Burn The Stars ψ Michael Langdon

ψ unas ψ

    "Shut the fuck up, are you serious?"
    Those were the words that Pandora Levia West released to her mother's announcement. Her sister, Lillith Azalea West, stayed silent; not really having a care.
    "Language, Pandora, but yes; I am serious." Delilah West, the two sisters' single mother confirmed. "Your Aunt Theresa bought this grand home in Los Angeles and she has invited us to move there with her."
    "Why?" Pandora snapped, irritated that she had to move once again. They moved often; since Delilah always found issues with everywhere they lived. One time it was a guy she broke up with that kept breaking their windows, another time was a boss who supposedly only hired her to act as eye candy. Pandora didn't understand why they couldn't just stay in one place - she just couldn't wait until she turned eighteen and could leave herself. She had no friends, other than her twin sister Lillith, but that didn't count. "What is it this time?"
    "Nothing," Her mother paused before sighing. "We don't have enough for rent here, it's too expensive. Your aunt is letting us live with her, and all we have to do is pay for the food and necessities-"
    "So Aunt Theresa can go out and party?" Pandora spat. Her mother glared at her outburst.
    "Your aunt does not party, it's just part of her job."
    "Right, she's a celebrity." Pandora rolled her eyes before looking at her sister. "Do you not care that we're being forced to move again? We literally just moved here, last week was our first day of school!"
    "It doesn't matter to me," Lillith finally spoke up. "We didn't meet anyone special. We never do."
    "Exactly! We never do because we don't stay long enough to," Pandora turned back to her mother. "Fine. If we're moving again, then so be it. But, Lillith and I are going to be homeschooled. I don't want to start school again and meet a bunch of random ass people I'll never grow close to."
    "I wouldn't mind being homeschooled. I don't really care for public school." Lillith added. Pandora smiled at her sister and nodded before grinning at her mother.
    "See?"
    "Okay, I'll see what we can do. In the meantime, go pack up anything you unpacked. We're leaving tomorrow morning."
    "Well, good thing I haven't unpacked." Pandora snorted.

Ψ

    "Shit, this place is wicked!" Pandora gasped as they walked up to their new home. Her mother cleared her throat besides her. "Yeah, yeah, language. So what? We're living in a mansion!"
    The front door swung open as they approached it and their aunt's beaming face greeted them. "Sister! And my lovely nieces!" Theresa West cooed. "You girls are getting so, so mature. I swear, you were both messy-haired nerds the last time I saw you. Now you both are beautiful young women."
    "Well thanks, Aunt Theresa, I really appreciate it." Lillith sarcastically remarked.
    "I see you still have that mouth of yours, Leeth." Lillith cringed at her aunt's nickname for her. She had called her Leeth ever since she could remember, saying it was because of the 'lee' in the 'lea' of 'Azalea' and the 'th' at the end of 'Lillith.' Lillith thought that it just sounded like someone who can't pronounce an 'f' sound correctly saying 'leaf.' But, at least her nickname wasn't as bad as her sister's. "And, what about you Dora?" Right, nicknamed after the children's show.
    "It's Pandora, Aunt Theresa. And I'm just as peachy as always." Pandora gave her aunt and toothy smile, holding back her annoyance. Their aunt was the greatest, obviously.
    "Come in, come in." Theresa beckoned after letting out a laugh. She held the door open for the three, before closing it. "There are plenty of rooms for you to choose from. I just moved in myself yesterday... I do have to admit, I did sleep in a hotel room last night. The place was strange alone, but I feel like that'll change with you three here."
    Lillith and Pandora looked around the opening room, seeing how antique everything looked. Pandora found it disgusting, since she hated old things, but Lillith, she found it remarkable. She loved antiques - she even had a small collection of antique compasses.

    "Has anyone died here?" Lillith found herself asking, not sure where that question came from. But, as soon as she asked it, she felt her curiosity grow and she wanted to learn the answer - she wanted to learn the house's history.
    "Actually...yes. The realtor told me that there was quite a few who've died. The most recent was a man who hung himself after his wife died giving birth in this home. Their daughter went missing, presumably took the living child and ran off. Tragic, isn't it?" Theresa let out a sorrowful sigh, before smiling again. "And so, that's how I got this hellhole for cheap. Isn't that cool?"
    "What the fuck?"
    "Pandora, language." Delilah hissed. Pandora rolled her eyes and huffed.
    "How are we supposed to live in this horror show?" She asked, looking around. "What if it's haunted and the spirits kill us?"
    "Unlikely," Theresa responded.
    "Not really," Lillith retorted. "It could happen...oh well, I like this place. I'm going to go find my room." She began to ascend the stairs, her twin sister looking at her with disbelief.
    "You should go find yours too, Pandora. I'm going to talk to your aunt." Delilah spoke.
    "Yes, I agree with your mother. There are plenty of rooms, choose whichever one." Theresa agreed. Pandora huffed and made her trek up the stairs, not looking forward to seeing what horrors lay in the rooms and their ancient decoration. As she left, her mother and aunt headed into the kitchen and sat down at the table to discuss important matters.

    "We move so much, and I'm afraid they're getting suspicious. Should I tell them?" Lillith heard as she quietly descended the stairs and started heading to the kitchen. She had just found her room and set her bags in them. She was planning on getting the car keys from her mother to get her two boxes from the trunk when she heard her mother and aunt's discussion.
    "It's up to you, Delilah. They have a right to know, just like we did at their age. Mother, she kept it from us because she was afraid we inherited it. You're not afraid, and they have a right to learn from you, not from a mistake like we learned." Theresa responded. Lillith furrowed her eyebrows, unsure what they were talking about.
    "What if they didn't inherit it?"
    "Delilah, we both witnessed what happened to Lillith when she was young. We saw what happened to Jackson." Lillith heard her aunt sigh. She needed to know what they were talking about. She had to know.
    "Pandora hasn't showed any signs." Her mother pointed out.
    "Yes, but she might. They both deserve to know."
    "What are you doing?" Pandora asked, surprising Lillith as she popped up behind her out of nowhere. "Are you listening in on mom and Aunt Theresa?"
    Lillith stayed silent and Pandora smirked.
    "What we-" She was cut off by her mother.
    "I'll tell them on their eighteenth birthday." The twins heard the scrape of a chair moving and they quickly pushed themselves away from the wall and kitchen. They quietly rushed to the stairs, both having the idea of looking like they had just arrived from upstairs. As they turned to begin walking back the way they came, their mother and aunt appeared. Pandora and Lillith acted like nothing had happened, and their mother and aunt believed it.
    "Did you find yourselves your rooms?" Theresa questioned.
    "Yes, we were just about to ask mom for the car keys to get our boxes." Lillith smoothly responded. Her mother grabbed the keys that were latched on her jeans and tossed them to her oldest daughter. Lillith caught them swiftly and looked at her sister and nodded. "Let's go, Pandora."
    They made their way outside, and as soon as they closed the door behind them, Pandora began her questions.
    "What were they talking about? What is mom going to tell us when we turn eighteen?" Pandora spoke fast, her words mashing up together.
    "I don't know," Lillith admitted.
    "What do you mean you don't know? You were listening!" Pandora exclaimed.
    "They just were talking about if mom should tell us something and Aunt Theresa said we deserve to know; that grandma didn't tell them and they found out by a mistake. That's all I got from it," Lillith left out her aunt's mention of their father and something about Lillith when she was younger. Lillith and Pandora's father had left their mother when they were four, and Lillith had hated him ever since - though she didn't remember him. Her sister remembered bits and pieces of him, but, Lillith had no memory whatsoever. It was as if he had never existed to her.