Mystery House

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dan POV

After that run-in with Chris and Phil, I’ve been weary of going in any room in case Phil decides to just pop up. Chris has appeared a few times, telling me that I need to relax, and that Phil wont be around anytime soon, but I can’t help but feel on edge all the time. I’ve seen Pj a couple of time too. He’s also told me that I don’t need to worry for now. Even with both of them reassuring me, I still can’t help but check every room I go into just in case.

Today was my day off. I only get two of those a week, so I like to make the most of them, by watching a whole series of a TV show. I walked upstairs to find my laptop so I could connect it up to the TV to, ‘legally’, watch TV shows. I walked in to my room, searching for it. I could have sworn I put it in here. Then I remembered that I was trying to sort through some of the stuff in here to get it in order, and I moved it into the spare room. I walked out of my room and across the hall to the spare room. I walked in, but immediately stopped in my tracks. There, sitting on one of the boxes that I still hadn’t unpacked, and should really get around to, was Phil. I decided I didn’t want a repeat of last time, so I tried to quietly leave the room, and hope he didn’t hear me. But luck wasn’t on my side. This was one of the rooms that didn’t have a carpet, and I managed to find one of the squeaky floorboards. I stopped dead in my tracks and turned my head slightly. Phil was staring at me.

“Shit.” I mumbled under my breath. I went to make a break for it, but the door slammed shut. I tried pulling at the handle, but the door wouldn’t budge.

“Please, let me go.” I said.

“Why?” He asked. I decided that maybe it was time to stand up to him.

“Why are you being a dick to me?” I asked. He looked shocked.

“Excuse me?” He asked.

“You heard me.” I said. He stood up and I immediately moved back as far as I could, my back coming into contact with the door.

“Who do you think you are?” He asked me, getting dangerously close.

“What have I done to you?” I asked, less confident than before. He didn’t answer. “Well?” I asked.

“I don’t need to answer to you.” He told me. “I could kill you right now.” He warned.

“Well why don’t you then?” I asked. Probably not the best thing to say.

“Do you want me to?” He asked.

“Not particularly.” I said.

“Then shut it.” He said.

“You think you’re so tough, don’t you? Threatening me. It doesn’t make you tough.” I told him. He pinned me to the wall, his hand around my throat. It was like déjà vu.

“I told you to shut it.” He said. He pressed harder against my neck.

“Ow… please…let go.” I managed to get out. I could feel myself getting light headed. Suddenly, something snapped in Phil and he let go of me, disappearing right before my eyes. I fell to the ground, coughing and trying to breath properly. I stayed there for a few minutes, calming down, before getting up and running to my room, forgetting about the laptop.

Once I was in there, I slammed my door shut and leaned against it. I could feel tears forming in my eyes. I walked over to my bed, sitting down on it. It dawned on me that I really wasn’t safe in my own home, and that I could potentially die here. I felt the first tear threatening to spill, and I knew that if that one went, I wouldn’t be able to stop it. I tried to stop myself, but I couldn’t hold it, and I felt the tear run down my face. I buried my head in my hands, letting all the tears out.

I felt the bed dip next to me. I didn’t look up, figuring it would be either Chris or Pj. It took about five minutes before the tears started to slow down. I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and looked up. I was shocked, to say the least. It wasn’t Chris or Pj that was there, but rather Phil. I jumped back, moving as far away from him as I could.

“Don’t, please.” He said in a small voice. I stared at him in disbelief. He was looking down at the floor, and it seemed as though he was sad. “I’m not used to having living people in the house. It’s overwhelming for me and I react badly. I don’t think before I act.” He explained.

“Why didn’t you kill me when you had the chance?” I asked him, sniffing slightly. He turned his head towards me.

“Because, that would have made me as bad as whoever killed me.” He confessed. I stared at him, shocked.

“So you know who killed you then? And how you died?” I asked. He shook his head.

“No, but I know that it wasn’t suicide, and it probably wasn’t an accident. I just don’t know what happened. I remember being upstairs, and then when I woke up, I was downstairs.” He told me. “You don’t have to sit so far away; I'm not going to kill you.” He said. I realised I was still sort of curled up away from him, protecting myself. I uncurled myself, and sat back where I was before.

“Why were you trying to kill me in the first place?” I asked him.

“Because I envy you.” He confessed.

“Envy me? Why?” I questioned.

“Because you get to live, and I don’t. It’s not fair! What did I ever do to be killed so soon?” He asked, raising his voice slightly. I flinched slightly, a reflex action.

“Maybe it was just your time.” I suggested.

“No! It wasn’t.” He said, his voice cracking. He looked down again. I didn’t know what to do. I felt slightly awkward in this situation. I heard him sniff and realised that he was crying. I slowly raised my hand, and put it on his back. He jumped and I retracted my hand.

“Sorry.” I apologised.

“It’s fine.” He said. He sounded so broken. I risked putting my hand back. He didn’t jump this time. I moved my hand, rubbing his back, hoping I was calming him. “I just want to know what happened.” He almost whispered. I stared at him for a second.

“I could help.” I said. He snapped his head towards me.

“Really?” He asked.

“Yeah. I could try and find out what happened.” I said.

“You would do that? After all the crap I’ve put you through?” He questioned.

“I understand why you did it, I think. I mean, it probably wasn’t the best way to go about it, but…” I trailed off.

“Yeah, I know, I get it.” He said. “Sorry.” He said after a moment. I shook my head.

“Don’t worry about it.” I said.

“Phil?” I heard Pj shout from somewhere in the house. “Phil, I swear to god, if you’re terrorising Dan again, I–” He cut himself off as he walked into the room, taking in the scene before him.

“I’m not.” He said quietly.

“Right… Well, I’ll leave you two to it then.” He said, walking back out the room.

“Thank you.” Phil said to me after a while, breaking the silence that had settled in the room.

“No problem.” I said.

“And don’t go too much out of your way to find out what happened.” He said.

 

“I’ll see what I can do.” I smiled. I was curious to know what happened, and I vowed to find out.