Jasper

I woke up in a pool of sweat. Very unusual for me. I rolled over in my damp covers and took the clock from my night stand. ‘4:35 AM’ It read. I groaned and rolled on my back as I let go of the clock and it fell to the ground with a light thud. Why must I wake up two hours earlier than I normally do.

I groaned once more as I rolled out of bed and slowly moved to the bathroom. Once in the bathroom I locked the door behind me and striped down to nothing. I turned on the shower and stepped in.

I was probably in for an hour or so. When I got out the shower I could hear my brother yelling at some unknown thing or person and I could smell the bacon and pancakes aroma from downstairs coming up to my room and making me more hungry than I already was.

I stepped out the shower and wrapped and towel securely around my body. I cleared the steam on my mirror from my shower and looked at my damp reflection. After making sure my towel was tightly wrapped around my body I took a brush from my counter and my blow dryer and started blow drying my hair and making it wavy instead of my natural strawberry blond hair.

Once I was finished and most of the steam exited the bathroom I could almost feel a presence in the other room. I held the towel against my body and entered the small room. I sat on the Murphy bed and looked out the window. The view was almost the same as the one in my room, but a bit off.

I couldn’t figure out what to do with this room. Weather to turn it into another closet, keep it sealed off, or something different. I stood from the tiny bed attached to the wall and turned towards the door. I nearly peed myself when I saw the small black cat come through the door.

“Midnight! You scared the shit out of me.” I talked to the cat as if it were a real person. I didn’t pick her up since I just took a shower. I just pet her head gently and walked back in the bathroom, lightly closing the maid’s door behind me.

I let out a ear wrecking scream as I entered the bathroom. My heart was racing and it was suddenly getting hot. I fanned myself and I looked in the mirror through the words written in my cherry red lipstick.

I heard my brothers heavy footsteps running into my room. He knocked on my door three times before yelling, “Carly, what the hell in going on in there?”

“C-come in…” I croaked out.

Ian burst through the door and looked at me with question in his eyes. “Please tell me you did that…” I said to him, slightly out of breath.

Ian’s eyes widened as he saw the neatly scrawled words on the mirror. “N-no. Did you?” He screeched. This was one of the few times I saw him scared. I could see the fear in his eyes. He knew about this house like everyone else in this town did. The only other times I’ve seen him like this is when dad leaves and when Grandma died.

“Now why would I do this?” I asked him and leaned on the counter to catch my breath. I picked up my ruined lipstick and whined, “Aw my lipstick is ruined. It was my favorite.”

“Well you looked like a whore with it on anyway.” He commented and ran his fingers though his wet hair. I could tell he just got out the shower, just like me. He was wearing some fitting pants and no shirt. For my brother, he had a nice body. But he was definitely the ugliest in the family. Well to me anyway.

I heard light footsteps come through my door. Ian and I turned our heads as we watched our mother come through the door. Her heels clicked on the tile floor of the bathroom. She faced the mirror and looked at the writing.

“Stay away from the evil,” She read out loud. She rolled her eyes, “For God’s sake please clean this up Carly. I don’t want any of these haunted house rumors going around.”

“Mom, you’ve got to believe me. It wasn’t me. I was in the maids quarters room thing and when I came back in this was written on the mirror.” I argued with her.

“I know it wasn’t you dear,” She said to me and picked up the ruined lipstick that was laying in my hand. “First of all you would never ruin your favorite lipstick. Secondly why would you write something like that on your mirror. I don’t believe in ghosts but I don’t want to drive them in more by being afraid. Now clean this up before you get to school. Which is in an hour so you better hurry.” She walked out the room without a word more.

I looked at Ian and asked, “Am I the only one thinking that ghosts really do exist now?”

“No, not at all. I was thinking the same thing.” Ian replied walking out the room as well. I sighed and took a damp paper towel and started to clean the mirror. I watched as the cherry red smeared all over the mirror before disappearing completely.

I hurried into my walk in closet and dropped the towel on the floor before getting dressed in a basic white v-neck, striped cardigan, and plain skinny jeans. I put on some black flats with a bow on the toe, grabbed my pink bag, and headed out my bedroom door and down the stairs.

I hurried in the kitchen and saw my brother was nearly finished with his breakfast. I looked at the time. Good golly, I only have five minutes to eat. I skipped my usual breakfast meal and took a apple from a silver bowl on the kitchen table.

“Come one Carly, you take forever.” Ian said standing up from the table and grabbing his backpack from the floor. I rolled my eyes and quickly chewed on my apple as we exited the house. We got in the large truck and drove the few miles to school.

Once we got to school I threw my apple remains in a nearby trash can. Ian and I parted and I made my way to my first period. I entered the class room and sat in the same spot as I did yesterday.

I tried to tune out the whispers about me. Of course I knew they were about me. Any sentence with the words Whitney, house, and haunted. Were about me. The sad thing is, I might actually start to believe them. But who am I kidding? It was just one little thing written on the mirror. Its not like there’s paranormal activity two ghosts in my house.

I started to get my stuff out my bag as I heard footsteps come toward my desk.

“How was your second night in the Whitney home?” I smiled at the familiar voice. I looked up and saw Nat sitting on my desk with a basketball in his lap and the beautiful crooked smile plastered on his face.

“It was nice. Except this morning someone wrote on my mirror with my favorite red lipstick.” I muttered remembering the way the words were written on the mirror. Perfect cursive, something that looked like it took hours to write.

Nathan gasped, “What did it say?” He asked in all seriousness.

“Stay away or something along the lines. Nothing to serious.” I shooed it away, hoping to switch to another topic.

“Nothing serious? Carly, what if there really are ghosts living in your home?” He asked looking straight in my eyes.

I put down my notebook and looked directly at him without breaking eye contact. “There are not such thing as ghosts.”

“You’ll believe it when you see it. They all do.” I rolled my eyes and watched as Nat went back to his seat when the bell rang and the teacher walked in.

I guess we’ll never figure out who wrote that on my bathroom mirror today. Ghosts aren’t real. I know that for a fact.

*

“Ian!” I yelled into the house once I got in. The little bitch left me at school and I had to walk home. I walked into the kitchen and saw a note left on the counter for me.

“Ian and Carly, went out to buy groceries. Be back by three. Love mom.” I read the note out loud. I crumpled it up and threw it in the trash. I walked to the stair case and dropped my bag on the first stair and hurried up the stairs and into my room. Once in my room I collapsed on the bed. I took a hair tie from my wrist and put my hair in a lose high bun.

I bounced my bun on my head as I found my remote under my covers and turned on the television. I switched to the movie channels and started to watch Dear John. This movie often made me cry. Due to the fact that my dad is in the military. I’m only watching it at the moment because Channing Tatum is hot.

A few minutes into the movie I heard a loud thud come from my bathroom. I paused the movie and walked in my bathroom. I quickly checked the mirror. Good, nothing there. I slowly opened the extra door and saw Midnight on the Murphy bed. She hissed at me before jumping off the bed and coming towards me. She rubbed her body against my leg and purred before scampering off.

I rolled my eyes. That is the most bi polar cat I’ve ever met. I closed the door behind me and walked back in my room. I sat on my bed, ready to finish watching Dear John when I heard another noise. This time it wasn’t coming from the extra room. I looked to my left and saw an attractive young boy standing in my doorway.

He couldn’t be more than sixteen. He had dark hair and moss green eyes. He had a cute little smirk plastered on his face. Much like the one Nathan always had. He was wearing a nice button down shirt and some slacks.

“I didn’t realize my brother was home. And you are?” I said to him.

“I don’t know about this brother that you speak of.” He said in a nice old western accent.

“Ian. You know Ian right. You’re a friend of my brother and must of wondered in my room by mistake.”

“Sorry,” He said coming towards me, “I don’t know Ian. But I do know you Carly Miller. Your in great danger. You have to leave this house.”

I sucked in some air and rolled my eyes, “Right. You’re here to tell me I’m a freak for living in a supposed haunted house. You could get out now before I call the cops for trespass.”

“That wont be necessary.” He answered, kneeling down by my bed.

“Right and why is that?” I asked giving him a little smirk.

“I’m Jasper,” He answered.

“Right Jasper, the guy whose supposed to haunt this house. If you want to scare me your going to have to do a bit more than that ‘Jasper’.” I put air quotes around his supposed name, “Now what’s your real name.”

“As I said before. I’m Jasper Whitney of the Whitney family. And your living in my house.” I honestly didn’t believe a word this guy was saying. That was the last thing I heard before blacking out.

*

The girl groaned and whined as I inched closer to her with a very familiar tool in my hands. Her friend sat in terror, afraid to even blink. I could see the sadness in their eyes. Sad for what they did. They did wrong, and I was the only one to set them straight. Young girls and boys all in Maine.

“We didn’t do anything wrong!” One of the young girls scram at me.

“Oh, but you did child. Don’t you see the sins you have acted upon this state?” I asked her a question she wouldn’t dare to answer.

“The least you can do is untie her. Its not right that I’m untied and she is not.” The girl spoke up for her best friend who couldn’t speak.

“Your right, I like to hear them scream.” I said with a evil smirk on my face. I took the cloth from the girls mouth and walked a few steps toward the door as the two girls said loving words to each other.

I opened the door and reviled my soon to be daughter in law. I smiled at her, “Come in Danielle. You must witness the family business.”

The beautiful girl before me picked up her heavy dress and walked in, sitting down on a clean bench.

I stopped the two girls words when I walked between the two. I grabbed the whip from the table.

“Have no mercy.” I said before slashing the young girls back, making her actions no more.