When her mom came home Sophie hid in her room. She ignored the rapping of tiny fingers on her door. Regan could go to Hell. Be the precious jewel of the family and curtesy to the fucking Queen for all she cared. Sophie was done with the lot of them. She lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. In just a few hours she'd be walking to the Strogoian Manor. Spending the night with creepy shadows and finding out all of the rumors were ridiculous.

"Get yourself to the table young lady, now!" Her mother's shrill voice bounced around the room piercing her eardrums.

"I'm trying to rest!" She screamed back. "I have to be up all night, remember?"

She hoped it would make her mother feel guilty. The least she could do was give her a freaking break from the holy 'family meal'.  It wasn't like her Mom cooked it or anything. Far be it from the famous Lady Langston to actually perform a menial household task.

"Now, Sophie." Her Fathers voice boomed from below.

Sophie scrambled from the bed and threw an elastic band in her hair knotting it up in a bun. No hanging hair at the table. No elbows on the table. No fucking real conversation at the table. Cordial, polite, it's the time for best behavior.

She remembered her first month with Lady Tessa. Etiquette lessons daily until she mastered the 'fine art of being a lady.'  No one gave a shit if you had a heart attack or an aneurysm. Just don't do it in the soup, that's considered rude.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs her feet hurt from stomping so hard but no one dared to say anything. The pod family sat stiffly in front of plates, napkins in their laps, eyes glazed over like socialite zombies.

"Thank you for joining us." Her father said as he nodded to Alyssa standing in the doorway. The nod making the girl spin quickly to start the dinner service. The thump of the gold rimmed plates as they were placed on the old oak table was the only sound in the room. It was impolite to converse during service, and the food wasn't to be eaten until everyone had theirs.

Sophie looked down at the food with disgust. Noodles in sauce with chunks of meat, it was another traditional meal. She'd give her left thumb for a cheeseburger.

"Alyssa. Any chance you know how to cook anything from this century? Like pizza, or a cheeseburger?"

Her father slammed his glass down on the table causing Alyssa to jump and slop some of the gelatinous gravy onto the tablecloth.

"I apologize for my daughter Alyssa. The meal looks incredible and we appreciate your impeccable work ethic."

Sophie could feel actual heat coming from his glare. It frightened her.

"Of course. Alyssa, I wasn't disrespecting you or your cooking, I was just thinking of some of the meals we had at home. Mom would buy pizza crust and we'd all pile on toppings while listening to music. This.." she said as she shoveled a bite into her mouth forcing herself to smile, "is really good too."

The girl said nothing and ducked back into the kitchen. She barely spoke. Each time Sophie saw her she seemed more terrified. Pod people. This whole fucking town was crazy.

"That's a nice memory Sophie." Her mother cooed. "I'm glad you actually remember some of the good times we had. The rest of us are still enjoying life, albeit a different kind now."

The rest of us. The words fell on Sophie's shoulders like a boulder. That's what it was now. Them, and her. She looked toward Regan, shoulders up, back straight, gracefully twirling noodles around her fork with her pinkie in the air.

What was it about this town that sucked away every good thing her family had been?

While the rest of the family shared experiences of their day Sophie stabbed at the noodles moving them from one side of the plate to the other without actually lifting any toward her mouth.

She dreamed of screaming. Standing on the table and kicking over glasses of water and the deep red wine her mother always drank. What would they do if she just let it all go?

"May I please be excused early? I've got work tonight, and I need to get my stuff together?" Her voice sounded distant and small and it only increased the anger welling below the surface.

"Of course dear." Her mother dropped her fork and blotter under her eye with the white cloth napkin. "Things will be so much better now Sophie. You can understand that, can't you?"

Sophie gave her a puzzled expression and got up from the table. Cryptic speak. Chills ran down her spine and she looked at her Dad who refused to meet her eye —instead he stared at the food on his plate like it was hieroglyphics.

The minute she got into her room she started throwing some sweats and a scrunchie in her backpack. If she was going to be sleeping there, she might as well be comfortable. After some deliberation she threw her phone and the charger in the bag too. Screw it, if she was old enough to work, she was old enough to have her phone.

She stopped at the mirror and put on her makeup and ran the straightening iron through her hair. No reason to go there looking like she just rolled out of bed. Even she knew the Strogolians were major players in town. The oldest family, the strangest rumors. The kids at school wouldn't even mention their names. Small towns were weird as fuck.

The house was silent as she crept down the stairs and out the back door. Shocking. She would have bet money that her mom would have been there to see her off—wearing a smug look of victory and that fake smile that made Sophie want to reach out and claw it to shreds.

She walked to end of the road and up the long hill toward the Strogolian Manor. Even the name was pretentious. She walked down the tree lined drive quickly. The thick branches blotting out any remnants of sun made it cold and eerie. The closer she got to the house the more she had to mentally push herself to go further. Her skin crawled and her throat closed but she forced herself forward.

"I am not an idiot. Rumors and legends are stupid. They have a kid. They need a babysitter. End of story."

Telling herself these things out loud helped. While she still had the desire to jog home and crawl under the covers, facing irrational fears was character building.

The house was in full view now. Shadow cast, mammoth, and probably older than any building she'd ever seen. It towered above her making her feel small and almost expendable. "Shit!" She said stubbing the end of her foot on the bottom porch step. "Look where you're going Soph, don't be an idiot."

A large round knocker sat in the center of the door and she grabbed it. It was cold and weighty and had a strange electric feel to it. Nevertheless she banged it three times and took a step back.

The door swung open, a loud rustic squeak echoing across the silence. Sophie swallowed, more from habit than need, as all the spit in her mouth had already hidden midway up the drive.

"Hello?" She said stepping through the large open door.

"Sofie, darling. Thank you for coming on such short notice." Mrs. Strogolian stayed well behind the door and out of sight until Sophie had walked far enough in for it to be swung shut.

"Umm. Sure. Thanks for trusting Charlie with me. I'm looking forward to getting to know him." She spoke slowly, her eyes trying to soak up the ornate decorations in the house. Everything was oversized and old like nothing had ever been changed since the house was built back in who knows when. She walked toward a large golden tray hung on the center of the front room wall. It was deeply etched with foreign words and pictures around the borders. She tried to focus and make sense of it but the more she tried the harder it was to separate any of the images at all.

"Ah! You've got an eye for antiques I see." The voice came out of nowhere and she jumped. She'd forgotten everything but the tray and her brain urgently struggled to take it all in. "That's one of my favorites as well. It's an heirloom piece. Supposedly my families original crest etched by a monk centuries ago. It's got a mystical way of demanding attention and giving you very little peace in return."

Sophie pulled her eyes away and for the first time looked at Kelly Strogolian. She was beautiful. Super model beautiful with eyes that pierced right through Sophie's soul. "I like it." Was all she could stammer.

"I'm glad. I'm afraid I've very little time to visit tonight. Klaus and I have a long night ahead of us. There's a secret antique swap in the valley and we've been told there's something there that is to die for." As she finished Mr. Strogolian came down the long winding staircase into the room. Sophie couldn't believe they were married. He looked like a professor. Curly black hair, round rimmed glasses and he was even wearing a deep brown sweater with patches on the sleeves.

"Hello Sofie! Welcome. Thanks so much for taking the job. Your father tells me good things about you. Have you eaten? I don't know what's here but I can leave you some cash?" His eyes were kind and his voice full of pep and emotion. Sofie liked him straight away.

"Just had dinner sir, thank you for the offer." She had no trouble at all seeing herself having a normal conversation with him. The first since she'd been in this town.

His wife cleared her throat and he grabbed her hand. "No sir needed Sophie. It's Klaus and Kelly. Formality is for outside the doors, not the sanctify of home. We've got to get a move on. Such an exciting night! I'm sure your mother told you Charlie stays up at night. Family schedule, we just want every minute with him. Don't worry about doing much, he's very apt at caring for himself and keeping occupied."

The room dimmed and Mr. Sto...-Klaus clicked on the light before grabbing his keys from the hook by the wall. "Charlie can tell you anything you need to know, make yourself at home. And, it was nice to meet you Sophie." With a nod from Mrs. Strogolian they were out the door and Sophie was left standing alone in the foyer.