Violet
I could feel his eyes piercing my back as I topped the Christmas tree off with its star. This really was a picture perfect Christmas: my parents, happy as ever, holding their son looking at the brightly lit green and red tree, their teenage daughter on the ladder placing the star, and the godmother putting up last minute ornaments and decorations. It all felt right…except for the fact that this was Murder House. And we were all dead. And my ex-boyfriend/homicidal ghost/lover who I told I never wanted to speak to again couldn't leave the property and was watching me with sad eyes through a window to the left of the tree.
I sighed as I hopped off the ladder. In all honesty, I missed him. I missed him so much my insides ached. I missed his arms around me, his lips on mine. I wanted him, but no one could know.
'Okay, stop. He has to pay for what he did. And the more you think about him, the more you miss him. You're torturing yourself, Violet. Remember: he is a cold-blooded murderer. And to top it all off, he raped your mother who then gave birth to his demon spawn…' I thought to myself.
I really have been thinking too much lately, and my thoughts trail on end and seem to have conversations with themselves. I guess that's a downside of being dead. You have way too much time on your hands to think.
"Great job with the tree, honey," Ben Harmon smiled. My dad seemed genuinely happy.
"Yes, it really does look great, Vi. And thank you, Moira, for helping with the decorations. The baby has been quite a handful lately," Vivien Harmon laughed as she rocked baby Jeffrey in her arms.
Moira grinned, "It's the least I could do."
It amazes me how my family seems more functional in the afterlife compared to when we were all alive. They seem happier; at peace. I guess I must seem the same way because I am happier. I'm with my family. But I am also unhappy. It's depressing roaming these halls day in and day out, not being able to leave. And when I do have a good day, he is always at the back of my mind. I know he's always watching from a distance, but not in an unsettling way. I know he will care for me no matter how many times I
banish him. His presence disgusts me yet I am still in love with him, and I am trying to figure out how that can be.
Tate
My fingertips pressed longingly against the cool glass as I peered in at the festivities. I could feel the warmth radiating from inside the house –no, it was coming from her. She truly was the only light I had ever known. And even standing out here in freezing cold weather, the warmth wrapped its arms around me; inviting me in. But she had told me to stay away. And I am the darkness. She was and is the only person I ever cared for more than myself, so I had to keep my distance if it made her happy. Everything I do is for her.
"Oh for Christ's sake, Tate. Pull yourself together and forget about the little bitch. She doesn't want you anymore. She's made it pretty clear and you're just wasting your time," Hayden whispered in my ear, her words full of venom.
"What time, exactly?" I spit back, wiping away the tears on my cheeks that had pooled over, "I have all of eternity, so why not pine? You don't have much room to speak. We all know you're still after Ben. Hell, he's the whole reason you came back to this shit hole. And he has made it pretty clear that he doesn't want you either."
She started to retaliate, "I'm over Ben. I've been over Ben – "
"I'm not interested in your monologue, Hayden. You're not over Ben. And if you ever call Violet a bitch again, I'll kill you again and again until you retreat to the basement with sad Nora and I won't ever have to listen to your bullshit again."
I started to walk away. Even in the afterlife, there are still crazy bitches to deal with.
"It's sad, isn't it?" Hayden's usually loathsome tone had turned calm.
I stopped in my tracks and sighed, "What's sad?"
"Life sucks and then you die. Well, what doesn't suck about death? While the Harmons are pretending to be the freaking Brady Bunch in there with Moira happily tagging right along, we're miserable and left to pine over the things we once had which are now gone."
"Our own faults are to blame for losing the people we love."
I looked back in the window. Violet was climbing off the ladder in a festive red dress that really accentuated her waist. And her blonde hair was shining. God, she was beautiful. I continued to walk away knowing that it was for the better. Walking away from her was painstakingly brutal.
"Goodnight, Hayden."