Chapter 5
"Way to go, Charles. Break everything."What the fuck?
"What have you done to the baby? My baby! No!" HOLY SHIT! WHAT IS THAT?
"Our baby is upstairs, waiting for you, in the nursery." The fu… What is going on? Ma'am? Hello?
"Hello, my ba-. Thaddeus? Thadde—Oh…. Oh GOD!"AHHH!
Tate shot up in bed, screaming. Even when he stopped, his voice rang through the house when a crack of thunder made him jump out of bed. "What the hell is going on with me?" He whispered, rubbing his eyes and holding his head as he sat down. A small sting on his shoulder made him flinch a little. "Well shit. At least I know that wasn't a dream." I'm losin' it.
"Hello, stranger." Violet's voice startled him, causing him to stand up and yell again.
"The fuck! Damn it, Violet. You can't keep doing that! You're gonna kill me one of these days!" As he yelled, he charged to Violet and stopped right in front of her. She didn't budge. In fact, she wore a smirk.
"I'm sorry." She pressed a small peck to his lips causing him to forget why he was pissed and freaked out in the first place.
"Well shit. You already know how to calm me down." He chuckled. "I'm sorry. Just had a really fucked up dream. This child, baby, thing, I don't even know when the hell it wa-."
"Holy shit, what happened?" Violet's hands sprung to his shoulder where his skin was scratched, red, and irritated. "That looks bad."
"Yeah. Umm, last night did you hear that scream after the power went out?" She paused, like she was thinking about if she should say something or not.
"No." He waited for her to continue. When she didn't Tate sighed.
"Are you sure? Looks to me like you're holding back."
"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't hear anything last night. All I remember is you running out of the room like a pussy when the light turned out screaming for your sister 'cause you were scared. What, can't perform?" He just stood there. Completely lost. Where the hell did that come from?
"Well fuck. What's up with you?"
"Don't call me a liar."
"I didn't call you a liar. I just said it looks to me like you're keeping something to yourself. "
"Whatever." She started walking away and that's when Tate noticed it. He looked outside to see the rain falling and puddles formed outside.
"Wait… Did you leave last night?"
"Yeah."
"How long have you been here?"
"I got here about 20 minutes ago. What are you getting at?" He looked outside once again and turned back towards her. With two large steps, he was back in front of her with his hands cradling her head looking into her eyes.
"You don't have to lie to me you know." His dark eyes reached into her, hoping to find the answers in her head somewhere.
"I'm not lying."
"You have to be. You're dry as a bone."
"Okay, maybe I've been here longer than 20 minutes. So what?" He moved closer. Their chests lightly touching.
"What aren't you telling me?" He pleaded. She seemed to weigh her options.
"I haven't known you long enough to talk about it. Simple as that." He didn't really know what to say to that. He understood. Her eyes started to change. The whites grew pinkish and her iris's became a rich brown color as they began to water. "Simple as that." She whispered once more. Tate's arms snaked around her enclosing her in a hug. Her head laid gently on his bare chest and he could feel a tear slide down his torso.
"I'm sorry." He whispered. "Listen," he looked down and whipped a tear from her cheek, "no more depressing or weird shit today, alright? We should go out and do something." He suggested.
"Or we could go exploring." She chuckled. Her tears ceased and she walked to the doorway. Tate didn't argue. Anything to keep that pretty face from crying again. He pulled on a white long sleeve shirt and a black and green short sleeve shirt over it and changed into a pair of khaki pants.
"You ready?" She nodded. They took each other's hands, like they've been together for years, and walked down stairs. Violet opened the basement door and descended the stairs. Tate, on the other hand, stood at the top of steps with a worried face. "Umm, why start in the basement?"
"Why not?" She smiled.
"I don't know." Tate hung his head. The last time he was in here, he got scratched by some sort of ancient demonic toddler thing.
"Come on." He didn't know if she was doing it on purpose, but damn he hoped she kept doing it. She cocked on of her eyebrows and looked at him with a longing expression. Like, if he did what she asked, he'd be rewarded. And with that, he slowly walked down the stairs. "So. Have you heard what happened down here yet?" She asked, sitting in the middle of the open room. Tate sat in front of her.
"No. I mean, the realtor told us about the family before us, but that was all."
"How much did she tell you?" She seemed alarmed.
"Just that their last names were Harmon, the mom died in child birth and the dad and daughter offed themselves." He looked up alarmed. "I'm sorry. You said you two were friends."
"Yeah. That's all she said?" Tate nodded. "Well, they weren't the only ones who died here. The people who built the place, Dr. Charles Montgomery and his wife Nora-"
"Wait… Charles?"
"Yeah. Mean something to you?"
"No, I just… I don't know. That creepy dream I had last night. A guy named Charles was sewing something together and his wife was furious and crying. She looked scared."
"Dr. Charles Montgomery built this house. In here, in this basement, Charles was a doctor to the stars but he was also a drug addict and his wife, Nora, was about to let that get in the way of his lifestyle so she set up a little secret side business. He would take care of girls who didn't want to be in trouble anymore. This went on and on until one day, one girl couldn't keep the secret to herself and she told her boyfriend what happened…."
"Montgomery residence, you shouldn't be calling at this hour." Nora says into the phone.
"An eye for an eye." Said a sinister voice.
"Who is this?"
"A tooth for a tooth."
"I won't tolerate this nonsense any longer unless you—"The other person hung up. "Charles, I just had the most peculiar conversation." Charles just sat there; his face pale, his eyes wide, and his mind very off in a distant place. It suddenly dawned on her. She quickly dropped the phone and, before it could even touch the ground, she was half way up the stairs running to the nursery. "Charles? Oh my God. Charles? Charles!"
"…The boyfriend wanted revenge so he kidnapped Charles and Nora's baby. Terrified, the doctor and his wife waited for the ransom demands…"
"This is your fault, Charles." A knock sounded at the door.
"What is the meaning of this?" Charles asked as he answered it only to find two police officers standing in front of him holding a cardboard box with the word "Evidence" on the side of it. When one of the police officers took the lid off of it there was a grizzly sight to be found. Numerous jars were in it. Each one filled to the top with different parts of their baby.
"Charles? What is it, Charles?" Nora asked, stepping closer to the box trying to see what the contents were.
"Ma'am, there's no need for you to see this." The other officer said as he stepped into the house stopping her from moving any closer to the box.
"…Driven insane with grief, the doctor used all of his experience and surgical skills to try and cheat death…"
"I wanna bury our son in this." Nora said with tears streaming down her face entering the basement where Charles was working. Her arms held a long, lace dress of sort. A frail little gown it seemed. When she got closer, she could finally see what her husband was working on. "Charles?" He held a small baby arm and hand in his gloved grasp. At the wrist, there seemed to be stitched holding the two pieces together. "What are you doing? What have you done to our baby?" A new wave of sobs and tears shook threw her body but it seemed as if Charles didn't even notice her presence.
"…But what he created was ungodly and monstrous and even after their tragic end, that thing remained down here to this day." Tate stared in confusion.
"Bullshit." He didn't believe in ghost stories. But this story freaked him out. Just last night he was attacked by an ungodly and monstrous thing. "How do you know all of this?"
"This is the Murder House. Haven't you seen the Eternal Darkness Tour Bus out and about?"
"The Eternal Darkness Tour Bus? No… Sounds weird."
"You should check it out tomorrow. I can't come by anyway. Parents want me to stay in." She chuckled to herself. Almost like she remembered an inside joke on the subject.
"Okay, any other creepy stories about the house?"
"Oh, plenty. It would take me weeks to tell you all of them."
"I'm looking forward to it." A small blush formed on her cheeks. "Well, start with any story you wish." Violet nodded and thought for a moment. Just then, a loud bang made them turn their heads to the stairs. Tate led the way, one: because he didn't want someone or something so come out and hurt Violet and two: he didn't want his back to the basement in fear that creepy demon thing would show up again. When the front door opened, Constance's voice rang through the house.
"Tate! Come down here, I need your help." He rolled his eyes and turned towards Violet.
"I'll be right back, just stay down here, okay?" She nodded. "Promise?"
"Promise." A small peck to his lips sealed that promise and he let the door close behind him.
"What?"
"Oh, there you are, dear. Could you help Larry carry his desk upstairs in the office? You won't have to help with anything else. Just that one thing. The movers should be here any minute."
"The why don't you just wait for them?"
"Because it's raining, it's a wooden desk, and it's the only thing in his car." He rolled his eyes and tugged on the jacket he usually kept by the door and walked out into the rain with is hood up. Without speaking to the man who was now going to be living with them, much to Tate's dislike, he helped him get his desk settled in the room at the other end of the hallway from his bedroom.
"Thank you, Tate. I really appreciate it."
"Sure, sure. Whatever."
"Hey, Tate?" Tate stopped and turned around, glaring at Larry. "I know you don't want me around. Just know that I'm not trying to replace your father. No man could do that. But maybe we can start off being friends?"
"Sure. Whatever you say, Lawrence." With a swift turn on his heels, Tate turned and jogged down the hallway, took the steps two at a time, and stopped in front of his mom.
"Thank you." That's all I'm helping with. I know what you're doing. I'm not blind and I'm not stupid. Anyone with eyes can see that you just want him around for his money. We're severely losing that thanks to you being jobless and never getting off your ass to do anything. But I'm going to let that shit slide mainly because you're going to stay off my back and I know you are because you wouldn't want me to go around making his life a living hell now would you? Tate thought. He decided against it, though. He didn't want to start anything. He just wanted to return to the basement and hang out with Violet, which is exactly what he did after muttering an emotionless "you're welcome" to Constance.
"Okay, I'm back."
"Ooh. Nice strong man did that quickly." She mocked.
"Aw, you noticed." He chuckled flexing his arms, chest, and abdomen. In truth, Tate had a generally muscular body. For someone who was trying to get on the track team, he needed to be strong and fast and thanks to training, his body was ready for it. Violet's eyes lingered for a moment until Tate cleared his throat. "Anyway, you were saying?"
"Maybe some other time." Violet started back up the stairs.
"Where are we going now?"
"Up to your room, of course." She chuckled and bolted. Tate didn't have any idea how she did it, but by the time Tate reached the stairs, Violet was already up them and running down the corridor.
"Damn, you're fast." He whispered to himself. Taking the steps two at a time, he found the attic door open. He ran up it to find her hiding behind Beau and Addie. He closed the door behind him and smiled. Violet had a sinister expression on her face as she leaned down and whispered in their ears. He braced himself for whatever was coming next. That's when it happened.
"PLAY!" Beau yelled and both he and Addie ran towards him, their hands outstretch in front of them and tackled him to the ground cause him to writhe and laugh aloud at their tickling fingers.
"YOU ARE SO SCREWED FOR THIS!" Tate yelled. Violet, however, was on the floor laughing hysterically.
"Play! Play!" Addie and Beau kept a steady chorus in the air.
"Oh, damn, stop! Please?" Tate pleaded. "I can't breathe. I can't… breathe!" His face turned red. When the tickling finally stopped, dragged himself over to Violet and placed his head on her stomach. "Thanks for trying to make my brother and sister try to kill me." He said breathlessly.
"Any time." She chuckled. Once he finally had control over his heart rate, Tate crawled on top of Violet, straddling her. With his hands firmly on her waist, she grabbed his wrists. "Oh no, please, Tate. Don't. I beg you." She smiled. He leaned down so his lips were just over hers.
"Payback's a bitch, isn't it?" She chuckled and just before he began his attack, Violet spoke.
"Do you really want your mom or that one dude to hear me laughing?" She had a point. But there was more than one way to get his revenge.
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Muahahaha! Yeah, leaving this at a suggestive cliff hanger.
Don't fret though. There'll be another update within the next week or so.
I hope you like the chapter. Thanks to those who are sticking with me and still reading.
xoxo
