Eric

Once Abby and her parents left I lay down on my bed and started reading Outcast. It's about a man who cut himself off from society. It's not for everyone. I had just got comfortable when the front door slammed. I jump and toss my comic book under my pillow. Dan was home and I could hear him stomping up the stairs. I sit myself at my computer and begin typing to finish my 5-page paper.

He bursts into my room and he looks right at me. "What the fuck were our neighbors here for?" Dan asked with narrowed eyes. He shuts my door and crosses his arms. I swallow hard in fear of what was about to happen. "Uh they…" I begin trying not to look scared "They were just asking me a question." I try with a thin smile. It wasn't very convincing though.

Dan unfolds his arms and comes closer "What. Did. They. Want. Exactly?" He asks slowly. I couldn't say anything about why they really were here. I wouldn't do that to them. They were the first neighbors I ever liked. "Answer me!" he yells in my face. "They wanted to know about a yard care question." I squeak out. He moves away from me and gives me a dark look I have seen before. "That's not what they said."

"Get up" he demands angrily. I'm to frozen to obey his words, so he grabs my shoulder and yanks me up. He tosses me to the floor. He is on top of me and I can feel his fist land into my stomach. My soft flesh gives into his fist and it makes me feel sick. He gets up off of me and leaves me on the floor. He always only hit me once or twice. As if he knew that I couldn't handle more. He knows I am too weak. I fucking hate being such an easy target.

An hour later a bruise had already started to form on my stomach a few inches away from my belly button. I also had small bruises on my shoulder where Dan had grabbed me. I pull my shirt back on and exit the bathroom right as my mom walks up the stairs. "Supper is on your own. Your dad was called into work and I'm going to a spinning class." "He's not my dad." I reply in a tired tone.

She brushes my hair behind my ear "Just make sure you eat. I'll be home late. Love you" She smiles and gives me a hug before leaving. I'm not hungry, so I go to my bed and lay down. I plug in my ear buds and listen to a playlist I made myself. I jump when I feel a cold hand touch my arm. I sit up and yank the buds out of my ear. "Fuck. Abby you can't just do that!"

She gives me a devious smile "Sorry" she replies. There was an undertone that made me curious and also slightly worried. "What's up?" I ask. Her faces creases with worry. "My parents aren't at home and they didn't leave a note." I nod and come up with a logical explanation "Maybe they went to the store or out on a date and will be home soon?"

She smiles at me "No Eric… there is a broken toaster oven in my back yard as well as blood stains all over the yard and patio." "Oh…" I pause "Does your phone have a tracker app?" She squints her eyes "Yeah my parents installed it on all our phones." "Can I see it?" I ask getting off of my bed and walking towards my door.

She follows and slips her phone out of her pants pocket "Yeah. Here" she says handing it to me with the password already entered. I scroll through her apps and find the tracker app. I type some things in and it shows a red dot in the middle of the desert. "Okay. Let's go." I say as I hand her the phone back.

She follows me to the garage "Where are we going?" She asks in a tone I can't decipher. "To find your parents. I need you to direct me where to go." "Okay well how are we getting there?" I grab the keys to Dan's car off of the hook in the garage "Simple. I'm driving." She breaks into a smile "Wild." I grin and unlock the door "Just don't say anything to Dan" I say once we are on the road. "Of course not" she says genuinely.

"Turn left. Do you think they killed someone?" Abby asks me. "Don't jump to any conclusions. But yeah probably." I turn left and look over at Abby. "Hey… if your mom did kill someone it's not her fault. She's not able to control herself. Her id controls her now." Abby is looking at me with sad eyes, but she gives me a nod "I know…I just don't know how I feel about murder being added to my life."

I see two shapes of people in the distant and feel pretty confident that they are Abby's parents. I look over at Abby and she looks paler than normal.

Abby

I could see them. As we got closer it became clearer that were definitely burying a body. "Oh my flipping fuck, Eric! They are obviously burying a body." Eric pulls to stop in front of my parents who are covered in blood. I started freaking. "Abby." Eric's voice draws me out of it "You don't have to face them. You can stay in here. You don't have to worry about anything." He gives me a smile which makes me feel oddly calm.

He gets out and I turn my head to see my dad running at him with a shovel. "What the hell?" I say. I open my door and shout "Dad!" he stops and looks over at me. "Oh hey honey" he says in a weird voice. Eric doesn't look scared even though my dad just tried to fucking kill him. I get out and look at my mom. She was covered in blood and there was a hole in the ground. I look over at Eric who remained calm even as he took in the scene before us.

We lock eyes and I don't feel as sick as I probably should. I'm still well-aware that my parents killed someone. Without thinking I ask in a rather shrill voice "Did you guys kill someone?" My dad defends himself and my mother by shouting "Fuck! No we were driving and…" then my mom jumps in and steps closer to me "Yes." She says softly. At least she showed remorse, but I still felt this pounding in my head and heat rolled up my stomach. This was all so fucked up.

"It was Gary. He wouldn't listen to my words!" She says trying to explain. "Listen… if you want me to go away. I will. I would never want to hurt you." My dad steps forward and automatically protests "No! Sheila… you aren't going anywhere. You're where you belong." My eyes dart to Eric and he still had this lazy calm smile that calmed me so I turn to my mom and nod. I hug her and make sure to avoid the blood.

I pull away and we all look at Eric who is now filling in the hole. "Sorry. Just the less time spent at a crime scene the better." He had a sheepish smile. I needed his calmness to keep me calm, but I felt so bad for involving him. "What do you know about crime scenes?" My dad asks. His stress must be running home because duh. His step-dad is a cop.

"Well I spend a lot of time on the internet and I live with a cop" Eric says nonchalantly as he continues to fill the hole. "Did you eat his keys?" Eric asks kindly to my mom. "No" she says dumbfounded by his actions. "Good we will need them. Did he have anybody in town?" "No he just moved here." "Perfect!" Eric exclaims.

I pick up a shovel and begin helping Eric with cleaning the crime scene. It wasn't fair for him to do all of the work. As we fill in the hole and cover up the stained dirt from where my parents had spilled the blood and guts onto the ground, Eric gives directions to my parents. He told them to go clean up, be careful then go to Gary's house and make it look like he left and in a hurry. He also gave them directions on what to do with his car and how to avoid leaving any DNA traces.

He was scary good at this, but that is a strong point for a creeper. They left as soon as he was done giving directions. The hole was almost filled. "How are you feeling?" Eric asks as soon as the car was gone. "I'll be honest. This put a hitch into my day. I'll be fine though" I say looking at him. He locks his eyes with mine before talking "You don't have to lie to me. I can't even begin to understand how you feel."

"Fine, Eric you want the truth? I'm freaking out!" "That's good. That's normal." Eric replies calmly. He takes my shovel and I watch him walk over the hole to pack it down. "What even is normal anymore!?" I try not to shout, but I'm panicking. Eric is putting the shovels into the trunk. He closes the trunk lid and turns to look at me. He gives me a small smile "Is it okay if I hug you? You look like you need a hug."

I don't answer him. I just step forward and sink into his arms.