The Last Babysitter | Requiem

Being Assertive, Father's Voice, and the Sweet Emptiness

Ella reached behind and grabbed Mr. Hennigan by the balls and squeezed. He let out a shout and fell down. She watched him lay there, thriving, cupping his junk, and she chuckled.

Ella fixed herself and ran out of the house. She kept running until that sick feeling in her stomach became too much, and she puked behind a large commercial trash container inside an alley.

The homeless man sitting against the wall of the building watched her as she composed herself. Ella adjusted her hair and clothes and continued on to her next job.

"Tell me why?"

"Because." Pan said, appearing next to Ella and matching her fast paced walk.

"Because isn't a reason. I want you to tell me why HIS soul, but not Elliot Hennigan's."

"How can I put this? Every human is a soul, but not every soul is a human."

"That makes absolutely no sense. Tell me now, or I won't help you with this one."

"Alright, since you ASKED nicely. I could have any soul I came across, but I don't want just any soul. I want the very best. I want the one's with the most potential. I want the one's with the most bang for their buck."

"Why not Hennigan? Can't we kill him?"

"You can kill him, sure. Kill him all you want. I'm just not gonna harvest his soul. No potential, and it's corrupted. I stay away from politicians. Those people scare me."

Ella arrived at The Garfield's brownstone just in time. A black SUV idled along the sidewalk in front. The driver was outside the vehicle talking with someone on his phone.

Just as Ella knocked on the door, her phone chimed. One Hundred and fifty dollars, the alert from cash app said. Mr. Hennigan had just paid her for watching Georgia.

Mrs. Garfield opened the door and greeted Ella with a warm smile. "Oh Good. Come in Ella! How are you this evening?"

Pan appeared behind Mrs. Garfield's right shoulder. He smiled, showing off his crooked, sharp teeth, and said only two words. And he said them using the voice of her father.

"Whore cunt."

Pan could sense her apprehension. It tasted like chalk. He hated it. He would have to get her in the correct headspace for this one.

Ella's eyes teared up, glossing over as the voice of her father repeated. Still, she somehow managed to throw together a few words for the old bitch.

"I'm fine, Mrs. Garfield." Ella smiled. "Never better."

"Samuel! Ella's here!" Mrs. Garfield glanced at her wristwatch, a gaudy thing that seemed too big and too heavy for her frail old arm.

"Whore cunt."

Ella's facade was cracking, but she held her smile for Mr. Garfield when he arrived.

"Ella! Good to see you." The old man, Mr. Garfield, gave her upper arm a gentle squeeze.

"Did you give your whore cunt to that old bastard, too?" Pan said, still using the voice of Ella's father as his own. "I already know the answer, sweetheart. Of course you did."

Mrs. Garfield took her husband around the arm and led him outside and down the stairs, talking to Ella the entire time. "Sam Junior's upstairs in his bedroom playing those virtual reality games. We should be back around nine or ten."

"Make it eleven." Mr. Garfield said. "Because the Gunderson's love to talk."

"That's fine. I don't have anywhere else to be tonight." Ella waved goodbye as the Garfield's got into the SUV.