In Vendetta House (The Vendetta Series #1)

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"It was back in my old house," I say. "This old, leaky thing we lived in when the family was still a total of three."

I sigh. "I still remember how I was scared to death over the basement. I claimed I felt something-and I quote-'yucky'. A part of me sort of knew there was something paranormal in the world before I was ever told, you know?"

Jesse nods, staying silent for me to go on. My voice echoes back slightly in the silent floor as we walk on, the loudest noise being the fire crackling on my hand. At least this is taking my mind off the creepiness of the place.

"Anyway, the funniest thing is, this doesn't even take place in the basement. The basement was practically harmless to me. I was minding my own business, as a three-year old would, but I got locked in the garden shed-this tiny plastic outdoor room with only enough space for two grown adults, with no windows. I mean, you'd think my dad would know better than to leave a toddler who likes touching shiny things in the shed. But he stepped out for a few seconds... and then the door slammed shut by itself."

"It could have been the wind," Jesse says. "Right?"

I shake my head. "Even if it was, the door wouldn't open after. It didn't have a lock, and as soon as it slammed shut, my dad came back and tried opening it. It wouldn't budge and I started yelling. It was completely pitch black in there and three-year old me was pretty scared.

"Then, I heard the voices. All I could think back then was that the ghosts were coming to get me. I couldn't hear what they were saying, just whispers and hot breaths on my neck. The voices were honestly everywhere, and everywhere I turned I just couldn't get rid of it. My mom showed up when I wouldn't stop screaming; my dad couldn't get me to calm down. As soon as she showed up, she jammed a knife in the thin plastic door and let in a slit of light.

"How badass," Jesse says, smiling grimly.

"I know. But... with light shining through, I could see a face. A really smiley, happy face. Feminine, perfect and beautifully symmetrical. She had the whole first-grade teacher smile, you know? Long, flowing, red hair and soft dark eyes."

I shut my own eyes for a second from the memory.

"Once my mom could see me through the slit, she called out for me. It's like, as soon as the woman heard my mom, her eyes flashed bright red. Not just artificial red like faux vampire contacts. It was this bloody, crimson red that consumed iris and pupil. I don't know why but it reminded me of poisoned apples. I screamed so loud my mom broke down the door."

Jesse's eyes widen, probably more from the fact that my petite mom broke down the door than a ghost woman with red eyes. To be fair, the shed door was thin plastic.

"As soon as my parents rushed in, the voices disappeared. I couldn't go near that she'd ever again. Call it a psychological thing, I would scream if I got too near it. We moved soon after that, thankfully."

"Do you think that memory is real?"

I nod. "I don't doubt it. But now I'm not sure what the voices were, since now I've learnt spirits can't talk. What kind of a thing has red eyes?"

"I'm not sure," he says, eyeing the flame that was dying in my hand. I concentrate on it more, strengthening it.

"But," he continues, sighing, "I guess you never know. How do you remember something when you were so little? You were three."

My mouth twists up bitterly. "That's the sucky thing. That shed memory is actually the furthest I can remember back. Most people's earliest memory is a flash of something when they were five. Me? It's like a vivid dream that I know I lived through. I was terrified of ghosts for years after. I'm pretty sure I still am."