Hi. I’m Tiffany. I am a sixteen year old girl and I live in a small neighborhood of an anonymous Maine town. I have a little brother named Brian, ten years old, and Shelley and Tim, my parents.
We have many hobbies: my father loves hiking in the mountains, my mother takes care of the lawn, I draw … Then there is my brother, who loves spending time playing online games, where there are chats with which to converse between users. My mom says he doesn’t like it, but my dad isn’t of the same opinion. He says that as long as Brian only talks to his friends, there is nothing wrong with that. But overall my parents are both so busy that they rarely check what Brian does in his games.
These days my brother told me he made friends online with a guy named “Jeff”. He told me that “Jeff” is a little older than him, very likeable and that he is also very intelligent. He told me he would like to meet him in person. I casually told him “yes yes, sooner or later you will know him, I’m sure” and then I went back to reading my book.
A few days ago our parents left for their honeymoon, leaving us alone. I took care of my brother and I, preparing his food and having fun together.
Two nights ago, he told me that he would finally meet Jeff, that he would go with him and that they would be happy, all with smiles on their faces. I laughed and put him to sleep. That same evening my brother disappeared. I found the window open and the bed empty, with only Brian’s stuffed animal.
I panicked. I contacted the police, then my parents, who told me they would be back as soon as possible. I was terrified. Where could he have gone? Who could have caught it? Then that name came to mind. “Jeff”. Could it have been that boy, maybe he was a maniac pretending to be a child to lure his victims? I started sweating and took a sip of water from a bottle from the refrigerator. No, no, it wasn’t true, it wasn’t…
My brother came back half an hour ago. He was dirty, his face was full of scratches, his arms covered with bruises and he was crying, crying as if they had nearly killed him. I couldn’t believe it. I ran up to him, with tears in my eyes, and asked him what the hell had happened. She said, sobbing, “Jeff … He … He hurt me.” I hugged him and carried him inside.
Now he is lying on the sofa. I have taken care of and washed it, and now it is as good as new. I am angry, I don’t know what to do. For some help, I contacted my friend David. David is a nice guy, with blond hair and green eyes, very handsome and nice. He lives near my home, and often helps and comforts me in times of need. I know it might be foolish to get him to come now instead of calling the police, but I have to. I call him and ask him to come, and he accepts. Immediately after the intercom rings and I open it.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re here, you can’t understand what happened,” I tell him, hugging him.
“Don’t worry, baby … Everything will be fine, we’ll find out who’s responsible. How’s your brother?”
Right now my brother is coming to us. He looks at me, then at David, and his gaze freezes. He looks scared and I can see his pants are wet. “Hi, Jeff,” he tells David.
Jeff? “He called you ‘Jeff’. Why did he do it? What’s going on?” I suddenly notice that David is holding me too tight, I can’t get him off my back. “Why Brian called you Jeff?! Answer me! And leave me, please!”.
On his face appears a sinister and terrifying smile of a disturbed person. “You’re crazy! You’re crazy!” I scream with all my strength, before he puts a hand in my mouth, silencing me.
He turns to look at my brother, who continues to stare at us and motionless in fear, and says, “Oh hi, Brian … Did you have fun with me?”