Chapters Six

I went downstairs one day to hear that mom wanted to sell the house. My immediate reaction was to stop her. If I moved, IU wouldn't be able to see Tate. No matter what I said, however, she was convinced that this house was dangerous. She had already spoken to the realtor – Marcy. People called "fluffers" were going to come and make our house more sellable.

I asked what was wrong with it and that was when I learned that people called this the Murder House. Many people had died here, usually by murder-suicides. It all started with the original owners – Nora and Charles Montgomery. Their son had been kidnapped, killed, dismembered, and sent back to them in jars. Their mental stability went down from there and it was completely understandable. Why would anyone do that to an innocent child?

After the conversation with mom, I went on to my laptop and searched up the history of the house. I listened to the robotic voice retelling me the story of the original owners. I also went through a rumour about how a young woman had gone into the house at a friend's recommendation, but was never heard from again. It sounded cliché, so I quickly moved on. The next one was about two nurses who had been killed by a psychopathic man named R. Franklin. The story sounded familiar. It was chilling to think that the three people who had invaded our house was going to re-enact what happened. As I was going to listen to the next tale, Tate climbed in through the window.

I put the laptop to sleep and smiled at him. He greeted me with a kiss, which I happily returned.

I settled my head on his stomach and curled up against him. With his hand raking soothingly through my hair, I told him about my dilemma. His hand stilled.

"I don't want you to leave," he said. His fingers were slowly clenching in my hair. "You can't leave." I winced as it felt as if he was going to pull my hair out. He seemed to snap out of whatever he was in and relaxed his hand once more to stroke through my hair. I sighed and nuzzled his shirt.

"I love you," I murmured.

He gathered me in his arms so that my head was right under his chin. "I love you, too."

Just as I was about to doze off, he asked, "Are you doing anything on Hallowe'en?"

I shrugged. "Depends," I responded, coyly. "Why?"

"Do you want to go out with me? We can go to the beach or trick – or – treating…"

I smiled. "I'd love that."

A few days before Hallowe'en, Violet had come to me with a fearful tone in her voice. She pulled me into her room and locked the door.

"Violet, what's going on?" The abrupt movements had left me slightly disoriented. "Are you alright?"

She was panting. Clearly, something had frightened her. "I – I don't know what happened!" she exclaimed. "I told Tate about Leah and how she was bullying me. He said that he'd deal with it if I brought her to the basement." I frowned. What was in the basement that Tate made me promise to stay away from? Was it the rubber man? Did he live there? Did Tate actually know him? What was going on? "He… He went crazy! He was laughing and shaking his head like he was possessed or something. The lights were going on and off. There – There was this person who attacked Leah! I- I've never seen him before. He was deformed and hideous!"

No, that didn't sound like the rubber man – at least not while he had the suit on, but who was it? Tate knew that he was there. How many other people were living in our house?!

"Violet, don't ever go back to the basement," I told her. "I'll… I'll talk to Ta – "

"No!" she cut me off. "I promised him that I wouldn't tell you." I could tell that she was genuinely concerned that Tate would do something to her, but I was convinced otherwise. He would never hurt anyone, especially the people I love.

I quickly assured her that everything was going to be fine, to not tell our parents, and to stay away from the basement and Tate.

I'd have to figure out a way to approach that subject.

Unfortunately, as I was awaiting Tate's arrival, mom had called me down to meet the two fluffers. They were both male and they didn't seem to get along. Chad was quite talkative – quick to give his opinion, but also rather condescending. Patrick, however, was the complete opposite. He was silent for the most part and didn't move around much, unless it was needed.

After greeting them, Chad gave me an odd encrypted message that I didn't understand. He mentioned something about loving monsters. I gave him an uncomfortable and confused smile before excusing myself.

Just when I thought that I was free to go, I bumped into Patrick who must've slipped away when I wasn't paying attention. Ben was behind him and my father sounded rather odd when he beckoned me to my room. I did so without complaint.

In my room, Tate was already waiting for me. I smiled and jumped into bed – immediately being enveloped in his arms. "The fluffers are weird," I mumbled against his lips.

He knead my waist and groaned. "Those guys are idiots."

"You know them?"

He shrugged. "This house has always had trouble selling an they're always the ones coming."

"Oh… I – What are we going to do if I have to move?" I asked him. "I know that mom's been afraid since the intruders and… and I guess it'll be good for Violet to get away from the bullying…" I bit my lips, wondering if that was to obvious.

"You shouldn't be too worried about her," he muttered. "Bullies always get what's coming for them." There was something dark and ominous about his words that sent fearful shivers down my spine. "Madi, I won't let them take you away from me. Not ever."

I laid my head comfortably on his chest, but I couldn't help feeling dread tugging at my stomach. He hadn't confirmed what Violet had said, but it seemed as if Violet had indeed been telling the truth or… Some form of the truth that she believed happened.

As I continued to ponder, the sinking feeling was beginning to overwhelm me. At one point, I excused myself to go to the bathroom where I lost my lunch. What was I going to do? I told him that I would only judge people by the way that they treat me, but what occurred had frightened Violet and I had never seen her like that.

"Madi, are you okay?"

"Tate, what are you doing here? What if someone see –"

"I was careful and you've been here for a while, so I was worried…"

I cursed myself for my weak resolves as I flushed the toilet and sank into his arms.

"Also wanted to ask if… If you wanted to go out with me on Hallowe'en." I could hear the uncertainty in his voice. He was also ruffling his hair, something that he only did when he was nervous or embarrassed.

I kissed him on the cheek. "I'd love to."

I'm such an idiot.

…

Bang!

I jumped and twirled around. No one was supposed to be in the house, except me.

Quick footsteps streaked down the hall. I felt my heart race. Did the intruders return? Were they new ones?

I groped around for the metal bat that was always under my bed. If only Tate was here, right now. He'd know what to do.

As I was reaching for the door, it burst opened and I swung.

…

"I'm so sorry, Addie," I apologised profusely as I rubbed at the enormous bruise on her arm. "I thought you were a robber or something."

She nonchalantly waved it off. "Don't worry. It's just a bruise."

"But I could've really hurt you." I slathered some ointment on to the discoloured skin. "What are you doing here? And how did you get in?" I knew for a fact that all the windows and doors were locked, except for the one in my room.

"I was playing with my friends," she told me.

I frowned. "What do you mean? I'm the only one in the house, unless you mean me, then… I don't mind you coming over if you just gave me a bit of a warning first."

"She shrugged before laughing at something.

"Is there… Is there someone in the room with me?" I asked her. There were so many mysteries in this house. I wouldn't be surprised if there were ghosts, especially since so many people have died here.

Addie didn't reply, so I decided to move on to another topic. Her presence and silence unnerved me. "Are you doing anything for Hallowe'en?" I blurted out.

"Yeah!" she exclaimed. "I want to be a pretty girl – like the one in those magazines."

I blinked. "Addie, does that mean that you won't be dressing up? You're beautiful."

"You're blind. You can't even see me," she snorted.

"Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder," I told her with a smile. "And my eyes say you're beautiful. Besides, it's what's inside that matters."

"You sound like those stupid motivational posters."

I laughed. Her bluntness was an odd breath of fresh air. "Yes, well… It doesn't make it any less true."

"I should go before your mom's home and tells me mom," she said, standing up. "Can I visit you, Madi? It's kind of lonely in the house. Mom always has a guy over."

That was a bit too much information for me. "Of course, Addie."

"Hey! Our name's rhyme!"

I laughed, again, and she joined in. "We can be twinnies," I told her. "Violet and I don't talk much, so you can come over any time you want – before dinner," I added, thinking about how Tate usually occupied my time in the evenings.

"Okay!"

After Addie left, I found Tate on my bed when I re-entered my room. "Where were you? Your sister was just here."

"Was getting these for you." He retrieved something from the other side of the bed and thrust it at my face.

It was a small bouquet of flowers. I smiled. "Is this from our garden?"

He ruffled his hair. "Yeah… But if you're gonna have people fluffing the house, they can replace them later."

I kissed him. "Thanks, Tate." This was the first time that I had received flowers, even if they belonged to us in the beginning.

We fooled around for a while before I had to go back to studying. There was a midterm just before Hallowe'en and I really wanted to do well on it.

The days closing in on Hallowe'en was hectic. I was juggling studying, sessions with Henderson, and spending time with Tate. Addie was also visiting more frequently. No matter how much I wanted to get to know her, I had to cram the last new chapters in. Most of the time, however, she was quite content with just spending time in the basement.

I had opened the door to check on her once and she was talking to herself – or some imaginary person. Afraid for her sanity, I decided to take her out for ice cream. There was a quaint little parlour nearby that was usually relatively vacant, so we spent the majority of the afternoon there.

When I asked what she did in the basement, she told me of twin boys who usually played with her. Further inquiry brought on the topic of ghosts. She mentioned several more and when I asked about the rubber man, she clammed up.

She knew something about the mysterious stranger, but something was stropping her from telling me. I changed the subject and asked her about her mother, instead. This brought on a nonchalant tale of what the annoying neighbour had been up to. Apparently, she was keeping a young, wannabe male model. Addie seemed to have a particular liking towards him as well, but perhaps in a more… sexual -casual way.

As her recount of her mother's sexcapade came to an end, I questioned her about Tate. Addie was not too enthusiastic to talk about her brother. She told me vague happenings of what he did when he was home, which mainly consisted of staying in his room and nothing else. I asked her if he had other friends or if he had a favourite place to be, but she brushed both questions off by saying that I was all he needed.

The egotistic part of me bristled with job, but the rational side of me was skeptical. Everyone seemed so secretive. What were they hiding and why?

After we departed, we both went home. I noticed that the fluffers were here, again. Chad invited me to help him despite the fact that I was blind. I gave him colour scheme suggestions and different Hallowe'en-themed objects that I liked. Some he agreed with, while others he vehemently rejected.

By the end of the day, he promised me a costume to wear for the thirty first of October. When I asked what it was going to be, he promised that it would look good and that was it.

I went up to my room felling completely befuddled at what had gone on. When I saw Tate situated on my bed, I happily welcomed the stability that he provided.

…

Tate watched the brunette girl snuggle against him, completely oblivious to what was occurring in the house. He had been watching her converse with the fairy. He was furious. He knew what Chad wanted to do, but that man was never going to tear them apart. Madi was his. No one was going to take her away from him.

He stroked the bare flesh of her waist and felt himself harden. It had been far too long since he had buried himself inside her. She was his new addiction – much better than weed or cocaine.

Breathing in her scent was like a de-stressor. He would hold her forever if he wasn't worried about her becoming more suspicious than she already was.

He'd need to do something about that. Perhaps a little warning for the resident gay couple…

"Mmm… Tate…" He looked down and upon seeing the smile on his Madi's lips, his mood lightened. His.

He'd think of something later…

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Tate's really a bit of a sex addict, isn't he? And Addie… She's such an interesting character. She seems to always know everything that's going on, but just decides to ignore it in favour of living life how she wants to.

I feel kind of bad for leaving Madi in the dark, still, but I promise that the issue will be addressed soon!

Thank you meangirl8, 1, Yutakis and guest (Laurel) for reviewing.

meangirl8: I don't typically add spoilers here, but no, she's currently not pregnant. Thanks for reviewing!

Laurel: Nope, not pregnant! Just a bit of nausea.

Yutakis: I'm so, so happy that you like this story! I know that OC stories can be a hit or miss for a lot of people and for you to enjoy it means a lot to me. I hope I can keep up with your expectations!

I would also like to thank everyone who has favourited and followed this story!

I always love to hear from all of you. It keeps me motivated to write. Just a simple message can go a long way.

Thank you!