My name is Linda Parker, twenty-seven years old, living in Portland, Oregon. I have an older sister named Mia Parker, six years older than me, already married for three years. She married Ethan Collins, a man my whole family had always trusted. Ethan was mature, calm, a skilled construction engineer, polite and gentle in everything he did. At every family gathering, he was the one who cooked, cleaned, and looked after everyone.
My brother-in-law was the type of man people called perfect.
But that night — under the pouring rain of Portland, inside a three-story house with only the two of us — everything changed.
That evening, I had gone to the hospital to visit my sister. Mia was in her final week of pregnancy, so the doctor wanted her monitored closely. The Portland rain was cold and relentless. Ethan needed to drive back home to bring some essentials for Mia and asked me to tag along since it was on my way.
We reached the house around eleven p.m. The rain was so heavy that even running from the garage to the door left us drenched. The three-story Collins house was spacious — too spacious for only two people. At night, the long hallways, high ceilings, and dim yellow lights cast strange shadows across the walls, making the entire place feel hollow and unsettling.
Ethan told me, “Linda, you can sleep in the guest room on the second floor. I’ll sleep in the master bedroom. Tomorrow morning we’ll head back to the hospital.” I agreed without thinking much. Ethan had always been the model of decency and stability.
I went to the guest room, locked the door carefully, turned off the lights, and slid into bed. Rain hammered against the glass, making it hard to fall asleep. I remember checking the clock.
1:00 a.m.
And then…
In the middle of the rain, I heard footsteps — clear, steady, and heavy — walking along the wooden hallway floor.
Not slow or wandering.
But firm.
Purposeful.
As if someone was walking quickly straight toward my door.
I shot upright in bed.
“Maybe I misheard,” I told myself.
But the footsteps grew closer.
Closer.
Until they stopped right outside my room.
My body froze. There was no one else in the house except me and Ethan.
Then came the knocking.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
My throat tightened. My heartbeat pounded so hard it echoed in my ears.
Who would knock on my door at this hour?
Why?
For what reason?
I held my breath, refusing to answer.
The knocking came again, louder this time.
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
Trembling, I slipped out of bed and searched for my slippers. I approached the door and peeked through the tiny crack between the door and frame — but the hallway was pitch-black, and I couldn’t see anything except vague shadows.
Thinking maybe something urgent had happened to my sister, I reluctantly opened the door a sliver.
And the moment I saw what was standing outside, I felt a scream rip up my throat — only to get stuck halfway.
Under the dim hallway light, Ethan was standing there, bare-chested, sweat running down his temples and chest, his face flushed deep red. His breathing was heavy, ragged, almost desperate. His eyes — unfocused, chaotic — locked straight onto mine.
I slammed the door shut with all my strength and fumbled to lock it, my whole body shaking uncontrollably. Then I slid down to the floor, back pressed against the door, gasping silently. My face burned from fear, confusion, and shame.
Why was my brother-in-law dressed like that?
Why was he knocking on my door in the middle of the night?
My sister was in the hospital — what was he thinking?
Did he intend something terrible?
A flood of dark possibilities stormed my mind, each one worse than the last.
Outside, Ethan kept hitting the door.
“Linda! Linda, open the door! Open up!”
I covered my ears, too terrified to make a sound.
My phone suddenly lit up. Ethan was calling me.
I stared at the glowing screen, my hand trembling so badly I nearly dropped the phone. The ringing felt endless — buzzing, vibrating, ringing again and again.
I didn’t dare pick up.
I didn’t dare breathe.
If I didn’t answer… would he break the door?
The thought made my stomach flip.
But then — silence.
No knocking.
No ringing.
Minutes passed.
Long, suffocating minutes.
Finally, I mustered the courage to get up and peek through the crack again.
The hallway was empty.
I couldn’t sleep anymore. I sat on the bed wrapped in blankets until almost 3 a.m., trying to decide whether I should leave the room or hide until morning.
In the end, fear for my own safety pushed me to check if Ethan had gone back to his room.
I opened the door slowly and stepped into the hallway. The air felt colder, damp from the rain and the air conditioner. I tiptoed toward the master bedroom.
The door was slightly open.
A faint light slipped through the gap.
I edged closer… and saw Ethan sitting on the bed, hunched over, his back shaking slightly, as if he was trying to hold in pain. His shoulders and back were covered in red blotches — like some kind of allergic reaction.
He didn’t notice me.
Then he lifted his head. His expression was lost, unfocused, tortured.
And in a barely audible voice, he whispered:
“Mia… I’m sorry… I can’t control it… the medication… it’s messing with me…”
My blood ran cold.
Medication?
For what?
Why apologize to my sister?
I backed away quickly before he could turn around. My heart hammered all the way back to my room.
Something was very, very wrong.
The next morning, I anxiously confronted him in the living room.
“Ethan… why were you knocking on my door last night?”
He froze. His face drained of color.
“I… I don’t remember,” he whispered.
Not avoiding.
Not lying.
He genuinely looked horrified.
I pressed on, voice shaking.
“Did you take any medication?”
Silence.
Then a slow, defeated nod.
“The doctor prescribed a new pain medication. It’s strong. One of its side effects is… a temporary loss of control if you take more than the recommended dosage.”
He swallowed hard.
“I doubled the dose last night. I shouldn’t have. I didn’t mean to. I swear I didn’t know what I was doing.”
He looked at me with trembling eyes.
“Linda… I would never hurt you. Even in the worst state, I wouldn’t. I must have panicked, or needed help, or was confused. But I swear — I would never intentionally do anything to you.”
The sincerity in his voice washed the fear out of me, little by little.
When we visited Mia later that morning, she was cheerful and completely unaware of what had happened. Ethan held her hand with such tenderness it almost hurt to look at him.
I smiled and told her I slept well.
There was no reason to tell her the truth.
Not when she was about to give birth.
Not when the whole thing was the result of a medication reaction.
But even now, whenever it rains heavily, I still hear the echo of that knocking in the hallway — the fear, the confusion, the shock.
And I know that some things, no matter how terrifying, are better left unspoken.
