"Phil… I'm home." AJ said, walking into their house, a bag in her hand from the ice cream she collected for the twins.
"In the kitchen!" Punk shouted.
AJ heard him clearly and walked through to the kitchen, having had a nice day with her mother in law who had opened her eyes about the house. Nothing bad was going to happen to her here. It was a legitimate house that had been sold to them, it was theirs now, nothing bad was going to happen.
"Where are the twins? I got them ice cream." AJ said as she walked into the kitchen, noticing the twins weren't around, turning around to the freezer and putting the ice cream into the cold surrounding.
"They're taking a nap, James is asleep too." Punk said, watching her stand up and close the freezer over, smiling to him.
"Well, in that case." She bit her lip, walking close towards him, circling her hands around his neck with a smile.
"Later, yeah." Punk smiled, "I want to talk with you right now." He said, lightly taking her arms from around his neck.
"What's wrong?" AJ asked him curiously.
"The gardener you were talking to… you're sure he was a gardener?" Punk asked her, watching her fold her arms and look down.
"I thought we were letting all this shit go?" She looked up at him.
"I just want to know." Punk said.
"Well he told me he was a gardener, that he done it for free. Then he told me about the people who lived here before us." AJ said, "Why? Did you speak to him today?" AJ asked him.
"No… just, sit down sweetheart." Punk said, guiding her over to the stool at the kitchen counter, watching AJ look up at him strangely, not sure why he was acting so edgy with her.
"Are you sure everything is ok?" AJ asked him.
"Colette came round to see me. She was handing in the final paper work for this place… she said… you were right, the family that lived here before us did die in the house." Punk said.
AJ just sighed and ran her hand through her hair, knowing that the gardener was telling the truth, feeling unsafe again in the house.
"I told you…" She muttered.
"I know, I know…" Punk nodded, feeling terrible that he never believed AJ, "But sweetie… the gardener died with them. There is no gardener… who-who were you talking too yesterday?" Punk asked her like she was a child, nice and slow for her to understand.
"He told me he was the gardener. What… what else do you want me to say?" AJ looked at him for answers.
"You don't think you were just… seeing things?" Punk said.
AJ stood up off the seat, looking up at him, batting her eyes, "I am not crazy. He was in this kitchen speaking to me. Maybe it's a different guy, I don't know… but do not…" She pointed her finger at him, "Do not treat me like I'm out of my mind." She said.
"I'm not, baby. I'm not… I'm just worried about you." Punk said, putting his hands on either side of her arms, running them up and down her soft skin.
"I am not seeing things. He knocked at the kitchen door and I asked him to come in, I wanted to know more about the house and he told me, then he left. The twin's seen him, ask them." She said.
"It's ok… I believe you." Punk nodded to her, "I'm going to pop round to my mom's for some boxes she said we left. I'll be back soon." Punk said, kissing her on the cheek as she lightly smiled.
AJ turned round and watched him as he walked out of the kitchen, grabbing his car keys and heading out to the front door.
She didn't know why he was coming out with all of this, as if she was an idiot that was imagining things. She just shook it off and walked out of the kitchen, about to head upstairs when something caught her eye.
She dropped her bag and jacket and looked across at the opened door at the back of the house. She done the unlikely thing and walked towards it slowly, getting up close and opening the door as wide as it could go.
She looked at the stairs heading down to what was obviously the basement. Most houses had basements, she didn't need to be afraid, but for once, she was interested as to what might be down there.
She took her phone out, sliding on the torch and took one step down onto the first stair, shining the torch down to see her way.
Finally getting down to the bottom, she coughed numerous times from all the dust, shining her torch around, looking for anything that may interest her or bring some suspicion on her.
Her torch caught on to a box of dollies, obviously belonging to the family before. She let out a small scream at the sight, looking at all the dolls staring at her. She walked over to a bench, looking at a box which was named 'photographs.'
She shined the torch into the box, grabbing the first picture frame that came to her reach, taking it out and shining the torch on the picture.
It was a beautiful picture took outside the house. Reminded her of her own family. The woman stood tall, really beautiful beside her husband, the two little girls standing in front.
She was about to sit the frame back in the box when something caught her eye, she had screw her eyes up and look close, but when she did, she dropped the frame out of her hand, listening to it smash into a million pieces on the floor.
Later that night…
Punk had collected the few boxes he had left his mothers and headed straight home, not wanting to leave AJ alone in the house for long. He really was worried about her.
When he came home through the door, he dumped the boxes at the door and headed through into the living room, looking at AJ sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee, her eyes glued to the TV while the twins sat on the floor, busying themselves with their latest jigsaw, James was lying down on the play mat, staring up at the toys dangling down in front of him, the little tune playing over and over while the teddy's that hung spun around slowly, his beady little eyes following the colours and noise.
Punk smiled, taking a seat next to AJ and kissing her cheek, "I missed you." Punk whispered in her ear.
"Phil, you were only gone for an hour." AJ smiled.
"Still missed you." Punk winked, "Look at him…" Punk smiled over at James who was giving the cutest smiles up at the spinning toys above him on the play mat, kicking his legs in his baby grow.
"He's perfect." AJ smiled as she looked over at her son with a smile.
"I don't want to stop there." Punk whispered to her.
"Phil…" AJ smiled, "I've just had him." She said, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"I know. I'm just saying." Punk said, pressing kisses on her cheek every now and then when something caught his eye on the coffee table.
AJ watched as he leaned forward and picked up the photograph that she had smashed the frame of, watching him stare at it closely.
"This was the family that lived here before us?" He asked, knowing it obviously was, "Where did you get this?" He asked.
"The basement. It was in a frame in a box." She said, "Look…" She took the photograph from him and leaned into him, pointing to a spot on the picture.
"Is that the…"
"Gardener." AJ nodded, "He was in our kitchen, speaking to me. He didn't die with the family." She shook her head.
"I did believe you. You didn't have to prove this to me." Punk said, "I just wasn't sure considering Colette seemed sure that he was dead." Punk said.
"They looked like a nice family." AJ sighed, looking at the picture with Punk.
"Too bad what happened to them." Punk frowned.
"I'm exhausted… you wouldn't mind if I went to bed?" She asked him, making sure he'd be ok to keep an eye on the kids.
"No, of course not. On you go." Punk said, kissing her cheek as he watched her stand up and leave the living room to head upstairs to be.
He waited around 10 minutes before he quickly took his phone out and called Colette, asking her to bring any evidence of this man's death with her to the house. He hated to say it, but he didn't believe AJ, he believed this man was dead and that this house was driving his wife insane.
Once Punk waited agitatedly for their real estate agent to come by, he was up in a flash to answer the door to her, watching her walk in with a few bags in her hands, walking straight into the living room.
"Thanks for coming… I just wanted to be sure." Punk said.
"Mr Brooks…" Colette got frustrated easily, "This man is dead. Your wife told you it was this man here that she was speaking to?" Colette asked, picking the picture up that AJ had found in the basement.
"Yeah." Punk nodded.
"Well she's either insane or can see the dead. Either way I'd be concerned. The gardener… Mr Reid, was first to die in this house. He was sleeping with the wife, was shot dead in the act by the husband." Colette said.
"Jesus…" Punk muttered under his breath, "What actually happened to the family?" Punk asked, he never really listened to AJ when she explained everything she had heard about the house.
"Like I said… Mr Reid was first to go, then it was the two children, it was told to be said that they hung themselves on their own, but you and I know Mr Brooks, a three and six year old is not capable of that." Colette said.
"Over at the tyre swing…" Punk leaned back on the couch and put his hands in his hair, "That's why she…"
"She what?" Colette said.
"April… the twins were playing by the tyre swing… she, she ran after them and pulled them away. Whoever she was speaking to… he was telling her the truth?" He looked at her.
"I suppose so." Colette shrugged, "The man of the house assumed that his wife had hung their children, she'd been going crazy since moving into the house, so he… slit her throat and dismembered her body." Colette said, watching Punk cringe and scrunch his face up.
"And what happened to him? Is he still alive?" Punk asked.
"Oh no. Once the gardener was shot, the children were hung, the wife was dissected into pieces, he ate a bullet and the house was refurbished and cleaned top to bottom." She said.
"How do I know you aren't bullshitting me?" Punk said.
"Mr Brooks… I have other places to be. I don't need to be here telling you all of this information that frankly is none of your business." Colette said, "This house has a history, many more people have died here, it's been around since the 1920's. I told you all of this when you looked around." She said.
"You never told me anyone died here. You told my wife the couple before us just moved away." Punk said.
"I just sell the houses, Mr Brooks. I don't control what goes on inside them." She said.
"So what's your explanation? My wife is a nutjob who see's dead people or are you really bullshitting me about this fucking gardener?" He said.
"The gardener is dead." Colette said, "Maybe take your wife to see a psychiatrist or a doctor." Colette stood up, brushing herself down elegantly, "I'll be on my way now."
"You said this house has a past, other people have died here? What other people?" Punk asked, standing up as well.
"A lot of people have lived here before you, sir." Colette said, "All of them have died in the premises of the house."
"And you never thought to tell me that?!" Punk shouted, "I would never have spent a penny on this place if you told me that before." Punk said.
"Be nice to the house, the house will be nice to you. That is my only advice." Colette said.
"It's a fucking house." Punk rolled his eyes, "We'll be selling it. I won't go down in history with this fucked up place." Punk said.
"I wouldn't have said that, Mr Brooks." Colette picked her bags up, "You don't have a gardener to go first, I'd keep an eye on your children from now on. Watch out for that tyre swing outside." She smirked to him, walking by him as she walked down the long hall.
"We aren't staying here!" Punk yelled to her.
"The house decides when you leave." Colette said as she continued to walk towards the front door, her heels clicking against the floor as she opened the door and quickly left.
Punk sat down on the couch in a slump, ripping the picture up to pieces and running his hands through his hair, leaning forward and covering his mouth with his hands, looking over at the twins and James, his body shaking.
He was frightened of anything, apart from losing his family, but this house frightened him, that woman who sold it to him frightened him. He wanted out as soon as he could. Colette had made it quite clear that this was only the beginning, he wondered what her deal in all of this was.
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