Crystal was beyond confused. One moment, she was in the DeFeo house trying to communicate with spirits, and now she is in the house, seeing the actual supposed killer. Ronald entered the house. As he looked forward, he walked toward Crystal.
Crystal walked backward. "Hey, don't get closer!" Ronald didn't seem to listen as he continued to walk. The young woman tripped and was about to yell again, but to her surprise, Ronald walked through her. "What the!?" She stood on her own two feet and went to a table to touch it; her hand went through it.
This confused the young woman, but she saw Ronald putting some bags on the kitchen table. "Mom, I brought groceries as you wanted me to!" The young man held onto one bag and looked like he was trying to hide it.
The young man approached his room but stopped as a young boy ran to him. "Hey Ronny, you're home! Did you bring candy this time!?"
Ronald smiled. "Sorry, John. You know ma won't allow candy unless there is a party."
Crystal raised an eyebrow. "John? Wait, that was the youngest member of the DeFeo family. What the heck is going on?"
John rolled his eyes as he looked through the grocery bags. Suddenly, Ronald's other young siblings, Allison and Marc, arrived in the kitchen to see if Ronald had brought anything good. Ronald made sure to keep the bag he was holding a secret. As he walked toward his room, his mother, Louise, caught him. "Thanks for bringing the groceries, Ronny. You made sure not to buy candy for the kids this time, right?"
"Don't worry, ma. I got what you wrote on the list. I also didn't buy candy this time."
Louise then noticed the bag. "What did you get, Ronny?"
"I was itching something for myself, ma. I got some books I found in the bookstore."
"You? Read books?"
Ronald sighed. "Yeah, ma. I need something to make me feel better after what happened yesterday." He then walked past his mom, who stood silently. The young man made it to his room; Crystal followed him as he closed and locked the door behind him. Ronald sighed as he began to unbag what he had in his bag. Crystal's eyes widened when she saw that Ronald had removed an Ouija board. "No way. He got an Ouija board."
The young man smiled as he opened the box. "Finally, I can finally connect with the spirit."
This caught Crystal's attention. "Spirit? Wait, is it the same spirit that was communicating with me?" That was when Crystal realized what was going on. "Are these memories of what happened that day?"
Ronald was about to open the box when there was a knock on the door. He immediately hid the box under his bed and went to open the door. His sister, Dawn, was the second eldest of the family. Out of all his siblings, Ronald felt closer to Dawn since they grew up together and understood one another. Dawn smiled. "Hey Ronny, can I come in? I need your advice on something."
Ronald nodded as he left his sister to enter; Dawn sat on a wooden chair. As she sat down, she noticed a box under his bed. Dawn was able to make sense of some words but said nothing. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Well, school is almost done, and college decisions have come out. I got a letter that I got accepted to UCLA in California."
"Wow, congratulations! Wasn't that your dream school?" The young man was happy for his sister but saddened that she might leave for California. He loved his siblings, but Dawn was his favorite sibling since they were close in age. She would listen to him whenever he had no one else to speak to. However, he didn't want to be selfish and not let his sister follow her dreams.
"Yeah, and I'm nervous to tell Mom and Dad. Do you know how mom gets emotional about moving out of state? I was also worried about, you know, Dad."
Ronald's face became solemn. He knew their father would be the biggest problem since he had a temper. Their father always confused them; he would be nice for one moment, and then the other, he would push them or hit them. "Don't worry about Pa. If worst comes to worst, then I'll handle them. Are you going to tell them the news during dinner?"
Dawn nodded. "I'm kind of scared."
"Hey, you worked hard to get where you are. I didn't take the opportunities when I had the chance. Don't make the same mistakes as I did."
The young woman nodded as she stood and walked toward the door. "Thanks, Ronny. By the way, I wouldn't play with that toy under your bed. I heard they're dangerous." With that, Dawn got out of the room.
Ronald chuckled. "I guess we'll see about that."
Crystal watched everything unfold and couldn't help but feel a nervous sensation in her gut.
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