The Deal With A Devil

Chapter 1: Haunting Memories

It's been nearly twenty years since this horrific event took place, but the memories still replay in my head each and every day. My name is Mason Jacobson and I am writing this in hopes that telling others about my childhood horrors may help these unpleasant memories fade.
I was only fourteen at the time, and my sister was ten. My dad Henry, mom Marissa, little sister Eva, and I all lived in a quiet, peaceful home in Winchester, Ohio. We were your normal, run-of-the-mill family. Our parents would bicker from time to time but I didn't pay any mind. Things were perfect; so I thought...
One evening, my father came home from work and we were all eating dinner as we always did. After dinner, my dad said he was going out. My mom stopped him in his tracks, "Just where do you think you're going now?" My dad turned back to her and simply said "Out." My mom fires back at him without any hesitation, "Oh, let me guess.. You're going to see your girlfriend again tonight!" Eva and I looked at each other in shock and confusion. That's when it happened...
     My dad grabbed a large kitchen knife from the counter and took a step closer to my mom and said angrily through gritted teeth, "What did you say?" I froze in fear, and couldn't move or even whisper. Then Eva yelled "Mommy, Mommy!" as she began to cry. My dad's eyes shifted to my sister as he pointed the knife at her. That's when I knew I had to act. I grabbed Eva by the wrist and we ran out of the house. As soon as we got off the porch I heard my mother scream in agony. I never looked back.
     I never knew I could run as fast as I did, I made sure I held on tightly to Eva, who still had tears streaming down her face. Finally, after about ten minutes of running, I made it to my friend Jeremy's house. I knocked on his door frantically, and looked around cautiously out of sheer paranoia. He opened the door and immediately let us in. His parents were away on business for a few days so he had the house to himself.
     Eva and I both collapsed on his couch gasping for air. He asked over and over what happened. I told him that our father went crazy and came at us and our mother with a knife. I called the police and minutes later I heard sirens. Eva was shaking with fear and didn't really understand what had happened. To be honest, things happened so fast I barely even knew. She sat beside me on the couch and continued to cry. I wrapped my arms tight around her and also started to cry. Jeremy sat in silence, as he couldn't find any words to say.
     After finally being able to get Eva to calm down, I asked Jeremy to turn on the local News Station. After they gave some traffic updates, the reporter said "Earlier this evening, police received a call from a young man by the name of Mason, at only fourteen years of age. Police say that he told them to hurry to his once peaceful home, where his father came at his mother with a kitchen knife as well as threatened Mason and his young sister Eva, at only ten years of age. Henry Jacobson was apprehended and will be taken to court this Thursday. Marissa, who caught her husband cheating on her with 45 year-old Mary White, was sent to the hospital with very low vital signs. More on this story tomorrow."
     I choked back tears as I cupped my face into my hands. Then, I went to the open window, gazed up at the stars, got on my  knees, and prayed to God that my mother would be alright and recover. I then stood back up and walked back over to my little sister. I kneeled down in front of her as a single tear escaped her eye, I wiped it away and forced a smile. "Everything will be okay Eva, I promise." "But what about Mommy?" "I'm sure Mommy will be alright. It's getting late, maybe you should get some sleep." Eva gave me the puppy-dog eyes and pleaded. "Don't give me that look, it's 9:30 pm, you need your rest, Eva," I insisted.
     Jeremy said he'd sleep downstairs with us to help us feel more comfortable. Jeremy slept in the recliner while Eva and I shared the couch. Jeremy and Eva fell asleep rather quickly; where as for me, I couldn't stop thinking about what happened earlier and played the events over and over in my head. The last time I looked at the clock I had seen 4:53 am.
     I was jolted awake by Jeremy's alarm for school. We all decided to skip but were now awake and couldn't fall back asleep. I was only on one and a half hours but was not tired to my surprise. I turned on the news immediately in case anything new about what occurred last night was found. Nothing yet but I left it on all day. Jeremy gave my sister some blank sheets of paper and some crayons to color with, and gave me some books to read as my phone rested on the side table charging.
     The day went pretty slow and was uneventful. Jeremy made food for my sister and I but I wasn't hungry. I hadn't picked up a book all day, my eyes were fixated on the news, begging to hear something about my mother. Once my phone was charged, I went on every news website desperate for answers. I called my family to ask if they knew anything but unfortunately they didn't. All hope seemed to be slipping away, that is until the evening traffic updates ended and the Breaking News bit began. The reporter came back on screen and stated, "Continuing on our story from yesterday evening, of the horror in the Jacobson household. Henry Jacobson will be taken to court tomorrow and either walk out a free man, or ride out in the back of an police car. We regret to inform you that Marissa Jacobson, was declared dead early this morning at 4:53 am. More on this story tomorrow."
     All I could do is stare at the screen as tears flooded my eyes. Jeremy sat in silence as a few tears escaped his eyes. I crawled up to the television screen and cried hysterically while saying "why, why, why?" over and over again. Eva came up beside me with tears in her eyes and we sat on the floor and cried together.