The Love of Lady Dimitrescu X Female Reader || One-Shots

The Attic

Daniela couldn't sleep. She held her breath and listened for the thumping sounds again. Restlessly, she tossed and turned on the creaky bed of her guest room. The ceiling had some water damage. Although she knew not to complain, this place had a musty smell to it.

There was something ominous about this Victorian mansion, which Daniela didn't sense until she stepped through the front door with her sisters. The owner was a widow by the name of Alma Fletcher, who sought anyone willing to house-sit for her, so she could visit an old friend out of the country. Bela and Cassandra had been the ones who had seen her ad on social media. She offered $75 per night, which was a decent offer since she required no yard work or house cleaning. Tempted by the offer, Cassandra had persuaded you and Alcina to let her take the job. But there were conditions set by you and your wife:

1. No friends allowed

2. Cassandra had to take her sisters along and split the money evenly with them, much to her disappointment

3. Having their phones on them at all times in case they needed help

Of course, being the protective parents that you were, you arranged a meeting with Alma two days before her trip. Alcina and you were given a full tour of her home, being shown where your girls would be staying. From Alcina's viewpoint, she admired the genteel architecture and how well Alma maintained it. It was clear she took great pride in her home. From your perspective, the woman seemed sweet and lonely. Her husband had been gone for over ten years and her only daughter and grandchildren rarely visited her. You pitied her. You knew your daughters would never forsake or forget about you if you were a widow. After the tour and having tea with Alma, you and Alcina felt good about this arrangement overall. There was nothing alarming or unsafe about it. You made your girls promise to text or call you if they needed anything.

Daniela remembered your words and how you gave her spare cash to order whatever food she and her sisters wanted. Staring at her brightly lit phone screen in the darkness, her fingers were dancing on her keyboard. Her finger was a tap away from sending you a text about how she had been hearing these sporadic thumping sounds from above her, only for them to fade back into the hallway to where the attic was located. But then she deleted her message and retyped a different one to you.

Instead of focusing on what scared her, Daniela informed you about the dinner she had and how Cassandra nearly choked to death on a chunk of beef. "It's nothing, it's nothing..." She whispered this to herself repeatedly with shaky conviction. The mysterious noises were all in her head. That was it. Maybe it was that stinky cheese she ate from Alma's fridge. Surely, it had to be the cheese that tasted like the smell of crunchy socks that hadn't touched the inside of a washer for months.

Then there was another thump, which sounded much louder, like somebody had tripped over a nail and fallen. Scared shitless, the redhead kicked the sheets off her, scrambling to her feet. Lacking grace, she sprinted out of her bedroom and into Bela's without knocking first. Too afraid to even switch on the lights, she made a beeline for her, shaking her sleeping figure. "Bela? Bela! Wake up! I need you!"

Bela grumbled and flicked her wrist at her. "Dani? What's wrong?"

"I heard a loud noise," she squeaked. "There have been noises right above me all night, and I can't go back in there. There's something in this house with us."

Bela yawned. "Big, ugly rats, probably. It's an old house. You're going to hear weird noises and creaks. It's totally normal."

Daniela shook her head furiously. "No, no, what I'm hearing isn't normal! Big, ugly rats don't thump on the floor like giants!"

"Neither do humans. Are you saying you think a person is in this house with us?"

Daniela curled up next to her on her bed, seeking comfort. "I don't know! I just know it's continuous, and it's not stopped since 11:30 AM."