Mind the Step (#TheGrudgeContest)

Mind the Step

My father worked at estate sales my whole life. When my mother past, he began collecting things to fill his time. I knew I hurt him when I left, but I never thought he'd kill himself over it. They found his body in my old bedroom, but they never found a noose. His inheritance was simple, he left his money to the church and his dust filled house to his son. After the funeral, I drove over to see what had become of my childhood house. It was filled with knickknacks he'd hoarded. I walked up the stairs to my old bedroom. As I approached the top, I felt the wooden stairs beneath me shift. I steadied myself on the railing. My room sat next to a small bathroom. I stopped and listened to a distant dripping sound. The bathroom door was opened, exposing the darkness inside. I walked in and clicked the light switch. No response. I leaned into the room and grabbed the sink nobs and tightened them. The dripping continued. I figured it was the shower so I reached past the curtain and found the nob. As I twisted it, the dripping slowed to a stop. Suddenly a cold breath hit my face in the darkness. I threw myself backwards and landed hard on my back. I pulled my phone out and used the light to see what was in front of me. Nothing was there, and all I could hear was my heavy breathing. I crawled to my feet and out of the bathroom. I calmed myself and went back to my door. I opened it and slid into the mostly empty room except for the dresser. It's no wonder my father ended his life in here, it was harsh memory of how I abandoned him. On my dresser sat my fathers journal. I opened it to the last entry.

"Rosewood Blvd. - the owners died in a 'murder-suicide'. - the estate sale date is this Thursday."

Organized as always. Suddenly a low growl emerged from my closet. I sat the book down and walked to the closet. The door creaked open. I didn't move. I stared into the dark closet. Silence. A low crackle of a growl raised from the darkness. A pale arm shot out of the closet and slammed the floor in front of me. I turned and ran out of the room. I started down the stairs, but the board snapped and caught my foot. I felt my body slam down the stairs. I laid at the bottom, staring at the ceiling, unable to move. I felt something rise past my stomach, and raise onto my chest. I looked through my own tears at the dark eyes peering into my soul. My scream was stopped as black hair shot into and down my throat. The sound of my choking was only drowned out by her intense growl. It seems my father brought something other than a knickknack home with him this time.