"Fifty-eight! Fifty-nine! Sixty!"
Hide-and-go-seek was the order of the evening. Two days of rain and no sign of stopping only meant mud, mud and more mud. Sara already knew where the kids were. Twins like to do things together, it seemed.
"Where could they be?" She asked convincingly, her gaze swimming around the room. "Hmmm." She said as she walked to her bedroom. "Maybe.... here!" She shouted and flung the covers up, revealing an empty bed. "Or... not." She said and let the blanket pool back on the ground. They're really giving me a run for my money. She thought to herself as she walked barefoot down the hall.
"How about.. here?!" She shouted and dove down to the ground, peeking under the Table. Nope. She knew they were to scared to go into the basement. (Who could blame, em?) And to afraid of the spiders in the Laundry room.
"Wow boys! You've gotten good!" She called out, a hint of jittery nerves in her voice.
This was, what seemed like, the Thousandth time babysitting them; and all of a sudden they got really good? A bit strange. It's not like Mr. And Mrs. Miller had time to teach them. Not with those big banking jobs of theirs.
Sara walked around slowly, in the silent house. "Cody?" She called out. "Ashton?" She asked and paused in the kitchen.
A bang came from downstairs, followed by giggling. "Oh. Good." She said jn a breathy, relived tone. Sara jogged to the door of the basement and walked downstairs. "Boys, don't ever hide down here ag-" she paused at the bottom of the wooden stairs. The room was empty.
"Sara?" Ashton asked at the top of the stairs; which startled the babysitter. "Why are you down here. It's scary." Cody pouted.
"U-Uhm. Let's... go make some Mac-and-cheese. Okay? Then a nap." Sara said as she started up the stairs, her stomach churning.
What could thay have been? A raccoon maybe? A squirrel? Yeah.. yeah. That's it. That's all it could've been. Sara thought to herself as she walked into the kitchen, followed by the two boys.
"Mac 'nd cheese!" The twins chanted as they bounced on their toes in the kitchen. The smell of baked cheese swarmed the room.
Sara took two bowls, filled with the gooey noodles and sat them at the table. "Don't burn your tongues kiddos." She said and foced a soft smile. She ruffled their hair and walked back to the oven, putting everything away.
The boys already started in, ignoring her warning. Ashton sat on his knees, piling spoon after spoon of the food into his mouth, while Cody took his time and actually tasted the food.
As they finished, their eyelids grew heavy. "Sarrrrra." Cody whined and reached his hands up, signaling he wanted to be picked up. Ashton sat on the chair, rubbing his Hazel eyes, letting out tiny yawns.
Sara walked over to the two and picked up Cody, then Ashton. She kissed their foreheads and walked back into their bedroom. "Go to sleep." She said quietly as she sat Ashton on the top bunk of the Bunk-Beds and Cody on the bottom. "I'll be out in the Living room." She smiled softly and walked to the door, hearing the both of them snuggle up and rustle the blankets. She stepped out of the room and closed the door quietly.
She paused at the Basement door, seeing her reflection in the Golden door knob. Her hand reached out absent-mindedly, gripping the knob. She refrained from turning it. She pulled her hand down quickly and then turned to walk to the kitchen.
Sara walked past the open bathroom door quickly, her reflection following her. As she got to the couch she huffed and plopped down, turning on t.v.
In the white bathroom, a figure appeared in the mirror. It was as beautiful as Sara, owning her face and her hair, but it was something about her eyes. They weren't bright blue. They were black.
Mirror mirror, on the wall.
Who's the coldest of them all?
The reflection sang as the house slowly began to get colder, and colder, and colder.
