CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?

PROLOGUE

PROLOGUE
I open the crooked door slightly, peering past the thick, calloused wood. On the ceiling, a rusted chandelier flickers ever so slightly as I try the light switch, but the light dies out again just as quick.
A single rocking chair lays in the corner at the back of the room, a pure black cushion resting on the hard wooden seat.
The rest of the room is empty apart from the portraits of the long-gone owners of the house that cling desperately to the wall. The wallpaper holds a strange repeated pattern, three crosses and two big circles. I step into the room, the ancient floorboards cracking underneath my light weight.

I lightly run my hand across the wall as I walk around the room, focusing on the detail and the quality of the structure.
Suddenly, my foot slips on something and I go tumbling back, hitting my head on the wall behind me.
I shake my head, dazed, and look down at the floor where I slipped.

Only to find a pool of blood beginning to seep into the woollen clothing that clings to my body.

I quickly scramble away, breathing heavily, turning pale from shock and disgust.
I push myself off the broken floor and brush off the dust that sticks to my once-acceptable attire, carefully avoiding the sections where the blood has stained.
I look around to check that no one has noticed my fall, but remember that I'm alone in this building.
So I mentally shake my head in disapproval at myself for a brief second.

I leave the room as quick as I can without throwing up, avoiding the blood pool all together. A cleaner can get that. After I hire one.

I begin to open the next door in the corridor, and it slowly creaks open by itself. Before I get a view of the room, I hear something fall onto the floor.
I instantly back away, following my gut instincts.
I don't like this. Opening a door wouldn't cause something to fall down, right?
Then the door fully opens, and I scream.