I was paid to house sit for a woman. She never told me that her husband was dead.

The rich are capable of doing strange things. I guess that’s basically what I’m trying to say. My mom works as a librarian. It’s not a great job, and it doesn’t pay very much. I’ve been told that librarians used to make good money, back before the internet. I think they still do, if they work in universities. But the local library? It’s not a lucrative career. Still, I’m not in a position to complain much. I’m fresh out of high school, and I have no plans of attending college. I already turned down a few scholarships, and I’m a bit regretful about that. But it’s too late now. I work at Wendy’s, and my boyfriend works at Target. We live in a two-bedroom apartment, and we have since high school. Our rent is cheap, because the landlord is an old man, and he’s always forgetting to up the price. Overall, though, my life is very average. It’s not exciting, but it’s okay. The only part that’s really not ordinary is the house sitting I do on the side. From time to time, I house sit. Sometimes it’s for my mom’s coworkers, friends who are going out of town, or relatives who are visiting their own relatives. I guess you could call house sitting a side hustle. Still, it doesn’t pay much, and it doesn’t happen often, so I wouldn’t call it a regular job. It’s just something I do. My most recent house sitting job was different, though. I think you could say that. It started with a phone call from my mom. She told me that one of her coworkers had friends in town, and they were looking for a house sitter. “Why can’t they get one of their own friends to house sit?” I asked. I was a bit skeptical, but my mom said that the family had just moved from somewhere up north, and they didn’t know anyone yet. “They’re nice, though,” my mom said. “And they’re going to be in town for a good while. They might be able to set you up with a few more jobs.” I agreed, and a meeting was set up. Then I met the woman. Her name was Cynthia, and she was middle-aged, with curly brown hair. She seemed nice enough, but there was something standoffish about her. Or maybe I just thought that because she was rich. Cynthia lived in a large house in a gated community. I’d never really seen houses like that in person before. I was kind of overwhelmed. Inside the house, Cynthia had an in-law suite. The in-law suite was a private room with a bathroom and a queen-sized bed, and that’s where I’d be staying. “You’ll have your own bedroom and bathroom,” she said, “but you’ll be sharing the kitchen.” “Okay. I guess that’s fine.” Cynthia smiled, as though I’d passed a test. “I thought you’d be okay with it,” she said. “Now, let’s talk about the job.” “Yes, of course.” “So I have two kids,” she said. “They’re both boys. One is six, and the other is eight. You’ll need to watch them sometimes.” “That’s fine.” “I also have a husband. His name is Landen, but he won’t be around. He’s away on business.” I nodded, and Cynthia told me when she needed me to start. Then I went home. I moved into the in-law suite two weeks later. Cynthia and her kids were already gone, but she’d left me a note on the fridge. Hi. If you need anything, my number is at the bottom of this note. I live in a condominium in California. I won’t be back until January 1, when the holiday is over. Make yourself at home, and don’t hesitate to throw anything out if you don’t like it. Also, remember that you need to water my plants twice a week. If you forget, that’s okay. But if I come home to dead plants, there will be a problem. The kids have a babysitter, but some nights you will need to watch them. Their schedules are on a piece of paper in their room. Also, don’t open the door to anyone without looking first. If someone is at the door, and you don’t know who they are, don’t answer it. Just let them ring the doorbell until they go away. Call the police if they don’t go away. Thanks. And thanks again for house sitting. -Cynthia I crumpled up the note and threw it away. I thought it was a little strange that Cynthia didn’t leave a key. But maybe she’d given it to the babysitter. I went upstairs to explore the house. There was no one on the first or second floor. I figured that the kids had already gone to sleep. I walked around the house a bit, but it was huge. I didn’t find much, other than Cynthia’s bedroom. It had a king-sized bed, as well as a walk-in closet. I didn’t snoop too much, since it was a woman’s closet. But it was very neat and tidy. I was a bit jealous, to be honest. My own closet was a mess. I saw a few pictures around the house, all of Cynthia and her family. Sometimes it was just her, sometimes it was her and the kids, and sometimes it was her, the kids, and a man. I figured that the man was Landen, and that he was just on a business trip. It made me a bit nervous, knowing that I’d be alone in the house with kids, but I’d already taken the job. If anything went wrong, I could call Cynthia. I had her number. The next morning, I went downstairs. I was seeking out the kids, because I’d heard them a bit the night before. They were arguing about something, but I couldn’t tell what they were saying. I didn’t intervene, because I figured that they’d stop if I gave them time. Besides, it wasn’t that late. And the babysitter might have been there for all I knew. I didn’t see the babysitter at any point, but the kids did seem better in the morning. They were calm, and they didn’t seem scared or anything. I was a bit worried, since I was a stranger, but they were okay. Their names were Jamie and Lucas. Jamie was six, and Lucas was eight. They were both very talkative, but they were overall well-behaved. I had breakfast with them. They ate cereal, and I ate some fruit that I’d brought from home. Then I spent the day playing with them. The first day wasn’t bad. I got used to the kids, and the kids got used to me. I was a bit eager for Cynthia to come back, but that was okay. I figured I’d only be there for a month or so. It wasn’t a big deal. But as the days went on, things started to get weird. The first weird thing happened a few days after I moved in. It was nighttime, and the kids were asleep. I was watching some TV, and I was thinking about going to bed myself. Then I heard footsteps. I froze, because I knew I was the only person in the house. The kids were asleep, and Cynthia was gone. There was no one else in the house. I was positive of that. Still, I heard footsteps. It sounded like someone was walking around. I stood up, and I went to check out the noise. It sounded like it was coming from the kitchen, so that’s where I went. No one was there. I called out, asking if anyone was there. No one answered. “Hello?” I said. “I know that someone’s there. Come on.” I wandered around the first floor, but I didn’t see anyone. In the end, I decided that it had been the house settling. The next night, I heard footsteps again. This time, it sounded like someone was running down the stairs. I freaked out, because I’d been dozing on the couch. I stood up, and I went to see where the footsteps had gone. I didn’t see anyone in the living room or the kitchen, so I went upstairs. That’s where I found Jamie and Lucas. They were sitting on the floor of Jamie’s room. They were talking, but they stopped when they saw me. “Hey,” Jamie said. “What are you doing?” “I heard some footsteps. I thought someone was in the house.” Jamie and Lucas exchanged a look. “It’s okay,” Lucas said. “There’s no one in the house. Go back to bed.” I was a bit skeptical, but in the end, I decided to listen to them. I went back downstairs, and I went to sleep. I didn’t hear any more footsteps that night. The next day, I asked the kids about the footsteps. We were at breakfast, and Jamie looked at me. “Did you hear something?” he asked. “Yes. Last night, it sounded like someone was running down the stairs.” Lucas looked at the floor. “That’s just dad,” he said. I frowned. “Cynthia said that he’s away on business.” Lucas shrugged. “He probably is. But sometimes, he’s in the house.” My stomach did a twist. “But Cynthia said he wasn’t here,” I repeated. Jamie looked at me. “He isn’t. Trust me, he’s not.” I sighed, and I rubbed my eyes. “Look, I don’t want to upset you guys, but I really don’t think that your dad is in the house. Unless... unless one of you feels like your dad is still here,

I was paid to house sit for a woman. She never told me that her husband was dead.

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