Close Your Eyes: A Horror Story Collection

by Alec John Johnson

  Chapter 10

  I had full unbridled access to my family's home. I could visit them every night now if I so chose. I had left everything in its proper place, they should suspect nothing. The ONLY thing different is the addition of whole milk, but I saw them loading groceries into their fridge just yesterday afternoon and it could easily be chalked up to them grabbing a whole gallon by mistake. Mistakes happen you know.

  I actually held off for a while before visiting them again, believe it or not. I couldn't tell you why. Maybe I was scared that they would change the lock again? Maybe it wasn't a challenge anymore? Who knows? I resumed my normal schedule of watching their dinners night after night. It was so peaceful, but I was still hesitant to visit them again.

  After a couple weeks the need to see my family arose within me yet again like a ravenous hunger. Nothing had changed in my life. My house was still dead and I needed a house with life, I needed a house with people. Maybe it was all just loneliness? I decided to visit them again. I did my usual ritual that I had done a past couple times. I waited until midnight, went out my back door, crept through the yard, over the fence, and up their deck until I reached their patio door. Now was the moment of truth. Would the lock work? Had they changed the locks?

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in to calm my nerves. I inserted the key slowly. If you were standing next to me I swear that you'd be able to hear my heart beating I was so nervous. I felt like I was picking a safe and just the slightest wrong move would permanently lock and prevent me from ever seeing its hidden treasures. I turned the key and... Success! I could hear it unlock from the inside. I was in. I pushed open the door as quiet as I could and stepped into the dining room.

  I did quick survey of the area and everything looked as it always did. There were dishes in the sink, clutter on the table, blankets strewn about their couch, random pictures hanging on the walls. Just being here felt comforting. I took my time and just walked around the main level of the house stopping and admiring as I went; glancing at pictures, decorations, or even the most mundane of thing such as a dirty coffee cup still left on the coffee table. They were all signs of life and activity.

  But it wasn't enough. It never was. Just as before I had to elevate this. I had been to the main floor in the past. I had seen what could be seen. I needed something new, something exciting. After some debate, I made the decision to ascend to the next floor, where they slept. Now, I took a tour of this house when it was still for sale, so the layout of the bedrooms, closets, and bathrooms were not foreign to me. I knew exactly where everything was, it was only the furniture that I had to guess on. I could only assume that their two boys either shared a room or each had their own. The boy’s room was the first thing you came across when entering the upstairs hallway. There was one directly to the left and one to the right. They were both equal in size and shape. Just after the boy's bedrooms was their shared full bathroom and just past that at the end of the hallway was the master bedroom. There were a couple smaller doors that dotted the hallway that led to closets and there was one very small room that was connected through the shared bathroom. It looked to be a laundry room.

  --

  As I reached the top of the stairs the first thing I noticed was that they had painted the hallway. When I was here during the open house it was an off brown color. It was a rather dark color and gave an almost foreboding feeling as you climbed the staircase. Now it was a lighter blue color and gave a very welcome and opening feeling as I climbed. It's amazing what a simple color pattern change will do for a room.

  I decided to go into one of the boy's rooms. I discreetly opened the door on the right and took a peek in the room. It was the exact opposite of what my daughter's room looked like. As well it should be, as this was a boy's room. There were posters on the wall of various action heroes and pro athletes, dirty clothes were tossed in a heap in the corner of the room, and a set of bunk beds in the opposite corner next to the window that was overlooking the front yard. That's when I saw them. I saw them both sound asleep in their beds. The oldest was on the bottom bunk and the youngest was sleeping on the top.

  I entered the room to get a better view. Their beds were against the outside wall so I had to walk the length of the room. When I eventually arrived at their beds I was eye level with the top bunk. I could see the boy. I could see his face. I could hear his snoring and I could feel his breath against my face. If he was awake we would be looking directly at each other. (Hopefully he doesn't wake up; otherwise this may not end well.) If I had to guess his age I would place him right around five or six. This must be Lucas, the refrigerator artist. I watched the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. I could see his pulse through the side of his neck as it throbbed back and forth. This was my boy; this was my boy from my new family.

  I must have stood there in the darkness staring into his face for at least ten minutes, just watching him sleep. I used to do this with my daughters after I was done reading them a bedtime story. We didn't have bunk beds, but we had their beds in the same room with just enough of a gap between the beds for me to have a chair right between them. This was my story time chair and every night I would read them too as they drifted off to sleep. It seemed I could never finish the story. They were always out before the story was even halfway over. (Sometimes I kept reading silently to myself. Some of those stories hooked you from the start.)

  I leaned in and gave the young boy a kiss on the cheek just like what I used to do with my girls. He seemed to wriggle in towards the kiss. I then squatted down to get a better look at the older boy. I'd wager he's about eight or nine. He was quite a bit thinner than his younger brother, but that comes with age and activity. He must be involved in some other sport at school. I watched him for a while and gave him a kiss on the cheek as well.

  I backed away from the boy's beds and slumped down into a lump against the far wall and began to weep silently. I needed this. I needed these boys. I needed my family back. As I wept the familiar whisper came back to the front of my mind. The suicidal voice. The voice telling me to end it. It was pawing and scratching in my mind like a caged animal demanding to be heard, demanding to be obeyed.

  After an eternity of stewing in my own thoughts my tears dried up on their own and I just stared blankly at the wall to the left of their beds. It was a featureless wall with nothing to really look at but I kept my gaze all the same and stared into the abyss. Nothing entered my mind. It was just a moment of complete emptiness. The only thing in the empty void with me was that nagging whisper.

  --

  A light flicked on in the hallway. The peaceful serenity that I was enjoying not two seconds ago had evaporated. I had to hide and fast! I couldn't risk being seen. It would undo everything I've been working for. I would get arrested. I would never be able to see my family again.

  Where could I hide? My head whipped around back and forth searching for anything to conceal myself. The way I saw it I had two choice, the closet or under the bunk beds. I didn't have much time for debate so I crawled under the bunk beds as silently as I could. There wasn't much under there just dust balls and an extra dusty blanket that was wadded up in a corner like a used tissue. It had an old musty smell that smelled like a mixture of urine and sweat.

  I heard footsteps approaching, and then the door swung open with unexpected force. I didn't dare peek out from under the bed and show my face. All I could see was the very bottom of a shadow looking into the room. Jacob or Hazel must have gotten up in the middle of the night for whatever reason and went to check on the boys. Was I being too loud? Did they suspect something? No, no, NO! I took great lengths to be quiet, there was no way they could have heard me.

  After a few minutes the door shadow dissipated and the door creaked shut. They had left, but the light was still on in the hallway. They must be getting a drink or something. I couldn't risk leaving the boys' room and trying to sneak out of the house. What if they were downstairs? What if I got caught? I decided to stay put.
It wasn't worth the risk. I'll wait them out. I'll just keep an eye on the light and when it shuts off I'll wait another five or ten minutes and sneak my way out.

  That was the plan. Except... I fell asleep. You would have thought I had learned from the last time I did this, but not even the strongest of men can resist the sandmen when he came calling. It was already past one am and I was laying there on the carpet with a dusty blanket around me. I know it doesn't sound the most comfortable place to sleep but there was something about my boys sleeping right above me that just gave me a peaceful feeling. I just drifted off. (Good thing I'm not a snorer!) The sunlight woke me. WAIT? Sunlight! What time was it? I started to panic. How am I going to get out? Had I been found out? I didn't know what to do. I started to breathe erratically and nearly started hyperventilating.

  Chapter 11

  I needed to calm down and think. Panicking won't get me out of this. I needed to get my bearings straight and assess the situation. Was my family awake? Were the boys awake? What was the next step that I had to take?

  I grabbed the blanket that was under the bed, pushed myself back as far against the wall as I could, and covered myself up with the blanket. To the untrained eye I looked just like a pile of blankets crammed underneath the bed. I couldn't help but think of that scene in Lord of the Rings where Sam falls down the cliff right in front of the gates of Mordor. Luckily, Frodo has his Elven blanket and cloaks both him and Sam. To a passerby they looked like nothing more than a rock; and I, I looked like nothing more than a pile of old forgotten blankets.

  Did I hear anything? There was only silence. No sounds that I could decipher. The house was still silent. I contemplated crawling out of the bed, running out of the room, down the stairs, and out the house as fast as I could. I had almost started to crawl back out from the bed when the familiar sound of an alarm clock BZZZZZZ BZZZZZZZ BZZZZZ rang through the room. God I hated that sound. It was coming from the boys' nightstand in front of the bunk bed. After about a minute of constant buzzing the older boy finally reached over without lifting his head and shut it off with his palm. (It was too early to use fingers.) He then promptly went right back to sleep. I laughed silently to myself. I didn't plan on being here for morning but this was great. I get to experience the chaotic morning again. Trying to get everyone ready before the bus comes or work came calling.

  About five minutes later Hazel came bursting into the room singing in the most cheerful yet loud tone, 'RISE AND SHINE, I BETTER NOT HEAR ANY LINES!' The boys just groaned in their bed and didn't budge. I heard her coming closer and closer to the bed. She stopped right at the edge of the bed. I could see her feet. One foot had pink painted toes and the other only had a few nails painted a slightly off red color that had begun to chip and fade.

  She ripped the blankets off of the older boy and I could only assume she attempted to do the same to the higher bunk as I saw her feet climb on top of the bottom bunk so she could reach. The younger one was ready for her and was holding onto the blankets for dear life. There was a tug-o-war back and forth but after a few minutes she gave up and began to leave the room. "You two get out of bed and start getting ready now or no breakfast! You can sleep in on Saturday," Both the boys groaned but eventually started getting ready.

  The boys picked out their clothes for the day, or they did the best they could. The older one knew what he was doing but it was comical to watch the five year old pick the best clothes out for the day. The older boy left the room while carrying his clothes by his side, a pair of crumpled jeans and a t-shirt that I couldn't quite make out. I can only assume that he was going to take a shower before the school day started. The younger boy didn't seem to care as much about cleanliness and just took off his pajamas right there in the bedroom and threw on his new outfit for the day. (It was a random pair of gym shorts in the corner and a wrinkled Spiderman shirt.) He then left the room and I could hear him thumping down the stairs and into the kitchen. A little while later the bathroom door opened, or I assumed it was the bathroom, and I heard another body go down the stairs.

  I had never watched my family in the morning so I was unsure as to when everyone leaves for the day. I knew Hazel stayed home, so I'll have to find a way to sneak past her but I'll deal with that once everyone else is out of the house. I wonder how Hazel would react if she saw me? I wonder if I could talk to her. Tell her why I'm here. Make her understand why I was here? I mean no harm, I have no ill-content, I just want to be with my family. That is all. No more, no less.

  --

  I pulled out my phone and took a look at the clock. It was just past seven. I heard what sounded like the front door open. It seemed like it was safe enough now to climb out from under the bunk bed and stretch my legs. That was a challenge to say the least. Being cramped under that bed for the night really did a number on me. I hurt everywhere; my back, my knees, my neck. It felt like someone took a hammer and chisel and started pounding away on the square of my upper back. The pain fractured out like a rock being split. When I finally crawled out of my hole I stretched and made my way over to the window. The school bus was just pulling up as I looked. My boys were waiting on the curb with a few other neighborhood kids on Eighth Street. Once the bus arrived all of the kids piled on and the bus departed for school; two down, only two more to go. Was Jacob still here?

  I listened as carefully as I could for any remaining noise in the house. I heard activity in the kitchen, but no voices. Could they both be in the kitchen? Should I risk leaving the room? Then I heard them. They were talking in the kitchen. Indistinctly, but I specifically heard a male and female voice discussing something.

  Splendid, they were both downstairs in the kitchen. I could go exploring! I left the boys room as quietly as I could and wandered down the hallway some more. Where should I go next? I peeked into the third bedroom across the hall from the boys' room but it was just a 'toy' room for the boys. It had three toy boxes and tons of toys scattered around the room as well as a few bean bags placed in the corner of the room. There were Lego's, dinosaurs, army soldiers, and Batmen all over. I moved my way further down the hall and took note of the guest bathroom and a few closets but my primary goal was at the end of the hall. The master bedroom called to me.

  The door was open so I stepped right in without hesitation. I had been here before when I took a tour of the open house, so I knew what to expect. I knew what the layout was like. The master bathroom was to the right and the large windows overlooking the yard were on the left. Not much had really changed with the layout of the room. The only difference now was that there was furniture. There was a bed, dresser, nightstands, and even a small couch that had a gray tint to it. It all looked pretty standard. The walls were painted with a yellow color that had begun to lessen and fade. The shades of the windows on the left side of the room were partially pulled up to let the sunlight in. The sunlight that did come through gave new life to the yellow colored walls and made them look almost new. The pale yellow had grown as bright and vibrant as the sun.

  I moved closer to the bed and could tell by the nightstands which side was Hazel's and which side was Jacob's. Jacob’s nightstand was mostly empty except for a few books stacked in one corner, an empty coffee mug, and a digital clock radio alarm. The clock radio looked to be at least twenty years old, but the bright red letters still shone brightly. Hazel’s side had various lotions, nail clippers, nail filer, hair ties, and even a small notebook covered in a green casing. Since they were both downstairs (I thought.) I figured I had some time so I worked my way deeper into the master bedroom and eventually into the bathroom.

  The bathroom had the same yellowish color walls that the master bedroom had although the paint in here looked much fresher than that of the bedroom. There were two sinks and counters on the left of the room and to the right was a walk in shower with white stone interior tiles. The toilet was just past the sinks on the right hidden behind a closed door. I made my way over to the sinks and found Jacob's sink. Deodorant, toothpaste and brushes, razo
r blades, and cue tips were arranged neatly in one corner of his side of the counter. I saw his cologne lying out next to his deodorant and figured why not? I sprayed a bit on my neck and a little bit on my right wrist. Not too bad if I say so myself. I may have to pick up some of this.

  Just to the left of the sinks was another closed door which I could only assume was their walk in closet. I twisted the doorknob and slowly pushed it open. Blackness greeted me as I opened the door. I reached over and flipped the light switch to the on position. The closet seemed to go on for at least ten feet and on each side there were shelves and clothing racks. There was even a large overhead shelf that went the length of the closet from left to right. The left side of the closet was obviously Hazels. There were various shoeboxes stacked against the wall. There were dresses, blouses, and other types of clothing hanging on the rack. On the right side, which was Jacob's, there were slacks, khakis, and dress shirts all hanging up neatly in a row free of wrinkles. They looked like they were all ironed perfectly.

  After a few minutes of browsing I left the closet, shut the door, and turned off the exterior light switch. As I walked back into the master bedroom I decided to try out the bed. It was so inviting. I swear it was calling to me. It would feel good. It would feel right. I crawled into Jacob's side of the bed and laid flat on my stomach. (I slept best on my stomach.) The bed was still somewhat warm from Hazel and Jacob. I laid there for who knows how long. Just thinking and enjoying the experience of a warm bed. I could smell Hazel's perfume. I could imagine being in this bed next to Hazel every night, the warmth and comfort of having someone right next to you always within reach.

  I positioned myself so that I was laying on my side facing Hazel's and just stared at the void where she usually slept. This should be my family. This was all the therapy I needed. I just needed to be with my family. I closed my eyes and reveled in the moment.