Warning this story contains violence and sexual abuse.
A/N: A massive thank-you to all those who read and reviewed. Your support means everything to me and the more I get the more I want to update.
I hope you enjoy!
Moving London
It kills me not to know this but I've all but just forgotten
What the colour of her eyes were and her scars or how she got them
As the telling signs of age rain down a single tear is dropping
Through the valleys of an aging face that this world has forgotten
~ Saviour, Rise Against
Tessa Gray
*Six Months Later*
I wrapped my arms around my torso and shivered in the wind. I glared at the grey clouds that rolled across sky with contempt, it was supposed to be summer. I already missed sunny New York and the warm summer's breeze. After two weeks on a ferry we had reached Southampton and then had spent an hour and a half driving to London. Now we stood in front of our new home on Thames Street. It was a three story, 1880's red brick building. Basically a house built up instead of out. Just one glance you could tell it had been abandoned for a number of years. When our Aunt died three years ago she left the house and the remainder of her money to us. Technically she left it to me, but being a minor and after three years of legal battle, my brother Nate managed to get it in his name until I am eighteen. When my parents died eight years ago Aunt Harriet packed up and moved to New York to raise us, but even though she didn't plan on moving back she couldn't bear to sell the house. When Nate turned eighteen he moved to London, but refused to stay here. I think he was angry when he had to move back and care for me. That's why the minute the house was released to us, we packed up everything that fit in our car and came here.
"See you in ten." Nate said and snapped his phone shut.
"Who was that?" I asked curiously. He glared at me in return and smirked when I flinched. Lately he had been getting more and more aggressive. I hoped that moving here would make him happier, but only time could tell. He knew I was afraid of him and played that to his advantage.
Without answering he walked up to the front door and unlocked it. A cloud of dust floated out and drifted through the wind. There was a thick coat of dust covering everything. Whitish-grey sheets covered all the furniture, making them look like ghostly shapes in the afternoon light. We were looking at a sitting room, at the end of the room was a hallway. Connected to the other side of the sitting room was the kitchen. Walking down the hall there was a guest restroom and the staircase. Going up the cherry wood stairs and to the second story we found a study, the walls were lined with books. I immediately decided this would be my favourite room in the house. Next was the lounge room, I'd noticed that all the rooms had beautiful fireplaces, but from what I could see that was the only source of heating. I shivered as we headed up the stairs to the third floor. There we found the bedrooms. One was larger than the other, although both had an en-suite. Nate called the master bedroom, before heading back down stairs. I lingered, there was a small staircase that probably led to an attic. I was curious.
These stairs were even more narrow and dark than the others. At the top was a small door with strange carvings decorating the doorframe. I traced my finger over the strange swirling patterns. On the old metal doorknob was a strange symbol that looked like a diamond with two lines connected to the top. As I reached my hand towards it, it started to glow an electric blue, almost as if it were alive. Just as I was about to touch it I was pulled out of my trance by the sound of a revving engine. I ran down the stairs and into Nate's room and looked out the window to see a black car idling. I raced down the remainder of the stairs and bolted out the front door to see Nate approaching the car. "Where are you going?" I asked.
He spun around and closed the distance between us. "I am going out with my friends. Is that a problem Theresa?"
"What about the house, it needs cleaning and unpacking." I replied timidly.
"Well I expect you to have that done by the time I get home."
"What? That is too much for one person to do all on their own!" Nate looked at the house for a moment before leaning down towards me.
"I suppose you are right." He allowed and I released a breath of relief. "Just set up my room and clean as much as you can tonight. You can finish the rest tomorrow." I should have known he wouldn't let me off that easy. With that he smirked at got in the car. They tore down the street leaving me in the dust, so to speak.
Something glinted across the road capturing my attention. I gasped in shock to see a large church like building standing where there once were ruins. I was so sure that when we first pulled up here there was nothing, but ruins. Slowly I began to move closer. On top of the thick golden gates words made of twisted gold pronounced it to be the London Institute. Institute of what? I wondered. Creeping closer, I reached out to touch the bars. I jerked my hand back as they swung open. They felt real. At that moment a car sped past, I looked until it had turned the corner and when I looked back to the Institute all that stood there were ruins. I rubbed my eyes. The image kept flickering between ruins and beautiful church. This wasn't the first time I had seen things. I wondered which one was real. I pulled the bottle of pills out of my pocket. Nate had given them to me after the first time. I didn't like taking them, they made me feel like I was missing a sense. Like there was something in the corner of my eye, but I couldn't see or hear it. I opened the cap and stared at the pills. I wondered if I took all of them at once would I die? I wished it was that easy. I took one then turned to the building. The Institute faded, leaving behind the true face, the ruins. "Maybe my mind is telling me I need to be committed." I whispered to myself before heading back to the house.
I decided that I would clean the sitting room first before setting up Nate's room. That way I'd have a place to store all the boxes. I started by opening up all the windows and the front door and removing all the dust coverings. The furniture was set out the way I imagine parlours would have been set out. I dusted the cabinets and mantle, etc. I decided I would just vacuum the couch and floor before mopping. Before doing this I decided cleaning would be more fun with music. I dug through my boxes and found my iPod dock. I set all songs on shuffle. The first song to start playing was, Sara Bareilles - King Of Anything. I sung along:
All my life
I've tried
To make everybody happy while I
Just hurt
And hide
Waitin' for someone to tell me it's my turn
To decide.
Oh (oh oh oh)
Oh (oh oh oh)
Oh (oh oh oh)
Oh (oh oh oh)
Who cares if you disagree?
You are not me.
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be.
Who died and made you king of anything?
By the time the song was finished I was done with the vacuum cleaner. I pulled out a box off stuff deciding to decorate and save the mopping til last. I placed a few knickknacks around the room and placed a blanket that Aunt Harriet had crotched over the back of the couch. Next came the family photos. I didn't particularly want to put any up, but I knew the importance of keeping up appearances. It was painful to see the smiling faces of my parents looking at me without a care in world. Not just because they had died a violent death, but because life wasn't happy or safe anymore. The next photo was of Nate and I, our young faces smiling at the camera in innocence. It wasn't long after that photo was taken that Nate first touched me.
I was thirteen and he was twenty, he had just moved back from London to care for me after Aunt Harriet's death. He came into my room while I was getting ready for bed. He offered to brush my hair. I didn't think anything of it at the time, he was my older loving brother. Although I would never look at him like that again afterwards. It was horrible, I screamed and cried and begged him to stop. He just hit me and continued. By the time he left I was broken and bleeding on the floor.
Suddenly I hated the girl in the photo. She was happy and innocent, oblivious to the evils under the very same roof. I gripped the photo frame tighter, breaking the glass and cutting my hand. This relieved some of the pain inside, but yet that innocent girl's face mocked me. Screaming to frustration I whirled around and threw it angrily at the wall beside the door. I was breathing heavily with my fist clenched by my side, blood slowly dripping onto the floor, when I noticed two boys standing at the front door looking at me in shock. The first boy had delicate Asian features accompanied by the most unusual silver eyes and hair, in his hand was a cane. Next to him stood a boy with hair as black as ink and eyes as bright as sapphires, he was the face that had haunted my dreams for months. He knew my secret.
"Will?" I whispered.
"Tess." He replied.
And then the world tilted and faded to blackā¦
A/N: I hope you liked that. Was it too short? Review and let me know. Btw for updates and photos on what I imagine things to look like follow me on Tumblr kazziebear
