The House Is Out To Get Me
.. Or Is It?
The breeze blowing through a partially open window, a window she specifically remembered shutting before going to bed woke her the next morning and she sat up, rubbing her eyes, the sheet curled around her barely dressed form.
She sniffed the air and smelled pancakes. But not just any pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes. Sliding on the pale pink satin pajama pants and a light gray cashmere sweater over her camisole tanktop she made her way down the stairs, stopped at the doorway of the kitchen, listening.
She could hear voices, she heard her mother talking to someone. Peeking in, her mother said with a smile to a blonde woman who looked sort of like one of those 50's Hollywood types, "And here she is now. The ray of sunshine." placing a steaming mug of hot chocolate into Tess's hands.
"Tess, this is our neighbor Constance. Constance, this is my daughter Tess." Francesca said as Constance Langdon eyed the girl then said "It's nice to meet you. Your mother tells me you're moving here from Texas?"
Tess sat down in one of the kitchen table's dark wood and leather upholstered chairs, sipped her hot chocolate before answering quietly, "Unfortunately, yes." as her mother sighed and said quietly, "What happened to you being okay with it?"
"That was before I woke up this morning, mother, found the god damn bedroom window wide open. The room was freezing."
"Maybe you didn't shut it before bed last night? I heard you in there around 3, saw the glow off of that laptop of yours.. If you didn't get into bed until after 3, you had a late night. Maybe you just forgot." her mother pointed out as Tess gave her a blank look and then asked, "What do you mean, Mom? I was in bed by 12 at the latest. My laptop is actually still down in my car. No Wifi here, remember?"
Her mother stared at her a moment then shook her head, muttered something and then spoke up to say "It's probably nothing.. Maybe you left the light on and the window open when you fell asleep and forgot." holding her gaze.
Constance watched the girl with veiled interest, the words from her best friend, renowned psychic Billie Dean ringing in her ears. Tess glared a moment then muttered quietly, "Whatever.. So are the movers coming today or is that too much to ask of them?"
"They're on their way now, actually." her mother answered as Tess looked up and then said to their neighbor, " My uncle specifically tells her to sell this place. She's gotten it in her head that we can actually live here."
"She's your mother, maybe she's got a good reason." Constance said, amused gleam in her eye as Tess looked at her mother and then said quietly, "Sorry, it's just.. Two things have happened in a little under a day, mother.. There is something really, really weird about this house."
"It's just an old house. There will be drafts, settling noises at night, mice and insects." her mother said as she added "And we're moving here, it's final."
"Fine." Tess grumbled as she stood, stretched and then asked "Who made pancakes.. I thought I smelled pancakes before I came down."
Her mother raised a brow now and then asked quietly, "What do you mean you smelled pancakes.. You know we don't have any food here, the food that was here from when your uncle owned the place was all thrown out."
"Okay then." Tess muttered as she raked her hands through her hair, studied the two women carefully, Constance saying "Maybe you just wanted pancakes, hon."
Tess walked out of the room mimicking the woman in her mind as she turned the hallway, caught sight of a figure in all black moving further down the hall. She took off after it at a run but when she turned another corner, it vanished as if it weren't ever there.
"Right, mother.. This house is just fucking fine." Tess grumbled as she gritted her teeth and stumbled her way back through a darkened hallway, using her zippo as a lighter. She heard it loud and clear as she walked back past the basement. Tess.. Come in here Tess.. You know you want to..
She gaped at the door, her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming, her mother was already giving her a strange look since the whole thing just now about the touch last night, the window she knew she shut being open when she woke up.. And then she ran like hell, counting to ten, slamming the door that seperated that part from the rest of the house behind her as she leaned against the wood, panting for breath.
"What the fucking hell was that? I heard my name. Who the hell was callin it though?" Tess muttered to herself as she caught her breath, emerged into the main hallway of the house, shook off whatever just happened.
Because she wasn't crazy. There was something screwy going on right now and she wasn't entirely sure if she liked where living in this house, especially considering her uncle Ben specifically told them not to live in it, to sell it and get the hell away from it for good in his letter.
But, of course, her mother wasn't ever a big listener.
"There you are sweetheart. Where'd you get off to?" her mother asked, making her jump at least a mile in the air. She eyed her mother's handbag and the keys in her hand and then asked "Where are you going?"
"Going to check in with the company. Going to tell them that I'm living here now, see if they're going to let me keep working from home and shipping my designs or if they want me to actually come into the studio and work. I hope they'll say work from home." her mother stated as Tess's eyes went wide and she shook her head.
"Tess. Don't start that crap with me again, okay?" her mother pleaded as Tess muttered quietly, "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you this place was bad news." before retreating up to her room which she realized was probably the only room she felt reasonably safe in, despite the touching incident the night before.
With the door shut, Tess said calmly, "Listen up.. Whatever you are, I'm not here to harm anything or anybody. I don't.. I don't actually wanna be here.. I'd rather be back in Riggins, getting ready for another school year with my friends in my house.. Let's just try and compromise?" as she squeezed her eyes shut, bit her lower lip.
From behind her, Tate muttered calmly, 'Would you relax? If I wanted to hurt you, Tess.. I'd have strangled you in your sleep last night as you lie there, tossing and turning, moaning aloud.. What were you dreaming about?' into her ear. Tess whirled around and for a split second, in the full length mirror that hung inside the closet on the door, she caught sight of a guy around her own age with a mop of curly blondish brown hair, the warmest brown eyes she'd ever seen.
Then he disappeared, leaving her scowling at the mirror, flopping down onto the bed in annoyance. She turned on her radio, checked her texts and grumbled to herself about their new house.
If she didn't have to wait on the movers and the cable company, there was no way in hell she'd be sticking around here today, she knew that much for certain. The disembodied voice and it's cryptic veiled threat sent a shiver down her arms and over her back and she rolled over onto her back and groaned aloud "Fuck my life right now."
Here she was, stuck in a house that might or might not be haunted, depending on whether she chose to believe in such stupidity or not. Sure the girl loved her ghost stories, loved a good séance and ghost hunting expedition, but she just wasn't sure how she felt about LIVING in a place where there might just be ghosts.