13- Dolls Shouldn't Talk

Sitting at the kitchen table, I was thinking of ways to make her talk. I was going to pretend I never saw her move, I was going to play a game. "Let's go find you a friend," I say, walking into Sophia's room. Picking a barbie off the shelf, I take the dolls to my room, locking the door behind me.

Sitting in the middle of the room, I start to get creative. "Hello, Ms. Nicole, what brings you into my office this afternoon?" I Cross the dolls arms, making her seem important. "Are you going to tell me? I need an answer, Nicole." Minutes go by, she doesn't say anything. Grabbing a pin off the dresser, I put it toward her neck. "This will only hurt a little." I make the barbie say, playing the part.

As the pin pokes her neck, I saw her flinch. My eyes widened, seeing how this was working. "We're not finished yet, Nicole. I need to make sure your brain is intact." Lifting the dolls hair, I poke her head. "Hey, knock that off." I hear her say. I jump back, her voice scared me. Holding Grace down, I start interrogating her. "What do you want?" I ask, holding the pin against her chest. "What do I want?" She says back, " I want souls, I eat them."

I shake my head, "you can't have any from here. Go find some somewhere else." She rolls her eyes, smiling like a demonic clown. "I need a soul by midnight, if I can't have one, I'll take your most innocent soul. They're not even born yet." Hearing her say that made my stomach turn, who could harm an infant? Thinking about ways to stop her, I come across a solution in my head. "What about spirits?"

She rubs her hands together, "spirits, you say?" I nod my head, "I know where some are." I knew where the darkest souls lurked, and it would help get rid of them. "Where are they?" She demanded, I point out my window. "They're at the cottage over there, they are pretty nasty souls." She stood up, peering out the window. "The nastier the better, let's go then."

"On one condition," I cross my arms, she nods. "And, what's that?" I pick her up, looking directly in her eyes. "You may not touch the soul of Leo, he's a good guy." She crinkled her nose, "fine." Grabbing Dane's bat, we head out to the cottage. Dane looked out his window to see Grace and I walking together, he was too tired to understand what he was seeing.

Pushing the door open, Graces smile was devilish. She took in a deep breath, counting the souls in her head. "I smell four delicious souls." I shake my head, "three." Grace rolled her eyes, "right, three." The children could hear us talking from the other room, they appeared out of thin air.

"We found you," the children all say in unison. I nod my head, "no, you didn't. You found Grace." Just then, Grace grabs one of the girls. Grace's tongue came out of her mouth like a chameleon, piercing it into her back. She sucked her soul like a juice box, deflating her like a balloon. The color of the ghost turned gray, she was dead. Feeling faint, I step outside, letting Grace finish her desert.

The way she killed the girl made me cringe, I've never seen anything like it. "Wow, that was a meal." Grace said, wiping the soul's blood off her face. As she said that, my stomach flipped. I had a bad gut feeling, something went wrong. Running through the house, I saw him. Leo was hunched over, he wasn't moving a muscle. "Leo!" I yelled, bending down next to him. He lifts his head up slightly, his smile barely visible.

"What did she do?" I ask him, he shrugs his shoulders. "I'm not sure, but I feel weak." Leo points at the door, Grace standing; watching us. "How could you?" I screamed at her, she smirked. "I told you not him." I cried, he quieted me down. "Nicole, it's okay." I shake my head, "no it's not. You're hurt, Leo. I need to fix this." He nods his head, "there's no need. I can fix myself, with some rest." He caressed my chin, "just help me to bed."

Carrying him in my arms, I carefully set Leo in bed. "I'll make this right, Leo. I promise." I say, taking off to Grace. "Why did you do that? I told you not him." She smiled, not regretting it. "As I started to consume Leo, he had an odd taste to him, almost salty. So, I spit him out." I balled my fists, "you can leave. You got what you wanted." She put a finger to my mouth, "I have to say goodbye to Nate."

"No, you can't. You don't deserve it." She looks over at the house, then back to me. "Won't he wonder where I'm at? If I say goodbye, it'll be easier for him to Cope with me gone." She was right, Nate would be torn if she didn't at least say goodbye. As we stand outside Nate's door, I nod at her. "You have five minutes." She shoots a sinister smile at me, closing the door behind her. It had been a little longer than five minutes, I thought that maybe he just didn't want to let her go.

"Help!" I hear Nate scream, I open the door to see something horrific. Grace has him held down, sticking her poisonous tongue in his chest. Nate's eyes roll to the back of his head, his body uncontrollably shaking. "Nate, you have to wake up. You have to tell her to leave, that's the only way she'll stop." I could see him trying to get out of her trap, but he couldn't escape. Tackling Grace to the ground, Nate comes to. "Leave this house, you are not welcome." Grace stands up, disappearing out the door.

I help Nate to his feet, he starts to cry. "She's been trying to do that all the time, she finally convinced me." I wondered why Nate has been getting sick, this was why. The dream I had was about Grace, everyone was getting sick, because of her. Carrying Nate down to mom, I explained what had happened to him. Mom took him from me, laying down with him in her room. I close the door quietly, taking a deep breath.

Knowing the spirits were gone, I head to the cottage for Leo. "Hey, beautiful," Leo grinned. I smile, hugging him tightly. "You look so much better." I said, he sits up. "I feel better, just a little sore." I helped him stand, taking him to the patio. "I made us some lunch, I bet you're hungry."

"Starving," he yelled, grabbing a container of fruit from my bag. I giggled watching him suck down the fruit, juice dribbling down his chin. Handing him a bottle of water, Leo smiles at me. "Thank you for taking care of me, I'm happy to have you as a friend." I blush, pulling my camera out. "Let's take a picture," he furrows his eyebrows. "I'm a spirit, my form won't show on there." I had already thought about that, and I was prepared. "Here," I hand him a necklace, sunglasses, and a hat.

"Good thinking," Leo grins, putting everything on. Snapping the picture, I could see where Leo was at without seeing his body. I was going to keep that picture, its a good memory.

We talked all afternoon until the night settled in, he walked me home, hugging me before I left. Dad was standing in the living room, crossing his arms. "Where were you, Nicole?" He questioned me. "I was with Leo, dad. I was safe." His grumpy mood went away, he grinned. "Happy he's still around, taking care of you." I nod my head, "me too, dad." I say, walking up to my room.

Laying in bed, there was something I couldn't shake off.

I think I was falling in love with Leo.