I guess this is a warning more than anything because I don't know how this started or how this ends. All I know is that it knows everything. It knows everything I've done and probably everything I'm going to do. I started calling it the Eye, because that is what it feels like to me. An eye watching me always. Burning into my soul and demanding me to do things.

The Eye came to me as a VHS tape. It was gross and old and had gnarly handwriting on it that just read static. I did not know what that meant or why it was in the attic to begin with. It was in a box with all the other ones my parents had kept, but it just looked different. Maybe it was because it was almost falling apart or because it was slightly smaller than the rest. Or maybe it was because the Eye drew me to it. Regardless, I picked it up, and that was the worst mistake I have ever made.

Once I picked it up, I couldn't stop. From then on, everything was about the tape. It was all I could think about. It begged me to play it. I wrote it off as curiosity, but looking back, it was more like an obsession. I had never spent four hours in the attic before, but that was how long I took up there looking for the VHS player. It wasn't too hard for me to set up and I was so close to easing my obsession before my mother came home. Of course, she was confused about what I was doing. Why would I be watching old VHS tapes when, as a Gen Z kid, I had the entire world at my fingertips?

I showed her the tape. She told me how she vaguely remembered it. Apparently, she and my father had bought it from a yard sale a long time ago. They didn't buy it on purpose. It was inside the VHS player.

"All it plays is static, like the name on the tape says. You can watch it, but it will be nothing interesting," she had said.

By then, the obsession was too deep to turn back. No matter what she said, I was going to watch it.

My mother started cooking dinner behind me. She had a perfect view of the TV as I inserted the tape and waited with bated breath. Puppies flashed across the screen. They looked to be Golden Retrievers, playing with some type of tennis ball. I let out a harsh laugh as one puppy tripped over a sleeping one and tumbled over.

"Is that like an angry laugh? I told you it was just static?"

I turned my head to my mother. "What?"

"What do you mean what?"

I gestured to the TV. "You don't see the puppies playing?"

She laughed, "Yeah, okay. Just put everything away when you are done watching the make-believe puppies."

I knew then that she didn't see what I saw. I was at a loss why, though. Maybe she was just pretending?

I rewound the tape. I didn't know how far to go, so I just went to where it felt right. I pressed play and waited.

Puppies were not what met my eyes. This time it was an old home video. A video of me. I was playing in the snow in an oversized winter coat while my father asked me various questions.

"What the hell!"

At that moment, my father walked through the door, "Watch the language."

"No dad, look, you can't tell me you don't see this like mom."

He furrowed his eyebrows, but joined me in front of the TV.

"What? An old home video of you?"

"Honey, don't indulge her," my mother scolded. "She is watching the static tape and trying to prank me or something."

My dad whipped to her, "What are you talking about? This is a home video?"

"Um no. It's just TV static. Are you both in on this?"

"No, mom," I scoffed. "Are you tricking us?"

I turned to my dad again. "But it wasn't this before. It was puppies the first time I watched it. Something is wrong here."

He let out a staccato laugh. "Maybe your mother is right."

"No!" I exclaimed. "Watch! I'll rewind it to show you."

I bent down again and rewound the tape. Part of me hoped it would stay the same and the other half begged for proof. I bit down on my tongue as I pressed play.

This time, my room came into focus. My purple walls glared back at me as the laughs of my best friend and me echoed from the stereo.

My eyes widened as I realized what was playing.

"No, no, there is no way."

My father's jaw clenched as he watched the screen. He knew what it was, too.

"Look what I'm gonna say next, Willow," my younger self said.

My eyes watered.

"Why don't you stop being such a drama queen and just kill yourself already? The entire school has been begging for the day that you finally do it."

All I could do was watch as my younger self sent the message. The message that would end the life of Olivia Hawkins.

"Harper," my father retorted. "What the fuck is this? Did you record yourself doing this? I thought we agreed we would never talk about that day again! You said you regretted what you did to her."

"I do! I didn't record this! I don't know- I-"

My throat felt dry as I tried to explain. How could this be happening? The worst day of my life was playing on the TV and I did not know how.

"What are you guys talking about?" My mother asked, exasperated.

"The video!" My dad exclaimed. "She has a video of her and Willow sending those texts!"

My mother gasped. "You both need to stop this right now. This isn't funny anymore!"

"There must be a reason," I whispered to myself.

My mother and my father continued to argue, and I reached for the rewind button. Looking back, I don't think I controlled my body at that moment. I'm pretty sure the Eye was controlling everything except for my thoughts.

I held down on the button and then released it and hit play. My eyes were glued to the screen as a new video played. A hotel room filled the screen. A red-headed lady sat upon an enormous bed dressed scantily. I watched with confusion and horror as my father walked into the room.

"Hello there, handsome," the woman purred.

I couldn't look away as my father and the woman kissed. Loud sobs erupted from my mouth as my parents turned to look at me.

"Harper!"

I turned to look at my father with tears streaming down my face. His mouth was agape. There was no pretending what I was seeing wasn't real.

"I-Harper, I promise this isn't real. I will never cheat on your mother, I promise!"

"Cheat on me?" My mother asked. "Please say this is a joke. Please, both of you!"

I couldn't speak. All the words I had learned over seventeen years of life were failing me. My father had cheated on my mom. And this tape was showing me.

"No, I wouldn't do that. Harper is hallucinating or something. I mean, come on, you said it yourself, that screen is just static."

I choked on my saliva. My father was throwing me under the bus.

I threw my hands over my ears to cover the sounds of moans and my parents yelling. That's when I heard Eye for the first time. I wouldn't say hear though as much as I would say that Eye entered my stream of consciousness. I knew these thoughts weren't my own, but they felt so damn real.

Show her. You know the connection, make her see.

I saw the connection. Sin. My father had committed adultery, and I had committed murder. Both were sins and both of us could see the tape. I had to make my mother see, or else she would believe I was crazy. But how could I make her see it? What was I going to do? Make her eat too much?

My eyes opened slowly. I tuned silently to face my bickering parents.

"You know, it makes sense. It makes sense that he would cheat."

"Harper, what are you even saying?"

"You're never home, mom, and dad goes on these business trips. It's not like this is a shock."

My mother glared at me. "What do you mean, this isn't a shock?"

"Look, I'm just saying that you're not as young as you used to be."

"Harper what the-"

My mother held a hand out to my dad to tell him to stop talking.

"What?" she asked.

"I mean looking at the video and the woman that dad found... I mean yeah, if I had a choice between her and you, I would choose her."

Before I could prepare myself, my mother was lunging across the room. Her slender hands wrapped around my neck with a force greater than I thought was possible. I went limp as she strangled me. She had to see.

My vision went black, and I gasped for air. I was about to pass out before my father ripped my mother off of me. I gasped and sputtered at the oxygen that had evaded me. Please, I begged in my mind.

I dragged myself to the screen and gasped for air. With labored breaths, I held down the rewind button.

"Look," I rasped at my parents before hitting play.

Appearing on the screen were sideways, eyes blinking slowly. In each corner, the text three out of three was displayed.

Now I'm writing this to you because I don't know what else to do. I keep hearing it. It's telling me to do things. Terrible fucking things. I've already done terrible things.

I guess it doesn't even matter anymore, so I don't know why I'm omitting the end. I killed them. My parents are dead. I killed them because they wanted to tell. They wanted to tell the police and Eye said that can't happen. I know that he's right. At this point, I'm in too deep.

Okay, there I go again, omitting things. I know why this matters and I know why I'm doing this. I have to. I hope that you'll understand. Well, if you don't now, you will.

The Eye said if I do this, I will be free. I want to be free. I think I want to be free

Now that you've read this, the Eye knows who you are. The Eye knows that you've read this. The Eye knows if you sinned. Chances are you have. I bet you can feel the Eye right now. I bet the Eye is your head. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

I don't think Eye was ever going to set me free. Now we're in it together, I guess.