Chapter 6 - Taylor's Story
October 5th, 2020 - Tulsa, Oklahoma
Since our last visit to the "creepy house" and our incredibly strange conversation with Felicia I'd managed to keep Michelle from taking me there again. Each afternoon, as we neared the intersection between Burnt Hill Road and Slate Street, I managed to distract Michelle with comments about the hotness of Sabrina and Britanny and she'd be too busy retaliating to notice the short cut past the house.
But Michelle wasn't nearly as stupid as a lot of people assumed her to be and within a week she'd turned the trick around on to me. Surprisingly, *Michelle* brought up her two least favourite people one windy walk home from school, a short distance before I would have brought up one of her least favourite subjects.
"Taylor," she said, a smile playing upon her lips. "If I told you something that... not many people know... would you be able to keep it a secret?"
I shrugged, digging my hands deeper into my pockets. "I guess so. It would depend what kind of secret it was. I mean, if it were abuse, or -"
Michelle groaned. "Taylor! Don't go all adult on me!" she snapped, before turning on the charm again. "I mean, sure, it's the kind of secret *I* hate," she said, waving her arms about in front of her, "But I think you'd like it."
I rolled my eyes. "What is it?"
"It's about Brittany Simpson," Michelle said slowly.
My heart started to beat faster. "What about Britanny Simpson?" I asked, managing to retain some semblance of calm.
"I was in the girls' toilets today when I heard her and Sabrina coming in to fix up their... makeup," Michelle began in distaste. "They always talk about boys in there, as though they're in high school or something. Anyway, you wouldn't believe whose name came up today!"
I gulped. "Whose?"
"Who do you think?" Michelle asked, becoming irritated. "Yours! Brittany was saying she thought you were looking really cute lately and that if you only grew another couple of inches she'd consider dating you." Michelle sighed. "She's so shallow."
Another couple of inches? I couldn't control my growth! All the same, Brittany thought I was cute. Me! Cute! "That's all," I said, trying to sound calm.
"Yeah," Michelle nodded. "Actually, no! She also said she has a thing for piano players and than her favourite band is the Beatles."
"And Brittany Simpson actually really likes... me?" I squeaked, thinking of her full lips and big eyes.
Michelle turned to me and smiled. "No!" she said. She gestured around. "But look where we are!" Burnt Hill Road. "And people say you're the smart one, Taylor! But here we are, on Burnt Hill Road! I guess when it comes down to it you're just controlled by your hormones like every other guy!"
"I think I recall you saying that we didn't *have* emerging hormones the other day," I said bitterly, trying to distract her so that she wouldn't make us stop outside the house.
"Well, I don't - and I hoped you didn't - but it seems you do," Michelle said regretfully.
We were almost past the house. Just one more infuriating comment and we'd be safe. "Oh, I think you do," I teased. "I've seen the looks exchanged between you and Aaron Denver..." Comments based on truth were always more infuriating. I'd seen Aaron staring at Michelle in the cafeteria, and chances were she had too.
Michelle was aghast. "I *never* look at that lame -" she began furiously.
"Yoo hoo! Taylor! Michelle!" A high-pitched, sing-song voice called to us from the direction of The House. Felicia.
I looked at Michelle and pleaded with my eyes. But after the Aaron Denver comment Michelle was not in a charitable mood. "Oh hello Felicia!" she replied, equally cheerful to the old woman. "We didn't see you!"
I reluctantly turned around to see Felicia knelt in her front garden. I lifted my hand as a greeting. "Hi."
"Hello darlings. On your way home from school again?" Felicia asked, standing up and brushing the dirt from her pink paisley dress.
"As always," I replied, smiling weakly.
"Would you like to come in?" she asked, holding onto her straw hat as she made her way over to the rotting grey picket fence. "Ski-" she paused. "Skylar's here this afternoon and he's really been looking forward to seeing the two of you. And I can fix up some brownies... that is of course unless your parents think it might make you gain weight," she added, chuckling to herself as though there was some sort of private joke.
"Of course," Michelle said eagerly. She'd already began her walk over to the fence. "I've been looking forward to seeing you again too..." I reluctantly followed her, keeping a smile plastered to my face.
Once again Felicia led us into the house. This was getting to be a bit of a joke. We were trained from birth about 'stranger danger' - a century ago it was safe to play anywhere, 50 years ago it was almost safe in small towns and country areas, now you weren't supposed to go anywhere - and here we were, visiting weird old people we'd never met before. And they lived in a house which had probably had psychopaths as the previous occupants. And we hadn't told our parents a word of it. If they wanted to, these people could lock us up in an attic for two years and our parents would probably never know what had happened to us. And yet we continued to visit them. All because Michelle had some inexplicable need to punish me.
Once again Felicia led us through the winding hallways, the floorboards creaking as we walked. If we were to try to sneak out there was no way they wouldn't hear us. It was dim, with no natural light, and I could smell the faint scent of dust. When we reached what I remembered to be the sitting room, Felicia pushed open the door. It also creaked. "Skylar..." she called sweetly. "Guess who's come to visit us again?"
"The... children," a distinctly low-pitched reply came from the room.
"That's right!" Felicia said, opening the door so that we could enter.
Skylar's eyes lit up as he seemed to devour us. "Hello..." he said softly. "Michelle... Taylor..."
"Hi," Michelle and I said in unison.
"Taylor and Michelle decided to drop in to visit us again on the way home from school," Felicia continued, pushing us further into the room. She led us over to an antique blue lounge chair which stood out from the red colour scheme of the rest of the room. "Sit down."
I did so immediately, Michelle slightly more leisurely.
Skylar stared at us for a few seconds, swinging gently on the rocking chair, before he spoke again. "I missed you the last time you came," he said. "If I'd known you were here I would have come up to eat... with... you. But," he threw Felicia a nasty look. "My wife didn't inform me."
If only she hadn't informed him this time. "That's a shame," I said softly.
There was a lengthy silence. "So!" Felicia said brightly. "How was your day?"
"I got an-" I began to tell them about my English Literature test.
Michelle interrupted. "Taylor's been the biggest brat lately," she said loudly. "He's been trying to stop me from coming to see you - that's why it's been so long since we've visited." I looked at her in horror.
Skylar frowned. "Now why on earth would he want to do that?"
Felicia sighed. "Now that makes me sad," she said, wiping her eyes even though there were no tears in them. "But," she said almost brightly, "I suppose Taylor doesn't understand what it's like to come to a strange town after losing all your children. And to find children who remind you so much...." She trailed off, embarrassed.
"It's not that I didn't want to visit!" I protested. I had to get myself out of this somehow. If I didn't, who knew *what* these people might do? "It's just that... my parents..."
Skylar's eyes flashed. "What about your parents?" he asked suspiciously. "Did they tell you lies about us?"
"No no," I said. "We haven't told our parents about this. If we had they would have..."
"... Killed us," Michelle said nervously.
Felicia was horrified.
"Not literally," I said quickly. "They just have strict rules about us not talking to strangers. If they knew we were going into the *houses* of strangers..."
Felicia looked sad for a few moments, then laughed. "Is there anything your parents *don't* have rules about?"
Skylar shot her a look that silenced her. "So..." he said. "You get along well with your parents, I presume?"
"Pretty much," I shrugged.
"Pretty much," Skylar repeated thoughtfully. He looked at us carefully, almost penetrating our souls. I wanted to look away, but I didn't want him to know I knew what he was doing. "Pretty much," he chuckled. "I have to say... I'm sensing that there's some sort of... tension... in your family."
"There's no tension in our family," I said quickly, as Michelle shifted nervously on our seat.
"Why don't you let Michelle contribute?" Skylar asked snappishly. "Michelle?" he asked more sweetly.
Michelle looked troubled. "I don't know... We don't really have any problems."
"No problems..." Skylar repeated doubtfully. "Are you sure?"
Michelle nodded meekly.
"Positive?" Skylar pressed.
Felicia was beginning to look uneasy. "Skylar! If Michelle says there are no problems, there mustn't *be* any. Don't bother the poor girl."
Skylar shrugged. "Okay. I won't push it," he said. He paused again, looking scrupulously at us. "But remember Michelle - and you too Taylor - parents don't always love their children unconditionally. Even in the most perfect of families there can be underlying tension and conflicts. Some parents don't even love their children at all - their children might remind them of their own problems. Make sure your parents aren't those sort of parents."
There was a silence. "You know what?" Michelle said. "I feel sick. Maybe we should leave...."
"Maybe we should," I agreed.
Felicia looked upset. "Okay then... if you think that would be the best idea..." she said, standing up and leading us back out the door, through the musky hallways and out of the house.
Once again we were standing outside, dazed and confused. "Thanks for that Michelle," I said bitterly.
"Any time!" she grinned.
October 5th, 2020 - Tulsa, Oklahoma
Since our last visit to the "creepy house" and our incredibly strange conversation with Felicia I'd managed to keep Michelle from taking me there again. Each afternoon, as we neared the intersection between Burnt Hill Road and Slate Street, I managed to distract Michelle with comments about the hotness of Sabrina and Britanny and she'd be too busy retaliating to notice the short cut past the house.
But Michelle wasn't nearly as stupid as a lot of people assumed her to be and within a week she'd turned the trick around on to me. Surprisingly, *Michelle* brought up her two least favourite people one windy walk home from school, a short distance before I would have brought up one of her least favourite subjects.
"Taylor," she said, a smile playing upon her lips. "If I told you something that... not many people know... would you be able to keep it a secret?"
I shrugged, digging my hands deeper into my pockets. "I guess so. It would depend what kind of secret it was. I mean, if it were abuse, or -"
Michelle groaned. "Taylor! Don't go all adult on me!" she snapped, before turning on the charm again. "I mean, sure, it's the kind of secret *I* hate," she said, waving her arms about in front of her, "But I think you'd like it."
I rolled my eyes. "What is it?"
"It's about Brittany Simpson," Michelle said slowly.
My heart started to beat faster. "What about Britanny Simpson?" I asked, managing to retain some semblance of calm.
"I was in the girls' toilets today when I heard her and Sabrina coming in to fix up their... makeup," Michelle began in distaste. "They always talk about boys in there, as though they're in high school or something. Anyway, you wouldn't believe whose name came up today!"
I gulped. "Whose?"
"Who do you think?" Michelle asked, becoming irritated. "Yours! Brittany was saying she thought you were looking really cute lately and that if you only grew another couple of inches she'd consider dating you." Michelle sighed. "She's so shallow."
Another couple of inches? I couldn't control my growth! All the same, Brittany thought I was cute. Me! Cute! "That's all," I said, trying to sound calm.
"Yeah," Michelle nodded. "Actually, no! She also said she has a thing for piano players and than her favourite band is the Beatles."
"And Brittany Simpson actually really likes... me?" I squeaked, thinking of her full lips and big eyes.
Michelle turned to me and smiled. "No!" she said. She gestured around. "But look where we are!" Burnt Hill Road. "And people say you're the smart one, Taylor! But here we are, on Burnt Hill Road! I guess when it comes down to it you're just controlled by your hormones like every other guy!"
"I think I recall you saying that we didn't *have* emerging hormones the other day," I said bitterly, trying to distract her so that she wouldn't make us stop outside the house.
"Well, I don't - and I hoped you didn't - but it seems you do," Michelle said regretfully.
We were almost past the house. Just one more infuriating comment and we'd be safe. "Oh, I think you do," I teased. "I've seen the looks exchanged between you and Aaron Denver..." Comments based on truth were always more infuriating. I'd seen Aaron staring at Michelle in the cafeteria, and chances were she had too.
Michelle was aghast. "I *never* look at that lame -" she began furiously.
"Yoo hoo! Taylor! Michelle!" A high-pitched, sing-song voice called to us from the direction of The House. Felicia.
I looked at Michelle and pleaded with my eyes. But after the Aaron Denver comment Michelle was not in a charitable mood. "Oh hello Felicia!" she replied, equally cheerful to the old woman. "We didn't see you!"
I reluctantly turned around to see Felicia knelt in her front garden. I lifted my hand as a greeting. "Hi."
"Hello darlings. On your way home from school again?" Felicia asked, standing up and brushing the dirt from her pink paisley dress.
"As always," I replied, smiling weakly.
"Would you like to come in?" she asked, holding onto her straw hat as she made her way over to the rotting grey picket fence. "Ski-" she paused. "Skylar's here this afternoon and he's really been looking forward to seeing the two of you. And I can fix up some brownies... that is of course unless your parents think it might make you gain weight," she added, chuckling to herself as though there was some sort of private joke.
"Of course," Michelle said eagerly. She'd already began her walk over to the fence. "I've been looking forward to seeing you again too..." I reluctantly followed her, keeping a smile plastered to my face.
Once again Felicia led us into the house. This was getting to be a bit of a joke. We were trained from birth about 'stranger danger' - a century ago it was safe to play anywhere, 50 years ago it was almost safe in small towns and country areas, now you weren't supposed to go anywhere - and here we were, visiting weird old people we'd never met before. And they lived in a house which had probably had psychopaths as the previous occupants. And we hadn't told our parents a word of it. If they wanted to, these people could lock us up in an attic for two years and our parents would probably never know what had happened to us. And yet we continued to visit them. All because Michelle had some inexplicable need to punish me.
Once again Felicia led us through the winding hallways, the floorboards creaking as we walked. If we were to try to sneak out there was no way they wouldn't hear us. It was dim, with no natural light, and I could smell the faint scent of dust. When we reached what I remembered to be the sitting room, Felicia pushed open the door. It also creaked. "Skylar..." she called sweetly. "Guess who's come to visit us again?"
"The... children," a distinctly low-pitched reply came from the room.
"That's right!" Felicia said, opening the door so that we could enter.
Skylar's eyes lit up as he seemed to devour us. "Hello..." he said softly. "Michelle... Taylor..."
"Hi," Michelle and I said in unison.
"Taylor and Michelle decided to drop in to visit us again on the way home from school," Felicia continued, pushing us further into the room. She led us over to an antique blue lounge chair which stood out from the red colour scheme of the rest of the room. "Sit down."
I did so immediately, Michelle slightly more leisurely.
Skylar stared at us for a few seconds, swinging gently on the rocking chair, before he spoke again. "I missed you the last time you came," he said. "If I'd known you were here I would have come up to eat... with... you. But," he threw Felicia a nasty look. "My wife didn't inform me."
If only she hadn't informed him this time. "That's a shame," I said softly.
There was a lengthy silence. "So!" Felicia said brightly. "How was your day?"
"I got an-" I began to tell them about my English Literature test.
Michelle interrupted. "Taylor's been the biggest brat lately," she said loudly. "He's been trying to stop me from coming to see you - that's why it's been so long since we've visited." I looked at her in horror.
Skylar frowned. "Now why on earth would he want to do that?"
Felicia sighed. "Now that makes me sad," she said, wiping her eyes even though there were no tears in them. "But," she said almost brightly, "I suppose Taylor doesn't understand what it's like to come to a strange town after losing all your children. And to find children who remind you so much...." She trailed off, embarrassed.
"It's not that I didn't want to visit!" I protested. I had to get myself out of this somehow. If I didn't, who knew *what* these people might do? "It's just that... my parents..."
Skylar's eyes flashed. "What about your parents?" he asked suspiciously. "Did they tell you lies about us?"
"No no," I said. "We haven't told our parents about this. If we had they would have..."
"... Killed us," Michelle said nervously.
Felicia was horrified.
"Not literally," I said quickly. "They just have strict rules about us not talking to strangers. If they knew we were going into the *houses* of strangers..."
Felicia looked sad for a few moments, then laughed. "Is there anything your parents *don't* have rules about?"
Skylar shot her a look that silenced her. "So..." he said. "You get along well with your parents, I presume?"
"Pretty much," I shrugged.
"Pretty much," Skylar repeated thoughtfully. He looked at us carefully, almost penetrating our souls. I wanted to look away, but I didn't want him to know I knew what he was doing. "Pretty much," he chuckled. "I have to say... I'm sensing that there's some sort of... tension... in your family."
"There's no tension in our family," I said quickly, as Michelle shifted nervously on our seat.
"Why don't you let Michelle contribute?" Skylar asked snappishly. "Michelle?" he asked more sweetly.
Michelle looked troubled. "I don't know... We don't really have any problems."
"No problems..." Skylar repeated doubtfully. "Are you sure?"
Michelle nodded meekly.
"Positive?" Skylar pressed.
Felicia was beginning to look uneasy. "Skylar! If Michelle says there are no problems, there mustn't *be* any. Don't bother the poor girl."
Skylar shrugged. "Okay. I won't push it," he said. He paused again, looking scrupulously at us. "But remember Michelle - and you too Taylor - parents don't always love their children unconditionally. Even in the most perfect of families there can be underlying tension and conflicts. Some parents don't even love their children at all - their children might remind them of their own problems. Make sure your parents aren't those sort of parents."
There was a silence. "You know what?" Michelle said. "I feel sick. Maybe we should leave...."
"Maybe we should," I agreed.
Felicia looked upset. "Okay then... if you think that would be the best idea..." she said, standing up and leading us back out the door, through the musky hallways and out of the house.
Once again we were standing outside, dazed and confused. "Thanks for that Michelle," I said bitterly.
"Any time!" she grinned.
