Hey guys, yes I'm finally back! Thank you so much for the nice feedback you sent me about Antiquity Paily it means a lot, and thank you for following me here too! Thanks a lot to the best beta-reader of the world emma . ray, your support and encouragement mean a lot to me.
New reader: A few moments will refer to what happened in "Antiquity Paily" in the future -another fiction that you can take as a prologue to this one- but they won't be major so it's totally up to you to read it first (or not).
Here we go.
Looking from a window above, it's like a story of love
Can you hear me
Came back only yesterday
I'm moving further away
Want you near-
"Fuuuuck."
"Paige! Language!" scalded my mom.
"My cassette player's batteries died, again!"
"We're arriving anyway," said my dad. "You've been listening to your thing the whole journey, it would do you good to put down the headphones and participate in the conversation."
"I don't really get the point. It's not like I'm enjoying myself talking to you two. I didn't wanna move to this crummy town in the first place," I said, crossing my arms on my chest and killing the back of their heads with my eyes.
"Paige, we didn't really have a choice," said my mom with a softer voice. "You dad's job is really important. You can invite Spencer whenever you like, I'm sure he'll be happy to help you decorate the little surprise we have for you."
"You really think that buying me with 'surprises' is going to make me enjoy this dump? He's going to college anyway, he won't have free days to make the journey. I don't get why I couldn't move in with him."
"Paige that's enough," said my dad. "You're seventeen, you're way too young to know what you want, even less to start living with a boy."
As the very mature person I was, I put my hands on my ears and started to chant.
ALL I NEEDED WAS THE LOVE YOU GAAAAVE
ALL I NEEDED FOR ANOTHEEEEER DAAAAAAY
"Oh come on Paige, stop it. We're here."
My dad drove the car through a big rusted fence and I discovered what was going to be my house for the first time. I had seen it from polaroids my mom had shown me but what photos don't give you is the crippling feeling down your spine and chills at the back of your neck. The house was huge - it had three storeys and windows on the roof showed that an attic was overhanging the house. I was half scared, half excited.
I whispered: "Scarciting."
"What?" asked my mom.
"Nothing," I muttered. "The house seems...old."
"It is," answered my mom.
She was excited and turned to the backseat to look at me. I feigned a smile. She was a victim just as I was, forced to follow my father due to his promotion as bank manager. I didn't see the glory in being head of a bank in such a small city but from what I understood the pay was much better than our previous situation. With luck, it would put him in a better mood to boss other people than me around, and I could spend the next holidays at Spencer's.
"You'll see Paige, the rooms are huge and we're gonna have so much fun painting and decorating it. You'll even be able to chose what music we'll listen to while working," she said with a cunning smile.
That time I didn't have to feign it, I was smiling, with all my heart in it. I forgot for a second that my friends and boyfriend were thousands of miles away and I started to be really into this decoration project. Seeing my mom really happy for the first time in forever was heart warming.
"So..." I asked, a mischievous look on my face, "are there ghosts in the house?"
My mom laughed as my dad was parking the car in front of a huge porch with worn planks of wood. The attacks of time were pretty obvious and it seemed that nobody had lived in this house for decades. A woman - probably the real estate agent - came out of the house. She was all fake teeth out and I was wondering if I should put my sunglasses to not be blinded by them. She was wearing a pink suit and was making grand movements with her arms like she was trying to fly as a way to greet us - definitely the real estate agent.
"Mr and Mrs McCullers, welcome to your home! Hello little one! I'm Ms Vanderwaal! "
I wasn't really the kind of girl you'd wanna call "little one". I was 5ft 6ins, pretty fit and absolutely didn't care about that fluorescent fashion you saw everywhere that made you look like a stupid Barbie doll from outer space. I was wearing my favourite torn out jeans, a white shirt and Spencer's leather jacket with chains. CHAINS LADY.
"Hi Ms Vanderwaal. Nice suit," I mumbled.
"Thank you young lady! Nice erm... jeans! Did you have a good journey?"
"It was okay," said my dad, as if he was trying to shut me off. "Not too much traffic. We should go inside, I guess we have some final papers to sign."
"Absolutely," answered Ms Vanderwaal. "Follow me doll!"
My mom gave me the most supplicating look she could demonstrate. Fine mom, I won't say anything bad to the nice lady. Even if she gave me two horrible nicknames in the space of 60 seconds.
We entered the house and it took my breath away. The hall was huge and facing me was an enormous staircase. My eyes were wide open as I was finally awake from the doldrums of the journey. The lady was still walking towards a room on the right and I was still standing, immobile, my mouth slightly open, in awe. In truth, the building looked more like a manor than a house. The staircase was slightly curved to the left, with a big wooden handrail, and from what I could see from here, was probably leading to a corridor that was crossing the house from right to left, announcing rooms I was yearning to explore.
My mom took a step back to get close to me.
"I knew you'd like it," she whispered in my direction.
"Yeah yeah, it's fine." I said, following her to what was probably going to be the living room. I knew that she knew I was in awe, just by seeing the hall and the staircase, but I didn't want to show too much enthusiasm as I was still mad. But slightly less.
We joined my father who was looking over some papers with the real estate agent.
"So, what are your first impressions rabbit?"
Rabbit...? What is she on and where can I find some?
I decided to ignore it.
"It's ace," I said. "Strange that it hasn't been occupied in so long."
My father gave me a death stare.
"Well..." started Ms Vanderwaal, "there were occupants but they left pretty quickly. You will find some stuff they left in the attic. Health issue if I recall, they moved to Florida."
"They left so quickly they forgot stuff?!" I asked suspiciously.
"Paige that's enough," barked my dad.
"It's okay," said Ms Vanderwaal with a laugh. "Youth's ardour hahaha. Well they were pretty eager to move out but don't be afraid young lady, everything is fine with the house. Just a new coat of paint and you'll live in a palace. And you'll see, the town is very nice and I'm sure you'll make friends very quickly."
"But-"
My dad's stare stopped me.
"Thank you, Ms Vanderwaal."
"My pleasure!" She then turned to my dad. "Well I guess we have everything! I wish you a good installation and if you need anything, I'm one phone call away! Bye doll!"
My father accompanied her to the door and my mom grabbed my arm.
"Come on Paige, I'm gonna show you your surprise."
"Can't I explore the house first?"
"It's part of the exploration," she said with a smile.
My mom was nothing like my dad. She wasn't very present at times but I knew she was always caring. She had sweet words when my father had upset me and a smile that could melt a frozen heart. He was the strict one. Always on my back to tell me how to dress, how to behave, pushing me further at swim practice...and without my mom he would have probably tried to control who I dated. He had cut me some slack since I learned we were moving but a snarky comment on his part or a slap at the back of my head were never far away.
I followed her up the stairs, my hand slowly caressing the bannister, mechanically collecting dust with my fingertips. My guess became truth - the first floor offered a long corridor, going in both directions, the promise of several rooms to redecorate, but my mother didn't stop there. I rushed a bit to catch up with her while she was walking towards another staircase, much smaller and steeper this time. We weren't talking and I loved that she knew me well enough to let my thoughts wander without having to maintain small talk. We arrived to another floor that was a lot dustier, a sign that nobody had set foot there in ages. But again she didn't stop there. She moved to the end of the corridor and opened another door, leading to another staircase, even smaller and steeper than the second one. She stood there, smiling at me.
"Come on Paige, up we go!"
"What is this?" I asked "Is it a torture chamber or something?"
She laughed and pretended to sulk while very slowly closing the door.
"Well if you don't want your surprise..."
"NOOOO," I screamed, a bit louder than I thought judging by my mother's face.
"Okay okay, Paige," she said with a laugh. "I'm going first as the lock is a bit hard but just so you know... everything behind this door is for you."
I was having a really hard time containing my excitement. Was she offering me the whole space? Or was there something else behind this door?
She showed me an old key, probably made of lead as it seemed very heavy, the kind of keys you see in old movies when they try to open a crypt or a big safe.
"This will be yours too."
So my own space and I will be able to lock the door? I figured my dad wouldn't have been really pleased with that idea.
She climbed the stairs while I stayed on this floor, the smallness of it not allowing me to follow her. I heard my mom playing with the lock and grumbling a bit.
"Are you okay?" I asked, loud enough for her to hear me.
"The door won't open. I'll have to ask your dad to look at it when he's free. Ugh I'm sorry Paige," she said while coming down the stairs.
"Let me try."
I was determined to discover my surprise as it would soften the pain of being here, away from Spencer and my friends.
"Go ahead," she said, laughingly mocking my stubbornness a little.
She handed me the key and I climbed the stairs, watching where I put my feet carefully, a bit afraid that a step would break under my weight due to their apparent oldness. I arrived at a worn door with some kind of markings on it. Someone had probably tried to scrub some graffiti or a kid had fun with a marker and a pissed nanny had to clean it or whatever.
I put the key in the lock, put my left hand on the handle and the door opened instantly, without me having to unlock it. Weird.
"Moooom? It's opeeeeen!" I screamed, proud of myself but a bit baffled. She had probably opened it but wanted to surprise me and let me be the first to discover the room.
"Oh how strange," I heard her mumble. "Okay then, enter, I'm right behind you!"
I pushed the door and my jaw dropped. It was an immense attic with exposed beams, a wooden floor and a huge round window at both ends. The walls were in serious need of paint and there was a lot of furniture that would probably need to be brought to the waste handling - maybe some could be saved, like that old wardrobe - but the space was so huge and promising that I wasn't focusing on the details. The fact that it was right under the eaves offered an intense light, even in that far advanced afternoon. The room's potential was almost unlimited.
I heard my mother's steps behind me that were more and more heavy, as a way to draw me out of my reverie.
"Come on Paige, you can enter further," she laughed.
"All of this... for me ?"
"Yes daughter, it is. You can decorate however you want. It will be perfect for your music and painting. You can choose to make it your room or just your studio and sleep on the first floor. There are plenty of rooms anyway. We are saving the second floor for guests or storage so it's really your call."
0000.1 seconds of hard thinking after I answered: "My room! I mean...It would be awesome for the whole attic to be like a gigantic room with the piano over there, my amps there, the bed over here, the study there...of course I'll paint the room before installing everything and..."
My mom burst out laughing.
"I'm so glad you like it."
I turned red. Crap, I still haven't thanked her yet.
I walked closer to her and wrapped my hands around her, putting my head on her shoulder. She seemed really surprised by my hug and I couldn't blame her. I had been a brat for months now, since I'd learned that I had to leave my boyfriend and our previous home. All was not forgiven but this was a very sweet gesture, making sure I had this place as a sanctuary. And I was convinced she had to work hard to convince my dad to let me have the place. As far as I remembered I hadn't had physical contact with my parents since I was 10 and it was fine by me but right now I wanted to make her feel how grateful I was for what she had done.
"Thanks mommy," I whispered in her ear.
"You're welcome Paige." she answered softly.
We parted and I started to look around, lifting the white linens that were covering some pretty rad armchairs and some pedestal side tables. We were laughing at some discoveries, frowning at others, sneezing because of the dust.
"Well it seems like you two are having fun."
We hadn't even heard my dad coming in. We stopped right away, like two children caught doing something bad, and both looked at him. He was smiling. Genuinely smiling. I figured that it must had been hard for him to leave too, even with a raise and the promise of a better situation, and that seeing us like that had made him happy.
"Thanks dad. It really means a lot."
"You're welcome," he answered. "But don't make us regret trusting you."
Aaaaand he was back to his usual self.
"I won't," I said, looking at the floor.
"Good. Marie, I was coming here to get you. What do you think about giving Paige some alone time to discover the house and coming out for dinner with your husband?"
Holy wow. My parents, leaving me alone in a new house and going on a date? It was actually an awesome idea after the long trip and it would allow me to smoke a little pot Spencer had given me. Good for the creativity. And I'll be able to test if the smell spreads out.
My mom looked as surprised as I was and her face lit up again.
"Sure!" she turned in my direction. "You'll be okay on your own right?"
"Of course! Please go out and enjoy yourselves!"
"We won't be long. We'll bring some take out for you. In the mean time, there is a box with paper and crayons for you in the kitchen so you can take notes and make a plan," said my mom with a smile.
She knew that my brain was already working at full capacity, imagining what I could do to rearrange the room to its full potential.
"Take all the time you need," I answered, not even looking at them as I was mentally calculating where to fit the bed.
"Okay then," said my mom smiling. "We'll lock the house behind us. Have fun!"
She walked towards me to put a kiss on my forehead and left, following my father who had already go down. I guess the hug I gave her made her feel touchy-feely.
I sat cross-legged in the middle of the attic to let the energy of the room sink in. An incomprehensible feeling was crawling up my spine, starting from my hips and going through the back of my skull, as if tiny needles were poking at me, but in the meantime I was in some kind of euphoria. This room is mine. MINE. I could do with it whatever I wanted and I was totally independent.
I managed to tear myself from my mental planning and got up to go look for the box my mom had spoken about, but as I was walking towards the door I felt a cold breeze on my neck.
Darn.
There was probably a hole in the roof, allowing the wind to sneak in between two tiles.
The sun was starting to set, casting a beautiful light in the room, with all kinds of orange, red and purple shades, but not giving me enough light to be able to scrutinise the walls to find the source.
I walked towards the door to go look for a light - the attic didn't have any lamps yet - but it wouldn't open.
Fuck.
The door was probably stuck, same as when my mom had wanted to open it. I took a deep breath and started to push, pull and play with the handle. Nothing. Don't panic Paige, it's okay. They'll be back in a few hours anyway, if you can't open it it's fine. I wasn't susceptible to claustrophobia so I decided to just enjoy some "me" time and mentally project the improvements I wanted to bring to the room.
I walked towards one of the windows to enjoy the view. From this side I was able to see the huge garden and the pool - my dad's requirement when looking for our new home - and the lack of neighbours was reassuring. We had left a little town in the suburbs of Minneapolis with noisy old people living all around us, always giving us judgy looks from their windows when I walked in front of their house with Spencer. Crap, Spencer. I had promised to call him as soon as I arrived, but the discovery of the house and my mental planning had totally taken my mind off him. Well played Mom and Dad.
As my mind was drifting towards my boyfriend I felt the cold blow on my neck again, raising all my nape's little hairs, despite my long mane covering it. It gave me chills all over and the fact that I had felt it at the exact same place on my body on two spots that were at least 15 feet away from each other in the room was kind of creepy, especially with the night approaching fast. I was trying to rationalise it, thinking it was my imagination or that it was logical that the attic had a few holes considering how old it looked despite Ms Vanderwaal's affirmations.
I ran my hand over my neck, brushing the cold feeling off, and as I was putting down my arm I felt something freezing touching my palm. Not a snippet of air. No. A touch. Okay that's it, I gotta get out of here.
I went back to the door and started to pull it with all I had. Nothing. Not a movement. I shouted in frustration and kicked it but I had to acknowledge my defeat. I'll just have to wait for my parents to be back. I fell on my knees, my forehead resting on the door, eyes closed. Ugh fuck.
And then I heard a voice coming from behind me.
"Paige...?"
What the...
