My hand reached for the lock to the toilet dor when I noticed something strange in the corner of my sight. My eyelids scrunched and I saw red lettering. It said, Don’t Trust It.

“Please open the door Sweetie,” My mom said.

The text’s blood red color contrasted starkly to the white door. It was small, barely the size of a thumb, yet I felt my attention being drawn to it. I had a strange feeling looking at it, like it was just wrong.

The door handle rattled.

“I’ll open up mom, just give me a second,” I said.

“Please hurry up sweetie.” She sounded different somehow. Her voice was more course and rough and there was a tinge of desperation I usually didn’t hear from mom. She was a really calm person.

It’s going to kill you. I saw the letters form right in front of me. I reached out to touch it, and I felt the wetness. Hesitantly, I glanced down at the lock not too sure if I should unlock it. If it wasn’t my mother, what was it? And what had happened to my mother? I needed some way to check if it really was my mother outside. I decided to test it with a question.

“Have you gotten me anything for my birthday next week?” I said.

“Mmhmmm, please just open the door.”

It couldn’t be my mother. She was the type of person to correct people for the smallest grammatical mistakes. Now that I listened closer to her voice, I could hear just how coarse and dry it was.

Your mother never came home.

That’s right. I never heard the door to the house open. My mother was still at work. She was safe. It breathed out in relief. The handle shook again, and it reminded me of the situation I was in.

“Max, open the fucking door!” She shouted, and pulled on the handle. It shook me. How did it know my name? If I opened the door, what would it do to me? I heard her, no, it bang against the door. It slammed heavily against the door. “Please, Max.”

It’s voice wasn’t even trying to mimic my mother anymore. It sounded too dry to even be human. The banging and pleading continued for a few minutes but I didn’t give in. Eventually, it faded and the sound disappeared. I wondered if it had left me alone.

After an hour, I decided to check. Slowly, I cracked the door open, ready to slam it shut instantly. Something was preventing me from opening it up. I pushed, and stepped out. I found my mother on the floor. Lather filled her mouth, and dripped down her side.

I couldn’t breathe.

A thought struck me like a wrecking ball. Her medicine was in the bathroom. I looked back at the door to find the whole thing blood red and scribbled on.

HahahahhaahHAHAHAhahahhIAIHAhahahHAhdhahAHAHHAHahahhHAHAHhaaHHHahahahhHAhahHAhHAhaHAhhhHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhaHAhahahahahhhahHahHAHAHHAhahHAhHAhHAhHHAhHAHHAHhaHaHHAhHAHAhHhahHHahaHaHHAHAhaHhahahhaHAHHHHAHAHAHHAHAhhaahahahahahhhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhAHHAHHAHhaahahhahahahahhaHAHhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhAHHAHHAHhaahahhahahahahhaHAHhahaAHHAHAHhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhAHHAHHAHhaahahhahahahahhaHAHhahaAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH