The Laughing House

"She stopped. Both of them stopped. “What?” Mom said.

'When the house started making noises, they were so scary I wanted to scream.'

'You did? Martha . . .'

'Yeah.'

'I’m sorry, sweety. It’ll be ok. I’ll--' There were footsteps coming up the stairs. Mom didn’t say anything else. Nothing else to Martha. She walked over to the door frame and looked down. Dad pushed past the door and slowed to a halt, looking back and forth between Mom and Martha.

'And what are you two girls talking about up here?' ...