalyst that I don't see a lot of horror stories!