Most people tend to laugh at the idea of a person worrying that someone was watching them at night. Chalk it up to a childish fear, especially when the person expressing it has started living in a new place alone. However, Jade knew this wasn't something as simple as paranoia.
She noticed strange happenings around the house only a few months after moving into her new place. It was the first time she had lived by herself since graduating from university. At first, she thought it was just her being forgetful. Moving the remote from the usual spot to a different one, or forgetting to turn off the lights, how much shampoo she used, etc. Even the food going missing from the fridge was something she could just write off. But things changed when stuff began to happen at night.
Of course, making a solid claim on what she suspected was hard. Jade suffered from sleep paralysis and took medication to help her sleep. But it was difficult to ignore the strange markings on her skin and the suspicious fluid in her underwear.
So she bought cameras and placed them around the house to see if she could capture anything. They had to be in locations where she was sure they wouldn't be noticed. At first, Jade figured it would take some time before anything turned up on the footage, but only a day passed before everything became clear.
When she sat down to watch the recordings, she watched as what appeared to be a homeless man appeared out of her pantry. He wandered through the kitchen, where he made himself a sandwich, and took one of her cokes. He even went through the trouble of washing the cutlery and plate when he was done. Then, he made his way to the bathroom, and while she didn't have a camera in there, the hallway camera picked up the sound of him taking a shower.
Jade watched the footage in disbelief. There was a way into the attic from the pantry, which would be the only way the man could have come out of there without her noticing. This knowledge made her uneasy but shed some light on the series of creaking she initially took as the house settling.
When the man left the bathroom, he wore his clothes from before, but his hair was wet. He then turned and went to her room. Jade's heart skipped a beat as she switched to the bedroom camera. There she was, sound asleep, having taken her medication for the night. The trouble with this medication was that she slept like a rock when she did sleep.
The man came into the room and stood over her for a moment. Then, he sat on the edge of the bed and continued to watch her sleep. Eventually, he reached over and stroked her hair. The action seemed soft and gentle, as though he was a grandfather checking in on his grandchild.