The house was completely silent, wrapped in the calm of the night. Only the faint glow of a streetlamp filtered through the curtains. You woke slowly, drifting up from sleep, your breathing soft and steady. For a moment you didn’t move, just listened to the quiet around you.

Then you turned onto your side Bill was lying next to you, peaceful, one arm resting above his head.You rubbed your eyes, waiting for your vision to clear. But when you looked again, Bill was already awake. In the dim light, he turned toward you with a smile spreading across his face that unsettlingly wide, twisted grin you recognized instantly from IT. The one that sent a cold shiver sliding down your back.

And in a low, distorted whisper, he said

“Hi, darling…”

It was warped, eerie, and ridiculous at the same time. Pure nightmare fuel or it would have been, if it wasn’t coming from your husband at 2 a.m.

Instinctively, you grabbed the pillow and threw it right at his face. Bill burst into laughter. Real laughter. Not a rehearsed line, not a planned prank just that spontaneous, stupid kind of male humor that shows up at the most random times.