Still Here (Part 3)
"What kind of game?"
"It doesn't matter. Pick something. I just want to spend some more time with you before I... before we have to leave."
"How about truth or dare?"
"As you wish." He smiled warmly at her but Luce couldn't return his smile.
"What you said before... If you're mad at me, please just tell me. Did Aubrey tell you about that guy in my class who keeps asking me out? I told her not to tell you. I already told him I have a boyfriend but he keeps bothering me. Did he talk to you? Don't believe anything he says, I don't like him at all!"
Daniel shook his head and gazed at her. "No. You don't understand. Sometimes I just feel like I'm not good enough for you. You're the kindest, sweetest, most beautiful girl I've ever met. Luce, you're an angel. You deserve someone much better than me. Can't you see that? Are you truly content with being with me, with this mundane life? Deep down, don't you feel that you don't belong here?"
"Daniel..." She held his hands in hers. "Don't ever think that. I'm the one who feels like I don't deserve you. And I'm perfectly happy with my life. Being with you, here in Connecticut, this is where I belong."
He didn't seem convinced but he pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. "I'm so lucky you're mine." He tenderly stroked her hair. "Lucky bastard..." he muttered.
Luce laughed and kissed him on the cheek. "So self-deprecating tonight. Come on, let's play. I'll go first. I'll go with dare."
"Sit on my lap." He gave her a cheeky smile, knowing she would do it.
Luce giggled and did as she was told. "That was easy. Your turn."
Daniel wrapped his arms around her waist. "Truth."
"Something surprising about yourself that I don't know?"
"Hmm... There are so many things you don't know about me. Well, I am quite fond of fall."
"Me too, Daniel. That's not so surprising, though. What do you like most about Autumn?"
His eyes darkened as he explained. "You didn't let me finish. The reason I like it is because Autumn is all about celebrating death and darkness. Halloween is a holiday where we enjoy scaring ourselves and others. We dress up in costumes and pretend to be the dead: ghosts, zombies, vampires. It's a time where we can all indulge in our dark sides and dark fantasies. The days get shorter and it gets dark faster. The trees are dying all around us, but it's a beautiful, slow death. They bleed red, orange, and yellow. It's all so morbid yet delightful. What's not to like?"
Luce stared at him. "Wow. I never thought of it that way. I'm learning a lot of interesting things about you today..." He didn't seem himself at all. But she figured he was just trying to be spooky because it was Halloween.
"We all have a dark side, Luce. Even you." His expression was serious for a moment before he grinned. "Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
He looked at her intently. "Am I the most handsome guy you have ever met?"
"Of course!" Luce replied without hesitation.
"You're lying," he calmly said. "You don't have to be afraid that you'll hurt my feelings. Just tell me the truth."
"Umm... Okay, I guess maybe there was one person. Luke. He might be just a little more handsome than you. But just a little."
She was expecting him to frown, but instead he gave her a dazzling smile. "Is that so? Then why aren't you with him instead?" Again, she was confused by his contrary behaviour but she was too distracted by her memories of Luke to ask him why he was strangely happy about this.
Luce shrugged. "He moved away years ago. I didn't know him very well at all."
"That's a shame. I'm sure he misses you," he softly said.
"I doubt it. Nevermind, let's not talk about him. Truth or dare?" She tried to act like she didn't care about him that much, but the truth was she had a pretty big crush on him. She still thought about him and wondered how he was doing sometimes.
Daniel seemed curious about Luke and reluctant to change the subject. But after a long pause, he replied. "Dare."
Luce picked up a small bottle of hot sauce on the coffee table that said "INFERNO SAUCE" on the label. She poured a little into an empty red plastic cup and gleefully handed it to him. Just a whiff of it already made her cough and her eyes burn.
"Drink this."
Daniel laughed but took the cup. "I'd love to." He downed it all in one gulp and showed her the empty cup. He seemed fine. No coughing, getting red in the face or sweating.
Luce's mouth dropped open. "How did you do that?"
Daniel smiled mischievously. "Let's just say I've experienced worse. This inferno is nothing compared to the ones I've gotten a taste of."
"I'm impressed! I never knew you had such a high tolerance for spicy food. But don't even think about daring me to drink it. It's my turn, and I pick truth."
"Hmm. Most embarassing thing that happened to you recently?"
Luce covered her face with her hands, remembering how mortified she was. "Aubrey caught me watching Frozen on my laptop and singing along to the songs. I had my headphones on, so I had no idea she was back so soon! I know I'm too old for that stuff, but I can't help it. I love the songs."
Daniel laughed and patted her back. "It's okay. I think it's cute that you like it. As long as you don't make me watch it with you."
"I won't." Luce laughed. "What about you, Daniel? Tell me one of your guilty pleasures."
"What's my guilty pleasure? The thing is, I never feel guilty about pleasures," he said seductively. He picked up a candlestick with a white candle from the coffee table. Luce instinctively retreated but Daniel grasped her arm and held her firmly in place.
"You know what gives some people pleasure? Seeing their lover suffer, fearful..." he whispered. He held the candle so close to her face, she flinched from the heat on her cheek.
Luce was so frightened, she was speechless and motionless. Daniel's heated gaze followed the flame as he moved the candle dangerously close to her hair, then slowly down, gliding it over her arm. "It's a twisted kind of love, isn't it? He loves her, yet he also despises her. He doesn't want to enjoy torturing her but she ruined him."
"What are you talking about?" She demanded as soon as he set the candlestick down on the table and released her arm.
He ignored her question and continued speaking, his face etched with sorrow, pain in his eyes. He looked to be on the verge of tears. "And he knows he could never love her the way she wants him to, yet he loves her still. He only ever wanted her to stay by his side..."
"Daniel! What's gotten into you? I don't understand what you're saying! You're scaring me." Luce was completely confused, touched, and scared all at once.
Daniel looked down for a moment, took a deep breath, and exhaled. When his eyes met hers again, his expression was a mixture of concern and anguish.
"I'm sorry. I was just trying to help you get over your fear of fire, Luce. And I was remembering a tragic love story that I read a long time ago. I'll tell you the whole story in due time."
"Am I too late for story time? What fairy tales have you been telling her, Daniel?"
Luce and Daniel both turned around and saw the guy in the Gandalf costume looming over them.
"Well, look who's here. It's my old friend, Gandalf. It's been too long. Glad you could make it," he sarcastically said.
"I heard that you might show up tonight. I had trouble finding you, though. I didn't recognize you in that... costume. And your friends were very distracting."
Luce nervously looked back and forth at the guy only known as Gandalf and then Daniel. Tension filled the air between them.
"Did you now? It's just as well. I have nothing to say to you."
Gandalf ignored Daniel and sat down on the couch next to her. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"
"I'm fine. Uh...who are you?"
He smiled and seemed relieved but remained silent.
"You heard her. She's fine. If it's all the same to you, I'd like to talk to my girlfriend alone."
"Hmm. I'm pretty tired. I think I'll wait here for my friends. They might want to talk to you, too. Maybe Arriane can call your father and all of us can have a nice little reunion."
"You will not call father. I don't want to talk to him and you know how busy he is," Daniel hissed.
"If you don't want me to, then leave her alone," Gandalf threatened.
"What the hell is going on? Who are you? Daniel is not bothering me, he's my boyfriend. What do you want?"
They glared at each other some more before Daniel finally spoke. "Don't worry about him, Luce. He's nobody. We just need to have a little discussion and clear some things up. Some misunderstandings... But let me tell you the rest of that ghost story, first. He won't mind waiting a while longer."
Gandalf only crossed his arms and exhaled. He picked up a can of beer from the bowl of ice on the coffee table, opened it, and took a big gulp.
"That reminds me..." Daniel reached inside his suit pocket and pulled out a small, antique silver flask. "I had some vodka earlier, so forgive me if I've been acting a little strange, darling. I'm a bit drunk." He winked at her and put the flask away.
"Well, that explains a lot! But you almost never drink! And why don't I smell it on your breath?"
"It's Halloween. I thought a little alcohol would help me be more spontaneous and fun. I chewed some gum while you were in the bathroom."
"Oh...well it also makes you kind of creepy, Daniel. Please don't drink anymore."
Gandalf chuckled quietly and Daniel scowled at him before he faced Luce, a solemn expression on his face. "No more. I promise."
He pulled her close to him and she rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Now, let me tell you the rest of the story." Luce nodded.
"Let's see... So, Edith starts to see these ghastly, disfigured ghosts when she wanders around the house late at night. Thomas is usually conveniently still working in his office or fell asleep there, so he has no idea this is going on. After they try to kill her a few times, she finally figures out that something is seriously wrong and that it's not just her imagination, like her husband insists. Edith tells Thomas what has been happening and begs him to sell the house and move elsewhere. But he just tells her that she must be having nightmares or was sleepwalking. To reassure her, he goes to sleep at the same time as her every night. Once he does, she stops hearing the ghosts' wailing in the middle of the night, though the house still creaks and groans a lot. Oh, did I mention that the house itself seems alive and it also wants her dead? It's pretty obvious, actually. The two windows are the eyes, the fireplace is the mouth, and the house literally breathes when the wind blows a certain way. Also, Thomas lives with his younger brother, Christopher. But he rarely leaves his room and doesn't talk much even when he does."
"Is he as handsome as Thomas?" Luce asks.
Daniel laughed. "He is cute, but Thomas is more striking and charismatic. Well, he is only sixteen years old, while Edith is nineteen and Thomas is twenty-nine."
"Oh..." Luce said.
"Thomas is also a writer and is writing a book, so he mostly only sees Edith at night. He writes in his office, she reads books in the library. Or she wanders around the house and notices strange things, such as how wicked their mother looked in the painting on the wall, there are butterflies everywhere, and the house creaks and groans ominously all the time. She does some snooping around and keeps asking Thomas if he has seen the ghosts but he repeatedly denies seeing any and says he doesn't know about any murders occurring in the house before his family started living there. They have sex a lot more after Thomas starts going to bed and stays in bed with her for the whole night. A month later, as winter arrives, Edith finds out she is pregnant. She is very happy, but Thomas unexpectedly seems sad to hear the news."
"Oh no. I hope the baby will be okay. Wait, I hope Thomas will somehow survive. But I can tell there won't be a happy ending." Luce sighed.
"I'm sorry, Luce... But it's a ghost story, after all. Do you want me to keep going?" He gently rubbed her shoulder.
"It's okay. Please continue..."
"Alright... So, one night Edith wakes up from a nightmare and Thomas isn't there. She hears him and Christopher arguing about something in the office. A ghost that looks like her husband's father, which she had seen photos of, appears and doesn't try to hurt her like the other female ghosts. He leads her to the library and points to the huge painting of Thomas's mother, hanging on the wall. Edith checks behind the painting and discovers a small journal stuck in the frame. It's her husband's because she recognizes his handwriting. In it is all of Thomas's secrets. He wrote down everything in hopes of someone finding it in the future and understanding why he did what he did. Because he knew he would probably die young."
"No...poor Thomas..." Luce clung to Daniel as he stroked her back.
"Shh...it's just a story, don't get all upset."
"I know...keep going."
"So... Thomas's father, William, cheated on his mother, Alice, for many years. Maybe around six years, if she guessed correctly. During that time, he traveled a lot, supposedly for work-related reasons, and spent too much money. The mansion and his business, a publishing company, started to suffer from his neglect and the lack of funds to maintain it. He adopted Christopher but she guessed that he must be William's and his mistress's son. But she had no proof. Until one night five years ago, when she returned in the middle of the night, though she was supposed to spend a few days in town. Thomas and Christopher were woken up by all the yelling. They ran to their father's room and saw him in bed with a blonde woman and their mother screaming at him. At least they still had some clothes on. William admitted that Christopher was his son, and the blonde woman, Jessica, was his mother. He apologized so many times and begged her to calm down, but Alice was furious and took out a pistol from her purse. She shot Jessica in the chest, killing her instantly. William cried and hugged her lifeless body before he apologized to his sons for not being a good enough father and told Thomas to take care of his little brother from now on. He told Alice he had stopped loving her a long time ago because she is a selfish, cruel woman. He jumped off the balcony of the third floor and died. Alice just about went insane with rage at that point and tries to stab Christopher with a knife that she had in her purse. Thomas tried to stop her, but in the struggle, he ends up stabbing her in the chest. Before she died, she swore that she would haunt the house forever."
"Oh my god..." Luce gasped.
"How long is this story, anyway?" Gandalf grumbled.
Daniel ignored Gandalf and continued. "I know, right? But wait, there's more. Soon, the ghost of their mother tries to kill Christopher. Her vengeful spirit took over the whole house, and she used it in her attempts to kill him. Such as dropping chandeliers, knocking over bookshelves, etc. Well, the brothers tried to leave the house and sell it but everytime they do, she traps Christopher in a room somehow, and tortures him until Thomas agrees to come back. Their ghost father and his ghost mistress seemed to have left the house after they died, or are just not as powerful as Alice and so they can't help the brothers at all. But Alice still loves Thomas and doesn't want him to ever leave the mansion. Thomas agrees to stay there but begs and pleads her to stop attacking Christopher. Finally, she agrees, but only if Thomas seduces, impregnates, and kills six blonde women. One for each year that William cheated on her. Thomas is horrified but reluctantly agrees. The last five years, Thomas was able to find five women from different countries who had no family and few friends to wonder what happened to them once they disappear a while later. Sometimes they survived until they got pregnant, but other times, ghost Alice killed them before that, if he took too long to get them pregnant. Thomas always tried to pick women who had awful personalities so that he could avoid falling in love with them. But he still felt very guilty about tricking them to come there, pretending that he loved them, sleeping with them, then killing them or letting his ghost mother kill them. When she didn't kill them herself, she would force him to kill them in certain gruesome ways, such as stabbing them with a knife in the-"
"No! I don't want to know! Please skip that part." Luce said with a shudder.
"Okay... So, the brothers buried all the bodies afterwards and no one ever suspected anything because they live a pretty isolated life in this mansion and rarely get any visitors. They explain to the few people working for them at the mansion that the women left Thomas after finding out he cheated on them. Everything has gone according to plan for the past five years. That is, until Thomas met Edith in America. He tried and failed to seduce four blonde women before he met her. He was running out of time. If he was gone too long, his ghost mother would assume he was not coming back and kill his little brother. Edith was the first woman he had ever been truly attracted to. She was so beautiful, intelligent, kind, and also a writer, like him. He really didn't want to choose her, but he had no choice."
"Oh...she was his first love. And his last." Luce said.
"That's right... He knew their love was doomed, but he couldn't stop himself from falling in love with her. He started to hope that he could somehow change his ghost mother's mind. After all, they already killed five people. Maybe that was enough. He also tried to avoid sleeping with Edith but after she saw the ghosts, he had to. He told himself to not make love to her, because that might keep her alive longer, but he loved her so much, he couldn't stop himself. And now she was already pregnant and he was dreading what would happen next. He had to try to stop his ghost mother somehow! This is all he wrote in his journal so far. Edith rushed to his office and told Thomas that his ghost father lead her to his journal and she knows everything. Thomas tearfully apologized and said that despite what he did in the past, he will save her. Ghost Alice appeared and demanded he kill Edith or else she would kill both Edith and Christopher. Thomas refused and hugged both of them, saying that he's killed too many people for her already. They tried to run out of the house but ghost Alice and the ghosts of the other five women made things fall on them to try to kill them. Christopher himself tried to push Edith down the stairs but Thomas was able to pull her out of the way and he fell down and died. Thomas was shocked and sad that his brother died, but Christopher had argued in his office that Edith must die. Despite knowing how Thomas felt about her, he wanted her dead. Though he loved his brother, Christopher's childhood was a nightmare and he understandably became very paranoid and had no friends except his older brother. He lacked empathy and never got close enough to anybody to care for or love them. Maybe death was a way to set him free. Now he could finally leave this cursed mansion and miserable life behind."
"Christopher gets to go live with his ghost dad and ghost stepmother," Luce said.
"You're right! That's a nice way of thinking about it." Daniel said.
Gandalf yawned in an exaggerated way and Daniel rolled his eyes at him. "Okay, I get it. I'm almost done. Thomas and Edith set the house on fire while all the ghosts were distracted, celebrating Christopher's death. Ghost Alice made a knife fly out at Thomas and it stabbed him in the thigh."
Daniel pulled out a pen from inside his suit and acted out the part that Thomas got stabbed in the thigh. Luce winced. "She made another one fly out at Edith but Thomas pushed her away and got stabbed in his stomach." He dramatically pretend-stabbed himself with the pen.
"No! Poor Thomas!" she said.
"They were able to escape as the house starts collapsing. But Thomas is badly injured and bleeding a lot. It is snowing outside. They look back at the burning mansion and see all the ghosts flew away, except for Alice. Ghost Christopher and their ghost father and stepmother lingered near Thomas, watching and waiting to see if he would join them. Edith was crying as she told them to leave, that Thomas would not die. She held him close, trying to keep him warm. They couldn't stay there. She needed to try to help him walk to the town, but it would take a whole day to walk there. Thomas told her he wasn't going to make it, but he was glad that she was safe. She refused to accept that. People from town would see the fire and get some carriages and come save them. But Thomas was bleeding so much, even after she tore some fabric from her nightgown to dress his wounds. She was freezing cold, too. He told her to not be sad, that he deserves to die for all the lives he took. He said he regrets all the things he did, but especially bringing Edith here and putting her in danger. Edith said it's not his fault, but he insists that he's a monster and that love makes monsters of us all."
Daniel paused and quietly repeated the phrase. "Love makes monsters of us all..." Gandalf and Daniel stared at each other for a moment, their expressions unreadable.
"Daniel?" Luce looked up at him. Tears welled up in her eyes. She hated sad endings.
"Don't cry, Luce." Daniel sighed and gave her a hug.
"Sorry, where was I... Oh, right. Thomas doubted she could still love him after knowing all the terrible things he did in his past. How could she? But Edith said she still loved him and forgave him for lying to her. And he killed those women in order to save his brother. She understood that he had no choice and she thinks if she was him, she might have done the same thing."
Daniel paused again. "Luce, what if you were Edith? Could you still love Thomas? Even though he's a monster?"
Luce thought for a moment. "Yes, I think I would still love him. Because he's a good person who was forced to do bad things. He's not inherently evil. He didn't want to or enjoy killing people."
Gandalf and Daniel locked eyes again but remained expressionless.
"Hmm... I see." He seemed tense but then slowly relaxed again. "You're right. Okay, what happened next... Edith kissed Thomas and he told her he would always love her and stay by her side, even if he became a ghost. Edith said she won't let him die and pulled him closer to the burning house so they could stay warm. A few hours later..."
Luce was sobbing quietly as Gandalf groaned.
"A few hours later, some people arrived in carriages and rescued them. Thomas was brought to a hospital. They were able to save him and after a month, he had fully recovered!"
"What? Really? I thought he would die! You said he would die!" She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue before hugging him hard. "Oh my god, he made it! He's alive!" She pulled away to face him. "Then what?"
"They moved to Paris! Just as Edith had wanted. They both became famous, successful writers. Also, Edith wrote a ghost story loosely based on Thomas's life. The end!"
"Aww... I'm so glad it's a happy ending!" She hugged him again and they smiled at each other. "Thanks for telling me the rest of the story. I loved it."
"It's my pleasure." He gently kissed her on the lips.
"Umm... That's not how the story ended," Gandalf said.
"Yes, it is," Daniel said.
"No, I was there in the backyard listening to the guy telling the story. That's not what happened."
"Daniel? Did he die? It's okay, you can tell me," Luce said, disappointed.
"No, he didn't. It's just like I told you. Don't listen to him. He's just trying to upset you. It was one of those endings with a twist. We all expect him to die, therefore he doesn't die."
Luce stared at Gandalf and he shrugged. "Nevermind, I don't want to talk about this anymore. I'm just glad it's over. Come on, Daniel. We need to talk." He stood up and angled his head toward the backyard.
"Fine..." Daniel glared at him before he looked at her sadly. "I'll miss you, Luce."
"Daniel, you act like you'll be gone a long time. You'll be right back, right?"
He looked down and sighed. But when he looked up, he gave her a gorgeous smile. "Of course. I'll be back soon. I just have to go talk to Gandalf. If I could be any Lord of the Rings character, I would be Sauron. Villains have more fun, right?"
Luce laughed and nodded as Daniel stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to destroy Middle-earth," he deadpanned.
Luce laughed again and Daniel smiled at her once more before turning to follow Gandalf outside. She sat back down on the couch and smiled to herself, knowing Daniel made up an alternate ending to the story to make her happy.
After around ten minutes of people-watching and chatting with Aubrey a bit before she left, Gandalf came back with Daniel. But Daniel seemed a bit confused and dizzy. He was holding her black hoodie.
"Are you okay, Daniel? Oh, thanks for getting my hoodie." Luce stood up and took the zip up hoodie from him and slipped it on.
"I guess... But I could have sworn I went to the car to get your jacket after you went to the bathroom. Then the stupid locks were stuck and I couldn't get out of the car for a long time. And then this guy in the Gandalf costume came over and somehow was able to open the door for me."
"How could you have been stuck in the car all this time? You were with me. You're drunk, Daniel. Though you seemed fine earlier. That's weird."
Gandalf patted him on the shoulder. "That's what I told him. We had a little chat and then he went to the car to get your jacket. Maybe it's a delayed thing. It's only affecting him now. Don't be surprised if he forgets what you guys did or talked about earlier."
"Oh... Okay, I know. Thank you." Luce stepped closer to Daniel and held him by his waist as he leaned against her, swaying a little.
Gandalf nodded and turned to leave.
"Wait! What's your name?" Luce asked.
He turned around and smiled. "It's Gandalf. Happy Halloween, Luce."
She grinned. "Happy Halloween, Gandalf."
Gandalf headed for the open front door, weaving in and out of the crowd with his big staff until he reached the entrance. He turned around one last time to look at her before he left. She didn't even know his name or see his face. Luce wondered who that mysterious wizard was and if she would ever see him again.
Kate's Notes:
Finally! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and the other parts of this Halloween flashback. It was supposed to be really short but ended up so long and taking forever. lol. NEXT CHAPTER WILL CONTINUE WHERE CHAPTER 10 LEFT OFF. YAY! FINALLY CAN GET BACK TO THE MAIN STORY.
-I AM SO DISAPPOINTED IN THE NEW CAM BOOK, UNFORGIVEN. SIGHHHH. i bought the hardcover soon after it was released and read a few chapters before i got so bored, i skimmed through the whole thing. someone wrote a review at amazon that summed up my feelings about it so well. it was so boring, and cam seemed like a different person. he wasn't cam-like at all. hate lilith, just like i thought i would. lucifer also sucked. it was just so...BLAH. the story, characters, everything so boring. sigh. hoping the movie will not suck, too. it's coming out in the fall of next year, i think. STILL NO TRAILER or even a movie poster or teaser. gahhhhhh.
-sorry i took forever to read/reply to reviews. i was too nervous. but from now on i'll try to at least respond to reviews quickly. unless you say something rude/mean/ i just don't want to reply for some reason/etc.
-Sadly, I wrote so little during November. Nanowrimo! yet i think i only wrote around 3K. that was including my alternate ending for Crimson Peak that i wrote on my instagram posts. lol.
-sorry for tricking you! but remember how lucifer is a shapeshifter and he turned into daniel that one time. i figure he does it sometimes to hang out with luce when he misses her. umm. like i said, i am obsessed with loki and love how complex a character he is. just a mix of evil/potentially good/victim/insecure/arrogant/etc. i am trying to give lucifer more depth... of course he is still the villain, but like hiddleston says, "every villain sees himself as the hero" or something like that.
i'm not sure how many of you reading are fans of lucifer (lauren kate's version or him as a character in general, from comics/books/tv/movies/etc.) but i hope you will like my version of him, too.
-sorry about any typos or present/past tense or grammar/other mistakes! starting from the part where he tells the story, i didn't reread a lot to check for mistakes. it's just too long. lol. i kind of rushed through the ghost story and the end of this chapter cuz i just wanted to get it done, so the quality of the writing went down a bit. lol. sorry.
-How'm I Supposed to Die by Civil Twilight. THIS SONG IS AMAZING. i liked it cuz of the thor + loki "how am i supposed to die" fanmade video i saw on youtube. i listened to it a lot while writing this. it really sets the right mood for this chapter because it's all about betrayal, hopelessness, angst, jealousy, tragedy, lost love, death, etc. very dark stuff...
also, "edith's theme" from the crimson peak soundtrack. you can find them both on spotify. also, "dream is collapsing" and "time" from Inception soundtrack.
-"What's my guilty pleasure? The thing is, I never feel guilty about pleasures." THIS IS A QUOTE I TOOK FROM TOM HIDDLESTON. LOL. exact quote. i also tried to put in some phrases loki or thomas sharpe (from crimson peak) said. haha. loki said "excuse me, i have to destroy jotenheim". i love loki's sarcasm. haha. i might put in more hiddleston or loki quotes later just cuz i love how eloquent/intelligent/poetic they sound...
-"love makes monsters of us all" this is a quote from and theme of Crimson Peak. i don't exactly agree with it, but then again, it is kind of true. i think it's at least more realistic than how lauren kate idealized love too much in the books. love is everything, always choose love, blah blah blah. sorry, i just think those parts are so cheesy, but that's just my opinion.
-i realize that the ghost story takes up like 2/3 of this chapter. lol. sorry, i wrote too much. for the longest time, i had trouble thinking up a story that is kind of similar to the one in crimson peak but also different enough to not give away spoilers in case you haven't watched and want to watch it. IT'S A GREAT MOVIE! i took some ideas for the story from the movie, but in a lot of ways, it's quite different and much darker and better than my story.
or just read the Crimson Peak book! it's quite good. though of course i recommend you see the movie because it's beautiful, scary, touching, romantic, and tom hiddleston is amazing in it, as usual. was interesting to read a book based on a movie for a change, though.