The Ghost of You

“Why do we have to go to this worthless shit of a house?” Michaela grumbled to her parents as they approached the family’s vacation house. It was quite a large house for it just to be a vacation house, and there was definitely plenty to do in the area, but she just didn’t want to hear it. She wanted to be home this summer with her friends, tired of the same old house the family had been visiting together for years on end, complete with the same dull activities Mr. and Mrs. Iero had their daughter participate in and the same strange Way family that always accompanied them.

Ignoring her earlier comment, Mr. Iero began to speak.

“Oh, look; we’re here!” he stated, obviously mock-happily. Come to think of it, Michaela’s parents were usually just as thrilled as she was to visit the old vacation home. Every conversation that was held in the house had been forced in a desperate attempt to experience happiness and warmth between the families, although nothing but awkward silence resulted each and every time a conversation took place. Michaela just shrugged it off, deciding to switch her overflowing imagination off for a while. She didn’t want to stumble into something she wasn’t ready to hear, like her parents getting a divorce or separation of some sort.

“Donna and her crew should be here any minute now,” Mrs. Iero sighed, taking a long drag from her cigarette while her husband began to unpack the trunk of their minivan.

“Throw me the keys, will you?” Mr. Iero breathed, already seemingly exhausted from carrying the heavy luggage that his wife made him haul into the house year after boring year.

Michaela looked over for just a moment, throwing her father the keys and sitting patiently on the steps. A familiar blue sports car pulled into the driveway, signaling the newfound company of the Way family. Michaela just groaned. She wanted nothing more than to be at home, making summer plans with her friends and avoiding the nerdy Way brothers at all costs. Sure, they were nice people, but there was strangeness about them, and they were definitely not people she would allow herself to be seen with back home in Belleville.

“Honey,” Michaela’s mother started, looking straight at her, “bear with us, okay? I know you’re sick of these boys, but they can’t be that bad, can they? They’re only boys. They’re practically harmless!”

Michaela just shrugged. “They’re fucking weird, Mom.”

And with that, her mother gently spanked the back of her head. “Watch your language, sweetheart. A real lady doesn’t swear.” A sinister smile spread across the woman’s face, leading to a flashback.

~~~

“You’ve been a bad, bad boy!” Mrs. Iero roared.

A boy who looked to be in his teens squirmed, trying desperately to rid himself of his mother’s deadly grip.

“I hate you!” the boy screamed. “I fucking hate you so much! You’re the worst parent in the fucking world, and I hate you!” With that, he spit in his mother’s face.

“Oh, you’ve done it now,” Mrs. Iero warned, causing a shriek to escape from the boy’s mouth, his lip ring shining in the moonlight. A loud rip echoed through the night air, soon followed by a screeching noise that only Michaela would know was the boy suffering before her tiny, infant eyes.

“Oh, calm down, Frank!” the mother shouted. “You’ll wake the entire house.”

“I don’t care!” the boy, known as Frank, spat, blood falling from where his lip ring had been just seconds ago. “Dad should know what you’ve been doing to me! Donna should know, Donald should know! Fuck, Gee and Mikey already know!” He kicked his mother square in the shin, a squeal of shock arising from her throat.

“I think it’s time for your real punishment, son…,” Mrs. Iero trailed off; too busy abusing her eldest child.

“No!” he screamed. “Dad! Gerard! Anyone! Help me!” He shouted for his friends and family with all his might, but it wasn’t enough.

As they approached the bathroom, Mrs. Iero cracked Frank’s head against the doorframe, pulling him inside and setting him in the tub.

“What in the fuck are you doing to me?” Frank shouted, blood seeping from the side of his head. His eyes fluttered. Knowing he had a concussion from past experiences, he forced his eyes open. He wasn’t planning on dying that night.

“Why, Frankie,” his mother began gently, “I’m only teaching you a lesson. With bad behavior comes punishment, son. You should know that by now.” A sinister smile spread across her face before she turned on the scalding hot water, pulling Frank’s body out of the tub and holding his head under the running faucet.

~~~

Michaela blinked herself back into reality, staring at her mother out of curiosity and bewilderment. She looked back, concerned.

“Is something wrong, honey?”

Michaela remained silent for a few seconds, unsure of what to say. “No, nothing’s wrong. Nothing at all…” she trailed off, still curious about the boy from her imagination.

She had had plenty of dreams including him and his death, but she had yet to know who he was exactly. It seemed like he could be her brother, but Michaela was an only child. Her parents hadn’t had another child… had they?