The Old House

Chapter 4

"Wow," I looked down a long, dark hallway and into a dusty room, "She was right." When I walked into the room the first thing I noticed was some old antic furniture; an old couch and chairs with flower patterned material, a beautiful wood burning fire place with a white mantle, a bookcase filled with books, with glass doors protecting the cargo inside, and above it a old decorative boat. Everything looked to be from the early 1900s, maybe the 1920s. "This is a cool room," I walked around at the different rooms and noticed that each one was decorated differently, like each one was decorated in different decades. I looked in every room except for two.

I decided it would be best to wait for Emily to dig through stuff further so I went back to the entrance and climbed down the shelves. To make sure no one saw the hole I closed it up and made sure everything was clean from the debris. It was getting late so I decided it was best to get ready for bed. I slowly made my way back to my room quietly, making sure no one noticed I was up there.

I made it to my room and closed the door, turning my light on as soon as it was shut. I was ready to go to bed and turn off my light I heard a soft knock on my door and in walked my little sister. "Is everything ok?" she shook her head and crawled into my bed, "What's wrong?"

"Dad got mad and yelled at everyone at dinner, which scared me, so I tried to get up to go to my room to hide and that made dad him even more mad. He looked like he was about to hit me but then mom said something that made him stop." She was on the verge of tears.

"What did she say?"

"'I will get a divorce if you hit her or any one of the children again.' And then Dad went to his office saying he needed to finish packing" I sighed in relief. It wouldn't have been the first time he tried hitting one of us, and it wouldn't be the last. My mom has told him multiple times that she would get a divorce, but she has never followed through. I would sometimes hear my parents fight, and once I heard my dad yell at her saying that he would do everything he could to take us away from him, and that the court would be on his side because he was the one who financially supported the family. My mom is too scared to file because she doesn't want to lose us. Although I haven't heard her use it as a threat against my dad before.

"Oh my, it's ok now," she was sobbing at this point. I told her she could sleep with me tonight and turned off my light.

*******

I woke up to my alarm that I forgot to turn off the night before. I looked at the clock that was on my bedside table, "7:30, ok time to get up." I went to the bathroom and got ready for the day. I grabbed my phone and texted Sarah
Me: Morning! Are we able to hang out today?
Sarah: I'm not too sure, apparently my parents fought last night so I'll ask sometime this morning
Me: Ok, I'll ask my mom after you ask yours
Sarah: Sounds good
I walked to the kitchen and got some juice from the fridge. "Morning Mom"
"Good morning Emily! Did you sleep well?"
"Kinda, I had nightmares last night," I sat on the couch with my Mom.
"I'm sorry to hear that, I had nightmares last night as well. What was it about?"
"Well, it was really weird, I was laying in bed with my flashlight on then..." *
*******
I went downstairs and greeted my mom and brothers, leaving my still-sleeping sister in bed. I went and grabbed breakfast and sat at the dining room table with everyone. "How did you sleep?" My mom asked looking happier than normal. 'Why is she so cheerful?' I thought.
"I slept well, Ava came and slept with me though."
"Why is that?"
"She was upset about what happened last night when I left."
"Oh," she frowned, "well we don't have to worry about that right now, your dad will be gone for a couple of weeks."
"Oh, ok" Weeks? Is she actually doing it? Is she getting the divorce?
"Do you guys want to invite anyone over tonight?" I was shocked, she never lets us invite anyone over!
"Really?"
"Yeah!"
"Can I invite Cooper over?" Eric asked.
"Of course!"
"Can I invite Emily?" I asked.
"Yes!"
"Thank you, mom!" I finished eating my food and then went to my room.
Me: My mom is acting strange. She said that WE could invite someone over.
Emily: That is strange. I will ask my mom if I can come over then.
Me: Ok
I went to the backyard to pick some strawberries for my mom to make strawberry shortcakes later.
Emily: She said yes
Me: Ok, can you come around 3 pm
Emily: Sounds good! See you then!
After I picked the strawberries, I gave them to my mom and helped her make the cake. By the time we finished, it was 12. Ava came into the kitchen asking if we could play a couple of chess games, and of course, I said yes. We played five games then the doorbell rang. "I got it!" I yelled, rushing to the door to open it. "Hi!"
"Hi, Sarah!" We gave each other a big hug, then we start walking upstairs.
"So, are you ready to see the top floor?" I asked quietly.
"Yes, I am," she whispered back, then we made our way up to my room to drop her stuff of. Then we went upstairs to the bathroom closet. I opened the closet and then made my way up the shelves, and Emily followed close behind.

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AN
Hello everyone! I hope you're enjoying it so far. In this chapter, Emily starts talking to her mom about a strange dream she had and doesn't go further into detail. That is because that is where the short story starts, it is called "The Dark Dream." I am super excited to release this story here soon. I will write on my page when it gets released.
Have a fantastic day!