Chapter 29: Monster House
Mia and Georgie return to the house with their purchases. Sharon is standing at the bottom of the stairs looking upwards.
"Mommy!" Georgie says in delight, dropping the shopping bag he was carrying and wraps his arms around her legs.
Instead of being happy and showering her son with attention, she simply pats his shoulders and hardly acknowledges his existence.
"What's going on?" Mia asks.
"Bill came home and locked himself in his room. I heard him throwing things around up there and I tried to reach out to him but he's not having any of it. I'm worried something happened to him."
Mia frowns but decides to let the parents handle this. She's only a guest after all. She takes her supplies upstairs to her room and begins to make the place a little more like her own space. She tapes several posters on the walls, puts up some better-looking curtains, and then moves on to her biggest project. It was something that she'd seen in magazines before and wanted to try for herself. She unwraps the set of Christmas lights she'd bought and begins to work.
Living in the country and farm, she'd learned how to make something with very few materials and use everything.
She heads downstairs to the basement where she'd been storing empty plastic water and soda bottles. She'd managed to get a whole bag of them from the school's recycling program and while everyone had looked at her like she was crazy for wanting them, no one wanted them and therefore didn't give it a second thought. She was also able to gather a few from the house as when the Denbroughs had moved in, the pipes were not working, so they drank bottled water for a few days before it was fixed. One's trash was another's treasure.
Once upstairs, she cuts the ends of the bottles off with a kitchen knife and hot glues two over each light bulbs, creating lights that were uniquely her own.
…
After finally finishing hanging them up, Mia steps back to admire her work. It certainly wasn't perfect, but it gave the room some much-needed charm and décor. Daylight is fading already, a sign of the coming autumn months, but once the lights are plugged in, it creates a "festive" and colourful ambiance. It was a familiar and comforting glow that made everything a little less scary and more like home.
The time for admiration comes to a stop because there's incessant knocking outside across the hall. Mia peeks through the door to see her youngest cousin calling for his big brother.
"Billy!" Georgie pleads. "Billy, can I come in?"
He continues to knock in rapid taps.
"Billy, let me in!"
"Go away Georgie!" is the response. It's a sharp and angry response, but if you listened closely, you could hear the pain. Something must have really rattled and hurt Bill enough to make him bark at his little brother like that.
Georgie is shocked but tries again with the knocking.
"Go Away!" Bill shouts again.
"Please, Billy…"
"G-GET LOST YOU L-LITTLE…"
He doesn't need to finish his remark as the six-year-old goes down the stairs in tears, running to his mother.
Mia feels for the pint-sized kid but is also wondering why Bill lashed out like that. It must have been something really big… maybe a fight with a girl that has him so emotional that he'll insult his little brother like that.
The girl retreats to her room as her Aunt Sharon comes up the stairs, with Georgie clinging to her, while she chews him out for hurting his brother like that and being so disrespectful. Sadly, the discipline does not quell the teen's anger as he yells at her to leave him alone and shut up. This makes his mother visibly upset and she shouts at him. She tries to open the door, but something is wedged in front of it. Despite her demands to open the door, Bill continues to yell in a stammering voice.
Mia cringes and shuts the door. She gets on her bed and pulls a pillow over her head to drown out the screaming. Her heart races and her mind fills with horrible images… the ones that still haunt and give her nightmares. Even though the fights between her mother and father were a million times worse than this, which usually ended with blood being shed, broken furniture and beer bottles, and holes in the wall, the anger swirling in the house is palpable and causes the young woman a lot of pain. She shuts her eyes and tries to breathe deeply to cope with it, but nothing seemed to help.
Her new lights begin to flicker and flash rapidly, but no one took notice.
Nothing is quelled. The arguing becomes so bad that soon, Uncle Zack comes up and pounds on the door, demanding his son apologize to his mother and brother. Mia watches from a crack in her door, a scene all too familiar… Mr. Denbrough even tries to ram against the door, but Bill seems to have shoved his dresser in front, making it completely parent-proof.
Eventually, the warfare of words ceases and the Denbrough family gives up, saying that Bill won't get any dinner, which seems fine by him. He's finally alone like he'd wanted in the first place.
Mia now sits on her bed with her door open, clutching a pillow to her chest and rocking a little bit. The flashbacks are starting to fade a little now that there was peace, but it wasn't over yet. The girl bites her lip hard and fights the tears.
Everyone fights… she thinks to herself. Everyone fights and it's okay to be scared. But as long as it's not violent.
Words were spoken by her grandparents after the girl had a panic attack watching them fight over something. They hugged her and assured her that nothing about her life with her father was normal. Fights happen amongst all people; it's how the anger is handled is where it goes wrong.
She wonders if she can do something… get through to Bill in a way his parents couldn't.
She rips out a piece of notebook paper and scribbles a simple message. She then creeps across the hall and slides it under the door before heading downstairs to help with dinner.
…
Bill revels in the peace and quiet. Tears stain his face and his throat is hoarse from yelling as he lays on his bed. Why couldn't they just leave him alone? His group of friends had imploded and he wanted to be alone, even if Georgie was worried about him and wanted to make his big brother feel better. He did say some things that he regretted, but his parents could be so nosy and annoying sometimes. All he needed was to be alone.
He's just afraid of what's going to happen on Monday. Will it just be him, Bev and Ben? They were the only ones who didn't seem to want to beat each other up afterwards. Bev even went after Richie, but Bill knew that the friendship was officially over with Trash Mouth and Eddie. Stanley was the wild card (ironic in the long run as he is the most predictable) and could go either way, but never would he see Eddie or Rich again. He resented the fact that all this started over a stupid remark and now their Loser's Club was history… a club… no a team who stood against an ancient evil and won. Apparently, that doesn't mean shit to his former friends.
Why was life so complicated? Why couldn't things just be normal like when they used to hand out in the clubhouse that Ben had built? Why did things have to change and live to crumble into hell?
As Bill has an existential crisis and a teenaged meltdown, a piece of paper slides under his door. It even managed to slide past the dresser and land near his bed.
At first, he thinks it might be Georgie, but his brother had never done that before.
Curiosity gets the best of him and he opens the folded paper. There's a message inside.
Life sucks
Ain't that the truth.
I know you're going through something right now and I'm sorry it happened to you. Whatever it is, it'll work itself out in the end. I figured this was the best way to reach out instead of starting World War Three. Just letting you know that someone understands when they won't leave you alone. Hope you feel better.
P.S. I'll leave you some food outside the door at 8:00
Just let me know if you like to communicate like this.
Below the last sentence was a box where Bill could check off "yes" or "no"
Bill is surprised by the note, but he can't help but smile. It's his cousin reaching out to him, letting him know that his feelings are valid, and he needs the space. It's a little weird, but it's kind of funny too. It's even comforting that she cares about him and understands.
He laughs and goes to his desk for a pen.
…
Dinner is a tense affair, so tense it could be cut with a knife. No one really speaks, even Georgie, the avid chatterbox is silent and picking at his food more than eating. The poor kid is sulking, upset, and probably a little traumatized by the argument. Mia feels sympathy for him. He's the only one who's sad, her aunt and uncle are still fuming and not coping at all. The girl knew how to read a room when you grow up in a hellish and war-torn household. But this was not that type of home… not at all and she wasn't going to let it descend into anarchy either. She doesn't want the little guy to be afraid like she was. Fear is what causes you to shrink and be unable to deal with anything. She wished that Aunt Sharon and Uncle Zack had removed their youngest from the fight, but it didn't happen and she'd have to help pick up the pieces to put the six-year-old back together.
After the dishes are done, Sharon Denbrough disappears upstairs and Uncle Zack goes out back to the shed, a place he was likely going to turn into a workshop.
Georgie goes to his room to grab some of his trucks.
It was dark in the room, and he couldn't find the light. The only source was from the hall. His trucks were on the other side of the room in his toy chest… meaning he had to walk past his closet.
The kid refused to even look at it when he went in and gave himself a wide girth to avoid being anywhere near it at any time. No one believed him when he said there were monsters in there. Billy, Mommy, Daddy, no one saw what he saw. Every night, there was an orange glow under the door, glowing like the eyes of that clown and the light flickered… a lot, like someone or something, was moving about inside, back and forth… back and forth… back and forth. It reminded him of the campfires his parents used to have in the summer in Derry, but this was not friendly, and it wasn't where he could roast marshmallows. In the daytime, the light was gone, but Georgie refused to go in there for anything, making his mother get the clothes from there.
His eyes adjusted to the gray, but it didn't make him any less scared. The glow was there tonight… moving back and forth slower than usual. Georgie gets on his tiptoes and tries to go to his toy chest as quickly and quietly as possible. Whatever monster lived in there could hear any sound he made and that would make it mad. He opens it slowly and then tries to find the trucks he wants without moving too much around.
Sadly, being only six, he was still pretty loud. A gruff, low-sounding hiss comes from behind the door, the monster had heard him, and it was mad…
Georgie's heart goes into overdrive as he looks towards the door. The floorboards creak inside and the door rattles ever so slightly… like it wants to come out.
The kid doesn't waste any time, bolting around his bed, nearly tripping on the corner and face planting into his cars and trucks. He runs with his eyes shut until he bumps into someone and falls to the ground. He lets out a yell, thinking the monster got in front of him first.
"Whoa, where's the fire kid?"
The kid looks up, tears in his eyes to see his cousin looking down at him.
"What happened?"
"The monster moved…" Georgie says, point back into his dark room.
"What monster?"
"The monster in my closet. I made noise and he got angry."
Mia had heard about the little guy saying there was a monster inside his closet and like everyone else, thought that it was just his imagination. It's normal for kids to be scared of the dark and to see things that aren't there. But she decides to humour him and try to make the kid feel better.
"Why does the monster hate noise?"
"Because he sleeps during the day and doesn't like to be wakened up," the six-year-old explains.
"I see, and when you got your cars, he woke up?"
Georgie nods.
"Well, that won't do, will it. Maybe we should get some pots and pans to wake him up more?"
"NO PLEASE!" Georgie begs. He jumps up and wraps himself around her waist. "He'll eat me."
"No, he won't," she says calmly, patting him on the back.
"Yes, he will! He hates noise and the light… and anything warm. If he gets mad enough, he'll break down the door!"
Mia couldn't believe how afraid this kid is. He's so spooked that he's shaking like a leaf and crying against her. It seemed to go beyond childhood fears and the very specific details were unusual too. Maybe it was a nightmare he'd had and could remember everything.
"Let's go look at the monster," she says, deciding to help the kid face his fear. She begins walking towards his room.
"NO!" he screeches. He plants his feet on the floor and tries to pull his cousin back. "NO DON'T GO IN THERE!"
"Georgie, we should face the monster together…"
"NO DON'T. He'll eat you!"
Despite trying to approach the kid's room, Georgie is stretching her shirt to the absolute limit to hold her back, nearly being dragged along the rug.
"DON'T, DON'T, DON'T!" he pleads.
Mia sighs. "All right, do you want to hang out in my room then? I want to show you something."
The six-year-old doesn't need to be asked twice, he's in her room within five seconds.
"There are the posters you bought," he says.
"That's right, but this is what I wanted to show you."
She plugs in the lights and her room illuminates in the various colours, her decorative covering for each one making it all the more attractive and even ornate. It appears magical to the kid because Georgie is practically hypnotized by them, standing still and gazing at them in wonder. He forgets all about his fears and then jumps up on the bed to get a closer look at them.
"They're so pretty," he says, reaching up to touch one.
"Be careful," she warns. "And thank you… maybe we can get you some to keep the monsters away."
"Yes please!" Georgie says.
"Best night light ever huh?" she smiles.
She then takes out a book and sits on the bed.
"Want to practice reading?" she asks, hoping time with books will take his mind off of monsters.
The kid nods, sits down, and snuggles up to his cousin, reading under the colourful lights.
They practice a few Dr. Seuss books and then read Where the Wild Things Are… As they're reading, the kid asks a question.
"Do you believe in monsters Mia?"
Most would answer the question as no to placate and soothe the kid's current nerves about what was apparently dwelling in his closet, but the teen bites her lip hard.
"I do…" Mia says. Just not the imaginary kind you're used to. But to save Georgie's sanity, she adds. "They exist in our imaginations and storybooks. They become real if we imagine them as Max does in the story."
At that moment, her lights begin to flicker strangely, but she shrugs it off as faulty wiring, the house was old.
"I thought he went to a real island of monsters. He sailed for a year," the kid asks.
The two read few more books before Georgie falls asleep. Mia decides to get her uncle to help him get the kid to bed, but the lights flicker again when she stands up. Maybe she should find a different outlet for her lights or tell Uncle Zack about the electrical issues.
It's then that weird noise is heard. It's a loud bump that startles her. It's then the lights flicker in a distinct pattern. Each one blinks in sequence until it reaches the end of the string and then goes in the opposite direction. Back and forth, a pendulum or something is pacing. Mia blinks to make sure she's not seeing things, but the lights do the same thing. She goes to the wall and whacks it, thinking this will stop it. When she gets closer, she hears something. Even with her heart pounding, she presses her ear against the wallpaper.
As the lights reach one end, she hears what sounds like scratching there. Probably rats or a squirrel, but something stops her from brushing this off. The scratching sound then travels back towards the far end of the wall, following the sequence of lights perfectly. When it comes back, Mia hears something else. It's very faint but it sounds like… wind in the walls, blowing at short intervals or… it's breathing!
A very deep, almost growl-type noise happens next to her ear and Mia stumbles back in fear.
What the hell? She thinks in a panic. What the hell was that?
Her heart is in overdrive and her mind is reeling… The lights are now flickering rapidly, no longer in sequence. She's completely confused and very afraid to the point that she whacks her back into the door frame, wanting to be as far away from that thing as possible.
Maybe the kid's right… maybe there is a monster in the walls.
It didn't sound like a rat… or even a squirrel. Nothing breathes heavily like that… She swears it sounds almost human in the way it breathes, with an animalistic growl added in.
A sound out in the hall catches her attention and her head instinctively turns, expecting this thing to have broken through the wall, but instead, looking at the floor, there's the piece of notebook paper that she'd written on earlier.
Despite her fear, Mia goes over and picks it up.
Unfolding it, she sees that Bill has put a checkmark on the yes box.
She looks at the clock and realizes she's overdue for getting her cousin some food, she'd been so distracted with Georgie that she'd forgotten.
Going downstairs to the kitchen, Mia sees the basement door ajar, meaning her uncle was down there. She grabs some leftovers from the fridge and a glass of water for herself. She hoped Bill didn't mind cold chicken.
As she takes a sip of water and leans against the counter, she manages to gather her thoughts. Whatever the hell is the wall is big. Maybe a raccoon or a possum, it might explain why it hates the light and noise as Georgie said. As for the lights… maybe it was pacing in the walls or messing with the circuits in there, causing the unusual pattern. Either way, they had to get that thing out and let the six-year-old sleep peacefully.
Mia heads upstairs, scribbles something on the back of the note, slips it under the door and then leaves the plate outside his door before going to her room.
She covers Georgie in a blanket before drawing the curtains. She refuses to investigate the noise any further tonight and still tries to shut the damn window, which still would not close. The wind blows against the new curtains as if the outside was attempting to communicate and reach out.
Mia looks across the hall to see her cousin in the doorway. Before sharing a knowing smile between each other, the two lock eyes for a moment, something new having been understood and said with no words at all.
A/N: What was in the walls? This seems a little familiar, doesn't it? Maybe Georgie is on to something.