F
First chapter here is very short, an introduction to the family basically. I don't own AHS
My family and I have never been people who enjoyed large changes. But here I sat with my brother, in the back of a silent car, on my way to our new home. My mother had attempted to break the silence once or twice, reassuring me that this was going to be an exciting new chapter in our lives. I knew her intentions were good, but I had nothing to say to her, at least nothing positive. All I could think of was how I was never going to step foot in the house that held my childhood again, how I was never going to return to the places I knew by heart with the people who made those places so special. The worst part of it all was by far the relationships I had been forced to leave behind, all I could do to prevent myself from breaking down crying was to bite my lip and attempt to focus on the passing scenery.
When she first told me she was selling the house, I was furious. I had exploded, the horrible things I had said to my mother was a terrible way to react in itself, but understandable. What was out of hand for me to do was destroy a good portion of our belongings: starting with me simply knocking over a chair and ending with shattered glasses, shredded photos, broken mirrors, and hundreds of dollars in ruined furniture. To say I acted poorly would be an understatement. Eventually it ended with me sliding to the floor in tears, slamming my fist against the hardwood. And what did I get out of my little hissy fit? Nothing but a broken hand and a strained relationship with my mother.
I understand why she felt we had to move, but my emotions always get the best of me. She is simply trying to hold her family together as well as get away from the things that hurt her, and my little fit didn't help the situation at all. Things had been stressful around the house for some time, it was clear that our dad had been becoming increasingly depressed. Mom refused to see it as it was: a severe mood disorder. She convinced herself it was just a bit of sadness that was easily fixable by strong will. This proved to be a terrible plan when dad decided to drive his car into a large tree at 120 miles per hour. Mom said it must have been an accident despite the evidence that it was not. Due to his passing, she decided to move us to Los Angeles where there was plenty of happiness-bringing sun mom could soak up, to help her forget about her late husband.
Seeing all the houses we passed as we got closer to our destination made me grow more and more discouraged, the houses, although well kept, appeared to have no personality to them. I closed my eyes, letting my body relax for a minute before my mother spoke, "we're here!" I opened my eyes to see an extremely large brick house with many windows. I couldn't believe my mother thought the three of us needed such a large house, and even more unbelievable was the idea of how much this house must have cost. We were accustomed to living in larger homes since dad had at one point been a part of the NFL, but the money saved from his glory days wasn't an endless pit, but I suppose with his death mom got enough money to be unconcerned with the cost of such a large home.
"How much did this cost?"
"There are 6 bedrooms, and 5 bathrooms, and such a plush yard! It will be perfect for us" my mother responded, ignoring my question.
"That's not what I asked" My mother walked up to the front door, ignoring me completely.
"If there really are 6 bedrooms, I get two" my brother said, I ignored him just like my mother had me.
If there is one thing we all have in common in my family, it is our outstanding ability to ignore the people and events happening around us.
The permanent residents of the house stirred at the realization of new arrivals. It wasn't surprising to see another family moving in, thus far the Harmon's had done a decent job at keeping families coming and going. It was a shame how many people had uprooted their lives to move in, only to leave. Some of the ghosts couldn't wait to terrorize the new in habitants for fun, and knowing this fact gave the more pure ghosts in the home a reason to strike fear immediately in hopes of vacating the house once more. Some left with a paranoia of the supernatural haunting them for life, but at least it was better than staying in a place that took away pieces of people until only the darkest parts remained.