The Room at the End of the Hall

"Never enter the room at the end of the hall." My grandmother warned me again. That was the number one rule at her house, stay away from that room. Every time my parents dropped me off they would always remind me. "Listen to your grandmother, never break the number one rule." Now I was 16, my parents gave me a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. "Listen to your grandmother, we'll get you when summer is over." My mother told me. She ruffled my hair and smiled, my parents have always adored me. Sometimes it's almost overwhelming, other times I'm super appreciative of their love. "Be good kiddo." My father gave me one last hug before getting into the car and driving away. I picked up my backpack and suitcase and made my way to the front door. The house was two stories, it gave off an uneasy feeling. It looked ancient, I couldn't remember how old it even was. I rang the doorbell and waited patiently. In a second my grandmother opened the door with a wide smile. "Oh! You're getting so big Jacob!" She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. I hugged her back and smiled, she was always the affectionate type. She'd always hug me or give me a pat on the back. Sometimes even a kiss on the cheek, that one wasn't my favorite. "Are you ready for a fun summer?" She asked as I entered the house. "Of course. Dad mentioned some parts of the house might need fixing, you want me to take a look?" She scoffed and lead me to the living room. "You may be growing up into a fine young man, but I don't want you doing to much hard work around here. It's fun time! Not work time." I laughed. My dad always taught me how to repair something. His excuse was because he didn't want to waste money on some 20 year old who can do something he can do for free. When I was twelve my dad made me help him repair the fence. I could still feel the sting from the splinters I got. "I just wanna be helpful gram. I'm gonna go put my suitcase up in the room." She waved her hand like she was shooing an animal away. "Go do that. I decided to bake some pizza for your visit." I walked up the creaky wooden stairs, grunting from the weight of my suitcase. I reached the top and put the suitcase down. I looked forward, there was the door. It had a golden doorknob and a red doorframe. It stuck out like a sore thumb. After seeing it so many times, it's easy to ignore it and pretend it's not there. But when I was younger I couldn't help but stare. It almost felt like something was begging for me to let it out. When I explained the feeling to my parents they laughed and shook their head. They said I was just curious, nothing more to it. That summer I had a babysitter, my parents said that gram was sick and needed space. I shook my head from the memories and entered my new room. The room was painted a bright blue, the bed sheets were a dark blue. A single desk and chair sat in the corner. Gram had apparently added a mirror above the desk. I placed my backpack and suitcase down on the bed and walked over to the mirror. I played with my chocolate brown hair. I was letting it grow out a bit to see how I'd look, so far I liked it. My parents always made comments about how I got their best genes. My dads hair, my moms blue eyes, my dads jawline. Everything was positive, and with my dad putting me through hard labor, my body wasn't half bad either. I pulled my phone out from my jean pocket and looked on social media. Most of my friends were already posting photos of where they were. I smiled at their photos, some with a significant other, some just by themselves. I turned my phone off and exited the room. I walked down the stairs, the fresh smell of perfectly baked pizza filled my senses. "That smells delicious gram." I said as I entered the kitchen, she looked over her shoulder and smiled. "I sure hope it does, took my mother years to perfect it. You're lucky you don't have to taste the failed tries." I laughed. I never got to meet my great grandparents, but I hear stories all the time. My great grandmother was a fantastic cook, she'd bake for the whole neighborhood sometimes. My great grandfather was a little different, he was an army man. Hard and straight to the point, he had a tough shell. Somehow, my great grandmother broke that shell and they fell in love. It almost sounded like a sappy love story from a book. "You can cut the pizza, I'll get the lemonade." I grabbed a kitchen knife and carefully cut the pizza. Gram placed a carton of freshly made lemonade onto the dinning room table. I grabbed two plates and put two slices of pizza on each. "It's still so strange seeing you so tall. I remember when you were just a little thing." She held her hand below her waist showing how short I was when I was much younger. I chuckled. "Yep, feels like yesterday I was being made fun of for being short." Gram grabbed two glass cups from the cupboard and brought them back to the table. "Who was that one girl who always teased you? Didn't her name start with a C?" I sat down and mentally prepared myself for what was about to come. "Chelsey, she's always finding something to make fun of me about." Gram sat down and smiled. "You two would be such a cute couple." I chuckled. "She's already in a relationship gram." I poured myself and gram some lemonade. "But is he as good as you? I bet not." I shook my head. "Chelsey and I aren't ment for each other, that's all." Gram rolled her eyes and placed her napkin on her lap. "Well when will you find the right on? You seem to almost never have a crush on someone." I shrugged and took a sip from my drink. "It's never been the right time. Always been too busy." Gram scoffed. "It's that father of yours scaring them away I bet." I laughed. Gram has always thought that my dad had made me do hard labor because he didn't want me dating young. The real reason was just he wanted me to know what hard work was. Simple as that. "Sure gram, he's making sure I don't break any hearts." I took a bite of the pizza, it burned the roof of my mouth a little. "You wouldn't break hearts, you're to much of a gentleman to do that." Gram finally took a bite from her pizza slice, we ate in silence for a little while until she put her piece down. "So how was eleventh grade?" Gram always said the number of my grade, in middle school it was always hows eighth grade. Never how's middle school or anything. I didn't mind, I just found it odd. "Fine, a little stressful here and there but nothing I couldn't handle." She nodded her head and took a sip from her lemonade. "Any new friends?" I nodded my head. "Made a couple new friends, they've been pretty cool." I finished off my first slice of pizza and cleaned my mouth with my napkin. "Are you ready for twelfth grade?" I thought for a moment. School was never my most favorite thing, but I worked hard nonetheless. "Excited I suppose, but weary of what's to come." Gram patted my arm. "It'll all be fine, you'll march through with ease just like every other grade." We sat in silence again and finished our food, I took our plates and cup and put them in the sink. I began washing them when I felt a sudden pat hit my shoulder. I turned around to see my grandmother glaring at me. "You're my guest, I can't have you cleaning the dishes." I chuckled. "I'm also your caring grandson, so I'm going to anyway." She shook her head. "That father of yours is teaching you to be stubborn, I don't like it." I laughed as I continued cleaning the plates. "I thought mom was stubborn at a young age." I heard gram scoff behind me. "Yes, but a stubborn little girl is easy to get used to. A grown man isn't, plus I just don't like him." Gram didn't really hate my father, it's just sometimes they don't see eye to eye. They both love my mother though, and they decided to play nice around her for her sake. Anytime dad and I are alone though he'd ramble on about gram, and the same with gram about my father. I always just smile and nod my head. I dried the plates and cups with a towel and returned them to their place in the cupboard. I walked into the living room where gram was reading a book. "I'm gonna go take my shower." She looked up and smiled. "Of course, it's great to have you visiting." I smiled. I always felt the love from my grandmother, sometimes she'd just have to smile at me and it'd make my whole day great. I walked up the stairs and entered my room to grab my pajamas. I zipped open the suitcase and grabbed my red and black stripped pajamas. Gram had sent them to me for my birthday, it was actually pretty soft and made me fall asleep easily. I exited my room and walked down the hall towards the bathroom. I glanced briefly at the door. It still freaked me out a little, just the thought of something hiding in the room freaked me out. I walked by it and entered the bathroom. I turned the lights on and placed my pajamas on the counter. I turned the shower on and took my jacket off. Suddenly I heard a click sound come from the hallway, I told myself that it was grandma and began taking my shirt off. The click sound came again, I put my shirt back on and looked out into the hallway. Gram wasn't there. I shrugged and turned to enter the bathroom again, the click happened again. I froze. I slowly turned around and looked down at the golden doorknob. It turned with a click. It stopped, then went the other way with another click. I just stared, it went back and forth multiple times. A cold sweat ran down my neck, who the hell was in there? I slowly reached my hand out, my hand inches closer and closer to the doorknob. Just as I was inches away from grabbing it, my wrist was grabbed. I jumped back hitting my back on the wall, gram looked at me with concern. "I called your name, you didn't answer. Are you okay you look pale?" I couldn't answer, I just pointed at the doorknob. "It moved." I finally said. Gram looked at the doorknob, it was still. "Are you feeling okay?" I rubbed my eyes, maybe I was seeing things? "Go take your shower, I'll have some tea brewed for you once you get out. Okay?" I nodded my head. I entered the bathroom and closed the door behind me. The room was filled with steam, the mirror was completely covered with condensation. I quickly made the temperature of the water cooler. I stripped and entered the shower. I let the warm water hit my back and head, taking slow deep breaths. What I saw wasn't real, I'm just tired. It was a long drive here after all, so I just needed some sleep. I washed my hair and my body quickly. I turned the water off and dried off with a super soft towel. I changed into my pajamas and exited the bathroom, quickly making my way to the stairs. I walked down and entered the kitchen. Gram turned to me and smiled. "I see you like those pajamas I got you. Here's your tea." She handed me a dog mug, I smiled and took a sip. It was lavender tea, I had drank it before to help me sleep better. "Thank you." I said before finishing the rest of the tea. "Feeling better?" I nodded my head. "I think I'm just tired, I'll be fine in the morning." She rubbed my arm softly and gave me a tender smile. "Go get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll do anything you want to do." I smiled. "Thanks gram." She nodded her head and hugged me. I put the mug in the sink and made my way back upstairs. I entered my room and took my backpack and suitcase off the bed. I climbed under warm covers, the exhaustion from the drive was really hitting me now. I slowly closed my eyes, as sleep welcomed me with open arms.