Two Nights With Grandpa

“Pass the popcorn!” My little sister nagged me, “Come on, stop hogging it…” she droned on. Tap, shuffle, shuffle. “What was that?” I asked my sister.

“I said, I want the popcorn. Mum and Dad said you had to share Danny.” Annie kept nagging.

“Here have the popcorn,” I threw it at her and switched the TV off.

She began whining again, “Hey Dan! I was watching that.”

Tap, Shuffle, Shuffle. “Shush Annie.” Tap, Shuffle, Shuffle. “Listen can you hear that?”

“No! Now turn the TV back…” Tap, Shuffle, Shuffle.”…What is that?” Annie whispered, finally hearing the noise.

“I’ll go see, wait here and be quiet.” I told her.

She reluctantly agreed, “Ok Danny, but be careful.” I nodded and walked out of the room.

~rewind to two days before that night~

“Ellen Grace Davidson was a wonderful woman….” The eulogists droned on.

I hate wearing black, pretending to be sad and watching people cry. There was a lot of those three at my Grandma’s funeral. I didn’t cry. I never really knew my Grandma. I looked around at all the teary eyed people at the funeral. To my left was my Grandpa who was so overwhelmed with grief that he seemed to have gone insane. He kept muttering, blow to the head, only four more, money I can have it. Blow to the head, but they are family, money isn’t everything. It was almost as if he was having an argument with himself. To my right was my crying mother and my dad trying his hardest to console her. I looked down to see my little sister Annie clinging to my leg, I put my arm around her and stared blankly at the eulogist.

I overheard my parents whispering by the front door, “We can’t let him stay with us for long, he’s crazy.” My dad proclaimed.

“Keep your voice down he’ll be here any moment.” My mum whispered yelled. “He’s my dad. I know he’s not in the best of health but we’re the only family he has left, and someone has to take care of him.”

“Ok I understand that,” My dad reasoned, “Maybe we could send him to a nursing home, they’d look after him.” My mum nodded but before she could respond the doorbell rang announcing my Grandpa’s arrival. Mum and Dad jumped back and I ran forward to answer it. I was soon joined by my younger sister. I opened the door and there was my Grandpa, accompanied by a carer, holding his walking stick in one hand and his suitcase in the other.

~Night One Continued~         

As I walked out I could feel my sister’s worried gaze following me. She may be little but she wasn’t stupid, she knew this was dangerous. Tap, Shuffle, Shuffle. Ok that sounded like it was downstairs. I thought to myself. But which stairs down should I take. My house was 3 stories high with over a dozen rooms on each floor. The room where I left my sister was our home theatre on the third floor. I walked down the back set of stairs only to hear. Tap, Shuffle, Shuffle. Coming from upstairs. Whatever is making that noise used the front stairs and I missed it. I only hope it’s not heading for the theatre room. I quickly walked up the front stairs, breaking into a jog when I heard, Tap, Shuffle, Shuffle, coming from near the theatre room. I began sprinting when I heard my little sister scream.

The police came that night, we were all interviewed except grandpa he was passed off as too delusional to make sense of anything. When my interview came I didn’t tell them about the weird noise because it probably had nothing to do with Annie’s death. They drew the conclusion that she was killed by a blow to the back of the head however no traces were left and the murder weapon was nowhere in sight. The policemen searched and secured our house. Before leaving for the night. “E-everyone, d-dinner is r-ready.” Mum announced between sobs. I had cried out all my tears when I found Annie lying there. “Hey mum,” I rubbed her back soothingly. “Try not to think about it.” Tap, Shuffle, Shuffle. I whipped my head around to see my Grandpa walking up behind us. I eyed him curiously. “Mum, come here for a second.” She sniffed then followed me to the living room next door. “The night that Annie was killed I heard noises like tap, shuffle, and shuffle and when Grandpa walks that’s the sound he makes. I think Grandpa might have-,”

“Don’t Dan! Just don’t. Grandpa was in bed the whole time.” She brushed my cheek with her fingers. “Come on now, I know you’re suffering, we all are. But that is no excuse to go blaming your family members.”

“But…ok, sorry mum.” I tried to protest but thought better of it. “Let’s go have dinner,” I smiled reassuringly. She smiled back and we walked in to find Dad serving dinner while Grandpa sat and waited at the table.

That night I set up cameras all around our house one near mum and dad’s room. One near my room. One near Grandpa’s room and a few scattered around the main rooms and hallways. Just as a precaution.

When I woke up the house was quiet so I assumed that Grandpa was still in bed and Mum and Dad had left for work. I was given the choice to miss school for today, which I gladly accepted. My sister and I were very close and losing her was like taking the wheels off a car. I had no motivation to move me along anymore. However Mum and Dad had decided that going to work was the best option for them to keep their minds off the incident. I went around the house checking the footage I got. The first place I checked was the one outside my room. All that one had was faint noise, the next one had the same except more distinct. I kept going getting closer and closer to my parents’ bedroom. I reached the camera out the front of their room and pressed play.

The first thing I noticed was a faint noise in the background. However, it soon got louder and louder until I realised I wasn’t only hearing it on the video. I paused the video and looked around, sure enough there was tap, shuffle, shuffle coming from my room and moving closer. I grabbed the phone, called the police and waited. I pressed play on the video and my jaw dropped. I was right, Grandpa is the one who killed my little sister. At that moment I heard tap, shuffle, shuffle to my right and close. I whipped my head around and saw my Grandpa shuffling towards me walking stick raised.

I turned to my parents’ door, opened it and bolted inside, locking it behind me. I leaned my forehead on the door while my Grandpa banged against it, yelling sorry and demanding entry. Screaming something about the money being his. I closed my eyes, rested my back against the door and slid down it. Exhausted. When I opened my eyes there were my two parents. Both lying on the floor, a tangle of limbs, dead.

Everything after that was muffled. I was numb. I heard faint sirens and my Grandpa being taken away. The police said something about money and my Grandpa wanting to inherit it all. Saying something like he must’ve killed his wife as well. The family fortune was mine. But I’d give away the fortune in the speed of light to have my family back. 

~Edit Needed, Rough Draft, Feedback Greatly Appreciated~

Thanks, 

Livy <3