Spencer walked into the two story house; it seemed so empty compared to the Carlin family residence. There was always someone around, Glen...Madison...Kyla...Arthur...Clay...Ashley, but there was only Ben and Paula here. She followed her mom up the stairs and down the hall to the last door, the room was bare except a bed, dresser and desk and a few picture frames here and there.
"Where's the toys?" she asked setting one of her suit cases down and glancing around the room.
"We don't have any right now, but I'm sure your father packed some. Now put your things away while I start dinner." Paula skipped out of the room and down the stairs.
Spencer took a deep breath in and out while her blue eyes roamed from corner to corner. Slowly she opened her suitcases and threw the clothes in the dresser, forgetting to fold them. Soon she was distracted by one of Glen's game boys he let her play with, she flipped it on and started playing.
Two hours later Paula finished the pasta and went back up stairs to get her daughter who was still playing the game boy when she walked in, "Spencer didn't I tell you to put your things away?"
"I did, see..." the girl carefully put the game boy down and showed her mom the half closed drawers of the dresser.
"What I see is a mess, those clothes aren't put away properly and the drawers are sticking out."
"But I...I tried," Spencer stuttered.
"No you didn't, now I want you to do it again but this time fold them and have those drawers shut understand?" Paula glared at her daughter, tears falling down her cheeks. Her lip trembling she could only manage a nod, "Good...I'll be back up here in a while to check on you. If it's not done correctly than you'll go to bed with out dinner."
Spencer wiped the tears off her face with her sleeve as she pulled the clothes back out of the dresser. Her hands fumbling with each item as she tried to imitate the way she's seen her father fold laundry, but the more she tried to do good the worse each item got. Frustration growing inside her, she wanted to please her mom so bad, wanted to be good and have a clean room. Chewing her bottom lip with passion as she scrambled to put all her things away neatly, soon she had the dresser drawers shut and her security blanket half heartedly folded at the end of her bed than she threw the suitcases into the closet.
"Spencer," Paula called as she entered to see the teen sitting patiently on the bed. Cold blue eyes scanned the room, inspecting every crevice. The older woman stalked over to the dresser and opened the drawers, one by one, looking at the best attempt of folding by her daughter, "Very good sweetie." Spencer sat up straighter with a huge smile on her face at making her mother happy, "Come on Ben's home and it's time for dinner." The two walked down stairs to the kitchen.
Once seated, "Let's pray..." the group grabbed each others hands, "Dear lord thank you for blessing this home and food we are about to eat. Thank you for everything we have in our lives and for bringing my daughter home to us. Amen."
"Amen," Ben and Spencer nodded.
"So Spencer what did you do today?" Ben asked while twisting his fork in the pasta on his plate. She shrugged looking at her plate, she didn't know the man what was she suppose to say.
"Sweetie Ben asked you a question,"
"I watched cartoons,"
"Were they funny?" Ben asked trying to keep the conversation flowing.
"Yes, I like Sponge Bob and Scooby Doo. Ashley likes Scooby Doo too but not Sponge Bob she makes fun of him. Glen he likes this one where a boy turns into like a wrestler but I don't know the name of it and Clay and daddy like Tom and Jerry...do you like Tom and Jerry?"
"Yes I do, maybe if I'm home in the morning's one of these times we can watch it together. How does that sound?" Spencer nodded happily. The rest of the meal went pretty easily, some talk and light conversation. Afterwards Spencer watched television while the grown ups did dishes.
"Spencer bed time," Paula announced walking into the living room, "Why don't you go up stairs and get ready and I'll be up in a minute so we can say are prayers okay?"
"Okay mommy," Spencer rushed away and into her room where she quickly found some pajamas. A pair of Ashley's Scooby Doo pj pants and a black wife beater, than she ran to the bathroom and bushed her teeth than back into her room just as Paula walked in.
"Come on," the two blond women dropped to their knees at the edge of the bed and closed their hands.
"Now I lay me down to sleep, if I die before I wake I pray thy lord my soul to keep..." they said in unison.
"Can I call daddy and say good night?"
"Maybe tomorrow,"
"But I have to say good night to daddy and Ashley, I always say good night to them." Her voice rose slightly.
"Not tonight sweetie, it's late." Paula tucked the girl under the covers.
"Mommy will you sing to me like my girlfriend does?" Paula froze in the door way at the sound of the girl's frail voice, turning around she took big deliberate steps over to the bed standing tall over her daughter.
"You do not have a girlfriend Spencer; girl's can not have girlfriends..."
"But daddy and Ashley said they can..."
"They lied,"
"Lying is bad, why would they lie to me?"
"I don't know, but God does not allow that understand, remember what we talked about if you disobeyed God?" the teen nodded, "What happens?"
"You get sent to hell where you won't see any one, not mommy or daddy or my brothers and my body will be on fire." Spencer shivered at the thought of hot flames dancing on her skin for all eternity.
"Right, good night honey." Paula turned the light off and closed the door leaving her all alone in the new room.
Ashley never leaves me, daddy doesn't close the door...he leaves it open so the hall light comes in so I'm not in the dark...what was that? I know I heard something, maybe it's a monster...there it is again...oh please don't let it be a monster, I don't want to go to hell and have my body burn...something's under my bed...oh no it's going to get me what do I do?
"MOMMY!"
Paula rushed back in flipping on the light, "WHAT?"
"There's something under my bed!"
"Spencer don't be ridiculous, there is nothing under your bed."

"Prove it." Sighing Paula got on her hands and knees and lifted the blanket to see underneath.
"I told you, now go back to sleep."
"No it's there; I know I heard it..." Paula sat down and tried to calm her daughter down.

Ashley laid in bed at nine o' clock, the time they usually made Spencer go to sleep. She stared up at the ceiling not know what to do with herself; her girlfriend gave her reasons to get up and do things. Whether the girl was sixteen and they went to the beach and had romantic dinners or five and watched cartoons or laughed at some stupid joke Glen made. She could only think about her girlfriend, what is Spencer doing? Is she all right? Did she finish her dinner?
"Don't look so down," Kyla strolled in, her and Madison decided to stay at the Carlin residence tonight due to the clan being down.
"She's gone," Ashley whispered.
"No, she'll be back," Kyla sat on the bed.
"How am I suppose to sleep?" the older girl threw her hands up.
Kyla laughed, "When was the last time you slept in a bed by yourself?"
"Since Prom never, before that most of the time Spence was in the bed with me. She must be so scared right now and there's nothing I can do...I just wish she was back, normal so I can hold her and kiss her and tell her that it was only her and never Aiden...I wish things weren't so fucked up!" Ashley cried throwing her arms around her sister allowing her tears to soak the younger girl's shirt. Kyla was thrown at first, her sister never really opened up to her and here she was spilling her fears while holding on for life.
"Shhh it'll be okay Ash, really it will." Kyla said laying down with her sister who soon fell asleep in her arms.
A knock stirred Kyle from her thoughts, "Come in."
The door opened to find Clay, "Hey...oh sorry is she asleep?"
"Yeah, what did you need?" Kyla wondered.
"Well moms on the phone and Glen and dad went to grab some movies for our movie night and well...she needs help..." Clay chuckled holding the phone out to Kyla.
"Hello?"
"Who's this?" the female voice snapped at the other end.
"Kyla,"
"Oh Kyla I need help,"
"That's what Clay said, what can I do for you?" Kyla had no clue what the older woman would want.
"Spence is freaking about monsters and I can't calm her down," Kyla laughed how exhausted Paula sounded, "...Ben needs his sleep and she's keeping him up. Tomorrow I'll have a talk with her about disobedient behavior but tonight I just need her to sleep."
What does she mean disobedient behavior, that doesn't sound good..."Sorry Mrs. C I only know one person who can put her out..."
"Put her on," Kyla tried hard to suppress her giggling when Paula knew she was talking about her sister.
"Hold on," the younger girl leaned forward, "Ashley wake up..." the older brunette shifted but stayed asleep, "Ashley..." Kyla pushed her sister easily.
"hut?" Ashley grumbled.
"Phone," Ashley reached up with eyes closed and snatched the phone away from her sister.
"What?" she said in normal human tongue now that she was more awake.
"Ashley?"
"Mrs. C?" Ashley said a little unsure of why the woman was calling her.
"Calm her down, Ben needs to sleep...I'm giving her the phone."
Ashley waited now fully awake, "Ashley?" Spencer asked into the receiver, the brunette could tell she had been crying.
"Hey baby what's wrong?"
"There's monster in my room and mommy doesn't believe me and she closed the door, it was dark and I swear I heard the pop...pop sound, I hate that sound."
"Spence calm down baby, I'm sure your mom knows if there's monsters in her house or your room."
"She wouldn't let me say good night to you or daddy but I all ways say good night..."

"Spencer!" Ashley said a little more forcefully to get her girlfriend's attention.
"What?"
"Are you in bed?" Ashley asked but only received silence, "I can't see you move your head."
Giggling escaped thru the phone, "No I'm standing in the hall."
"Okay get back in bed,"
"But..."
"No buts, scoot...are you in bed...good now lay down with the covers to your chin...did you do it...okay now close your eyes...are they closed...no I won't hang up until your asleep...keep your eyes closed..." Ashley began singing into the phone like she did every time Spencer had a bad dream. Soon a soft snore was coming thru the phone, a small voice said I love you and the brunette knew Spencer had said it in her sleep which caused tears to spread over her eyes again, "I love you too baby." She said hanging up and crying her self to sleep with Kyla holding her.
TBC.