The Night Everything Lost Sense

10. Late Night Phone Calls

Briar was having a hard time trying to fall asleep. His hands were locked over his ears and his eyelids hurt from how tightly he was keeping them shut. Sweat beaded his forehead as he tried to force his body into a lethargic lapse. He was far too tense to fall asleep, though. His muscles were clenching, trying to force him to flee his room. Away from the weird hums and murmurs that echoed throughout it.

It wasn't his first time experiencing such a haunting night. It was something in the lines of a 15th experience. It didn't happen every night, but when it did, Briar was horrified by it. He told himself it's only the wind – that the trees are rustling and that the noises are caused by trash and leaves that flew around under the wind's guidance. However, no matter how many times he told himself that, he couldn't help but be petrified by it.

Sometimes he sat on his bed and glared at the darkness, too petrified to move or blink. Sometimes he broke out of fear and cried. On the rarest of occasions, he felt brave enough to ignore the murmurs. In those instances, he would listen to music or watch videos in a desperate attempt to drown out the eerie rustles and hums.

What scared him the most were random moments in which the murmurs sounded like actual voices. Sometimes, he could hear words loud and clear. During such nights, he would be too afraid to move a muscle.

Perhaps the weirdest thing about it was the fact that he never told anybody. Whenever he planned to tell his mother, he would realize how absurd he sounded. And so, he never did.

Due to his decision to keep quiet about it, he had to face it every now and then. Like now, when he was desperate for sleep and frustrated with himself and all the murmurs that surrounded him.

Briar sat up, furrowing his brows as his droopy eyelids fought to fully open. He slowly uncovered his ears. The murmurs didn't get louder, but then again, they never quieted either. No matter how hard he tried to clog his ears, the noise didn't subdue.

"Please stop," he whispered.

He flinched when he heard laughter. Briar stared at his weakly illuminated room. His eyes widened as the murmurs became loud and clear whispers that mocked his request.

"Stop," he pleaded.

The voices got crueler. Briar shut his ears. His breath hitched as he heard more laughter and more mocking imitations of his words.

Feeling his pillow vibrate, Briar gasped and jumped up on his feet. He felt unsafe standing away from his bed. He didn't know where to go. He didn't know what to do. In a state of panic, he almost missed the fact that his phone was ringing. Luckily, the screen illuminated a white glow.

Briar snatched his phone and looked at the screen. To his surprise, the phone call was from Seth. They haven't talked in days, and Briar found it odd how the boy was calling him at 2 am. Despite everything, Seth was still his best friend and he couldn't help but feel concerned for him after getting a phone call so late.

He calmed his breathing before answering. "Hello?"

"Briar! Did I wake you up? I'm so sorry."

"N-no. I was awake," Briar assured him. "But why are you calling me now?"

Seth sighed. "Would it be bad to start with: I missed you."

"Seth?"

"I'm so sorry for ignoring you. I can't do this anymore," Seth vented. "You are my best friend. I don't like keeping distance from you and I can't imagine how you feel."

Briar fell quiet. He rubbed his eyes and slowly walked over to the light switch. He didn't feel comfortable standing in the dark with everything around him rustling and whispering.