Short Stories

Babysitter Murders

They didn’t come back. They said they’d only be gone for the night and be home when I woke up. They lied. It all started on that cruel, bleak evening. It was a Friday, at precisely 5 pm. Mother came upstairs to tell me that Ravyn would be at our house soon. She had babysat me before, though now that I am older I no longer need a babysitter. Mother and Father think otherwise, however. I didn’t mind, she’d always been one of the better ones who had to watch me for five to seven hours. My name is James, and this is the story of how my parents never came back home. Ravyn had been strange to me when I was younger, as she had seemed to be ubiquitous throughout everything I’d try to do. She’d always supplied me with a myriad of things to do, from baking to video games, we’d done many things together over the years. When it had seemed hours passed, the doorbell finally rang. 
I bolted downstairs and instantly met her gaze. She’s a smaller girl, about 5’2, with long black hair with red highlights, she couldn’t be any older than 17 if I had to guess. I have to admit, seeing her walk in, something seemed different about her that time. I couldn’t place my finger on it, but she seemed extremely on edge as she greeted Mother and Father. She acted as though she was a pariah in her skin. I hoped to find something out before the night ended and she went home.
As they crossed the threshold and closed the door behind them, Ravyn’s whole demeanor changed. She switched back to her carefree persona. I know she’d always been a sarcastic person, but it was as though she’d had the worst day of her life. She decided to leave earlier than normal because she had things that she had to do at her own house. I told her that was fine, I’d just call my parents and tell them what had happened. She immediately freaked out and said, “Nevermind, I’ll stay a little longer.” 
“What was that all about,” I ask.
“S-sorry, it’s nothing, I’m just extremely on edge tonight.”
“Oh, that’s okay, you’ve just been weird all evening and I’m worried about you,” I say.
“Don’t be, I’m alright. Just...don’t call your parents.”
“Why? Did they do something to you?”
“N-not exactly..”
We ended the conversation at that, as I could tell she was feeling extremely nervous. I decided we should just watch a movie, and she sighed in relief. I think she was mostly just happy to move onto something else. It was starting to get late, and I had fallen asleep during the movie. I awoke to the sound of what I’d thought was my parents walking back into the house. I didn’t want them to think I was still awake. I felt the other end of the couch sink, someone had sat down next to me. I saw that instead of my Mother sitting there, Ravyn was. I remained in my sleep-like state, trying to listen to her. She was on the phone with someone. She kept her voice at a low whisper, making it incredibly difficult for me to eavesdrop. “No...no I took care of him….yes, everything is fine, he’s sleeping right now.” I wondered if she’d gone against her own words and called my parents herself. I convinced myself that’s what happened and fell asleep again.
I only awoke again when the sun shone through the windows. I rose from my place on the couch and found that my parents’ car wasn’t in the driveway. I tried to call Mother’s phone, to see if they just stayed at a hotel somewhere for the night. This had happened once or twice before, so I wasn’t going to be too concerned if they did. The ringing stopped as soon as it’d begun, and the voicemail box started speaking. I tried again, only to get the same thing. I called Ravyn and she answered on the second ring. “Ravyn, Mother and Father never came back,” I said, on the verge of hysteria.
“James, calm down, I’m sure they’re okay. Do you want me to come over?”
“Please, Ravyn. I need someone here right now. Should I call the cops?”
“NO. I will handle it, do not call the cops.”
“Okay..see you soon,” I hung up the call. Soon after, I heard her car pull up in the driveway. I rushed to the door and opened it to find her looking suspicious. She’d thrown me into this huge conundrum and I wasn’t sure how I could believe her..or frankly trust anyone around me. At that rate, I was simply in hysterics and not sure how to react to anything. 
I, in all my myopic and superfluous thoughts, had Ravyn sit in the living room whilst I went into the kitchen to fetch a knife. I return to the living room where she is sitting and hand her the knife. Just to see what she’d do. She looked up at me, handed me the knife back, not letting go of it as she took my hand and plunged the knife straight into her chest. Straight through her heart. I’d never forgotten the blood-curdling scream she let out the moment she realized what she’d done. The last thing she’d said before she took her last breath was, “I did it.” I picked her up and carried her outside, and let the river take her body. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I decided to flee. I packed up a backpack full of clothes, placed my pocket knife safely inside also, and opened the door to my house, giving it one last look before I crossed the threshold and successfully escaped the torment of being known as a murderer.