Taylor walked home from school excited to hang out with her family because Friday was game night. When she got home her little brother, Simon, was playing video games. Taylor went to the fridge to get a snack. On the fridge there was a little note. It read, “Taylor go upstairs.” It was from her mom who was supposed to be at work. 

“Why wouldn’t she just call me?” Taylor asked herself. She glimpsed at the note again then proceeded to walk up the stairs. On her way up the stairs she kept hearing this calming and familiar voice calling her name “Taylor, Taylor, Taylor.” It felt like it was luring her into a trap. The voice was broken by Taylor’s phone which started to ring. It was her mom. “Hi honey, I’m on my way home from work.” She  thought how could mom be at work if she was upstairs. This must be some kind of trap. All of a sudden there was a loud crash from upstairs and she ran up to find her dad sitting on her little brother’s bed. He was squeezing his teddy bear close to his chest. It seemed like something had come over him and he looked Taylor in her big blue eyes and said, “I want you to know I love you more than anything.” She was confused why her dad was telling her this. “Of course, I know that!” Dad had been acting so weird lately. He would not come to dinners, stay in his room all the time, and barely ever talk to anyone. She kept asking her mom what was wrong and each time she would get mad and tell Taylor to mind her own business.
Her dad offered to make Simon and her some food so she went downstairs and waited. He made them turkey and cheese sandwiches just like he used to. They talked for a long time about school and how their day was. Taylor felt like things were maybe going back to normal and whatever phase her father was in might go away. What was really weird was every time Simon would talk Steve would look around the house in a paranoid way. His eyes would flicker and he would start to fidget like he does when he’s nervous.
Taylor walked up stairs and decided to go into her dads room to see if maybe there was an answer as to why he was being weird. There were tons of pictures sorted out all over the floor. She went over to look at them and was shocked! They were pictures of Simon. Coming home from school, walking on the street, and talking on the bus to his friends.  She wondered why he had all of these. She flipped one of the pictures over and saw some kind of wording on the back. It was in red and in very big letters. It had a date on it. 9/11/14. That was today. Taylor wondered what it meant and why he had so many pictures. She was scared and didn’t know what to think or do.
She began to scramble and look through all of the pictures, but none of the others had writing on the back. All of a sudden a rock came up and hit the window so hard it broke! She screamed and ran over to see who did it. No one was there. She yelled her dad’s name to come and look, but no answer. Then she called for Simon, but no answer.  What was happening! Taylor looked down and saw a piece of glass stuck to her foot so she went to go sit on the bed and pull it out. Just then  another rock flew through the window. Taylor turned and it hit her right in the head! She fell to the floor with blood pouring everywhere. It was dark and she was scared “who did this?” she repeatedly said to herself as she closed her eyes.
Taylor woke up to loud screams coming from someone. She had a terrible headache and was in a confused state. As the screams continued she realized they were coming from Simon in the basement.
The basement was somewhere Taylor never really went because she always heard noises and it wasn’t finished. It was dark with a bunch of pipes and she never had any desire to be down there. As she walked down the stairs it was suddenly silent. Just the sound of her feet creeking on the stairs. She stopped at the door.
All that Taylor wanted to do was fix her head, cry, and curl up in a ball, but  she had to help her little brother. Taylor kicked open the door and saw Simon lying there asleep, or passed out, she didn’t know. She ran over to him and set his head on her lap.
A dark shadow came over Taylor and grabbed her shoulder. The touch went through her whole body shaking her to the bone. She slowly turned around to see a   face but it was dark and she couldn’t tell who it was. They smelled ever so familiar and she couldn’t pin it on where she remembered the smell. Taylor stuttered the words “whaaat what do you want?” No reply. She repeated herself “whaaat what do you want?” Again no reply.
At that moment Taylor knew what she had to do. She must save her little brother. Without thinking she got up and pulled Simon to his feet. At this point he slowly opened his eyes.  She could hear the person behind her.  She screamed and told her little brother to run.
Taylor looked back and saw everything in a blur. Simon fell to the floor. Stabbed and killed. Blood was everywhere.  She cried hoping maybe he was okay. She kept repeating to herself, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” thinking maybe if she did things differently or if they didn’t try to run he would be okay.
Taylor was so upset she forgot that the murderer was still in the basement.  She turned to look back as the tears ran down her face and saw the person come into the light and she couldn’t believe her eyes.
The strange figure looked up. She saw those blue eyes and blonde hair. The way he looked at her had seemed like he was upset and regretful. The smell finally came into place. Taylor’s eyes went into focus and she saw the tall figure. Her father. Their own dad had just killed his son. Taylor was so in shock she didn’t know how to reply or what to say. Millions of thoughts ran through her mind as she questioned what had forced her dad to do this. Ever since Taylor could remember they were one of the happiest families. Never fought and always had smiles on their faces. Her mind instantly went back to those pictures and the rock that hit her in her head and the strange voice calling her name. Maybe it was a dream. She pinched herself over and over again and continued to say “wake up, wake up.” She looked down at Simon and he was cold and frozen. Memories flashed back to when they were younger and happy. Simon’s life was taken from him. It wasn’t fair. She kept thinking it should’ve been her. He was so young. Taylor looked at her hands covered in blood and closed her eyes hoping it would all go away.
The next several hours were a blur. Her mom came home from work. The look on her mom’s face was something she would never forget. It was almost torture having to watch a mother look at her dead son. They hugged each other tight as her mom promised her she would never let Taylor go.
The cops came to take her dad away. They wouldn’t stop asking her questions about what happened and what she knew. Taylor was speechless and told them she would have to answer their questions later. Neighbors and friends began to surround hugging and asking questions. She heard the whispers as her dad came out with handcuffs on him. Taylor ran over to her father because she knew it would be the last time she might get to see him. She couldn’t believe her dad was a murderer.  No matter what anyone else thought she would always remember what a good father he had been. He looked her in the eyes and whispered something that shocked her. Something she would never ever forget. 

“I’m sorry, it had to be done. Maybe some day you’ll understand.” he whispered and got into the car and left forever.