The Voice

There was only one rule: don’t open the door.

“Honey? Dinner’s ready.”

Maggie had huddled herself in the furthest corner of her room, palms against her ears to muffle her mother’s voice. Tears had been streaming down her cheeks, choking back every sob threatening to shred her throat.

“Maggie? Come on, put the phone down and join us.”

Her heart had been hammering in her chest, hands falling to encase herself in a tight ball. The footsteps were obvious, at the top of the stairs now, padding softly to her room. Maggie had turned the light out when she first heard it, immediate dread drenching her.

“Sweetie?”

Maggie held her breath once seeing the shadow just outside her door, and her heart dropped to her stomach. The doorknob jiggled a bit, testing and finding it locked, her mother’s voice took a sour turn.

“Ugh, we’ve talked about locked doors in this house, Mag.”

The doorknob jigged again, this time with force and a sharp knock rang through her ears. She had started shaking, more tears welling as the knob jerked. A yelp almost gave her away when the pounding on her door started, if it wasn’t for the hand to clamp quickly against her mouth.

“Maggie, be quiet, please.” The familiar voice next to her shook with a strained whisper.

Maggie nodded quickly, the palm dropping from her mouth to hold her hand. The banging continued, violently shaking the room. Maggie couldn’t help but twist herself into the person next to her, hoping the voice would leave, that that thing would leave.

“Maggie! Open the door right now! Listen to your mom!”

But her mom was sitting right next to her, shaking equally as bad as the jerking of the doorknob worsened.

Until they heard a soft click.