Frightful Flash Fiction

The Babysitter

I've been a single mother for about a year. My husband was part of the Navy. He died in service leaving me with my three kids. It's not easy taking care of three children all by yourself. I had to work much later than I usually do, and since my sister was away for her anniversary, I had to hire a babysitter. I went looking online and found someone who was only a couple blocks away from my house. I messaged her and she replied in under an hour, she was very willing to help. She said that she's been a babysitter for three years now, and that I didn't have to worry, not one bit. With three years of experience, being so close, and being only 15 dollars an hour for three kids, I really couldn't say no. And just like that, she was hired. She was young. She had to be in her twenties, I just couldn't see her being a day over thirty. So the babysitter arrived at 4:00pm like she was suppose to. I wasn't going to be home till 7:00pm, two hours later than when I'm usually home. She only had to work for three hours so I wasn't too worried. It was weird, hiring a babysitter, I usually don't trust people I don't know with my children, but she just seemed so nice. I got a call from her, she was saying how my 1 year old was crying. I told her to see if he needed to be changed. She said okay and hung up. An hour passed and she called again. She told me that he started crying again. I said that he was probably hungry and that it was time to feed my other kids as well. She thanked me for the help and hung up. I thought it was weird she was asking me these questions, especially since she's been doing this for three years. Maybe she never had to watch a baby before, or maybe she just lied about how long she's been doing this. A half hour passed and it was time to head home. The drive home went smoothly. When I opened the door I heard the babysitter in the kitchen. I walked in to see she made burgers. My two oldest, twins, we're sitting at the table enjoying the meal prepared for them. She walked up to me and handed me a burger, she said I looked hungry. She wasn't wrong, work was so tiring today, I even had to work through lunch, so I took a bite. At least she knew how to cook, that burger was one of the best ones I've ever had. I quickly finished the burger and went upstairs to check on my youngest. I screamed. His crib was empty, and I couldn't find him anywhere in the room. I ran downstairs, my heart pounding. "Where is he? Where is my baby? You were suppose to be watching him?" I asked the babysitter looking furious. She looked at me, and said, "Well, you wanted me to feed the other kids too." She picked up a burger and continued talking, "And he's so much better like this."