My mom’s not home. She took this job working late about a month ago. She gets home around midnight. Between ten and midnight, something weird’s been happening.
Three weeks ago, I ate dinner. Mom sometimes cooks something for me, other times she gives me money for pizza, but this night, I went for a frozen lasagna. I slopped it on my plate, got a big glass of milk, and went to my room. While I ate my dinner, I played my video game. It was ten-thirty at night. I was busy telling this guy he was a jackass on my mic when my bedroom door slammed shut. So, I sat there listening to this guy cussing me out back, this plate of lasagna on my lap, staring at the door. I took my headphones off, got up, and opened it. Then I went back to my video game. About five minutes later, there it goes again. Slam. Now I start thinking…why’s the door closing when there’s not one window open in the house? You tell me.
One week after that, I’d just shut off my game, turned off all the lights, and laid down. My friend Gavin gave me a magazine last time I’d seen him. It’s one of those magazines where the women aren’t all the way dressed. I turned on my flashlight and started flipping through it. Then, about five minutes later, my closet door moved. It slid open just a little. It’s got a big mirror on the front so all I could see was the reflection of my flashlight. I clicked it off, then fell asleep.
Nothing else happened…until tonight.
Just an hour ago, my mom called. She said she was on break at work and that her manager wants her to stay late. I said okay and she said love you and even though I don’t like saying it back because I’m not a mushy sort of softy, I said love you too.
I got to go to baseball practice in the morning, so I put my head down on the pillow and was thinking about how much I don’t like coach Peter because he’s always on my ass and then the closet door slid and smash and it ricocheted for a minute and then it was wide open.
I laid there, trying to act like none of this was really happening but I can only pretend for so long because a second later, I saw a set of eyes. They were white and beady and I could see some hair around them.
Then they blinked.
Next thing you know I saw another set of eyes, two, four, five. All these eyes just staring at me. Just as I was about to pull the blanket right over my head, they disappeared.
But I think one of them must have run out of the closet. Because just a minute ago, I felt my bed move. Something’s under there. I just know it. I haven’t told anyone this besides you guys.
Please.
Somebody.
Help me.