The Haunting Within (6 page)

17

As the kettle whistled its high-pitched squeal in the silence of the kitchen Lisa busied herself making more drinks. Aiden rose from the table. “I’m just off to the loo” he told them, speaking more to Lisa than his mother. He wanted to make sure she knew he was leaving the room. He didn’t think his mum should be left alone.

On his way to the toilet Aiden thought about the difference in his mum since they’d arrived there that afternoon. Just one afternoon? That couldn’t be right. It felt like they had spent days here already. He had never seen this side to her before. She seemed so vulnerable and small, almost child-like. He reached the bathroom thanks to the memories he had from the only other time he had been here when he was just nine. He’d been so frightened by what had happened to him that he wet himself and his mum had to take him to the bathroom and clean him up leaving him feeling so dirty and ashamed. He felt his cheeks burn as he remembered the horrible undignified incident. Even though he was only a small child when it happened it didn’t lessen the embarrassment he felt. Before he had a chance to think back to that day he started humming a tune to himself, no tune in particular, just anything to break the pull of his memories trying to wrap themselves around his mind and lure him back to
that
day. He hated being in this house again, but he was a man now, he shouldn’t be scared anymore. It was alright trying to tell himself that, but he couldn’t help being scared, he couldn’t help hating every second of being here in this house that had ruined his childhood, taken his innocence away from him, and from Lisa for that matter. Yes, he was scared. Terrified if truth be known but he was also angry that he felt that way. He was an adult now! Hadn’t he been banging on and on for months to his mum about that fact? Hadn’t he been acting like an adult even longer around his friends? So why, when he needed to act like one more than ever could he not stop himself feeling like a frightened child? His mum and his sister needed him to be strong for them. So strong he would be. He had no choice.

Lisa was at the sink washing the mugs before using them. Goodness knew how long they had been left to sit in the cupboards without being used. She would not drink from a dirty mug. Making the coffee she absentmindedly carried on the one-sided conversation with her mum like a mother talking to her baby. She didn’t expect an answer. She just needed to fill the silence. When she crossed the kitchen to look for some biscuits she heard the grind of the wooden chair scrape along the floors stone tiles. Thinking her mum was just fidgeting she continued to look for the biscuits, all the while keeping up the same monologue.

“Where’s mum?” at the sound of Aiden’s voice she turned round. Her mother wasn’t at the table, she wasn’t in the kitchen.

“Maybe she’s gone to the toilet.” Lisa said with a shrug.

“I’ve just come from the toilet and I didn’t pass her.”

“She probably went to the upstairs one. She knew you were using the downstairs one.” Lisa reassured her brother.

He said no more and they sat down at the table with their freshly-made coffee and chocolate digestives.

The minutes ticked by in slow motion. The large antique-looking Grandfather clock that stood grandly next to the huge front doors was the only sound that pierced the air. The noise was far from comforting. It sent chills down their spines as the ticking reverberated around the empty rooms. It sounded silly, but Lisa was silently willing it to stop ticking for fear that it would arouse the senses of someone
or
something
that lurked in the dark, still rooms of the house. After what seemed like a million loud, invasive ticks of the second hand of the Grandfather clock, their mother still wasn’t back.

“Do you think we should go look for her?” asked Aiden beginning to worry. Lisa reluctantly agreed.

Deciding to look in the upstairs bathroom first, in case she had, in fact, gone to the toilet, they climbed the creaky staircase as fast as their lead-heavy legs would allow, one step at a time, neither of them wanting to go upstairs, yet knowing they had to. The carpet on the stairs was extremely worn in the middle of each step and the further they climbed, the mustier the air became and the heavier the atmosphere got. The banister had an awful sticky texture to it that made Lisa feel physically sick. It was almost as though the house lived and breathed, the stickiness on the banister was like some kind of disgusting perspiration oozing from the pores of the house. She tried to remember not to touch it, but instinctively reached out to it every time they heard a noise from above or below them, which was every couple of short, shallow breaths they took. She didn’t want to go first, scared of what she might see, but she also hated the idea of going last too because if something was behind her she wouldn’t be able to run until Aiden did to get away from it… How ridiculous she was being! It was a house. Ok, it was old and spooky, but a house all the same. Plus her brother was right behind her. It’s not like she was alone. What kind of example was she giving him, her baby brother, acting all scared and jumpy. She needed to get a grip.

They reached the top of the landing and passed opposite the long thin windows that didn’t quite manage to give much light to the unnaturally dark staircase. They were huge windows and this part of the landing was bathed in a warm glow as the sun set on the horizon. Aiden made his way to the front of the landing where he stood and peered out through the glass, noticing how rapidly it had become dark outside. His eyes were drawn to the topiary hedges that surrounded the garden and that stood out menacingly, looming through the coming darkness of the night. They didn’t seem real to him. The hedges were as domineering as they would be if they had been painted in thick black tar against a pale grey background on a drawing. The edges were very clear like they were silhouetted against the background. He could hear an owl hooting from a nearby oak that made him return his attention to where he was and he saw that he had been breathing so hard that he had made a mist on the window panes. He watched it spread out like a bird unfolding its wings when he breathed out and curl into itself as he took the next breath. He found it hard to tear his eyes away from the window. Lisa was waiting cautiously at the top of the stairs where he’d left her. Turning his back to the window he made to cross the gallery landing to her when he heard what sounded like a glass shattering scream from outside that pierced through the air and penetrated the walls of the house. His heart felt like it had actually stopped beating for a second.

“Did you hear that?” he asked in a breathless whisper.

“Did I hear what?”

“I thought I just heard a scream from outside.”

“It was probably just an animal, that’s all! Don’t be a wuss!”

Lisa was pleased with her explanation but Aiden didn’t buy it. He heard it and it didn’t sound like any animal he’d ever heard before. Even so, he said nothing more about it, not wanting to frighten his sister, and, in all truthfulness, himself. Lisa tried to forget the unnatural sound and focus on finding their mum.

18

The ceilings were extremely high and the shadows reached right to the top completely filling every single recess like a sheet of pure solid blackness. The air upstairs was cool and calm apart from every so often when a slight breeze would whisper past their ears as though the house was talking to them, warning them about what lurked inside the desolate rooms…

Taking the corridor that led straight ahead at the top of the staircase, the first door they came to had a tarnished brass sign hanging on the outside that said
“bathroom”
in an old-fashioned type of ornamental font. She didn't know why it would matter enough to her to give it second thought but Lisa found herself thinking of how heavy the plaque must be.

Praying silently that she was in here so they could all just go back downstairs to the kitchen and stay there Lisa called through the old wooden door “Mum? Are you in here?” Pressing her ear against the door she could see up close the grain markings of the wood and smell the slight scent of varnish tinged with dust.

There was no reply. Lisa asked again and still there came no reply. She put her hand around the circular metal door-knob which was warm, strangely, like someone had stood with their hand wrapped around it to warm it up. She turned the knob and pushed open the door. A strange sickly sweet, cloying smell like a floral scented perfume wafted past them, followed immediately by another smell of bleach that was so powerful it stung their eyes. Lisa groped around on the wall just inside the door for a light switch and flicked it on. It was a large bathroom with brass fittings that had rusted with age. In the centre of the room stood a large free-standing roll-top bath with clawed feet. To the right against the wall was an unremarkable toilet and next to that a bidet which Lisa thought was the epitome of posh. The squared porcelain washbasin was on the opposite wall. Much to their disappointment, their mum wasn’t in there with the old fashioned suite and its fittings. The tap in the sink was leaking steadily, making an annoying plopping noise as the stagnant water which lay in the rusted, lime-scaled taps wormed its way from the opening and splashed onto the cracked and yellowed enamel of the basin. Lisa crossed over to it and tightened the faucet to stop the monotonous dripping. As she looked up into the mirrored medicine cabinet on the wall above the sink she saw a shadow moving behind her to her left. Assuming that Aiden had followed her in the room she turned to face him but he wasn’t there. She looked to where the shadow had walked and saw it led to a door on the other side of the room. Becoming annoyed at her brothers immature game of hide and seek, she sidled quietly over to the wooden slatted door and gripped the handle firmly. Yanking the door open she prepared herself to be scared as Aiden jumped out at her, thinking he was funny, but what she saw was towels. Nothing but towels neatly folded on shelves. Aiden wasn’t in there. There was nowhere for him to hide either. The whole inside was taken up by shelves. Where was he then? She
knew
she’d seen him. What a time for him to play the prize prat and try scaring her. She was so going to get him back for this. Closing the door quietly she turned back to the room and saw the deep bath in its centre. That was plenty big enough for Aiden to lie down in and hide. Bloody idiot he was. She should have been used to him and his mind-numbing pranks by now. After all she had had years of them. He was always doing childish things at home. Lisa had lost count of the amount of times he’d untwisted the salt pot lid and watched with glee as the contents poured onto her tea. He would be doubled over with laughter as she scraped the majority off her food. Not funny. Another one of his maddening tricks was to prop the books in her cupboard right on the edge of the shelves and wait for the inevitable thud thud thud as they all toppled to the floor when she opened the door. Again, so not funny. Well, maybe just a bit, but only when she had gotten over her fury.

This was different though. He knew she hated being here because he hated it just as much. Maybe this was his way of lightening the mood and could she really be angry with him for trying to do that? She walked quickly over to the bath, wanting his stupid games to end because this wasn’t the time and certainly not the place for them, and peered over the rim. There were water marks below the taps from where the water had been left to drip. On the side of the bath was a rather large spider that seemed to watch Lisa closely, as if waiting for her to make her move. If there was one thing she couldn’t stand it was spiders and creepy-crawlies. But there was no Aiden. Cringing, she turned on the tap with much effort and with a loud squeak and a series of chugging noises that were so powerful they made the bath vibrate, it finally let out a few spurts of murky water after giving one last clunk for good measure. The water looked like it had been sat in the pipes for years; it was laden with bits of rust and it gave off a foul smell of decay. Not wanting to put her hand under it in case she caught some awful disease she stood and watched, hoping it would run clear. After a moment or two she got her wish and the water began to look normal and the smell disappeared in a whirlpool down the dark plughole with the diseased water. She looked around for something to fill but could see nothing so she cupped her hand under the stream and let it run on her warm, clammy skin, cold and wet. When her palm was full she quickly and with a slight flick of her wrist chucked the water onto the fat spider. The first lot of water did nothing to remove it from its vantage point so she did it again and it fell to the bottom of the bath. She swore she heard a tiny thud from the huge creatures’ grotesque body landing on the enamel. Filling her palm with as much water as it would take she threw it on the spider again and again, each time washing it nearer and nearer to the plughole. When it was close enough she turned the tap on more and let it drench the spider and send it tumbling into the black abyss. Just to make sure it was gone Lisa left the tap running for a few seconds. Happy that she had gotten rid of it she turned off the tap tightly. As she was doing so she saw something in the corner of her eye and turned towards it. There was nothing there. Frowning she turned to the bathroom door and saw Aiden stood on the other side of the door, peering round the door-frame, gingerly waiting for her to come out.              

“For God’s sake Aiden, what you playing at?!” she demanded angrily.

“What’re you on about?” he responded defensively, taken aback by her sudden attack.

“You and your stupid games. I’m not in the mood and you shouldn’t be either. I swear Aiden; you can be such a fucking dickhead sometimes!” Without realizing it the tears had started to flow. Aiden had scared her more than she cared to admit.

“Jesus Lis, calm down! I dunno what you mean. What games? I’ve been right here. I haven’t done anything!”

“You’re a liar!” she screamed, almost hysterical in her fright.

“I’m not lying! What am I supposed to have done?” Lisa stared into her brother’s eyes which were almost as frightened as her own and she knew there and then that he was telling the truth. He had not stepped foot inside the bathroom.

She knew when he was lying. A small smile would start to play at the edges of his lips as he would try his hardest not to grin, but he always failed. This time though, there was no hidden smirk, only a look of confusion. “I’m sorry Aid” she said whilst wiping her nose on the sleeve of her top. “This place, it just freaks me out. I hate it here. I thought you came in here but I guess I was wrong” she looked at him with sad eyes and he rubbed her shoulder, feeling awkward at her moment of emotion.

“S’okay sis” he replied with a half-hearted smile. He was extremely unsettled by this but didn’t say so for fear of upsetting her again. She was just getting herself under control.

“Look, this is a big house” she heard herself saying “and she could have wondered anywhere. Why don’t you go look downstairs and I’ll carry on up here?” Lisa suggested. She didn’t want to be alone but she was scared she would have another outburst at him when he didn’t deserve it. She had to remember, she was his big sister and he needed looking after more than she did.

Aiden was reluctant but he saw the logic in finding their mum as quickly as possible so they agreed to shout to the other when they found her so off he went back down the stairs.

Lisa walked over to the towel rail on the wall next to the sink and wiped her hands on the old towel hanging there. As she dried her hands, every move of the towel made a million tiny dust motes float up into the air and into her nostrils making her want to sneeze. As a loud sneeze erupted from her she knocked the towel from the rail onto the floor and picking it up she saw that it was very badly moth-eaten. She wiped her nose with her hand and noticed that it smelled disgusting. Her skin smelled musty. It made her wonder how anyone could live like this. She left the bathroom turning off the light and closing the door firmly behind her.