Read Nightwitch for Free Online

“Do you have to go out tonight?” She hated it when her mom went out on dates and left her home alone. She hated all her mother’s new friends. The men and the women, but mostly the men. She wished her father would come back. She wanted it to be like it used to be, her father home right after work, with a kiss and hug for her, her mother with dinner on the table, her father playing with her after dinner, television with mom and dad, her mother tucking her in and telling her a bedtime story as she drifted off to sleep. Now all that was gone.
    “ Yes, I do. I’m going to dinner with a nice man. It hasn’t been so easy on me since your father left, you know.” She pouted and fixed Carolina with a soulful stare. She looked like she might cry, and she would have fooled anyone else, but not Carolina. She was a fine actress. She should be in the movies, Carolina thought.
    “ It hasn’t been easy on me either. And what if I hear things, I mean noises, in the house, like I did last night?”
    “ Carolina, I told you that’s all in your imagination.” The phony sadness was gone now. “There are no things and no noises in this house at night, and I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t bring it up again.”
    “ Yes, Mother.” Now it was Carolina’s turn to put on a phony pout.
    “ And don’t, Yes Mother, me. You know I don’t like that.”
    “ Okay, Mom.”
    “ That’s better.” Her mother flounced down on the love seat and looked at her watch.
    “ Will you be back early?” Carolina asked.
    “ I’ll be back when I’m back. You’ll be fine. Just keep the doors locked and don’t let anyone in.”
    “ Okay, Mom,” Carolina said with obvious resignation. She didn’t get time to say anything else, because she was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.
    Her mother popped off the couch and almost skipped toward Carolina, kissing her on the forehead. “You be good now. I’ll try not to be too late.” Then she went out the front door and into the night. Carolina wasn’t even curious enough to peek through the curtain to see what the man looked like.
    She put her hands down on the seat and pushed herself off the couch. She had to pee. She was halfway to the bathroom when she heard the scratching noise. She stopped, smiled, reversed herself and headed toward her bedroom. This was a friendly scratching noise. Mom was gone and it was time to feed Sheila.
    “ Okay, girl, I’m coming.” She went into her bedroom, opened her bottom dresser drawer and laughed as the white ferret jumped out and scurried up onto her shoulder. It nuzzled her ear. “You always know when Mom’s not home, don’t you?” The animal’s body wiggled its yes answer.
    Carolina opened the top drawer and pulled her underwear and tee shirts aside to get at the dried cat food underneath. Having a secret pet was fun, but soon she was going to have to tell her mother, because soon she was going to be out of food and she would need some money to get more. Money she didn’t have, her allowance didn’t go far enough.
    She opened one of the small packages with her teeth and laid out the contents on the corner of her dresser and giggled as the ferret leapt off her shoulder onto the dresser top and started to eat.
    “ Hungry, huh? Okay, you eat and I’ll go and get some water.” She rubbed the animal’s back and giggled when it wiggled. “I’ll be right back.” She was happy as she left the bedroom and headed toward the kitchen. She still had to go to the bathroom, but she could hold it till she got a bowl full of water for her pet. After all, Sheila depended on her. She could go pee anytime. She closed the door to her bedroom, so Sheila couldn’t run about the house, and went for the water.
    She turned on the light when she entered the kitchen. She shivered a little. It was cold. She opened the cupboard by the refrigerator, took out a bowl and went to the sink. She turned on the water. Then she heard it, a crackling kind of sound from