A Retelling of The Three Little Pigs Fairytale

Alexandra Laylor 

Professor Anna Voisard

FIQWS Fairytale 10005

1 December 2022

 Let Me In

Brrring, Brrring, Brrring.

“911, what’s your emergency.”

“My boyfriend… he is unconscious and bleeding out in my living room.”

“Do You know what happened?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me your name and address, then state what happened.”

“I’m Bethany Marie Roosevelt, and I’m on my family’s estate, the main house. My boyfriend is unconscious because of me.”

**********************************************

    Bethany and Kyle had been dating for three months when she finally revealed to her family that she had a new boyfriend. Her mother insisted that she bring him over to dine with the family in order for them to get to meet him officially, which is why, a week later, both she and Kyle were currently seated around a dining table in the main house on her family estate. 

“So Kyle, tell me a little about yourself.”

“Well, I grew up in the countryside, my family didn’t have much, but we made do with what we had. My father was a builder, and he taught me a few things.” 

“Sooo, how did yoww snag a girl like my sistorr,” asked Bethany’s brother, Richard, who sat on the other side of her. A faint smell of alcohol on his breath penetrated her nose; she frowned at this. 

“Don’t be such a pig Rick; the least you can do is pull yourself together to say the sentence correctly,” Winslet, Bethany’s sister, spoke out in annoyance.

The conversation became stilted after Winslet’s comment and remained so for the rest of dinner.

**********************************************

    After dinner, Bethany was helping her mother do the dishes when her mother revealed her doubts about her new boyfriend—stating how she ‘doesn’t like the vibe that he is giving off.’ Bethany had heard enough. All her life, her mother put her on a pedestal. Out of all her siblings, her mother looked to her with hope. This stemmed from the flawed way in which she raised her first and second born. Because of this, Bethany felt burdened by all the responsibilities placed on her. She loved her mother truly, and never wanted to disappoint her, which is why she always did as her mother bid her to do. 

“Look, mother, I suggest you direct your worries over to someone else who actually needs it. Oh, I know, how about Rick; I thought he was getting better.”

“I did not know he would be like this. But tonight is not about Richard; it is about you and your boyfriend, and I don’t think….”

“Would you stop it already!”

“Look, sweetheart, I want the best for you and your siblings. I failed them; I was too soft on Richard; I cuddled him and let him get away with too many things. And Winslet, God, I was so distant with her. I thought maybe if I was more strict in raising her and with a hands-off approach, then she wouldn’t turn out like her older brother. But somehow, I messed up, I was cold and distant, and now she’s built this wall around her and cares mostly about herself. Bethany, you know I’m sick, and all I want to do is to make sure all three of you are ok before I go.”

By this time, all the dishes were washed and dried, and the two women stood facing each other. Margaret stares directly into Bethany’s eyes with a pleading look on her face while Bethany momentarily stares at her feet.

“I get it, mom, But I really like him, so just give him a chance, please.”

Reluctantly Bethany’s mother agreed. “Just be careful, sweetie.”

 “Mother.”

“Yeah”

“I love you.”

“ I love you too, sweetheart.”

**********************************************  

    Bethany backed her Audi out of one of the many garages the main house has, then turned and went on her way. She looked through the rearview mirror at her mother waving bye when she felt Kyle’s gaze on her.

“What?”

“She doesn’t like me, does she?”

Bethany hesitated but eventually answered, “she just needs time.”

“Hmmm.”

**********************************************

    Unfortunately, time wasn’t on their side because a week later, Bethany received a call from her brother.

 It was about their mother. 

She’s dead.

Bethany could hear her brother talking on the phone, but she stopped listening after the words ‘she’ and ‘dead.’ Her legs gave out from under her, and she fell to the floor, phone in hand. Kyle must have heard something because he came rushing into the room and then crossed the room towards her. When he reached her, he knelt, took her in his arms, and that’s when the dam broke.

A month later, her mother’s funeral was held. It was nice and not too crowded. Her mother was laid to rest beside her husband under a tree in their family’s graveyard. Three days later, all three of them, her brother, sister, and she, sat on various pieces of furniture in the main house’s smallest living room, waiting on the executor to commence the reading of her mother’s will.

“Now, before we begin, I want to ensure everyone who is supposed to be here is here.”

“Everyone is, sir,” said Bethany.

“You sure you don’t want to call your boyfriend in? He’s already here,” mumbled Winslet, staring directly at her nails.

“Excuse me. What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that this is a family affair, and he shouldn’t be here. Mom wouldn’t like that; she barely liked him.”

“ Ladies, please, let’s not argue. If everyone is here, then let us begin.”

Bethany glared at her sister, but untimely turned her attention to the executor.

“Now, according to this will, as it reads: Richard, my dear son, I know you are not the most well-kept person, so I decided to give you the Marrow house. It is a low maintenance house, a bit old, but it would suit you. I also pass your father’s hunting guns and my three cars to you. You will not have the wine cellar, and you know why; it is for your own good. Winslet, to you, I give my jewelry; I know you would like to have them, and so I give them to you. After much consideration, I also decided to let you have the Ronald Glasshouse but cautioned that you stay vigilant. It is not my preferred housing style, but you asked for it, so it’s yours. And last Bethany, to you I give the main house: Hawks Worth. You will be in charge of the family’s money and take care of the family’s assets. I hope you understand my decision on who gets what and understand I wish the best for all of you.”

“Well, can’t say I’m surprised; you were always her favorite,” Winslet directed at Bethany as she made her way to the exit.

Bethany sighed; this wasn’t going to be easy.

**********************************************

    Bethany was in the private kitchen of Hawk Worth, the main house of her family estate, chopping vegetables when she felt someone wrap their arms around her and kiss her cheek. She smiled at this. She and Kyle had been living here for a week now, to her sister’s dismay.

“What is all that for?” questioned Bethany as she leaned into his arms.

“Can I not show my girlfriend some love?” When she turned to give him a pointed look. He caved, “Alright, fine. Your brother invited me on a night out that may or may not involve drinking.”

“ You know my brother has an unhealthy relationship with drinking; you said no, right?” When she got no response, she pressed. “Right?”

“Look darling, whether or not I go with him doesn’t stop him from going. At Least if I’m there, I can keep an eye on him.”

Bethany took a minute to mold it over in her head, then came to a decision, “Fine, just make sure he doesn’t drink too much and do something stupid like strip in front of everyone.”

“Has he done that before?”

“Too many times to count.”

They both chuckled at this.

Night came, and both her brother and Kyle headed toward the town. It wasn’t until later, when she lay in her bed, that she felt the bed dip. She opened her eyes and saw that it was Kyle. They were back.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you.”

“ It’s ok. How was it?”

“It was ok, I mean, he got away from me a few times, but I always managed to find him. He was a bit drunk, sorry, I tried, but I followed him to make sure he got to his house; I offered to help him get settled in, but he declined.”

“Alrighty, just come to bed, and thank you.”

“The pleasure is all mine.”

**********************************************

    A scream startled Bethany out of her sleep, and again she heard it. The third time she recognized it was coming from Winslet, she was screaming Bethany’s name.

Bethany rushed to her sister, jostling Kyle awake; he followed her.

When she reached her sister, she took in her appearance. Winslet looked pale, her hands were shaking violently, and she looked hysterical.

“Hey, Letty, what’s wrong?”

“ I needed to get back my stuff, and he wasn’t answering his phone, so I walked down to his house to check on him, but it was locked, and I knew this might happen, so I brought the spare key he gave me. Bethany, he wasn’t in the house. And with him not answering his phone, I used the find my phone app to try and find him.  It…. It leads to the woods near his house, near the well, I I I ….”

“Winslet, take a deep breath; now, what else happened?” A part of Bethany doesn’t want to know, but she has to hear it; no, she needs to hear it.

“He’s dead, he’s dead. His body…. the well.” 

Bethany’s stomach dropped at hearing this.

    A few hours later, the EMTs and the police came to the estate. She hadn’t gone to see his body, if she did, then this would all be real, but the moment the EMTs moved his body to the ambulance, reality hit her. Her brother is dead.

 The police question them about where they were before and after his death and about their last moments with him. The whole time Bethany realized Winslet was glaring at Kyle with red-rimmed eyes, and she wouldn’t find out why until Winslet confronted her after the toxicology report on their brother was released: Richard died with alcohol and drugs in his system; he likely stumbled his way into the woods, towards the well and accidentally fell in.

“Don’t you find it a bit suspicious that Kyle was the last person to see him alive?”

“Excuse me.”

“Come on, Bethany Richard doesn’t do drugs, I know he drinks a lot, but he never resorts to drugs!”

“Are you forgetting that one time he tried it?”

“He hated the experience, and it turned him off from doing it again. You know this.”

“I don’t know what to believe. The last I checked, Rick just got out of rehab, and yet, he still drank.”

“Kyle cannot be trusted.”

“Enough! You never liked him, and I try to be understanding about it, but don’t you dare blame him for this!”

“Ask him then!”

“I will!” 

And with that, Bethany stormed off, leaving Winslet by herself.

**********************************************

    What her sister said to her plagued her mind, so later, when Kyle came back home, she asked him, “Did you see when my brother took the drugs?”

“No, remember I told you that he would sometimes disappear on me.”

“Alright then.”

“Darling, where is this coming from?”

“ Uh, well, Winslet is just worried about the fact that he took drugs. But it’s fine; forget that I asked.”

“Hmmm”

**********************************************

    Three days later, Bethany got a call; it was about the estate. A fire broke out in Winslet’s house, and she had to be rushed to the hospital. Winslet suffered severe burns, and she slipped into a coma. Not a day went by where Bethany wouldn’t visit her sister, and with each passing of the days, Bethany thought back to what her sister said about her boyfriend. Ever since he came into their lives, terrible things kept happening to them; he was the only one at the estate with her that day. However, Bethany pushed down the idea Kyle could never do this.

    It was on a normal day when Winslet woke up and revealed to her that Kyle was the one who had caused the fire at her house. Winslet had done some digging and found out that there were no traces of Kyle on the web before they met.  Kyle found out that Winslet knew the truth, then tried to silence her.

I’m gonna try something, but it’s probably gonna get me killed.”

“Bethany, I don’t think….”

“Just trust me, Winslet. I know it’s risky, but this might be the only way to stop him.” 

Bethany’s gaze shifted from Winslet’s tired eyes to her arm decorated with wires that connected her to the hospital machines; she took hold of it and gently squeezed. 

**********************************************

    When Bethany went home, she set her plan in motion. She hid a recorder in her bra, hoping it wouldn’t be noticeable, then she set a kettle of water on low heat so it wouldn’t boil too fast. She then began to prepare dinner. Kyle came home sometime after and headed to the kitchen where she was. She was nervous, but this had to be done.

 “How was the visit, darling?” said Kyle as he came to kiss her on the lips.

“It was ok, but she hadn’t woken up, and I was thinking of pulling the plug on her. Does that make me a bad person?”

Kyle narrowed his eyes at her, so she tried her best to look convincing. He must have bought it because his face went back to normal. 

“It doesn’t make you a bad person to want things, and maybe it is best to put her out of her misery.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. If I’m being honest, I was kind of sick of her and my brother. It was so draining to take care of them. I’m supposed to be the baby of the family, not the caretaker. Richard wouldn’t listen, and Winslet despises every bone in my body. I tried, and look at the mess they got themselves in; maybe it was a blessing in disguise.”

“You’re welcome.”

“What?”

“If I knew you felt this way, I would have included you in the process.”

“What process?”

“Of getting rid of them.”

“You did that to them, but I thought….”

“It started with your mother; it was easy to have her death be blamed on her sickness, though it was harder to enter her house unseen. For Richard, he made it way too easy; all I had to do was keep spiking his drink; I hid his house keys and told him they were in the woods. He was so drunk enough to believe it. He was looking into the well when I pushed him. Your sister, well, I left the gas on, and after a while, I lit a match. She saw me, but that didn’t save her. She knew too much.”

“You monster.” Bethany was brought to tears by this revelation.

 At first, Kyle looked shocked by her change in demeanor, but then realization hit him. 

“You conniving little bit$h. Too bad I was starting to like you.” 

After saying that, Kyle advanced on her, but she was quick enough to grab the kettle with boiling water and pour its contents at him. He screamed in agony. She ran to the living room, but he caught up to her and hit her across the face, then kicked her in the stomach. She doubled over, and he took the opportunity to grab her hair and drag her. She managed to grab a vase, and she smashed it across his head. He stumbled but managed to catch her again, continuing his path to the fireplace. He held her face over to the fireplace, pushing it closer and closer to the flickering flame. Before Bethany’s head was submerged, she stretched her arms far enough to reach the mental rod they used to stroke the fire and hit him with it. He let go of her, and she continued to hit him with the rod until he stopped moving. She dropped the metal rod, then dialed 911. 

Brrring, Brrring, Brrring.

“911, what’s your emergency.”

“My boyfriend… he is unconscious and bleeding out in my living room.”

“Do You know what happened?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me your name and address, then state what happened.”

“I’m Bethany Marie Roosevelt, and I’m on my family’s estate, the main house. My boyfriend is unconscious because of me.”

Bethany ended the call, and with one final look at the body on the floor, she turned and staggered out of the living room towards the front door. She opened it, and with gritted teeth, she clutched her side and slowly sat on the first step. They will know where to find her.

After a while, she took a few deep breaths, then, once again, dialed a number on the phone.

Brrring, Brrring, Brrring.

“Winslet, it’s done.”

In the distance, a faint siren could be heard, and the telltale blue flashing light of the police cars became visible and brighter with each passing second.

“Yeah, it’s all over.”