Dark Secrets [COMPLETED]

Chapter 8: Visions

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!" Carlos exclaimed as I walked into the kitchen.

I scowled and went to the fridge. I knew I looked like shit— what with my usual bed hair and dark circles around my eyes from lack of sleep—and I didn't want to be reminded of it.

After my weird experience last night, I couldn't fall asleep again. I wasn't even hungry right now, but I grabbed an apple out of the fruit drawer anyway.

"Do you want any eggs? I can make us some."

I shook my head. "No thanks. I'm not hungry."

He eyed me suspiciously. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, you look like a zombie, and I heard you running around down here like a madwoman last night. You didn't even clean up your mess!"

I cringed. "I am fine, though. Really." I stood there, awkwardly rotating my apple in my hands. "Carlos? Have you ever...experienced anything weird while living here?"

He frowned. "Weird in what way?"

"Like... seeing things or hearing things?"

"...no, not really. I mean, I hear Robert talking to himself in his study sometimes, but that's about it. You know how he is when he's working. He thinks out loud."

"But nothing else?"

"No! What's this about? Have you seen anything?"

I didn't respond. Instead, I went back upstairs and took a shower. When I was done, I put on a t-shirt and sweatpants and wrapped my hair in a towel to dry. I left the bathroom and walked to my room, feeling clean and slightly less tired.

I couldn't stop thinking about what I saw in the kitchen last night. It couldn't have been a dream. It felt too real. Now that I thought about it, I only started seeing and hearing things after I discovered Meredith's office. It was like the wrongness of Kendrick House amplified to a million in that particular spot, like it was cursed. Or haunted.

I rolled my eyes. Yeah, sure, I was living in a haunted mansion. As if my life wasn't already full of cliches...

I passed Mom's bedroom door, and I heard voices on the other side. I listened curiously, and realized that it wasn't Mom or Robert that I heard. They sounded unfamiliar. I pushed the door open and looked inside. "Mom?"

She looked ghastly. Her skin was pallid and covered in a sheen of sweat; her lips purple and eyes sunken from lack of sleep. They were closed at the moment, eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings in her sickened stupor. My throat tightened and tears threatened to form in my eyes, but I kept my composure and walked over to Doctor Manson, who stood at her bedside checking her temperature. William stood behind him, watching like a vulture.

Doctor Manson looked up at me through his spectacles. "Ah, you must be Meredith," he said.

I nodded, ignoring William's gaze. "How is she?" I asked.

"Not well, to be honest with you. Her fever is quite high and she is struggling to keep food down."

Tears filled my eyes and I wiped them on my sleeve. Oh mama, I thought, What's happening to you?

"Do you have any idea what she has?" William asked.

"It's difficult to tell," Doctor Manson admitted, stroking his dark beard. "It could be many things, from stomach influenza to poisoning..."

She moaned suddenly, and we turned to look at her. "Missus Castle?" Doctor Manson asked. "Are you alright?"

She opened her eyes, which shined like glass. "Meri..." she murmured, "Meri...d..."

Doctor Manson nodded to me and I knelt down beside her. "Mama? What is it?"

She grabbed my shoulders suddenly, and I cried out in surprise. She sat up and stared at me, her eyes now lucid and wild. She muttered a single word, which she repeated in a screech:

"RUN!"

"Calista!"

I blinked and Mom was sitting in front of me, staring at me with concern. "What are you doing?" She demanded.

I looked around, realizing that I was standing next to her bed. I didn't even remember entering the room. "I... I don't know. I think I zoned out. What happened?"

She blinked. "I would ask you the same thing! I called your name three times and you didn't say anything! Are you okay?"

"Uh..." I tried to think of an excuse. Something told me she wouldn't believe me if I told her the truth. "I didn't get a good sleep last night. I must be super out of it. Sorry for freaking you out."

I exited the room and closed the door behind me. I went back to my room, even more unnerved than I already was.

What the hell was that? It was too vivid to be a dream. It was like... a memory: one that didn't belong to me. I recognized Robert—or William, as I called him for some reason—but not the sick woman or the doctor. Who were they? And why did they call me Meredith?

I shivered. This was getting too weird. If this was what happened when I was sleep deprived, then I needed a fucking nap.