Every night, my girlfriend walks into my room and pokes me until I wake up. She never says anything; she just crawls into bed with me and falls asleep on my side of the bed.

I used to think it was super cute. I mean, it’s not like she was doing it to hurt my feelings or anything. In fact, she told me she just did it because it was nice to sleep next to someone. I would never even know she did it most nights, until I’d reach over and find her lump in the bed the next morning. Even that didn’t bother me. I mean, it’s not unheard of for people to sleep with each other in my dorm; I’d even done it a few times myself before we met.<br><br>No, what bothered me was the lack of communication. I’d try to talk to her about it in the morning; ask her what she was doing, how she was getting in, that kind of thing. She always just brushed it off with a laugh and told me to be quieter next time. She had a weird sense of humor like that, so I just rolled with it. That is, until I started hearing the knocking.<br><br>At first, I thought it was just the dorm. Old buildings can be pretty creepy, especially when the heat kicks on and the wind starts blowing outside. But one night, I was up pretty late on my computer. I had to finish a paper for my History class, and I was determined to get it done. My girlfriend doesn’t go to my school; she goes to the university across town. She was on summer break by that time, but she was also working a job and taking classes, so I didn’t see her much for a while.<br><br>I was in law school at the time, and I had to finish the paper for an assignment that weekend. I had already written more than half, but I still needed to get a good way through the rest before I turned it in. My girlfriend and I had made plans to meet up over the weekend, but I never heard back from her. I was a little annoyed, but I figured she’d get back to me eventually, so I just dove back into my work.<br><br>I started hearing the knocking a little after 2 in the morning, and at first, I thought it was the door. I walked over and looked through the peephole, but nobody was there. I figured maybe someone down the hallway was having a party, or the people who lived next door were having a go at it again. I went back to bed, plugged in my headphones, and got back to work.<br><br>I heard the knocking again about an hour later, but this time it was right outside my door. I stood up and went over to it, and before I could even get to the peephole, a fist banged into the other side of the door. My heart racing, I opened it up to find one of the RA’s. He was a nice guy, and he was always cool as far as I was concerned.<br><br>“Hey, man,” he said, “I was just wondering if you could keep it down.”<br><br>“Keep it down?” I asked him. “I haven’t even been talking to anybody.”<br><br>“Well, there have been a few complaints about banging coming from your room.”<br><br>“Banging?” I repeated. “I wasn’t even doing anything.”<br><br>“Look, I’m not trying to be an ass, ok? It’s just that people are trying to sleep, and you’re being really loud.”<br><br>“I wasn’t even doing anything!” I said, louder. “What are people saying I’m doing?”<br><br>“Look, just keep it down, ok?” he said before he walked away.<br><br>I was so angry, I wanted to scream. I walked back into my room and slammed the door. I didn’t even shut it all the way, but I went back to my computer and continued working. I had to get this finished before Monday. I still had a whole page and a half to go, and I wasn’t about to let some asshole RA get in the way.<br><br>I started hearing the banging again a few minutes later, but I ignored it. It wasn’t on my door this time, though. It sounded like someone was pounding on my wall. I tried to focus on my paper, but it just got louder and louder before it stopped.<br><br>I didn’t hear it again; not that night, at least. I finished my paper and went to bed. I can’t say I got much sleep, but it seemed like I had gotten through the worst part. I was wrong, though.<br><br>The next night, I was woken up by the banging. The fist was pounding into my door so hard that I thought it was going to break it. I jumped out of bed and walked, half-asleep, to the door. I rubbed my eyes and looked through the peephole, but there was nobody there. I opened the door, and nobody was there. I walked back to my bed, and laid down. I heard it again, this time louder than before.<br><br>I was starting to lose my temper, and I just wanted to go back to sleep. But when I heard it, I knew what I had to do. I walked back to the door, and looked out into the hallway. There, at the end of the hall by the elevators, stood my girlfriend.<br><br>I don’t know how she got in, but she was there. I assumed one of her friends lived in the building, and she had gotten a key somehow. I walked towards her, but as I got closer, the banging grew louder and louder. She didn’t even turn around to look at me as I approached; I’m not even sure if she knew I was there. But when I got close to her, I saw the look on her face.<br><br>She was crying. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and her jaw was convulsing as she sobbed. That made me a little suspicious. It’s not like her to cry, even if she was upset. I walked closer, trying to figure out what was wrong with her, but when I reached out to touch her, she turned and ran.<br><br>She didn’t even yell; she just turned and ran. I was in shock as I watched her go, but I dove after her. She ran towards the elevator. I ran after her, and I reached the elevator just in time to see the doors shut between us. My only hope was to get down the stairs.<br><br>I took those two flights of stairs faster than I had ever taken them before. I didn’t even have time to think as I ran; all I wanted to do was find my girlfriend. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I opened the door to the main lobby and looked around. She was nowhere to be seen.<br><br>My girlfriend had disappeared; it was as if she had never been there in the first place. I have no idea how she got into my dorm, but I have no doubt it was her. Since that night, I haven’t heard the banging. She’s never even shown up to my dorm, and when I call her, it goes straight to voicemail. She doesn’t even live in this town anymore.<br><br>Some nights, I still wake up to find her lump in my bed.