{Walter}

I never thought that I'd end up here. People sometimes say that the mentally ill, children and anyone who can be vulnerable can see things that a normal person can't. What these things are, I had trouble comprehending them until I found out the truth behind everything.  

The first time I met Victoria was when I saw something. She had come to the hospital because of an episode that had something to do with her mental health among other issues. 

I was called into my Boss's office that day and I thought I was going to get fired. But no that wasn't the case. 

My Boss is a young man probably younger than me and about the same height as me. He had short black hair and hazel eyes. He was dressed in his lab coat and wore blue scrubs underneath it. He had his stethoscope hanging around the back of his neck like most doctors that work at the hospital do. 

When I entered his office he smiled. "Mr. Hawkins! Please, take a seat." 

I took a seat across from his desk and frowned. 

He shook his head. "I know what that look is for and no, you're not fired. Remember the lady that you had to calm down because her mother got into her room when she wasn't supposed to be there today?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, if I recall correctly her name is Victoria? Or Victory as her mom called her?"

He snorted. "Victory indeed, it's a miracle that woman hasn't offed herself yet considering how bad her mother is. What you saw earlier was only a glimpse of what type of relationship they have. I hope she listens to my advice and files a restraining order against her."

"Um, Dr. Stephen I hate to be rude but can we get to the point of why I'm being called in here today?" I asked.

"Okay then, I have a job for you that will pay you twice your salary for a whole year," Dr. Stephen said.

My jaw dropped. "Twice my salary? And why me?"

"Well I remember looking through your resume it says that you've worked a couple of jobs as a live-in caretaker," He said.

"Let me guess, you want me to do one of those jobs right? I'm not opposed to it, I just need to know who it is I'm working with," I said.

He smiled and nodded. "Of course, the person you'll be working with is Victoria. In case you're wondering, her last name is Lee. She was brought in yesterday because of having a manic episode that her mother triggered. She can't go home unless she has a caretaker with her. She's opted to have a live-in caretaker. And she's going to need one for the rest of her life from the looks of it."

"Okay, well if she needs a caretaker for the rest of her life then why only a year?" I asked.

"When there's a long term client then the caretakers get switched out every year unless the client works well with caretakers and requests something in regards to a long term arrangement," He explained. "That makes sense and there is sometimes that a caretaker and the client fall in love. If that does happen, the caretaker can still work for the client, but the client and the caretaker need to declare what their relationship is."

"I see. Although I don't picture myself falling in love with a client anytime soon," I said.

Dr. Stephen chuckled, "I can see that. You're dedicated to keeping business and pleasure separate. You know my wife used to be a patient here and once she was released from the hospital we started dating and the rest is history! Of course this job isn't a dating service but you never know what could happen."

I shook my head. "Yeah, no thanks." 

He nodded. "Anyway, we'll do an official meet and greet today. Considering it needs to happen before she can go home."

He stood up from his desk and motioned for me to follow him out the door. When we got to Victoria's room, Dr. Stephen knocked because the door was closed. 

"Come in!" Victoria shouted.

We entered the room and Victoria was sitting on the bed fully dressed in a black t-shirt and blue jeans, she wore a gray sweatshirt. I tried not to smile when I looked down and saw her small feet. I couldn't help but think that Victoria's feet were the smallest feet I've seen on a woman. 

Victoria was a young woman who had to be in her late twenties like me. She had black hair and black eyes. The way her eyes looked I kind of wanted to pin her as possibly Chinese. But seeing that her mother was white, maybe she's half Chinese?

"Out of curiosity, what race are you?" I blurted. I mentally kicked myself because yeah that's a good way to make a good impression with the first time meeting someone.

Dr. Stephen laughed, "Sorry about that Ms. Lee. Mr. Hawkins over here doesn't seem to have much of a filter today."

Victoria blinked and then smiled. "Oh it's okay, I get that a lot actually. And my race is mixed."

I paused. "With?"

"I'm half white and half black," She answered. "And no I'm not choosing even though my doctor seems to think I can pass as white." She rolled her eyes and looked at Dr. Stephen. "Isn't that right doctor?"

Dr. Stephen covered his mouth to stifle a laugh. After a moment he cleared his throat. "Anyway, I see that the nurse told you to get ready to go, that's good because you're meeting your live-in caretaker today."

Victoria tilted her head. "And I'm going to assume that Mr. Hawkins is my caretaker?" She smirked. "Don't worry I don't have much of a filter either sometimes. I think we'll get along just fine! Just don't run away crying if I say something that might hurt your feelings."

I snorted. "Nah, we're good Ms. Lee-"

"Victoria," Victoria cut me off.

I paused. "Huh?"

"Well you're going to live with me for a year. I think we should be on a first name basis. So, My name is Victoria. Your first name is?" Victoria asked. 

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I nodded. "Okay then, my first name is Walter."

She smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Well then you two will be getting to know each other especially on the car ride home. Wait for a moment I'll be right back on with your discharge papers Ms. Lee," Dr. Stephen said.

She nodded. "Sure."

Dr. Stephen left the room and I took a seat on one of the chairs across from Victoria's bedside. She seemed to have trouble maintaining eye contact because one moment she looked at me and the next moment she looked at the ground, then the next moment she looked at the wall then back at me during our conversation. 

I asked her the standard questions for a first time meet and greet like what her list of medications were, what was her normal routine and bedtime. I also asked if she had any food allergies and what she might need my help with.

She's lactose intolerant but she can drink milk substitutes. Otherwise everything else is fine. She's not a picky eater which is good because I've worked with some clients who were picky eaters before and those clients can be rather difficult to work with. However, she has said that she doesn't like onions or cherries. Even with just a simple conversation like this she seems pretty easy going.

Not to mention she's definitely not afraid to say what she thinks about things. The fact that she wasn't afraid to state her opinions on anything made me feel at ease with her.

Little did I know that once we got to her house we were in for a surprise.

***

{Victoria}

My house was located in a forest for many reasons, the first of which is to keep my little buddies locked up in the basement and out of sight. Unfortunately, no one believes me that my little buddies are actually real. I've been diagnosed with Schizophrenia because of it.

But I do have episodes where I can't feel anything other than anger and I blackout because of it. I think that might be a side effect of dealing with my little buddies in my basement. 

Right when I moved into the house I started seeing things. I saw blood running down the walls in the hallways. The closet doors in the bedrooms would open and close on their own. The worst part was hearing footsteps walking down the hall towards my room and hearing different voices whispering to each other in the bathroom closet. 

After about the first week I lived in my house was when I saw one of them. The creature looked like a mix between a bat and a human. It had a human face with bat wings and fangs. I thought there was only one of them in the house but it turns out that there were two of them. I asked them what they wanted and they said they only wanted to live in the house and that they would leave me alone. So I agreed, however, seeing and hearing things didn't go away and when I told my sister Jenny about this she recommended that I go get help.

I went to a therapist and was diagnosed with Schizophrenia and Depression. Things got so bad to the point where I couldn't work a normal job anymore. So I hired a lawyer and went to court and got started on my benefits at the good old age of twenty-five. Yeah and it's all thanks to my little buddies locked away in my basement. I'm going to have to warn Walter to stay away from the basement at all times! 

It didn't help that once my mother found out about my mental health issues she's been the most insufferable person ever. Which is sad because I used to look up to her once upon a time but now she's been hostile towards me and then she loves to gaslight when questioned about her actions.

It's kind of funny because when I tell people about my hatred towards my mother they gasp and are very surprised that they've met somebody who doesn't have a good relationship with their mother. I have to point out that not everyone's upbringing is all sunshine and rainbows. Then when people find out about my situation they either pity me or praise me. That always pisses me off and makes me regret saying anything to begin with. 

I don't need sympathy and I don't need a medal just because I decided to live. 

Anyway, the house I live in is a modest two story house with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. There's a kitchen and a living room, there's pretty much everything that a standard house would have in my house. I'm proud of my house because it's the biggest thing I've owned besides my car. I worked hard for this house and it's paid off already because I inherited some money from one of my dead Uncle's for whatever the reason. 

When Walter and I got home we walked up the porch steps and once I opened the door I was met with Jenny and her boyfriend David, along with my big brother named Jaxon sitting on the couch waiting for me.

Jenny isn't mixed, she's just straight up white because she is a child from my mother's previous marriage before she had my brother and I. Jaxon has the same light skin that I do but he's slightly darker than I am so people always say he could pass for black and I could pass for white. 

Jenny practically rushed towards me when she saw me enter the house and gave me a big bear hug. "Oh I'm so sorry Mom went at it again with you sis! I wish I could've been there but I had to work and-"

"Jenny, it's okay we might be family but I'm not your burden to bear okay?" I said.

"But-" Jenny started.

I shook my head. "No buts Jenny. I'm fine, besides I'm going to have a live-in caretaker from now on to take care of me."

She paused and raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? And who's the guy standing behind you?"

I turned to Walter and nodded. "This is Walter, he's my live-in caretaker."

"I don't know about this sis," said Jaxon after he hugged me. "I don't like this at all."

I snorted. "You don't like it when any man gets near me. He's here to do a job, he's not here as my date. And you know how I feel about relationships in general."

He laughed, "Yup! Your words and I quote, 'Relationships suck so what's the point?'"

I laughed and nodded. 

"Well, why don't we show Walter around and show him where he'll be staying?" Jaxon said. 

"Yeah but you're being awfully rude don't you think?" I asked.

Jaxon tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"You forgot to introduce yourself to him, duh," I said.

He smiled and turned to Walter. "Hello Walter, my name is Jaxon and I'm Victoria's brother."

I tried not to laugh when Jaxon shook Walter's hand and gave him a look as if to say, 'if you hurt my sister I'll kill you.' When Jenny saw that look she covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.

She went up to Walter and shook his hand. "Hi, I'm Jenny, Victoria's sister." She pointed to David who was still seated on the couch in the living room but now watching the conversation with interest. "The quiet one sitting on the couch is my boyfriend David. Don't worry, he tends to be pretty shy around strangers."

Walter nodded. "That's understandable. It is my first time meeting you guys."

"Alright, follow me," Jenny said. "I'll give you the tour!"

"What the fuck! Seriously? Jenny this is my house, I'll give him the tour," I snapped.

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Okay fine. Lead the way, this is your house after all."

I nodded and started the tour. I showed Walter, every area of the house including the areas that were off limits, which would be the basement and the attic. I don't believe in god so I chose not to use Bible scriptures to seal off the areas but I had a special lock that I got from a witch that had placed a spell on it. It's somewhat worked before but seeing as my little buddies tend to be stronger at night and can still get out I don't think the spell is working.

The attic and the basement are off limits because that's where my little buddies like to roam about. I almost have half a mind to say that the bedroom closets are off limits but Walter needs a place to put his clothes and whatnot so I'll have to make do. I don't think anyone else can see my little buddies which is exactly why I got diagnosed with a mental illness in the first place.

However, when I showed Walter the closet leading to the attic that's when I heard the whispers. I tried not to groan as I heard them. It sounded like my little buddies were bickering about something and I didn't care to listen to what their argument was this time.

Walter paused and stared at the closet. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" I asked.

He gulped. "The whispering…"

I shrugged and tried to play it off as if I didn't hear them. "Nope. Probably just your imagination. It is late at night after all."

He nodded. "Okay."

I didn't say anything else as Walter went to the guest room to put his things away and get settled in for the night.