Chapter 10:

The Coleman Children (Part 2)

Hamden Elementary School

For The Deaf

Later That Day…

Unaware of her brother's eventful morning of his own at his school, little Max Coleman went about her day, which was going far more pleasantly. Now in Grade 1, she and her class had just got back from the library, where she'd checked-out 2 Arthur books for an assignment. They weren't picked out just for her schoolwork though, they were also her absolute favorite children's book series, right next to the Berenstain Bears' books.

Max was now out in the hallway and getting a drink from the water fountain. She finished up, and then began to make her way back to her class. As she began walking down the empty hallway to her class, she stopped by the art room. The door was left slightly open, with the room full of students. Max stared at the open doorway for a few moments, and then began to make her way towards the art room. She then peered inside at the class.

The art teacher, Mrs. Williams was pacing back and forth behind her students, helping them whenever they turned to her to ask. Max looked over the paintings, seeing one was of a flower, one was of a smiling sun, one was of a stick-figure pony, etc.

The careful, delicate strokes of an experienced painter then caught her attention. The painting of said artist was of a brunette man, but Max couldn't see the rest as the artist's head and shoulders were blocking her view of it. And that's when Max saw the matching black pigtails tied with 2 blue ribbons, and the matching blue dress which was worn by the fiend that constantly terrorized her in her nightmares. It was Esther, and she was standing right next to the other students, painting like she didn't have a care in the world.

Max audibly gasped, her heart catching in her throat. Esther's last brushstroke halted in its place and she quickly turned to look at Max, those cold dark eyes staring into Max's wide ones. A slight smile curled at the corner of Esther's mouth, and she signed something to Max.

"Watch this, Max."

As Max shakily watched on in horror, Esther turned back to her painting, cleaned her brush, and dipped it in a jar of fresh red paint. Her expert strokes swept across the white sheet of paper with purpose and intent. A purpose and intent that Max would soon discover, much to her horror. Esther's face remained blank and emotionless as she dipped her brush once more into the red pain, and then almost manically began swiping the brush back and forth, still with a purpose.

She then mixed a little of the red paint with some of the black in order to darken it into a crimson color, the color of blood. Once the final brushstrokes were done, Esther smiled and then stepped aside, so Max could see her hellish artwork. Hellish was an understatement.

Esther's painting was of a brunette man, laying on his back, naked and screaming, his face twisted into a look of pure agony. A massive, gaping hole was cut out through his chest and stomach area, with blood and shiny pink intestines splattered all about the man's chest, arms, and legs. Blood had even pooled under him and ran down from his gaping mouth. As Max's eyes began to tear up, she looked at the figure's face, knowing that it was meant to resemble her father John, in his last moments alive before Esther murdered him.

Max tore herself away from the open doorway of the art room, and bolted down the hall. She then raced into the washroom and ducked into a stall, sitting on the floor, and pulling her knees into her chest. She then began to rock back and forth, sobbing and moaning softly, as she tried to shake the haunting vision of that painting from her mind. Yet whenever she closed her eyes, she saw it once more. She knew that it wasn't real, and that Esther wasn't really there, but it still terrified her nonetheless.

The nightmares were one thing; she had them almost every night. But these hallucinations while she was wide awake were another thing entirely. They had only recently started happening, but she had told no one, fearing what they'd say. Her mother was very, very busy trying to keep a roof over their heads, Daniel had his friends to help him forget his pain, and Hannah… what would Hannah say? What if she told Kate, and Kate had her taken away to a mental hospital, just like the one Esther had escaped from? What if she ended up a crazy as Esther? There was a reason she broke out of that hospital; bad things happen there. She didn't want that.

After gathering herself, she emerged from the washroom stall and made her way over to the sink. She then took some paper towels and began to dry her eyes and cheeks from her terrified tears. She was still shaking as she set the taps to warm water, and splashed her face to remove the swelling from her eyes.

As she finished drying them, she lowered her makeshift tissues and gasped aloud when she saw Esther standing right behind her. Max gasped aloud and spun her head around to see if Esther was really there. When she did, she saw no one. She then glanced back at the mirror and saw Esther still staring at her from it, smiling slightly.

Max began to tremble violently as Esther started to sign something to her.

'Don't be afraid, Max. I told you that you were my little sister, and that I loved you very much. I still do, Max.'

Max shook her head violently, but Esther nodded.

'I'll always love you, Max. And I get the feeling that it's mutual.'

Max stared in disbelief at Esther's next words.

'I know about that diary of yours. I know about the pictures you've kept of us both from the day that I joined your family; the ones that weren't given to the police. That's very sweet of you, Max. I keep them with me too; up here.'

Esther then tapped the side of her head to say that they were in her mind. She then continued.

'I know that you always wanted a sister, Max. And I'm it; I'll always be it. And I'll always love you, Max. Nothing will ever change that… and I will come back for you one day…'

Max then began to sob uncontrollably once more. The washroom door hissed open behind her and she spun around, screaming.

A While Later…

The Coleman kids' nanny Hannah was driving Kate's SUV to Max's school, with a concerned look on her face. She then pulled up, parked, and hurried inside. She was brought into the front office by Max's teacher Mrs. Maple, who brought her into a smaller office where Max sat, hugging her knees to her chest and rocking back and forth.

"We found her in one of the washrooms," Mrs. Maple explained to Hannah, "She was completely inconsolable. She wouldn't tell us what was wrong, but… well, I have an idea."

"Thank you for calling me, Mrs. Maple," Hannah said to her, "Mrs. Coleman's got a lot on her plate at the moment." She then knelt down to where Max sat, smiling, signing, and telling her, "Hey, sweetie! It's okay now, I'm here."

Max sprung up and threw her arms around Hannah's neck. Hannah caught her and held her tightly as Max continued to bawl. A hand covered Mrs. Maple's mouth as she watched the both of them. She felt for little Max, who used to be the happiest little girl, but was now far more quiet and reserved. Hannah and Max slowly parted and Hannah began to sign to her.

"They're sending you home for the day," Hannah explained, "But it's okay, you can come with me. I've got some shopping to do, but we'll have a girls' day out, just you and me. How's that sound, honey?"

Max wiped her eyes, sniffled, and then slowly nodded.

"Okay, let's go grab your stuff and we'll get out of here," Hannah said, giving Max a thumbs up and a smile. Max nodded and quickly grabbed her backpack. The 3 of them all left the office and then headed to Max's classroom for her to grab her coat.

"Poor girl," Mrs. Maple said, "That whole incident last year really changed her."

"Things like that can change anyone, Mrs. Maple," Hannah said, as she watched Max put on her coat, "That's what the monsters of the world do, they try to ruin us. It's important that we not give into them and let them defeat us. They thrive on our despair."

Max then came over to Hannah and took her hand. Hannah smiled at her and squeezed her hand lightly. Max smiled very faintly up at Hannah, then turning to Mrs. Maple.

'I'm sorry, Mrs. Maple.'

"Oh, sweetie, no," Mrs. Maple said with a warm smile, signing back to her, "You have nothing to be sorry about. Just take it easy for today, and we'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Max slowly nodded and then smiled at her.

Hannah then led Max out of the school and to the SUV. Hannah felt Max's class watching them from the window, trying to see what was going on. Hannah turned to the children and waved, before climbing in the SUV with Max. The car then started up, crawled away from the curb, and then headed off down the street.

Bartlett Manor

Whitley, BC

Leena slowly made her way through the massive family mansion where she had been employed as a live-in maid for the past 6 months. As she made her way through the living room, she passed by the large family portrait which hung above the fire place. Looking up at it, she smiled upon seeing Dr. Peter Bartlett, along with his lovely brunette wife Marie, teenage son Phillipe and his youngest child Lucy, all posed together in a lifelike painting.

Dr. Bartlett was dressed in black as he always did, had his stylish, wavy, parted down-the-middle black hair combed back and wore an expressionless look on that dark-eyed, lightly stubbled face of his. It was a look that suited him, although Leena had to admit that she preferred it when he smiled, especially when he smiled at her. Standing at around 6'2, he easily dwarfed the rest of his family, with the only person that was close enough to him in height being the family's black butler Willard St. John.

Today, Leena was a little nervous, as she had been summoned to Dr. Bartlett's upstairs study. She figured that it was regarding her lateness this morning, while she was getting carried away with doing looking up info on the Coleman family. But this was the first time she had ever been late in reporting to her duties, and while Dr. Bartlett was a very pleasant guy, she feared upsetting him as she'd never seen him angry. Still, there was a first time for everything, and she hoped that this wouldn't be an unpleasant first.

As she arrived at the doorway of his study, she lightly knocked. Dr. Bartlett was sitting with his back to her, working at his large desk, which faced the large window facing out into the vast, walled-off backyard.

"Yeah?" he asked in that smooth, low, yet authoritative voice of his without turning around.

"You wanted to see me, Dr. Bartlett?" Leena asked, nervously chewing her lip.

Dr. Bartlett turned, saw her, and then slowly turned around in his chair to face her.

"Oh yes, I did," he said, motioning her in, "Come on in, Tatyana."

Leena smiled and slowly came in, stopping a bit away from him. She then spoke first.

"I'm terribly sorry for my lateness this morning, Dr. Bartlett," Leena began, "I promise that it won't happen again-" but Dr. Bartlett held up his hand, gesturing that he wished to interject. Leena's mouth immediately snapped shut.

"Oh, I'm not worried about that, Tawt," Dr. Bartlett began, lowering his hand, "I'm a little

worried about you. Lately you seem so distracted and distant."

Leena raised her eyebrows in pleasant surprise. This wasn't what she was expecting at all.

"Now, I'm not the kind of employer who likes to invade his employees' personal lives," he continued, his expression one of concern, "As what you do while you're off the clock is your business. But I am concerned about you, Tawt. If something is bothering you, I'm here to help."

Leena smiled, relieved that she wasn't about to get read the riot act.

"Everything's as good as it should be, Dr. Bartlett," Leena lied. Dr. Bartlett wasn't buying it.

"You're not being straight with me, Tawt, I can tell," he said with a smile, "Seriously, is everything okay?"

Leena's smile slowly faded as she remembered Kate's book that was being written. Word was that she'd already found both an agent and a publisher, which meant that her book was getting closer to completion. The thought of people buying it, reading Kate's one-sided story made her stomach turn once more. The look of unease must've registered, because Dr. Bartlett got up, came over and stood in front of her, leaning down to her height.

"You can talk to me about it if you want to," Dr. Bartlett said, his eyes showing concern, "I may not a psychologist, but I am a good listener."

Leena closed her eyes, let out a long sigh and then nodded before explaining herself.

"It's my family back home in Romania," Leena explained, her eyes welling up, "There's been a death in my family. It's my mother Katerina, Dr. Bartlett. She was very sick and bedridden for the longest time, and we all thought that she'd get better. She had been diagnosed with lung cancer, and the doctor didn't give her much of a chance. She had been on medication for a while now, and she was actually starting to show improvement, but then she got worse out of nowhere. A few days ago, she got pneumonia and died in her sleep. It was my brother Petri that found her unresponsive."

"Oh my God, Tawt, I'm so sorry to hear that," Dr. Bartlett said, pulling Leena into his arms as she began to cry. He then held her tightly against him, adding, "A death in the family is never easy. I am so sorry to hear that, Tawt."

He held Leena in his arms, rubbing her back to try and soothe her. As Leena hugged Dr. Bartlett back, he hadn't known that she was actually crying out of frustration at Kate, her book, and those awful memories that all came flooding back of the whole Coleman family disaster. Now that it was all coming out, she knew that it was helping sell her bogus cover story.

"Look, if you need time off, just let me know," Dr. Bartlett said as they parted, and he looked into her teary dark eyes, "The last thing I want to do is get in the way of you and your loved ones paying your respects. Family's family, Tawt, and family is forever."

"I didn't want to ask, as they might need me for a good while," Leena said, wiping her eyes and sniffling, "Our family's affairs aren't in good order, so there's probably a lot to do. I just don't want to be replaced if I'm gone too long! I need this job, doctor!"

"I will not replace you, Tawt," Dr. Bartlett said with a reassuring smile, "And that's a promise! You've been with us for the past 6 months, and you've been a helluva great worker! You're a part of our family now, Tawt. You're irreplaceable."

They both hugged once more, with Leena pulling her fist down behind his back, as if to say "Yes!" They then parted and Dr. Bartlett smiled at her once more.

"I'll put you on paid leave, so you'll have money while you're back home in Romania," Dr. Bartlett said, "And once your affairs are in order, we'll fly you back to Canada. And I don't want you to feel like you need to rush this whole thing. Y'all give her a beautiful service when you lay her to rest."

"Thank you very much, Dr. Bartlett!" Leena said with a genuinely happy smile, "I promise, I won't be gone that long! You and your family have been nothing but wonderful to me, and I look forward to continuing my employment for you when I get back!"

"Glad to hear it, Tawt," Dr. Bartlett said with a warm smile, "Just lemme' know when you're leaving and when you're coming back."

As Leena left his study, her teary-eyed smile slowly morphed into a cruel, cold smile.

'Played him like a fiddle,' Leena thought coldly, as she wiped her less than genuine tears away.