Tyler couldn’t move.
The man standing in front of him smiled like a father greeting a son who had been away for years.
“You finally came home.”
The words echoed through the room.
Tyler’s heart pounded so hard he could hear it in his ears.
He took a step backward.
“I think you have the wrong person.”
The smiling woman on the couch looked confused.
“What do you mean?” she asked softly.
The little girl sitting beside her giggled.
“He’s joking again.”
Tyler’s stomach tightened.
Again?
What did she mean, again?
He had never seen any of these people before.
Never.
The father took another step forward.
“Tyler, enough. Your mother has been crying for weeks.”
Tyler froze.
“How do you know my name?”
The room suddenly became silent.
The family’s smiles slowly faded.
The mother exchanged a worried glance with the father.
The little girl’s laughter stopped.
“Tyler…” the mother whispered.
“Please don’t do this again.”
Again.
There was that word again.
Tyler’s pulse raced.
“I don’t know who you people are!”
The father frowned.
“What happened at school today?”
“I DON’T LIVE HERE!”
The father looked genuinely confused.
Then something caught Tyler’s eye.
A family photo hanging on the wall.
His breath stopped.
The photo showed the family standing together in front of this exact house.
The father.
The mother.
The little girl.
And him.
Tyler.
Smiling.
His arm around the little girl.
As if they had been a family forever.
“No…”
Tyler whispered.
“No. That’s impossible.”
The mother slowly stood.
Tears filled her eyes.
“You don’t remember us again, do you?”
Again.
Again.
Again.
Every time they said it, Tyler felt colder.
The father walked toward the photo.
“You’ve had episodes before.”
“What episodes?”
“You disappear.”
Tyler stared at him.
“What?”
The father pointed at the picture.
“Sometimes you wake up and forget everything.”
Tyler shook his head.
“No.”
The father nodded sadly.
“The doctors couldn’t explain it.”
Tyler’s mind raced.
This was insane.
These people were insane.
He turned and ran.
The front door was only a few feet away.
He grabbed the handle.
Pulled.
Nothing.
The door wouldn’t open.
He pulled harder.
Locked.
“What did you do?”
Nobody answered.
Tyler spun around.
The family was still standing exactly where they had been.
Watching him.
Not angry.
Not threatening.
Just… watching.
As if they expected this.
As if they’d seen it happen before.
The father sighed.
“The keys are in your room.”
“My room?”
“Upstairs.”
Tyler backed away.
Every instinct screamed at him to get out.
But another feeling was growing inside him.
Curiosity.
Because something wasn’t right.
Not just with them.
With him.
The family photo had looked real.
Too real.
Not edited.
Not fake.
Real.
Tyler slowly moved toward the staircase.
Nobody stopped him.
Nobody followed him.
The old wooden steps creaked beneath his feet.
At the top of the stairs was a narrow hallway.
Three doors.
One was open.
The room beyond looked familiar.
Strangely familiar.
Tyler stepped inside.
And froze.
His backpack hit the floor.
The room was his.
Every detail.
The same gaming posters.
The same desk.
The same model car collection.
Even the crack on the window frame.
Everything.
Exactly.
As if someone had copied his bedroom perfectly.
A chill ran down his spine.
He approached the desk.
There was a framed photograph.
He picked it up.
It showed him standing beside the father from downstairs.
Both smiling.
Both holding fishing rods.
The photo looked years old.
His hands began to shake.
“No…”
He looked closer.
There was a scar on his chin.
A small scar.
One he had gotten when he was eight years old.
Nobody could have known about that.
Nobody.
The photograph slipped from his fingers.
Something else sat on the desk.
A journal.
Black leather.
His name was written on the cover.
TYLER.
He opened it.
The handwriting inside was unmistakable.
His own.
The first page read:
IF YOU’RE READING THIS, IT HAPPENED AGAIN.
Tyler’s blood ran cold.
He turned the page.
You won’t believe this at first.
I never do.
You think they’re strangers.
You think this isn’t your house.
You think someone is playing a trick on you.
They’re not.
This is your home.
The journal slipped slightly in his hands.
He continued reading.
You’ve lost your memory again.
The doctors call it Dissociative Amnesia.
Every few months you forget your life.
You wake up believing you’re somewhere else.
You run.
You hide.
And eventually you find your way back here.
Tyler stopped reading.
His breathing became shallow.
“No.”
He flipped through more pages.
Hundreds of entries.
All written by him.
Different dates.
Different months.
Years.
One entry made him freeze.
January 14.
If this happens again, don’t trust your memories.
Trust the journal.
Trust Mom.
Trust Dad.
Trust Emma.
Emma.
The little girl downstairs.
His little sister.
Tyler’s vision blurred.
The room felt like it was spinning.
Then he heard something.
A sound from the closet.
A faint thump.
Tyler slowly turned.
Silence.
Then another thump.
Coming from inside.
His pulse exploded.
The closet door was closed.
The sound came again.
Thump.
Thump.
Someone was inside.
Tyler took a cautious step closer.
The door slowly creaked open by itself.
Darkness.
Nothing but darkness.
Then a voice.
A whisper.
His own voice.
“Don’t listen to them.”
Tyler jumped backward.
The closet door swung fully open.
Inside stood another Tyler.
Identical.
Same face.
Same clothes.
Same backpack.
Everything.
The double stared at him.
Pale.
Terrified.
“You’re not supposed to be here.”
Tyler couldn’t breathe.
“What are you?”
The other Tyler shook his head.
“They lied to us.”
Us.
The word echoed through the room.
Downstairs, a loud crash suddenly shook the house.
Voices shouted.
The family.
The second Tyler looked toward the hallway.
His face turned white.
“They found you.”
Tyler backed away.
“What is happening?”
The double grabbed his arm.
“You have to leave.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re not your family.”
The house suddenly fell silent.
Completely silent.
The second Tyler’s eyes widened in horror.
“No.”
“What?”
“They’re coming.”
Heavy footsteps echoed up the stairs.
Slow.
Measured.
One step at a time.
The second Tyler pushed him toward the window.
“Go!”
Tyler looked back.
The double was trembling.
“Tell me what’s happening!”
The footsteps stopped outside the bedroom door.
Silence.
The doorknob slowly began to turn.
The second Tyler whispered one final sentence.
A sentence that made Tyler’s blood freeze.
“The real Tyler disappeared three years ago.”
Click.
The bedroom door opened.
And standing there wasn’t the smiling father.
It was a police officer.
Holding a photograph.
A photograph of Tyler.
Underneath it were three words.
MISSING SINCE 2023.
To Be Continued…