A laptop lit up her room, Sadie sat on the floor against the bed. You had fallen asleep by now. It was still hard to believe. You, of all people, the most popular cheerleader at school, the same girl she's had a crush on since the fifth grade, was looking after her and her family.
You had offered to stay over, take care of Sawyer and give her dad a break. How could she say no? Plus, she got extra time with you. So, win-win. And she did get that extra time, she got more time than she thought she would. She even got cuddles. Then the both of you fell asleep.
Sadie woke up not too long after, still late at night. The whole house was asleep. She sat on the floor, laptop open and back pressed against the bed. The screen lit up her face, volume on the low as she watched a video on how to communicate with spirits. God, she was resorting to self-proclaimed psychics on YouTube to try and contact her recently deceased mom.
She felt stupid. It looked stupid too. Sadie held up a lighter, flicking it on, the video playing on in the background.
"Remember that person, a happy memory, their scent, their sound. Scream their name in your head. Then ask them to bend the flame to the left."
Oh Lord. She didn't speak, about to, but then the door cracked open and there Sawyer stood. Her little sister. A bit of blood on the corner of her lip. Like she had tried to cosplay as a dollar store vampire. "Sawyer..?" She asked as you stirred in the sheets, the light from the hallway almost blinding you for a moment.
"There's something in my room."
She said. The sentence was omnious, especially after the man today. What Sadie heard in her mother's closet. A fight. A shuffle. Then silence. And the man known as Lester Billings, was hung on the closet door. He told her dad about some.. shadow monster. That supposedly killed his kids. Maybe Sawyer just got scared from hearing it. That's probably why she was picking up on this. "You're bleeding.." she said.
You sat up, rubbing your eyes. "Huh..?" A groggy undertone to your voice, eyes half-lidded. God, you were hot when you woke up. Sadie shook the thought off and walked over to Sawyer, "Say 'aw'β" she prodded. The little girl obliged and Sadie nodded. It was her tooth that was about to come out. Bloody.
"Found the culprit." She turned the light on, looking at you for another moment before she took care of Sawyer. The both of you sat her on a chair as she tied a thin string to Sawyer's loose tooth, tying the other end to the door. You held Sawyer's shoulders for her support. A hesitance came from the little girl as Sadie count up to three.
"We don't have to do thisβ" Sadie's voice was cut off by the door slamming in its own, pulling the tooth out.