“Hey Jazzy, guess what?”

“Yeah, Em?”

“Chicken butt!” Em fell down laughing at her own joke. I just rolled my eyes. What a child. Once upon a time, Emily was a girl I babysat a long while ago, just a summer job. At first, I was only in for the money, but Em’s cuteness and sincere curiosity got the best of me and I fell in love with the little girl. I would go to see her almost every day that summer, just so I could be reminded what it was like being a carefree innocent again. However, I was 18, and entering my Senior year, and I had less and less spare time to go see Emily. Every time I went over to see her, it was like it had been ages. Like years had passed and she was growing a ton everyday.
The weeks after school had started, our friendship status became more and more dismal. It was a three-day weekend, and I finally had a chance to go see Em. As soon as school got out, I hopped in the car and went to pick up Emily from school.
“Hey Em,” I greeted her.
“Hi Jasmine,” She said as she climbed into my old truck.
“How was school?” I asked, trying to make conversation with the second grader.
“Good, I guess,” That answer would definitely not suffice.
“Oh, come on Emily. Don’t say that. Every single day, something cosmically awesome happens. It can’t have been just good,” I said, trying to pull more information out of her.
“Well we did do finger painting and that was fun.”
“Oh, wow! Isn’t great that art is something you don’t just need one tool for? You can use whatever you want for art and nobody’ll judge you for it.”
“Yeah, it is!” This is the prime opportunity to drop an epic bomb.
“So take a guess what I have planned,” I said as nonchalantly as possible.
“Huh?”
“I talked to your parents the other day and they’re letting me take you on a camping trip to the lake this weekend!” I glanced at the rear view mirror to see the surprise on her face. Now, I kid you not, her jaw dropped all the way into her lap with shock. She screamed that one scream you do when you’re super excited.
“No way, really?!” She squealed.
“Yup, I’ve got tents and s'mores and everything! We just need to run home for a bit so we can get you packed.” Emily bounced up and down in her seat and screamed excitedly again.
“Oh, Jazzy, thank you, thank you, thank you!” She reached over and tried to hug me, but I pushed her away.
“Hey, hold it kid. I’m trying to drive here! Let me get you home in one piece, then you can hug me and freak out all you like.” I continued driving while Emily chattered away at how amazing this trip was gonna be and making an agenda for all the cool outdoorsy things we were gonna do. If only I had known how horribly wrong it would go.
We pulled up into Emily’s driveway. I opened the door and got out, then crossed over to the other side of my truck so I could help Em out. We walked to her front porch and knocked.
There was no reply.
I knocked again. No reply.
“They must be out doing stuff,” said Emily. I bent down to grab the spare key from under the welcome mat. The key slipped into the lock with ease and unlocked the door. I pushed it open gingerly.
“Hello?” I called out. My voice echoed out through the house.
“Helloooooo...” This did not bode well. Emily was going on a camping trip with me, so her parents should be here to confirm any information that was needed. I shrugged my shoulders.
“Come on, Emily. Maybe your mom’s taking a nap.” Emily and I entered the house together. I really did not like this whatsoever. I pulled out the pocket knife I usually keep in my pocket, just in case.
“Jasmine, no!”
“Relax, Em. No one will hurt you.” Now, if only I could be so sure. We searched through the living room. There wasn’t a single sign anything was amiss, so why weren’t Em’s parents home? We moved on to the kitchen, making sure Emily was right behind me. I flipped on the lights. The entire kitchen was just as clean and orderly as the living room had been. I squat down on the floor. There were specks of dark liquid on the kitchen floor, trailing towards the hallway. I stuck my finger in the liquid and smeared it in my fingers. I sniffed it. It smelled sulfury. Yup, that was definitely blood.
“What is it, Jazzy?” Emily asked me so sweetly, so innocently.
“Em...I’m worried your parents are in trouble.” I caught on those words. I absolutely hated telling Emily bad news, but this wasn’t just some cancellation of plans. This was a life or death situation in which anyone could be hurt. I promised myself to keep Emily safe.
No matter what.
I ripped open the cabinet above the microwave as quickly as I could. It was where Emily’s parents kept important and dangerous items, like passports and heavy duty painkillers, so that Em couldn’t reach them. I fished inside the cabinet and pulled out a .32 caliber Smith and Wesson pistol.
“Jasmine, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Emily whined.
“It’s ok, sweetheart. I know what I’m doing,” I reassured her. “If anyone is in the house right now, you’ll be safe.” I followed the blood trail through the hallway holding the gun up, with Emily on my trail uneasy. It led up to her parent’s bedroom. Oh God, oh God, oh God, pleasepleaseplease don’t be dead, don’t be dead, for the sake of all that is holy, please don’t be dead, I thought to myself. I gently pushed the door of her parent’s room open, crossing my fingers and dreading what I might see.
In Emily’s parent’s room, there wasn’t anything out of place, except the pool of blood staining the carpet. Without any other options left, I whipped my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed 911.
“911, what is your emergency?” The dispatcher’s voice was one of the most beautiful things I had heard since this whole bizarre situation began.
“Hi, my name is Jasmine, and I’m at the residence of a child I babysit. Her parents don’t appear to be home, and there’s blood on the floor everywhere.”
“Alright, sweetie, don’t panic. I’ll send the police to assist you. What’s the address?”
I gave her the address.
“Ok, thank you. The police will be there in a few minutes.”
“Thanks so much.” We hung up. I just stood there, not even knowing what to do.
“Jazzy? Where are my parents?”
“I...I don’t know. I’m so sorry Emily. I..” Emily started crying. I got down on my knees, wrapped her up in my arms, and started crying too. We just sat there in the hallway sobbing for what felt like an eternity until the police finally arrived. They knocked on the door. I grabbed Em’s hand and ran down the hallway to open the door.
My shaking hand reached out to grab the doorknob and opened the door. Outside, there was a fat police officer with a stupid mustache.
“Jasmine Yerofeyev?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“You’re under arrest for murder, kidnapping, and burglary.” Whoa, whoa, whoa, what?
“Wait, I...there must be some mistake! I didn’t do this!” I was at a loss for words. I wasn’t kidnapping, I had some form of permission to enter the house, and I would never murder somebody!
“Tell that to the court, you lying scum,” The stupid mustached officer read me my miranda rights while a taller, skinnier officer snapped handcuffs on my wrists. I struggled to get out of their grasp while they walked me to the cop car. I felt so humiliated.
“Jazzy!” Emily tried to run to me, but the officers held her back. I broke down. I started crying, screaming, squirming, and spitting all over the place as the police officers ducked me into the back of the car. Anything I could do to get free.
“I didn’t do it! It wasn’t me!”
“Shut up, you liar,”
“I’ll come back for you, Em!” I screamed. “I promise!”
It’s been 5 years since that fateful day. The judge at the Portland Municipal court sentenced me 10 years to life for protecting the little girl that was the closest thing I had to a sister. The jury didn’t even sympathize with me. Never before have I hated the law enforcement. I write my story here, hoping that one day I will be free and Em and I will be reunited.
Once upon a time, Emily was just a girl I babysat a long while ago, but now, she’s just an old memory. ?