I: Move in
"Dad, do we really have to move in here?" I asked, malice dripping off every word.
My name is Marie Hanson. I'm fourteen years old and currently living out my worst nightmare. It wasn't always this way, no, I used to live in one of the biggest cities in the U.S. with both my parents and twin sister, Maggie. Though, it seems all luxury's have a toll. Soon after my thirteenth birthday my parents got into a huge fight, ending with mom declaring a divorce. Six months later it was decided that I would be separated from my sister, and my dad and I would have to move out of the house. This brings us to Hampden, Maine, in one of the most haunted mansions in town.
It wasn't exactly the look or size that got to me. The mansion was a cedar color, a dome skylight adorning the entrance hall. It would be more you would expect of a castle then a mansion; silk covered the walls entirely. It would make you think how someone of low income, such as my dad, could buy a place like this. Apparently, the previous owners went mad and sold it for an apartment's price.
However, I can tell what made the owners go crazy. It was the very feel of the place. It made the tiny hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. My father didn't have the same feeling, though, which made me more nervous.
"Sweetheart, there were no other places available. And besides, it has a homey feel to it… I'll tell you what, if you can't stand it in four months, we'll find a better place, alright?" I sighed. He was using his you-have-no-other-choice tone. After grumbling out a 'fine' I headed up the stairs to pick out a room.
There were many selections, as there were three other floors, ten bedrooms on each level. Each room was a different color, obviously to suit the tastes of up to a hundred guests.
One room finally caught my eye; a seemingly normal one with wooden furniture and red colored rug and curtains. Two things stuck out, however. One was the sheets and comforter made out of blood red and black silk. The other was a cracked body mirror. Normally it wouldn't bother me much; it's to be expected from an old mirror. It was the color of the cracks and the floor around it that intrigued me. Red paint? Nail polish, perhaps? Or maybe…
"Marie! Have you picked out a room yet?" My dad called from what sounded like the main floor. I sighed and dropped my stuff. The only bad part about having a big house was that there was no elevator.
"Yeah Dad, I did!" I called back with fake enthusiasm. Leaving the unpacking for later, I headed out the door and down the stairs.
By the time I reached the bottom, Dad was already cooking dinner. He would never admit it to most, but he was a pretty good cook.
"How does a traditional Japanese dinner sound?" Rats. He only makes my favorite food when he wants me to make a sacrifice for him. Sadly, it works too.
"Sounds great, dad." I mumbled making my way to the living room. It was as big; if not bigger; then the grand hall. Velvet adorned the walls and another skylight placed at the top. I was assuming they were to make up for the lack of lights, though there was a chandelier in almost every room.
Furniture wasn't a limited feature though. I sat in one of the two modern swivel seats, a couch matching them. There was also a coffee table, two televisions, a computer desk, a window seat, and a bunch of packed boxes that were soon to be changed into an extra table and stereo.
I decided to pass the time by flipping through the channels until dinner was ready.
Not even an hour later, my dad called me to the dining room. I took a seat and picked up some rice balls, careful to make sure they wouldn't fall apart. My efforts were in vain though; the rice fell apart as soon as it reached my plate.
At this, my dad laughed. I was never one to be able to keep things together; I couldn't do projects because of it. If I did anything near a project, it would be research.
"Ah, it's nice to know nothing has changed." He joked. I just grunted before eating the sticky rice with a fork. At least it didn't fall apart in my lap…
After a few more things to eat, and decorate my old pants, I took it upon myself to head back up the stairs to start unpacking. I would get much exercise; climbing up and down four flights of stairs daily.
I picked up a box of clothes and headed over to the drawers. I would need to go shopping; my closet will be empty unless I did. I made a mental note to go tomorrow.
Easily folding up the clothes and putting them in their places, I took another box and headed towards the desk by the window. That is, until I saw my mirror move.
I stopped dead in my tracks. I swore I saw a pair of eyes move inside the mirror. They were no ordinary color, either. They must've been at least dark brown, if not actually blood red. I decided to shrug it off in the end, thinking I must've mistaken it for my hair.
My image… wasn't exactly the best one. I was petite, just barely over five feet tall, and I certainly didn't look like a girl from Los Angelus. My hair was a dark brown, with a bit of red in it from my childhood, and I had pale blue eyes. But the thing that stood out the most was my skin. If my arm was on a white sheet, you wouldn't be able to tell it was there. It was one of the reasons I was glad the sheets were red; I wouldn't blend into my bed in the morning.
Placing the box on the desk, I took out the electronics wrapped in bubble wrap. Pulling out my laptop, charger, and alarm clock, I decided to message my sister to make sure she didn't worry too much about us. She may be my twin sister, but she's my complete opposite. Her hair is light brown, with bright blue eyes and sun kissed skin. She was also very hyper and bouncy, but also the biggest worry wart on the planet.
Thanking whatever force made sure she wasn't online; I sent her an email before plugging in my laptop and alarm clock. I also put my programs and art supplies in the desk.
Flopping down on my bed deciding to set the clock tomorrow, I looked at my new phone. Ten minutes to midnight. Thinking it best to turn in for the night, I placed whatever I had on the bed somewhere else, not bothering with getting pajamas on. I then slipped under the covers and placed my head on the pillow… and unconsciously took in the scent. Whoever had slept there before smelled really good. Like cinnamon and vanilla.
Slowly, I drifted into a peaceful sleep, unaware of the hungry eyes watching my every move.
I awoke to the sound of my laptop going off in the middle of the night, knowing my sister had messaged me. While it was Two A.M. here, it was only about eleven in Los Angelus. Another difference we have; my sister loves to party.
I stumbled over to the computer and moved the mouse, covering my eyes for the incoming pain of the light. When my eyes finally got used to the light, I read the instant message.
Hey Sis! I'm glad you made it to Hampden, Is it really as bad as you thought it would be? I just got back from Sammy's, sorry for messaging so late!
I grumbled. Sam was my long-time crush back in LA, and my sister was always his center of attention. Her being over at his house until eleven wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear.
Sis, it's two in the morning here, and I have so much unpacking to do. Hampden is okay, and the house is fairly large. Tell mom we made it, and I will talk to you at a more decent hour.
Seeming satisfied with my reply, I wandered over to the box of electronics and pulled out a small red lamp. I plugged it in and turned it on before closing the laptop and walking back to my bed.
I turned off the lamp, and laid back down in bed, not bothering with the sheets. The absolute worst part about being on the highest floor was that heat rises. I would have to get a fan tomorrow on my shopping spree.
Before slipping into unconsciousness, I could've sworn the room had gotten cooler. Whatever had made it cooler had spoken, though I was too asleep to understand.
"Sleep well, my…"
The next morning had come too early. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the open curtains. 'I thought I had closed them…'
I walked over to the window and looked out to the yard. It was huge, if you added the forest that connected to it. You could also tell it was early in the morning; there wasn't a cloud in sight.
After unpacking a few more boxes, I went downstairs to see what was for breakfast. Dad always loved making a huge breakfast; which was good thanks to my appetite.
As I reached the second floor, the smell of bacon and eggs flooded my nose. I grinned and hurried towards the kitchen.
After breakfast, we headed towards the front door, both of us only having ambitions to buy stuff for our very empty house. We loaded into the minivan and set off towards Bangor.
"I never did get a chance to ask you, where exactly is your room, Ri?" I snickered. He wouldn't appreciate having to climb all those stairs…
"Mine's on the fourth floor, third door to the right." He grimaced. Victory was mine.
"Why didn't you just pick a room on the first floor? Wouldn't it be easier that way?" He asked.
"None of the rooms fit me. They were all too… bright." I shuddered at the thought. Bright colors were never my favorite.
We spent another few minutes in silence before arriving at a fairly large mall. We hurried and parked, noticing that the mall wasn't packed quite yet. We knew right away our spot wouldn't be free again until the mall was closed.
Another big part of the divorce was the fact my mom had to give my dad half of what she makes a month. I don't exactly know all of the details, only which it had to do with her making nearly forty thousand dollars a month.
First place we wound up wandering into was a hardware store. Apparently he noticed that we were lacking in lights, and got a few light stands to put around the house. Soon after was the largest clothing store I had ever seen. My eyes went wide; it was no secret that I had a clothes fetish. I quickly made my way to the women's side.
About three hours later, I had bought nearly thirty two outfits, and was being dragged out of the store by my dad. He had said something about 'broke over one store' but I just ignored it.
We made our way in and out of stores, A Chinese shop taking my interest. It was small, but it made up by its wide variety of goods. I wandered inside and found myself over by the animal figurines.
"You like animals?" I jumped a little at the voice. A woman- no. a girl was standing behind me, wearing a traditional Chinese dress. She was a bit taller then me, with black hair and hazel eyes. But you could tell she was far from Asian.
"Umm, yeah… you seem a little young to work here…" She just giggled.
"It's a family owned business. I come and help my grandfather in the shop during my free time. My name's Krystal." The girl said, bowing traditionally. I nodded and told her my name before going back to looking at the figurines.
Or so I thought. "So… you must be new around here, Right? How old are you?"
"I'm fourteen." I answered politely, her grin got wider.
"That's awesome! It means that we'll be in the same grade!" She told me. That got me interested. I could use an ally at the new school.
We kept talking about anything that came to mind until she said she had to leave. She bid me farewell, and we went our separate ways. I soon found my dad by the front doors.
I took pity on him, and we loaded the car and left early, getting home just before six. I took out all of my stuff and hauled them up the stairs, careful not to drop anything. Of course, it was human nature for me to drop over half the stuff I had carried.
After three laps of stair hopping, I finally made it to my now cluttered room. Deciding to put the clothes I had bought in the closet, I dragged out two of the remaining boxes. One of them held my stereo and CD's, the other was full of private stuff, and more posters for the walls.
I plugged in the desk fan and red lamp I had bought, and set up the stereo on the dresser. I needed something to flood my ears while I did the finishing touches to the room.
After hours of work and moving around, I'd finally got my room to have a good feel to it. I still had yet to touch the mirror, though. Maybe I was afraid that it would shatter. Maybe I just didn't want to go near it, I hadn't a clue.
'Tomorrow… tomorrow will mark the first day of the rest of my life. No mother, no sister, no Sam…' at that thought, I fell into a dreamless sleep, tears falling from my eyes.
But sometime during the night, the tears were caught by a hand.
But… by whose…?