Milo had high hopes that he'd be able to sleep tonight since he'd been given a break that day; a free pass to laze around is a rare thing to get from August when there was work to do. Milo had taken full advantage of it and spent some time outside—well away from the stables—and explored the woods a little more now that he had a chance. The trees were all bare, reminding him of skeletons as they rose high above his head. It was like they were trying to reach the leaden skies, trying to get away from the desolate house just yards away.
The rest of the day, between meals, he sipped on the tea Emy had made earlier and caught up on his reading, finishing half of Carolina Moon before bed. Kady had spent most of the day with him after she got the video games and movies organized, both of them listening to music as Milo read and Kady wrote with her new pen—just writing down random words in different fonts or designs. After a while, Amy joined them with her dolls and they all played out a scene with them from Star Trek.
And now Milo was lying on his back with his hands under his head, staring up at the canopy over his bed, able to make out the Hercules constellation picked out in silver thread just a few inches above Canis Minor. Knowing he wouldn't be sleeping any time soon, Milo stands and decides to go to the game room to play some Assassin's Creed. He quickly pulled on some shoes and a light jacket before leaving his room.
"I'm sorry…." The whispered words caught his attention and he turned his gaze towards Kady's room. Instead of another ghost like he'd been expecting, he found Kady stumbling down the hall, eyes half-opened and one hand outstretched like she was being pulled along. He just stared for a moment in confusion, watching his sister shuffle closer and closer to him. He was almost certain she was coming to his room until she turned suddenly and faced the empty space where the elevator should have been. "Okay, I'll come with you."
Feeling sick to his stomach, Milo sprints down the hall and wraps his arms around her, lifting her off the ground and hauling her backwards away from the empty space. They hit the ground hard, the impact making his arm ache even worse and forcing Kady into wakefulness.
"Are you okay," he gasps, staring down at her. In that moment, all he could see was the scared little girl he remembered from childhood, all big eyes and trembling lips as she fought to be brave.
"It was her," she says, beginning to cry," she said she was taking me to the mines to make sure everything was still working." A surge of protectiveness runs through him and he holds Kady tightly to him, rocking a little and smoothing down the back of her hair.
"Shh," he soothes," I've got you now, Kady-bug, and that bitch will never lay another hand on you."
"I'm scared, Bubby."
"I know, but I won't ever let them hurt you again." He holds her tighter, letting out a relieved breath. He almost hadn't caught her in time, he'd almost seen his sister die, and that was enough to have him crying against her shoulder in the same manner she was doing to him. A creaking noise made them both tense, watching from their spot on the floor as the cables holding the elevator begin to strain against the heavy weight and shake slightly as the noise grew louder and louder.
"What's happening?"
"I don't know." He stands quickly, pulling his sister up after him and angling them so that he was standing half in front of her as the top of the elevator becomes visible. "Jesus Christ." He could feel Kady's nails digging into his skin as she clung to his arm, both of them shaking and watching in horrified astonishment as the elevator continues to rise. It's only when he sees the head of dark hair inside the elevator that he slings Kady over his shoulder and sprints down the stairs, nearly falling a few times when his ankle tried to give out, but he didn't stop until he was in the parlor.
"Will we be safe in here?"
"We'll find out," Milo replies, setting Kady down on the couch before moving to the doorway and peeking out. From the parlor, he could barely make out the front hall and the elevator, now dangling a few feet above the second floor, but there was no one in there anymore. Still breathing hard and wide awake now, he slides the glass doors closed, locking them and drawing the curtains in case she decided to pay them a visit.
"Wanna play Yahtzee?" Milo lets out a surprised laugh, looking incredulously at his sister as she moves across the room to get the dice and scoring pad. "I don't want to think about what just happened and what better way to distract myself than to remind my big brother how sucky he is at this game?"
"Fine, but I'll have to remind you that I'm superior at Assassin's Creed." She gives him a half-smile, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the low coffee table while Milo retrieved a calculator and two pencils before joining her on the opposite side of the table. When Estelle first got sick, the three of them would play Yahtzee to take their minds off things, so this was like a little tribute to their mother's memory.
"You got yourself a deal, Milo." Milo shifts until his feet were under him before taking a die from Kady and rolling once before passing it back for Kady to roll.
August prided himself on that fact that not a lot of things could shock him—hell, he's been shot before and he wasn't shocked since that was almost expected in his line of work—but the sight he found the next morning left him totally baffled. Not only was the elevator on the second floor, but the doors to the parlor-turned-game room were shut and locked.
"Is everything alright," Emy asks, walking out of the room they'd shared the night before.
"I don't know," he answers honestly, brows furrowed as he continues to stare at the closed doors.
"Is there a reason we're standing here?"
"I left these doors open last night after I moved in the pinball machine." He scratched the back of his head, trying to remember the events of the night before. "Babe, will you go get my keys off the dresser?"
"Sure." He watches her reflection in the glass of the doors, eyes focused on her swaying hips until she disappeared around the corner. He shakes his head, reaching out a hand to jiggle one of the faux-gold handles and frowning when they still won't push down and allow him entrance. "Here you go." He jumped at Emy's voice, not having heard her approach.
"Thanks." He picks the right key and inserts it in the lock before sliding the doors open and stepping inside. The white splatter-painted curtains were drawn over the large windows, but he was able to make out his kids slumped against each other on the floor, their backs against the couch. The TV mounted on the wall across from them still showed the menu screen for Home Alone and a finished game of Yahtzee was scattered across the coffee table.
"Did we miss a party last night?"
"I guess so."
"Do me a favor, honey?" He looks down at her, feeling his face heat up when she entwines their fingers. "Don't slip into cop mode and berate them for this. They probably just wanted to spend the quiet time together without one of us yelling at them to do some work."
"It's not like I'm a slave driver."
"You haven't exactly taken it easy on them either, August. Believe it or not, they're still children and you haven't spent much time with them since you got here, so take the day off and do whatever they want to do. Me and Amy can spend the day in town together; Kady has a grocery list anyway, so we'll do some shopping. Just…. Show them you're still their dad and maybe tell them about us so we can drop the whole 'hired help' façade before Amy blows it."
"I guess I can do that."
"I'll go and get Amy ready and you go decide what to do until they wake up." She pats his chest, allowing him a chaste kiss before she heads back the way she came, making a slight detour for Amy's room. It had been hard for him to move on from Estelle, but Emy was really helping him and he was hoping his kids would accept her as more than the maid. Heaving a sigh, he shuts the doors again and goes back to his room to change out of his pajamas.
Instead of his usual button down and khakis, August decided on a gray shirt with sleeves that stopped at his elbows, jeans, the watch Estelle gave him on the last Christmas they'd spent together, work boots, and the beaded lion bracelet that was nearly an exact copy of his son's apart from the coloring—August's was made to resemble amber while Milo's was more akin to marble.
Once dressed, he moves towards the entrance hall where the thermostat was located, slapping it a few times and fiddling with the buttons until he heard the heater kick on for the first time in three days. Maybe now it'll warm up in here. Amy's quiet voice meets his ears seconds before she comes into the entryway with Emy following behind her. "Okay, we'll be back around dinner time," Emy sighs, giving August a hug and a quick kiss before taking Amy's hand and leading her to the front doors.
"Have fun, girls," he calls after them, grinning when Amy smiles at him over her shoulder. She was a sweet girl, but she was shy and August wasn't sure how to handle shy children since both of his could have walked into a room filled with strangers and leave with a room filled with friends. All the same, Amy was slowly opening up to him and even curled up in his lap last night. Still smiling, August heads towards the parlor and only hesitates outside the doors when he swore he felt someone pressing against his back, but he shakes that feeling off.
After all, there was no one else in the house now apart from him and his children, and there was no such thing as ghosts.
Kady lets out a soft whimper, wondering why her bed was so hard and why every part of her was aching like she'd slept on concrete. Slowly, her eyes flutter open and she stares around in confusion until the events of last night came back in one terrible wave that hit her hard. She jumps up, looking for any sign of the female ghost, but finds that she and Milo are still alone in the parlor. She also found out why she hurt so badly, they'd both fallen asleep on the floor while marathoning the Home Alone movies.
Her heartrate slowing back to normal, she lets out a relieved breath and nudges Milo until her brother was cursing, but awake. "The fuck, Kady?"
"Get up already, I don't want Dad to bite our heads off because we slept past nine." That had Milo standing as quickly as he could, which wasn't fast since he had to be hurting as much as she did. "God, I need a bath or some p—"
"Morning, guys," August grins as he slides the parlor doors open. Milo and Kady let out loud groans when sunlight hits them, shielding their eyes with their arms. "Come on, my little vampires, run upstairs and get dressed, and then we're gonna have a family day."
"There will be no running involved." August laughs softly as they shuffle past and Kady could still feel him watching them as they start up the stairs. On the second floor landing, Milo and Kady pause and swallow hard, staring at the elevator that was dangling two feet off the floor. "It wasn't a nightmare," Kady murmurs, biting her lip.
"No," Milo whispers back," but I won't let anything happen to you." He gives her shoulder a squeeze, walking her down the hall to her room. Kady goes straight for the wardrobe digging out her favorite dress despite the cold, and fresh underwear. "I'll get you some pot later tonight, but you'll have to keep the window open to avoid August's snooping attempts."
"Thanks, Bubby."
"No problem. If you need anything, just scream and I'll come running even if August doesn't." She gives him a nod, waiting for the door to close behind him before she moves into the bathroom, being sure to close and lock that door as well. She sets her clothes down on the back of the toilet before plugging the drain and starting the water as hot as she can handle it. While the tub was filling up, she pulled her pajamas off and moved to the sink to brush her teeth. She was used to the cold by now and the bathroom door was firmly shut, so she didn't care about walking around the bathroom in her birthday suit. Maybe the ghosts will see me and then run away in terror.
"Hurry up, kids," August yells from downstairs," I have a surprise for you both!" Knowing August is as impatient as herself, Kady bathes and dresses as quickly as she can, still pulling on her pale blue Converse on the way down the hall where she met Milo doing almost the same thing, his hair sticking out since he hadn't had the chance to style it.
"Don't touch my kitchen," Kady shouts," last time you cooked, you nearly burned our house to the ground!" She and Milo skid to a stop inside the kitchen, finding August leaning against the wall and smiling at them. "Okay, that smile's getting a little bit creepy."
"Yeah," Milo agrees," it's like the smile Pennywise gave before he ripped Georgie's arm off." August makes a face at that, but doesn't comment. "Why are you in such a hurry this morning?"
"Did we do something you don't approve of?"
"Well, now that you mention it," August admits," which one of you decided it would be fun to ride in the elevator last night?" Milo pales at his words and Kady distracts herself by looking for one of the baking pans. "Come on, you're not going to get in trouble over it."
"Must be the messed up wiring." Kady's hands were shaking as she dug through the lower cabinet where she stored her pans, her heart beating so loudly that she was surprised no one else could hear it. "I heard it moving last night, but blamed it on the pipes."
"Honey, you don't have to be afraid to tell me the truth. Were you sleepwalking again and accidentally got on the elevator?"
"What? No, I told you what happened. I was in Milo's room because it was too cold in mine and we both heard it." August lets out a disappointed sigh, shaking his head and pinning Kady in place with his stare when she made the mistake of looking his way. Would he believe me if I told him the truth? The answer was easy and came quickly to her mind—hell no. He'd probably send her to a therapist or claim it was a hallucination from playing on her phone all the time.
"I did it," Milo says quickly, drawing their father's gaze. "I came downstairs for some water and I was afraid that I would fall down the stairs since I was barely awake. I should've told you sooner and I apologize, sir."
"Thank you for telling the truth, Milo." August claps Milo on the shoulder, nodding approvingly as he continued to speak. "Another thing I'm curious about, why were the two of you camped out in the parlor?" This time it was Kady that spoke up upon noticing the deer in the headlights look her brother sent her way.
"Cleaning party," she blurts out," we noticed how dusty it was and wanted to surprise you." Milo nods quickly, offering a nervous smile. "I don't think Emy's even tried cleaning in there, but I'm pretty sure we made more of a mess during our breaks."
"Don't worry about it, all you have to do today is have fun. I'm calling a family day, so what do you guys want to do first?" Talk about the fact that we're being haunted and admit Milo never took the elevator. They're both fine choices in my opinion.
"I'd like to find out why Emy felt the need to rearrange my pans. They were perfect the way they were and now my system is completely destroyed."
"Emy hasn't touched your pans, Kady. Maybe you did it when you were cooking yesterday." Or maybe the resident bitch of a ghost moved them to piss me off.
