Linda
Juliana marveled at the job she managed to acquire for the summer through her school's Summer Youth program. This job was going to require all her attention, a lot of hard work, and potentially an investment in coffee since her job was to take care of two kids at the tender ages of six and seven, while the single father was away overseas for the summer. Juliana loved kids, this job was perfect. Three weeks later school ended for her and summer began for everyone. Juliana loved her new babysitting job for two reasons: firstly she could walk to her job in twenty minutes and secondly she passed a McDonalds along the way 'Yay!'she squealed in her mind.
The week after summer vacation started the father of the children, the father named himself as Todd, was ready to leave for work and called Juliana up so she could start her job. Bright and early at seven o'clock Juliana left her house and on the way she had to stopped for a mocha cappuccino and once her important business was taken care of she continued walking to the house .
Juliana knocked on the front door of the two-story house with three quick raps and a young man with hazel green eyes opened the door swiftly "Hello," the man greeted. "Um, hello yourself?" she greeted questioningly 'Who was he?' she thought . The man laughed at the confused face she was making "I'm Todd. " Todd said, Juliana had the decency to blush 'This young man was a father of two!?' she thought alarmed.
"Yes I look young, but I'm actually thirty-five" Todd said, already guessing her thoughts, he continued talking "Anyway the two children: James, six, a boy obviously and Erica, seven, a girl, once again obviously." Juliana opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off by continuing to talk " There's food in the fridge if you or the children get hungry during the day and I hired another babysitter for the nights, okay Linda?" Todd said hurriedly while reaching behind him to get his luggage, he grabbed two large bags, and rushed past her "Love you sweetheart" he yelled without turning around. Juliana stood there startled for two reasons: one Todd just called her a different name and two he told her he loved her, along with the fact that he called her sweetheart, but whatever that's not stood there stupefied for a few moments before deciding to just get over it because, in her opinion, "She was a headstrong sixteen year old who can face any challenge." She is also a foolish twit, but, hey, to each his own.
Juliana entered the pigsty that was, supposed, to be a hallway but was lacking much of a 'way' at the moment since it was covered with clothes. Also from the stale smell emanating these were dirty clothes. "James?" Juliana called out "Erica?" she continued "Are you here?" she raised her voice. Footsteps thundered over her head and a dirty blonde, small six year old boy came running down the stairs and his sister Erica came running down the stairs albeit with an odd limp. "Yes, Ma'am?" Erica asked while James stayed quiet.
Juliana couldn't help the odd look that crossed her face and Erica shrunk from her gaze a little. Juliana ignored that. "Yes, Hi, my name is Juliana" she gave a pleasant smile after her introduction, expecting at least James to, at least, acknowledge her but no such thing happened.
"Um? Hello? Totally awesome babysitter is gracing you with her presence at the moment, at least crack a smile" she half-joked. James looked up at her "You're not going to stay long anyway." he finalized and began to walked back up stairs without sparing a glance in her direction. "Erica don't stay around the living for too long." James added as an afterthought
"Ignore him Miss Juli, you're going to be with us for a long time."Erica said shyly while grabbing onto her right arm. "It's already a pleasure." Juliana swallowed sharply from the two kids borderline creepy behavior and plastered on the fakest smile she could manage. "Come on Miss Juli, do you want to play?" Erica points to the slightly cleaner living room "Uh, yeah, let's go Erica" Juliana goes to pick up Erica but Erica just shrinks from her arms and limps into the living room quickly. They enter the living room but Erica continues to an adjacent room "Where are you going?" Juliana curiously asks.
"I'm going in my father's work room he usually keeps our toys there" Erica answers coldly. Juliana goes to follow, "No, you're not allowed to go!" Erica panicky says
"Okay, I'll just wait here" She hesitantly goes to sit on the beat-up couch and Erica finally stops panicking. The girl enters the workroom and comes out with a few dolls "Here, you can be this one." Erica hands her a blonde barbie with kinky hair. They play for an hour and a half then Erica's stomach growls, it was near noon "Alright let's go eat, Erica."
"Alright" Erica agrees.
Juliana and Erica go into the kitchen and Juliana makes three sandwiches with the food in the fridge "You eat here, while I bring this sandwich to James" Juliana leaves Erica in the kitchen and goes upstairs to hopefully find James. When she gets to the top of the stairs she sees three doors "James, you here?" James peeks his head out of the second door to the stairs "Here," she hands him the sandwich" I brought you lunch." He looks at the sandwich closely then slams the door in her face. 'Oh no he didn't' Juliana forces the door open "Listen here you rude little boy-" she stops mid sentence for two reasons: the smell of a dead body and the fact that there was a dead body rotting in the corner.
"W-w-what, what in the world is this?!" she pushes past James who was trying to close the door and goes closer to inspect the realness, it was a small boy, James's size. "James, what the hell is this?" Juliana asks in horror backing away from the body
"That's me...or it was, since I'm a ghost now." those words were eye opener, Juliana finally saw James for what he truly was, dead. James's hazel eyes were now as black a shadows, his hair which was once dirty-blonde was now heavily soaked with fresh blood and his skin was a sickly gray "Why do you look like that?!"
"Because our father killed us" James says coldly.
"Us?! Meaning you and Erica?" Juliana asks
"Yes, he killed us in this house and now our souls can't leave."
"Then who the hell is Linda?" she presses for more answers to her questions
"Linda was our oldest sister, she ran away and never came back, then our father killed us." James tears up
"Okay if you're really ghost then why can you touch that plate, or anything for that matter?"
"I don't understand it myself, but Erica and I can touch inanimate objects."
Juliana takes a moment to let all that information sink in, that was that, James and Erica were murdered in the very house she's standing in, maybe in the very room; Todd is a murderer; James and Erica are ghost. Time to leave this house. Juliana rushes past ghost James, runs downs the stairs and almost reaches the door, but Erica picks that exact moment to leave the kitchen "Oh, Miss Juli, I was about to go looking for you."
"Yeah, Erica, I have to leave right now, tell your father I had a problem." Juliana says hurriedly
"Why, father is coming home right now." Erica says
Juliana breaks into a cold sweat "Why is he coming home, shouldn't he be on a plane?"
"He came rushing home, once I told him James spilled all our secrets." She adds darkly, skin turning darker by the minute
"Oh, no" Juliana rushes to the door and tries to turn the locked knob; she also bangs on the door hoping someone would hear the noise; and she tries unlocking the door, all of her attempts fail."Where are you going Linda, are you going to run away and find help this time?" Erica asks crazily.
"My name isn't Linda!" Juliana screams
The front door opens "Linda, please, stop agitating your siblings." Todd slinks in.
"You people ,ghosts, whatever are crazy!" Juliana screams "My name isn't Lin-"
Todd punches her in the temple and she falls to the floor unconscious.
"Hey, Linda, you awake?" Four pairs of hazel eyes peer down at the incapacitated teenager laying on the couch
"Uh, guys, what happened, I had the craziest dream." Juliana blinks her eyes, still dazed for some odd reason
"You were really confused there for a second, but now everything is alright, our family is once again whole" a girl voice says
"What, what are you talking about, I'm your babysitter Juliana" She said still dazed
"You're still talking crazy, your name isn't Juliana, it's Linda for the last time." the girl now recognized as Erica growled.
"We should just let her go; she clearly doesn't know us" James says.
A harsh slap breaks the air "How could you say that, don't you want our sister back?" Erica asks.
"It doesn't matter anyway she's going to die; she knows too much." Todd sneers he starts to tie the limbs of the now screaming and struggling girl. Todd drags Juliana to his work room and Juliana screams for the last time.
Epilogue
"Linda, can we play with our dolls again?' Erica asks waving the kinky barbie in the air.
"Yeah, Erica, let's play with dolls again." a gray skinned hand reaches for the doll, Juliana or Linda as she now is called, smiles and starts spinning a tale of make believe. Dread filled black eyes staring at the dolls.
"I'm so glad we found you Linda!" Erica squeals happily
Red tears start streaming down Linda's face, she gulps and smiles "Me too Erica, me too."
Outside this quiet two-story home a newspaper clipping flies by it says
"Missing teenager never comes back home from summer job! WHERE IS JULIANA?"
THE END
Yes I'm back but not with want most of you wanted R&R I'm going to need some help to improve and I know you guy have tons of suggestions that I would be glad to hear. ^^