Washington Manor | An exceptionally horror experience

Five.

Matthew jumps violently as he feels a tug on his t-shirt. He falls off his balance and finds Chloe standing beside him, looking confused. "F....Chloe don't sneak up on me like that!" He spit's, raising his voice at her in annoyance. Chloe looks down at her trainers, as Matthew sighs, she whispers a soft "sorry..." Matthew returns to the balls of his feet and puts her shoulder softly. "It's fine...it's not your fault, you just caught me off guard...What...D-do you need?" He asks in his usual kind, fatherly tone.

Chloe opens her mouth to speak, Matthew suspecting she wants his help carrying something, yet before she can speak, her eyes peek beside him, and she spots the doll in the wardrobe. Her little eyes widen with intense curiosity. "Is that a dolly?" She asks. She approaches it, sitting on the floor in front of it with a smile. "It's so pretty!" She exclaims happily. Matthew shudder's as looking at the doll continues to make his skin crawl like there's something underneath it.

He gently tugs Chloe out of the way and slam the wardrobe's doors shut, feeling a weight being lifted from his shoulders as he does. He turns to Chloe and notices her confused expression. "Come on..Let's find mum and give her a hand, yeah?" He suggests.

****

As the clock strikes ten o'clock, the Carter-Hayes family are finally in their new home together, surrounded by bags and boxes, piled up in every room and hallway, strewn around awkwardly. With their bellies full with food from their new local chip shop, the family head to bed, barely able to keep their eyes open. Matthew carries his extremely sleepy little sister to her bed, tucking her in with a kiss goodnight.

As he leaves her room, she calls out to her mum with a shy "mummy?" Lizzie approaches her and sits on the edge of her bed, feeling her eyes get heavy and desperate to close. "What is it darling?" Lizzie asks with a smile, her hand stroking Chloe's hand softly. Chloe looks around at her room, which has nothing but boxes and bags piled up everywhere around her and begins to feel very, very frightened. "Can I have the radio on please mummy?" She asks softly. Lizzie smiles softly, sensing her daughter's unease.

"Of course baby," She smiles, taking out her phone and searching for 'funkidz radio' before putting her phone on the floor beside Chloe's bed. "How's that?" She asks softly, music coming from her phone quietly.

"I know you're going to feel a little scared, but I promise you that you won't be for long, you'll settle in eventually, we all will. Now..." She smiles, tucking Chloe's favourite teddy bear into her bed with her. "Get some sleep okay? Listen to the music and relax, you know where my room is if you need me." She smiles and kisses Chloe's forehead, leaving her in her room with her night lights and the radio.

Meanwhile, Matthew is in his room, glancing around at the bare walls and stacked boxes, feeling unwelcome in his own 'home.' There's a soft knock at his door as his mum walks in. "How are you feeling honey?" She asks, Matthew looks at her with tears threatening to spill from his tired eyes. She sighs softly and gives him a tight hug. "I'm sorry...you haven't had a say in this move, and I know how hard it must be for you."

She smiles, kissing his cheek softly. "I hope you know that I love you very, very much Matthew, I hope you know that, and know how much I appreciate you helping me with Chloe...Once we're settled I'll let you have Maria over for a few days, I promise." She kisses his cheek again and leaves Matthew alone in his room, his thoughts lingering with his girlfriend...He misses her ever so dearly.

He reaches into his backpack, pulling out a framed photo of her and placing it at his bedside, her smiling, beautiful face gives Matthew feelings of both comfort, and loneliness. He climbs into his bed, placing his phone on charge and looks at the picture of Maria, wishing for nothing more than to be back in his real home, with her beside him. He pulls his duvet up to his chin, surprised at how cold his room is, despite it being the middle of July. He closes his eyes, feeling the chill resting over his entire body.

As he drifts in and out of a restless slumber, Matthew begins to hear what sounds like faint whisperings. He can't quite make out what the whisperings are saying, and quickly dismisses them as the sounds of the radio from Chloe's room, filtering through thin walls. As he drifts back into his uneasy sleep, the whisperings suddenly get louder...and louder...as if in the corridor outside his room...and then...in his room...they get louder, and louder, closer...

Matthew's eyes suddenly snap open as he bolts upright, his heart pounding and his hands sweating. He sits still, a cold sweat dripping down his back, staring into the darkness. He strains his vision, trying to see into the shadows of his room but...there's nothing there. The room is silent, as is the rest of the house - almost too silent, except for the faint sound of music from the radio playing in Chloe's room.

With his heart still pounding, he slowly lays back down, desperate to shake the feeling that someone...or something is watching him. He tells himself over, and over, and over again, that it's just his imagination...That the old lady creeped him out, that he's just on edge, after all he's not used to any home except his old one. - He had lived there his whole life...He is desperate to shake off the feeling of someone watching him...

He pulls the covers of the duvet tighter around him trying to make himself feel as comforted as possible. His anxiety levels continue to rise, feeling that something is in his room with him. He forces himself to close his eyes, but sleep doesn't come easily...and his unease lingers long, long, long into the night.

The warm, morning sun filters through the thin curtains of Matthew's room, illuminating the stacks of boxes and black bags in his room with a golden glow. He groans, rubbing the sleep from his tired eyes, shivering despite the July warmth. Pushing off the covers, he swings his legs over the side of his bed with a yawn, stretching his aching body. He continues to rub his sore eyes as he makes his way downstairs to the kitchen, where he finds his mum, Lizzie, already working hard to unpack the pile of boxes on the floor. They exchange tired and warm smiles as Matthew pours himself a glass of water.

"Good morning honey, how did you sleep?" Lizzie asks, setting down a stack of plates on the kitchen countertop. Matthew feels the cold chill return to his spine as he hesitates, torn between telling the truth, and lying so he doesn't worry her.

"Erm ...not too bad I guess....it,...could have been better though..." He replies, forcing a smile.

Lizzie looks at Matthew with a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry honey, I'm sure it's just because you're not settled in yet. You'll sleep better soon, I promise."

Matthew feels unconvinced, he is sure he will never settle in here. "Okay...How bout you?" Lizzie hesitates. She slept great, the best in years, but she didn't want to feel like she's rubbing it in Mathtew's tired face. So she smiles warmly at him. "I slept okay...Still getting used to things like you." She smiles warmly, pulling out a pile of small sandwich plates from the box and placing them on the kitchen counter.

"I'm thinking of taking you and Chloe into the high street this morning...There's sure to be a cafe there we can go to for breakfast but first, can you get Chloe up please?"

"Okay. Sure." Matthew nods before making his way back through the house and up the stairs. As he reaches Chloe's room, his stomach flutters with nerves when he finds Chloe's door open ajar. He steps forward, cautiously approaching her door, freezing in her doorway.

He finds Chloe sitting in the middle of her bedroom floor with her back to him, talking in a hushed voice. She seems completely engaged in a one-sided conversation, and doesn't notice Matthew standing behind her. His heart skips a beat when he steps further into her room, and notices what she is talking to..