CHAPTER ELEVEN

I curled into a ball in the same location Tate had left me.

I was such an idiot. I allowed my little girl dream of finding true love get in the way of reality. The signs were all there…

He was always in the house… His mother, no matter how negligent never once asked for him. We never spent a day outside, except for Hallowe'en.

So what was in the basement? What other horrors was he hiding from me?

I wiped away my tears. I had to be strong. This entire mess was my fault. I had been too naïve. I should've known better when Violet had come to me after the scare with Leah.

Dabbing the remaining droplets in my eyes, I made my way to the door to talk to her. As I opened the door, however, there was a tall, towering form already standing there.

No… Why now?

I backed way in fear. The rubber man advanced towards me. Behind him, the door slammed close by itself and locked shut. I screamed for help, but the man leapt towards me and threw me on to the bed, faced down. He pressed my head against the pillow, muffing the cries as he ripped away my clothes.

I struggled against him, but it was futile. He slammed into me and was fully sheathed in the single moment. As he thrust violently inside me, I stopped struggling. Tears flowed freely down my cheeks. It hurt. Everything hurt.

His hand moved away from my head. Instead, they gripped tightly on each side of my hip. His movements became sporadic. With a shudder, he stilled for only a minute before turning me over.

I stared into dark brown eyes. He hooked my legs around his shoulder and entered me, once more.

My toes began to curl as the familiar feeling of guilty pleasure swan in my lower region. Soft pants replaced the jerky motion that had brought tears in my eyes.

His hands were on each of my breasts, squeezing and rubbing the mounds.

"Harder," I finally whispered in resignation as I neared my own release.

He shifted his hip and pounded rhythmically inside me.

My eyes clenched shut and I screamed.

His body collapsed on top of me. I ran a hand down his neck to his back. My other hand reached over to the zipped. As I slowly peeled away the mask, matte blonde curls bounced out, caressing my face.

He lifted his head and the rest of the mask fell away. I stared into the beautiful brown eyes that glistened with fresh tears.

Maybe I had always known. Maybe a lie was better than the reality that was given to me.

He laid back down, burying his face against the side of my neck.

We cried.

Perhaps there were some happy tears. Even if he had forcefully taken my virginity, I ended up giving it to the person I loved most.

"Madi, I love you."

Just tell him to go away.

"Don't leave me, Madi."

Tell him to go away.

"I can be better."

Tell him.

"I love you."

"Go away…" I whispered.

His body went rigid.

"Go away, Tate!" I screamed.

His eyes were wide as he jerked back and disappeared in front of me. I would never forget the heartbreaking expression on his face.

Never…

...

That night, my dreams were plague with horror. It was as if something was slowly suffocating me. It was overwhelming… Terrifying… It was so dark and so evil.

"Madi!"

I gasped and my eyes snapped open.

There was someone hovering over me. Still seeing monsters, Is creamed and hit the form. There was a cry of pain before it tumbled over.

Hurried footsteps approached before light illuminated the room.

"Madi? Are you okay?!" I heard mom cry. Squinting my eyes, I could see both her and Violet by the door. "Addy, what are you doing here?"

I looked down and saw the familiar shape of my neighbour on the floor rubbing her head. "Hey, Madi!" She waved her hand at me. Confused, I returned the gesture.

"Hi, Mrs. Harmon. Hey, Violet!"

Mom was furious that Addy had once again managed to slip into our house undetected. "This can't continue! You're going back home right no – "

"Wait!" I cut her off. "C-can she stay? I've never had a sleepover before. Maybe Vi can join, too?"

Seeing my pleading look, Violet chimed in, "I've never had one, either."

Mom sighed. "Fine, but it's late. I expect all of you to keep it down." Just as she was about to leave, she turned back around and added, "And Violet, you still need to go to school, tomorrow."

The younger girl cursed.

When the door closed, everyone was sitting on the bed in a circle. "So why were you screaming? I mean, it was probably weird having Addy here, but I know you would't've screamed."

"Nightmares. That's all," I told her and it was the truth. I was still half asleep when Is aw Addy. The monsters were still lurking in my mind. "I'm fine, Vi. Really."

"Did… Did you talk to him?" Violet turned her head to briefly look at Addy.

I nodded my head. "I don't think we're together, anymore." I could feel my heart clench painfully at the thought of never feeling him beside me, again.

"You broke up with him?" Addy asked. "No wonder I haven't seen him around." She didn't sound too concerned.

"Addy, did you know that Tate's…" I swallowed. "Dead? And the things that he had done?"

She shrugged. "Yeah." I waited for her to elaborate, but she didn't. Instead, she changed the subject. "Mom hated the costume, but Travis loved it." She went on to rant about her mother's new boy toy and how much time he was spending with her. Her mother was absolutely jealous! "Oh, while you were with Tate, this girl got hit by a car in front of our house. It was so weird. She had this ugly mask on. I'm so glad you did my makeup, Madi or maybe mom would've made me do the same."

I gave her a small smile. "Anytime, Addy." Hallowe'en had been such a wonderful day. Why couldn't we go back to it?

"Hopefully, he's not going to bother us, anymore…" Violet muttered. She didn't seem to be paying any attention to what Addy was saying. My laptop was turned on in front of her.

"Vi…" I didn't want to talk about it anymore with Addy in the room, but my sister was adamant.

"If he does, I'll fucking kill him, again," she growled.

From the corner of my eyes, I thought I caught a glimpse of his face outside the window, but when I turned to look, there was no one there.

"Ya know, he really liked you, Madi," Addy said. "You were like… family already."

He had also become a permanent fixture for me. It was odd not being with him, now. I ran my hand on the teddy bear's soft coat. If I brought it to my nose, I could catch a faint scent of him, but it wasn't enough.

Suddenly, the stuffed animal was snatched away from under my hand. I gave Violet a disapproving look.

"This is going away," she said.

I stretched out my hand to take it back, but stopped. It was probably for the best. I had to move on. The only way to do that was to let go of the things that reminded me of him, but there was just so much... This entire room, it wasn't completely without him in it.

"Come on, we're going to my room," Violet demanded. "I can't stand how bright lights are here." She threw the teddy bear back on my bed and marched out the door. Addy obediently followed while I reluctantly left behind my memories of him.

It was difficult getting used to my sister's room. The darkness meant less shadows. I clumsily trekked to the bed before planting myself on the soft mattress. There was no way that I was going to go anywhere else without injuring myself in here.

We continued our conversation regarding the house. When Addy mentioned her friends in here, neither Violet nor I doubted her anymore. We were, however, worried that the other-worldly residents may bring harm to our family.

"Come on, I'll introduce you to the twins," Addy suggested. She made her way out the door without waiting for our reply.

Worriedly and curious, we carefully followed her. She led us to the entrance of the basement. The door was creaky and I stared down, it was pitch black.

He had told me not to go there, but… What did his words even mean to me, now?

I tiptoed down the stairs behind Violet who was following Addy. As my feet touched the cold concrete floor, I saw two faces staring back from just beyond the railing.

I jumped in shock.

"Hey, guys," Addy greeted the two boys.

One was dressed in a green and black striped shirt, while the other had on red and black. The twins' faces had streaks of dried blood and they didn't seem too happy to see Addy.

"What are you doing here, fat ass?" the red one sneered.

Instead of being insulted, Addy merely laughed. "There are my new friends – Madi and Violet."

They turned their heads at the same time. It was rather unnerving. "They're girls," they said with disdain.

Violet was immediately riled up. "Yeah, we're girls and I'm going to punch your face in if that's a problem with you!"

They boys turned around and ran deeper into the darkness. Their cackles could be heard echoing in the cold basement. Addy was unperturbed with their departure. Instead, she led them further in. One of the rooms held two girls and a woman. Their entire body was covered with burns.

I was too afraid to even approach them, but Addy was having a conversation with the mother who was staring at me with an eerie look in her eyes.

Taking a step backward, I bumped into another body and jumped in fear. When I turned around, I saw Moira. My heart settled down.

"Addy, what are you doing here?" the maid didn't seem happy. "You know that you're not supposed to be here."

Addy shrugged. "'Was just showing them my friends."

"Back upstairs," Moira ordered.

I was more than happy to leave.

...

He paced the attic. The rubber suit was thrown into a corner. He was frustrated, angry, and heartbroken. His Madi had told him to leave her alone. How dare she do that to him?!

"Play! Play?" Beau jumped around beside him with the red ball in his hands.

Tate turned. "No!" he snarled and immediately regret it when his brother whimpered and flinched away. "Sorry, Beau…" He sighed, plopping down on the cot with his face in his hands. "I'm so sorry." Tears streamed down his face. What was he going to do? Madi was his happiness. She was his light.

For so many years, he had nothing to look forward to. This accursed house was one long, boring day that never wanted to end. It wasn't until he had met her did he feel his dead heart seem to beat, again. She made him feel alive.

He clenched his eyes shut and hit himself in the head over and over, again. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" He wasn't alive. He was dead as a fuckin' doornail! Why was he even pretending that there was ever going to be any happiness for him in the living world? It was impossible. He was growing as crazy as his cock-sucking mother. Fuckin' bat shit crazy.

His face suddenly split into a grin.

It Madi didn't want to love him, he'd make sure that she was never going to leave this house and if she felt lonely, he could always bring her entire family along. Then, she'd have to stay with him forever.

"No!" he roared. He couldn't do that to her. The house would corrupt her innocence. It'd take it away. She wouldn't be his Madi anymore! "No… No… No…"

He shot to his feet and quickly made his way to the basement. "Nora? Nora!"

The blonde, elegant woman appeared by his side in an instant. "Oh, my poor boy…" She immediately pulled him into her arms. He sighed. "If you don't take what you want, it'll never come to you," she murmured. "You must take things into your own hands."

He closed his eyes, sinking into the comfort of her embrace. "What if she won't love me, anymore? I love her." He loved her so much that it hurt.

"She will." That was all Nora had offered him.

He felt just as lost as the day that he died and reappeared in the basement. He didn't know what to do. Time seemed to be moving without him. Life went on for everyone else. They didn't know how he felt. He didn't know how he felt.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

And there you have it! Madi knows! Madi probably always had the lingering suspicion, mainly because of how close she and Tate were, but denial is a powerful thing. Did any of you see that coming? If not, how did you think it was going to go?

I'm also sorry I've gotten Madi to tell him to go away! I think it'd be a pretty realistic reaction after she's been disillusioned. Now, I'll have to work hard to try to get them back together! Would you guys hate me if I kept them apart?

Thank you meangirl8, guests (Laurel and AFAN) for reviewing!

meangirl8: Poor Tate… Poor Madi… But would we love Tate as much if he was as sane as everyone else? (Not in the show, of course. No one there is sane).

Laurel: Seems like Tate did exactly what you thought he was going to do! I'm sorry‼! I'll try to get them back together! I promise! But sometimes, these characters seem to have a mind of their own and go into a completely different direction. No amount of outlining seem to deter them!

AFAN: You caught me just as I was about to update‼ Murder house is definitely my favourite, too! I'm so glad you like Madi!

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and followed this story!

Let me make you a promise: The more reviews, the faster I'll have these chapters out!