by R. L. Weeks
She walked ahead of me. I trudged behind her, lugging my pink suitcase. Dad had bought it for me for my ski trip a few winters ago. I miss him, I thought and clutched my stomach as I walked. I had no idea what we were going to do now. All our money was frozen. We had no one. My life had done a complete U-turn in the last twenty-four hours. To think, only a few days ago I was enjoying a sly glass of champagne on the balcony, overlooking our domain.
Pierce glanced back at me. “Let me do the talking,” she said slowly, then proceeded to walk up the steps. Her sensible black suitcase banged on each stone step until she reached the faded black doors. She hammered the knocker three times, which was gold and in the shape of a distorted face of a man with fangs for teeth. The house was getting creepier by the second.
The door swung open, and my ears resonated with the squeak from the hinges. No one had answered it. It had opened of its own accord.
“I am not going in there!” I pointed my finger at the unwelcoming blackness. “That was something out of a horror movie.”
She rolled her eyes. “The door’s old. The weight of the knocking probably creaked it open.”
I gave her a look.
She exhaled slowly. “Don’t be dramatic!” she scolded and walked into the horror house.
I followed her cautiously. The hairs on the back of my neck stood when the cold air hit me. How could a house be colder on the inside than it was outside today?
Dust reached my nostrils, making me sneeze. The air inside hurt my nose. Although, I’d take dust over the smell any day. The whole room smelled like a cat’s litter box. I pinched my nostrils. “Gross.”
Pierce scrunched her mouth but didn’t react like me. “It’s fine. It just needs a little cleaning. I’m sure Grandma finds it hard keeping up with this big house all by herself.”
“You mean there’s no staff?” I asked, horrified.
She shook her head. “Grandma isn’t rich, remember? She only has this house.”
I shook my head. I didn’t know that. No one had told me anything about Grandma, except how she was a batty old woman who lived alone and hated our family. “I’m sure she’ll be delighted to see us,” I said, my voice thick with sarcasm.
“That’s enough.” She headed for the supposed “grand” staircase. Aside from its size, there was nothing really grand about it. It was rotting, like everything else in the house. The bannisters were made from oak, from what I could tell, but the wood felt damp to the touch. The dated, pale-blue wallpaper with gold stripes was peeling off the walls. The glass on the chandelier above our heads was barely visible under the thick layer of dust covering it.
The walls were covered with black mold and dampness. The whole place was a health code violation. “We can’t live here,” I whispered as we climbed the stairs.
“Then where do you suggest we go?”
Tears pricked at my eyes. We really did have nowhere to go. That isolating thought was enough to send shivers down my spine. We reached the top of the staircase and turned left. There were no lights on, adding to the creepy vibe. I shuddered as we walked down the hallway, past paintings with eyes that seemed to follow us as we walked. “I don’t like it here,” I complained, knowing there was nothing we could do about it.
“Come on, she has to be around here somewhere,” she said, dismissing my complaints.
I’d had enough of wandering around. “GRANDMA!” My voice echoed, bouncing down the long hallway.
No answer.
We reached the end of the hallway and walked into an even larger room than the first. A stairway led around the walls, spiraling up to each floor. I pinched my arm to make sure I was awake. “The horrors continue. Next, we’ll hear a small kid crying and a ghost walking up the stairs.”
Pierce’s lips curved into a half smile. “We came here as kids,” she told me. “I don’t know if you’d remember. You were only four.”
I pressed my lips together. I’d have remembered a place like this. “Why haven’t we been here since?”
Pierce didn’t answer me. Instead, she started climbing the stairs to the next floor. “If I remember correctly, Grandma’s room was up here.”
I rested my suitcase against the wall before following her. My arm was hurting. Each step creaked as we climbed them. Living here must be like a daily workout. “How can she not have staff? Look at this place!”
“Dad tried to buy the house from her,” Pierce told me. “She said no, of course. She was always so stubborn. He offered her a lot for it too, more than she’d get on the market.”
“She should’ve taken it,” I said. “Although, if it meant we would have had to live here, then I’m glad she refused.”
Pierce laughed, so lightly. Even her laugh was composed. “We wouldn’t have moved here. He wanted to fix it up and use it as a holiday home. I’m sure he actually just wanted to help her without her knowing. Their relationship was strained to say the least, but he named her as your guardian, so I guess he must’ve had at the very least trusted her.”
The thought made my stomach knot.
We reached the landing, then turned down another hallway. I’d need a map for this house. Pierce looked like she knew where she was going though, so I followed her with faith. The wooden doors of each room had been polished. It was starting to look more like a house rather than a wreck.
“Here,” Pierce said when she reached the third room. She pulled down the gold handle, and light spilled out. “Grandma,” Pierce said delicately as she walked inside.
I walked in behind her and half-hid sheepishly behind my sister. I didn’t really know the woman.
Grandma lay under the red covers of a four-post bed. Her skin was cracked, wrinkles buried deep, and her eyes were a light blue and unseeing. Her gaze darted around but never focused on anything. “Pierce, Jackson?” she asked in the opposite direction than where we stood.
We are her only grandchildren, so I don’t know who else she would expect to be calling her Grandma, I thought snidely.
“Yes, Grandma. It’s me and Jackson.”
Grandma sat up and leaned back against the headboard. Her hands reached out to the side. She grabbed a walking cane and pulled herself out of the bed. “What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice hoarse.
Pierce ran over to help her stand.
Grandma’s hand wrapped around Pierce’s wrist. “Why are you here?” she asked again.
My stomach fluttered. We weren’t welcome here. Not a surprise really, but where would we go now?
“We have nowhere to go,” Pierce stated, her voice breaking. “Dad’s dead.”
Grandma’s frown turned into a hard line. She steadied herself by holding one of the posts of the bed.
Pierce continued. “He killed himself.”
“Allegedly,” I said, chiming in quickly.
Pierce grimaced. “It was obviously suicide. He was involved in a bunch of pyramid schemes, and word got out.”
Grandma took a moment before speaking. “Find somewhere else to go. It’s not my problem.”
I was shocked at her indifference to her son’s death. I clenched my jaw. “Look, lady!” I wagged my finger even though she couldn’t see me. “Your son just died, and now you’re going to turn away your only grandchildren because of a family feud we had nothing to do with! We have been on the go all day. I am exhausted. I’m not happy about us being here either. It’s not like we wanted any of this to happen.” Tears crept through the corners of my eyes and slid down my cheeks. “I have just lost my parents. They’re gone. Do you have no compassion?”
Pierce’s jaw dropped. “She didn’t mean that,” she said quickly. “She’s had a long day. We both have. Look, he named you as Jackson’s guardian.”
I bit my lip so hard I could taste blood.
Grandma took a moment, looking lost in thought, before finally clearing her throat. “You can stay.” She held her hand up. “Until I find somewhere else for you to go.”
Something else in her tone was off. It wasn’t o
nly that she didn’t want us here. She seemed almost… afraid.
Pierce looked crushed but kept her voice light. “I understand, but I hope you reconsider. You’re the only family we have left.”
The words seemed to resonate with her because Grandma’s frown let up a little. “Stay to yourselves,” she said. “Do not go wandering. You can stay for now, until we figure something else out.”
Pierce let out the breath she had been holding in. I did the same. “Thank you,” Pierce said, then turned toward me. “Let’s go.”
I walked out of the room, stomping heavily on the floor. As soon as we were out of earshot, I turned to Pierce. “Old hag!” I said through clenched teeth. “She doesn’t even care.”
Pierce nodded in agreement. “We just need to take what we can right now.” We walked out of the hallway and back to the stairs.
“Great, more stairs.” I huffed. I begrudgingly followed my sister to our new, temporary rooms. “She was the worst. I totally get why Dad hated her.”
“He didn’t hate her,” she said. “They just had a conflict of interest.”
I scoffed. “Conflict of interest. You know, you sound more and more like Mom and Dad with each passing day.”
She looked tired. Her eyes were bloodshot. We both needed a good night’s rest and hot chocolate. I wondered if there was even such a thing in this huge house.
Pierce fell asleep within seconds of hitting the pillow. I took the room next to hers, but I couldn’t get comfortable. I needed a change of clothes and wished for my fleece pajamas. I looked around the room. The walls were decorated with the same blue as the rest of the house. A dusty old lamp sat on a nightstand. Little tassels hung off its blue shade. The window was grimy, and the drapes were moth-bitten.
My suitcase was downstairs. I was so used to people doing things for me all the time, that I had forgotten I needed to carry my own damned bags the whole way from now on. I grumbled before forcing myself to get up and go get it. Carefully, I opened the door, then crept down the hallway. Pierce was a light sleeper.
I reached the staircase and looked up. I could see all the way to the top. Then I looked down. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I was in my senior year. Pierce was in college and doing well until all this had happened.
I walked down the stairs, looking back to mark points so I’d know how to get back to my room. When I reached the second floor, I saw a figure of a woman. My heart raced. No one else was supposed to be here. When I blinked, the figure disappeared. An icy breeze swept over my back. I shuddered and hurried my pace.
I finally reached the bottom. I grabbed my suitcase and climbed the stairs back to my room. As I walked, I felt eyes on me. I whipped my head around, but no one was watching me. At least, no one I could see.
Chapter Three
Pierce
Heaven only knows what time it was when I woke up. The first thing I did was turn the lamp on, which was tricky to find in the pitch black. It was nighttime… or early morning.
I pulled on my white slippers, then creaked the bedroom door open. I was met with a chilly breeze. I hurried out and to Jackson’s door. I opened it a nudge and looked inside. She was asleep, nestled under the sheets. She looked so peaceful. Poor Jackson. She had gone through hell the last forty-eight hours. She loved Dad more than me or Mom ever had. I missed Mom most of all, but even then, our relationship was strained. My whole focus had been on making sure Jackson was okay, so I hadn’t let myself grieve yet. I knew Jackson would be, inside, but she wouldn’t show it. We were the same in that way. We knew how to bury our feelings well.
I closed the door quietly, and walked back to mine. I fiddled with the silver chain around my neck. It had blue rose dangling from it. Mason had bought it for me for my seventeenth birthday, and I’d worn it ever since. I touched the chain and closed my eyes. I missed home.
I huffed as I sat at the bottom of my bed. I was wide awake after sleeping through yesterday. We had no phones, no Internet, nothing linking us to the outside world. There was no Internet in the house. I felt lost without it. I didn’t realize how much I was dependent on it all until it was gone. I was incredibly thirsty though.
I hurried out of the room in search of the kitchen. Or one of the kitchens. God only knew how many rooms there were in the house. I’d never gotten to explore it all when I was six. I did, however, remember being told to stay away from the east wing of the house. It had made me want to go there more. I was curiouser then than I was now. I knew it best to follow the rules. They were there for a reason.
I wrapped my robe around me and pulled it in at my waist. I was freezing. I crept down the hallway, looking at the paintings on the walls. I was surprised they were still hanging considering the state of the building. I reached the stairs and ran down them. I felt like I was being watched, and it sent my body into flight mode. I ran faster until I reached the bottom floor. I looked behind me. There was nothing there. I guessed there wasn’t, but this place had always given me the heebie-jeebies.
The empty rooms made me shudder. I quickened my pace until I was jogging. I swore I could see something in the corner of my eye. I jerked my head to the side and jolted back. A mirror faced me. In it, my horrified reflection stared back at me. I placed my hand over my chest and felt the racing pounding of my heart. “Jeez!” I exhaled slowly. “Deep breaths,” I told myself as if I might forget how to breathe.
“What er you doin’ down ’ere?” a man’s voice croaked. I jumped back several inches, feeling the wall behind my back, and sucked in a few deep breaths.
“Oh my God,” I said slowly. My whole body had frozen. “I didn’t know anyone else lived here.”
The man was old. His face was as cracked as the house. He looked like he belonged there. His eyes were a dark brown, which matched his hair, and he was missing several teeth.
“I’m the gardener,” he said in a thick, Southern accent.
“Oh.” I thought back to the overgrown garden. He clearly wasn’t doing a good job. “I’m trying to find the kitchen. Could you point me in the direction, please, sir?” I asked politely. Being alone with him in the darkened hallway was frightening enough. I wanted to get out of there.
He pointed behind me. “Ger down to the bottom, take a left, go straight past five doors, then take the stairs down to the bottom and take a right. It’s on yer left.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled and raced away. I followed his directions and finally found the kitchen. Thankfully, it looked in better condition than the rest of the house. The pantry was huge. The stove was old and well used. In the back, behind a door, was a room I could only describe as an animal slaughter room. It looked like it hadn’t been used in a long time, thank God.
I found an old kettle and placed it on the stove. I turned the gas on, lit it, and waited for the water to boil. In the meantime, I searched from some cocoa but was sorely disappointed to only find tea bags. They smelled like peppermint. “You’ll do.” I sighed.
After a few hours of sipping tea and eating a couple of croissants which had been left out, I headed to the shower. I sang under my breath while I walked, mostly to distract myself.
The death of my parents threatened to swallow me whole if I allowed myself to think about it for more than a few seconds. I may not have had the best relationship with them, but I did have some fond memories, and it was those that would destroy me. Instead, I turned my thoughts to Jackson. My poor little sister. She must be completely overwhelmed right about now. Our lives had been turned upside down in a blink of an eye. I wasn’t used to going without, but I knew how to adapt. It was how people survived, adapt or be ruined. I decided to try to get used to my new lifestyle. I needed to make good with Grandma. Even if I didn’t particularly like her, I couldn’t bite the hand that feeds us. We needed her on our side if it meant we could stay here until our funds were released.
I rubbed my temples with my fingers, massaging the worry from my mind. “Come on, Pierce. Pull it together,” I said, aloud.
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br /> When I reached our rooms, I checked in on Jackson who was still sound asleep. I hurried back into my room and grabbed a towel from the closet. I had checked all the drawers and closets when we’d arrived, before I passed out on the bed. All my clothes were already neatly put away. Not that I had many. At home, I had two walk-in closets filled with beautiful gowns, expensive pantsuits, and clothes for every occasion.
I eyed my cashmere sweater and blue pants I had hung out ready for today. I took them with me to change into. I’d feel better after a shower. I wondered if there was hair dryer anywhere in the house. I could ask Grandma. It would give me an excuse to talk to her.
I stepped out of the shower and drops of water fell onto the marble tile. I shuddered; I was so cold. I wrapped the towel around myself and walked to the grimy mirror. My tired expression looked back at me. My blue eyes were dull, almost matte in appearance. My cupid-bow lips, probably my best feature, were set in a semi-permanent frown. My recently manicured nails were chipped from the traveling, and my skin was getting dry. I ran back to my room and pulled out my moisturizer. It didn’t seem like an essential, but it was to me. My skin dried out so quickly, and that brand of cream was amazing for giving me a perfect glow. I used it sparingly, rubbing it only onto my face, shoulders, arms, and hands. I needed to make it last.
After grabbing a towel, I proceeded to get as much of the wet out of my hair as possible. I pulled my bra on, not that I needed one with my A cups, then pulled my sweater over my damp skin. It was soft and comforting. I smiled at my reflection, then pulled on my pants and a pair of white socks. I didn’t look great, but it didn’t matter. I wasn’t planning on seeing anyone except for Grandma and Jackson.
I walked back to my room and grabbed two clean towels. Knowing Jackson, she wouldn’t be getting anything ready. I placed them in the bathroom, along with my shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. I’d packed a spare toothbrush and scrubber for Jackson too. At least she’d be able to shower when she woke up.
