In the *** House

Since the incident things had changed. Tate's plan had worked for the most part; Leah had stopped bullying Victoria and Violet, but the girl was no longer the same. Tate hadn't just terrified Leah, he had broken her.

Leah trembled between the twins as the three girls sat on the edge of the abandoned swimming pool, raising a shaky hand to her lips to light her cigarette. Occasionally a skater would roll past them and the girls would pretend to watch, though really all three minds were elsewhere.

"I thought you hated smoking." Violet commented, watching as Leah pulled the cigarette from her lips.

"I've taken it up." Victoria watched Leah shake her head, almost as if she was disappointed in the fact. "I can't sleep. I'm terrified of everything." Victoria eyed the cigarette in Leah's hand. She couldn't blame her, even she'd been smoking more since the incident.

Whatever had happened in that basement, whatever the girls had seen, had not been natural. Even still, what bothered Victoria even more than the baby-like creature was the way Tate had lied to her face. Victoria wasn't crazy, and if Leah and Violet had seen it too then it only further proved Tate was lying about the situation.

"What attacked me wasn't human." They'd all been thinking it, but it was Leah whom had finally said it aloud.

"It was Tate." Violet stated. The confidence in her tone sounded more like it was for her own reassurance than Victoria's or Leah's.

"No, it wasn't." Victoria responded dryly, keeping her head down as she fidgeted with the frayed legs of her denim shorts.

She couldn't deny that Tate was the reason the thing was there, but she was certain it was not him. Tate had been beside her when the creature attacked, his hand was touching her shoulder. She couldn't explain how he'd gotten back into the rocking chair so fast, but she knew without a doubt that Tate had not left that hideous scar on Leah's face. She had seen the creature clear as day; she had almost touched it.

Leah shook her head, pointing a finger accusingly at Violet, "you saw that other thing too!"

"He was trying to freak us all out." Violet looked from her sister to Leah. She didn't want to believe it was real; monsters didn't exist and Victoria could understand that sort of mindset because she used to believe the same way. Only Violet was wrong this time.

Leah's face fell as she turned away, the doubt clearly beginning to seep in. She desperately wanted to believe Violet, though she couldn't get the images out of her mind. That face, those teeth, it was too real.

"He was trying to help us." Victoria spoke up, still not looking at the other girls as she motioned towards Leah, "Leah was the one he was trying to freak out."

"Look at her face, Vic. He definitely took it too far. We probably should have called the cops on him or something." Violet shot back, angered by the way her sister was defending Tate after what had happened. Victoria didn't agree with what Tate had done, though at least she was willing to admit that she and Vi were just as responsible. After all, hadn't it been them that had led Leah to the basement in the first place?

Without another word Victoria stood up, tossing her worn, leather satchel over her shoulder. She didn't care to argue with Violet, then again she also didn't care to hear Violet trash talking Tate when they had asked for his help in the first place.

"Where are you going?" Violet called after her sister, almost instantly regretting the way she had snapped at her.

"Home." Victoria responded blandly. She couldn't understand why they were even hanging out with Leah in the first place. What had happened had not been a bonding experience in her opinion and the three cuts across Leah's face didn't help Victoria forget the ass kicking she and Vi had received in the cafeteria.

She knew what Violet's excuse was; she felt guilty. It was easier for Vi to blame Tate than to take any responsibility for what had happened. It had gone too far, Victoria knew that and still, as horrific as the situation was, she wasn't entirely certain she felt bad for what had happened to Leah.


A gentle knock pulled Victoria from her sketchbook. She had been spending a lot of time in her room lately, it seemed easier than constantly faking a smile for everyone. Things hadn't felt the same, she'd barely spoken to Violet after what had happened at the pool and she hadn't spoken at all to her father after catching him with Moira. She missed talking to Tate, even more so than she would have expected which was why she'd spent most of the day sketching him as she'd remembered. Still, it bothered her how easily he had lied to her. She had felt so comfortable with Tate, he made her feel as though she could tell him anything so why had he not felt the same towards her? Why had he felt the need to lie about the creature?

"Yeah?" Victoria answered, pushing her thoughts aside as she closed her sketchbook on the mess of blond hair she'd been working on as her mother slowly crept inside.

"Hey," Vivien stopped in the doorway, hand still on the doorknob. "I was wondering, since your dad's gone tonight, if you'd be up for a little girls night? Just us."

"I'm guessing Violet already declined your invitation?" Her mom smiled innocently,

"I was going to ask you too anyway." Victoria smiled at the awkward face her mother had made. Maybe this would be good, since she wasn't talking to Tate or Violet and her dad was obviously not an option as she still couldn't look him in the eye. Besides, she'd always wanted to be closer to her mom, though most of the time the differences between the two made it difficult. Victoria did feel as though needed to get out of her room, even if it was only to watch some sappy movie with her mom and she was hoping that maybe it would help take her mind off of things.

"Yeah, sure. Why not." Victoria shrugged, abandoning her desk to meet her mother at the door.

"Well don't sound too enthusiastic." Vivien teased eliciting a small smile from her daughter.

"Sorry,"

"So, I was thinking romantic comedy or maybe classic," Victoria wasn't really paying attention as her mother rambled on. She didn't care what sort of movie they watched. Besides, a small chocolate cupcake with a candied violet had caught her eye right outside her sister's door.

"What's that?" Her mom stopped, looking down at the cupcake.

"Oh, Constance sent it over for Violet." She seemed to brush it off, probably remembering the argument she must have had with Violet prior to asking Victoria to the movie night.

Victoria couldn't have imagined what it could have been about, though that was likely because she normally talked to her sister on a daily basis and it was going on a week that the twins had been avoiding each other. It was strange, a piece of Victoria felt the loneliness Violet's absence left and then another part of her welcomed it as though the isolation was somewhat pleasant. She didn't like it, she didn't like the new feelings she'd had since moving into this house. All Victoria wanted was for things to be the way they were before, that had been her plan, it was the entire reason she'd been so positive about this move; she just wanted things to be normal again.

"Where's my cupcake?" Victoria asked jokingly as they reached her mother's room. Victoria flopped down comfortably across the foot of her parents' bed, propping her head up on her elbow.

"I'll make you one." Vivien shivered a bit as she walked over to her television, shuffling through the shelf of DVD's.

Victoria had only met Constance once or twice since they'd moved in. She had a daughter, Adelaide, whom loved the house so much she'd made a habit of sneaking in. It didn't bother Victoria any, nor did it seem to bother her sister. Addie was a sweet girl with a morbid curiosity that both twins could understand, she never hurt anyone; it was their parents that seemed to have a cow anytime she broke in.

"Okay, so what did we decide on?" Victoria shrugged, tracing the stitching in her mother's quilt beneath her. She and Violet had always been more into horror films and she knew her mother was the complete opposite. Honestly though, she didn't care at the moment as her mind seemed to be focused on everything but her mother's 'girls' night'.

She wondered why Violet didn't care to join, was it because of her? Had Violet only declined so that she wouldn't have to spend time with her sister? She thought about Tate, what had he been up to and why hadn't he even tried to talk to her after what had happened? Even after his sessions with her father. She knew she'd told him not to come back, but a piece of her knew she didn't really mean it. Then there was her father and his sudden business trip to Boston. Was he still cheating on her mom? After the scene with Moira, she wouldn't put it past him.

It looked as though her mother's 'movie night' wouldn't be enough to distract her.

"So," Vivien began, having picked out a movie and taking a seat against the headboard. "There's something I wanted to talk to you and your sister about,"

"Is it about the baby?" It came out before Victoria could stop it. Her mind had been racing with a million and one other things and the words sort of slipped out in the confusion before she could think not to mention it.

"Excuse me?" She'd known for a while now that her mother was expecting again. She was growing fat in the face and she'd quit drinking wine at dinner. Of course she hadn't talked to Violet about it, but she was certain she'd figured it out too. Had that been why she was upset? It was a well known fact that Violet wanted their parents to just divorce already and a baby would certainly complicate that. Maybe she was right though, maybe there was no hope for their father and their mother was just being weak and stupid to get pregnant again by an unfaithful man.

"I kinda figured it out," Victoria explained, keeping her back turned to her mother. She felt horrible for thinking such things because she wanted her father to be a good man, a good husband.

"Are you going to scold me too then? Like your sister?" She could hear the hurt in her mother's voice.

Of course Violet would have scolded her, and maybe she was right to. Their parent's did seem miserable together after what had happened and she was beginning to believe that maybe her father didn't deserve a second chance.

"No, I think it's great mom." The lies came more easily as she continued to lose her grip on the situation. She didn't want to be the cause of her mother's tears, though she felt there was no happy ending meant for her family. Maybe they were already too far gone. Turning around to face her mother, Victoria faked yet another smile, placing a hand gently on her mother's ankle. "Really. I'm happy for you and dad."


The doorbell rang loudly, pulling Victoria from a dreamless sleep that she hadn't realized she had fallen into. Her mom's feet had been draped across her hip and Hallie was curled into her chest as the dramatic orchestra music droned on from the television. Wiping her eyes, Victoria rolled over to get a look at her parents' alarm clock. It was late, she couldn't imagine who would have been knocking at such an hour.

"Are you falling asleep on me?" Victoria smiled innocently, stretching out across the bottom of the bed where she lay.

"Maybe a little."

"Alright, you go to bed I'll go see who that is." Stretching once more, Victoria climbed out of her parents bed.

The girls' night hadn't been a total disaster in her opinion, though the movie had been much more boring than she'd anticipated. Letting her mom pick out the movie had obviously been a mistake as it ended up black and white with more dramatic kissing scenes than she could count.

Making it back down the hall to her room, Victoria closed her bedroom door behind her. A part of her wanted to return to her sketch from earlier instead of sleep; she wasn't anticipating another day at school without talking to Violet. Leah had seemingly fallen out of touch with her friends since her mental breakdown and Violet was the only person that would speak to her anymore. It angered Victoria, Leah had already previously made her life a living hell and now it felt as though she was stealing her sister.

Peeling off her clothes, Victoria had barely reached into her top drawer when she heard her mother calling desperately for her sister from downstairs. The seriousness in her mom's voice almost made it sound as though Violet was in trouble. Grabbing the first nightshirt she could wrap her fingers around, Victoria slid the light, cotton material over her head before peaking out into the hallway.

Violet came running back down the hall to her room, pausing for only a second as she saw her sister. Just by the look on her face, Victoria could tell something was not right. It normally took quite a bit to freak her sister out.

"What's going on?" Victoria mouthed, not wanting their mother to hear just in case Violet was in trouble and she was just sticking her nose where it didn't belong.

"Lock your door, call 9-1-1." It had been the first thing Violet had said to her in a week and though the tone in her voice was more than enough to convince Victoria to listen, her mother was still downstairs.

Violet's door flew shut with a bang, clicking softly as she must have locked it behind her. Violet could call the cops, their mother was downstairs, alone, pregnant, and possibly in danger.

Her heart pounded hard, almost painfully, inside her chest as Victoria's ran down the hallway to the staircase. She needed a weapon, something to defend herself and possibly her mother, but the closest thing they had to a weapon were the knives downstairs in the kitchen.

No sooner had her hand touched the banister, another pair of arms was wrapped around her, pulling Victoria away from the staircase and into a nearby closet as her mother let out a shriek from downstairs.

"Shh..." The closet was dark, but even still Victoria could make out Tate's silhouette. A surge of relief coursed through her at his presence,

"Tate, something's wrong. My mom..." Placing a hand over her mouth, Tate brought his index finger to his lips urging her to be silent. Right outside the closet door she could hear someone forcefully dragging her sister down the hall. Victoria's eyes grew wide with panic.

"Are you crazy?" Tate's arms wrapped around Victoria in a vice grip as her hand flew out for the doorknob. "There's too many of them, I saw at least three of them! What, are you gonna take 'em all on by yourself?" He hissed, trying to keep his voice down as the intruder dragged Violet down the stairs, cursing the whole way.

"I'm not just gonna hide in a closet while those psychos have my family!" She spat back, adrenaline fueling the anger she'd replaced her fear with.

She thought for a moment she'd seen a smirk on Tate's face through the darkness before he responded.

"I have a plan, but it doesn't involve you getting caught too, okay?" Tate's hands were on Victoria's shoulders, trying to calm her down as she let out a frustrated sigh. "I need to get a message to your sister, we have to get them into the basement. Promise me you'll stay right here." She didn't like the sound of Tate's plan.

"I'm not staying here, I can help!"

"No." Tate's hands were now on either side of Victoria's face and she noticed him release a shaky breath before tucking a lock of her dark hair behind her ear. "I need you to stay safe, I won't let anything happen to your mom or sister." Victoria's breath caught in her throat as Tate gazed down at her with those big, sad, brown eyes of his. "Trust me."

Then Tate was gone and Victoria found herself waiting, just as he'd instructed because for some reason she did trust him, completely, even after the incident in the basement and though she couldn't explain why, the fact was almost frightening.