What Lies Beneath

Chapter Forty-Four: Haunted

There is more to one's life than the mistakes that they have made in the past. Still it is those missteps that define who it is that we become. No one knew this more than the unwitting guests of the house and those who wished to save them from their impending fates. Even with all the willingness to fight back and to break free of the chains that confined them to previous choices, they still could not break the spell or unweave the web that had led them to their current predicaments.

All those who played a key role felt more loneliness than they had the misfortune to come to realize. It was in those halls or the car on their way to save the day, that the guests unwittingly realized that there was no escaping the misdeeds of earlier days, it was time now to face the consequences and pray that they survived what the house had in store for them.

Sophie wanted to go over to the poor boy who sat curled up against the wall. His world had shattered and there was nothing left for him to say or do that could make the pain go away. She wanted to help him find the strength to stand once more, but she was burdened with a curse that would make it impossible for her to help. For if she did, then he would die. It was the same worry she had when she first confided in Wyatt. She did not wish for them to die but knew that it was only a matter of time if she were to get close to them.

There was more to life than the shadows she had tried so desperately to run from. Yet, no matter how hard she fought, she always found herself consumed by them in the end. So, instead of going to the boy like she so longed to do, she turned and left the same way that she had come upon him.

Greyson laid against the wall. He had no more strength or will to fight the truth he'd been confronted with. How had he managed to get duped again? Was there something about him that screamed victim to any and all who dared to get near him? This house was supposed to be a fresh start for him. A chance to break the cycle that had consumed his entire existence. Only, instead of finding the freedom he craved, he found another road that led him to the same destination.

He didn't know if Delphine was lying or telling the truth. There was something about the way in which she had told him that he couldn't help but second guess his initial reaction to her confession. If it was true then he had chased her away for being a true friend, but if it wasn't, then he would have been lied to yet again by someone he thought he could trust.

The world was a cruel place. Could it be that he was simply protecting himself from the truth by trying to turn her into a liar? His past was so fraught with those who would deceive and treat him as though he was nothing. Had this predisposition to trust clouded his judgement when it came to making friends or connections with others? The mere notion of this cause Greyson's mind to wander through past memories or encounters with a new perspective.

Yes, there had been moments were people seemed genuinely nice towards him only for him to shun them or send them away. How had he not seen it before? Had he been so hurt by previous evil doers that he closed himself off from those who truly cared? The memories in his mind offered him the answer he'd been seeking. The answer being a simple three letter word. Yes. 

Gwyneth sat in Sophie's room letter bound book in hand. She had been looking for the missing guests when she stumbled upon it. She ran her hand as delicately as she could across the cover. It was old and worn. She remembered seeing it when she had first come the house. It was in the arms of a young girl who looked so much like the young blonde girl who had come to possess it now.

It was in the dining room during the awful turn of events that she had first noticed it, the likeness that they shared. They both seemed to be small delicate flowers that she wanted to protect. Sadly, there was no protecting Cassie anymore. She was long gone from this world.