murder house//langdon

one

august 24, 2018. it was time. finally a time to move away from all the shit that went on in indiana. your parents decided to pack up and leave everything behind for some old ass house in los angeles. you listened to the rain scatter on the roof of the u-haul.

"you guys are going to love the house." your father exclaimed. "i can't wait for our new beginning!" michael grabbed his wife's hand and kissed it, still focusing on the road. you plugged your earbuds in and the raspy voice of kurt cobain filled your head.

"your father got a good offer on this house, y/n. an l.a victorian doesn't exactly run cheap these days." your mother, shirley chuckles. you pulled out an earbud and faked a smile at your mother.

"are we almost there? i have to piss." you looked over at your mother. "language, y/n. we'll be there in 15." your dad glared at you. you sunk in the seat and put your earbud back in.

****

you all stood at the front of the house. michael knocked on the door and marcy, the realtor opened the door. she looked at you all and smiled.

"welcome! beautiful family for a beautiful home." she exclaimed. you all walked in. "it's a classic l.a victorian, built in the 1920's by charles montgomery. a gift for his wife nora. these are real tiffany fixtures, as well."

"it smells like old people in here." you said quietly to your mom. "oh shush, y/n. give it a chance, hm? your father is very excited about this place." you rolled your eyes.

"now is this all of you guys or are we waiting on others?" marcy asked, turning around. "well we have a dog, finley." my mother responded. "i'm not sure where he went off to." she looked at me and motioned for me to go find him. i walked outside and found him staring at the door. "finley, c'mon boy." he didn't budge. he started whining and pawing at the entrance. "finley, you're fine. c'mon now i can't pick you up." i grabbed him by his red collar and pulled him inside. "see? you're okay boy." i rubbed through his long fur. he was a saint bernard, we've had him since i was 12. he grew to be my best friend. i crouched down beside him and he licked my face. "you're gonna be okay, i know it's different, finny."

i started walking through the house on my own with finley. a door creaked open slowly. i cocked my head to the side. finley started barking at the door. "finley, shush!" i exclaimed. i walked down the hallway to the door and opened it all the way. there were stairs leading down, so i guess it leads to the basement. i walked down the steps. the boards were creaking under my feet each step i took. "damn this place is old." i said to myself. a red ball came rolling towards me. i narrowed my eyes at it. i reached down and picked it up and rolled it. i heard finley's barks echoing from the hallway.

"y/n?" my mom called. i jumped and walked back up the wooden stairs. the ball rolled back towards me. i closed the basement door and walked towards my mom's voice. "y/n, marcy has some news she has to share with us.

"yes, full disclosure requires that i need to tell you about the previous owners." marcy's face changed. "how much you wanna bet they died in here?" i said, nudging my father's arm. he shot me a look. "yes actually, all three of them." my parent's eyes widened. "so that explains why the house is half priced, eh?" my dad asks. marcy shoots him a look of empathy. she explains the other houses she has for sale, but they are much smaller and more expensive than this house. "It can't be so bad, right hon?" michael asks shirley. "no, we'll take it." shirley smiles at marcy.

****

the movers start moving in all our furniture. "hey kiddo, why don't you go pick out your room?" my dad asks as i watch marcy put up the "sold" sign in front of our house. i sigh deeply and go upstairs. i go into a room with muted blue walls. it's fairly big, this room should do, i guess. i motion for one of the movers that are moving my stuff to put it in this room. he nods and continues to do so. i walk downstairs and look at a mural. the paint was peeling so i decided to peel it off.

"you're going to die in there." a young girl with down syndrome says. i jumped at her words.

"who the hell are you? how did you get into my house?" i ask. an old woman with a blonde updo enters as well.

"addie? addie, hon i put on dora the explorer so you'd sit down and watch it." she says while putting her hands on her shoulders.

"it was go diego, go. i don't like it!" addie says. "oh you can't tell a difference," the older lady says and pushes her out the door. i stood and watched them talk to each other. "how did you two get in my house?" i ask, still really damn confused. "i'm constance, your next door neighbor. that was my daughter, adelaide." she says in a virginian accent.

"okay, well hello. could you at least knock next time instead of just y'know, barging in?" i ask, trying to sound polite. "that girl is a monster. i'm a proud christian but jesus h. christ, you know if they had invented some of those tests a year ago i would have..." she starts. "how did you get into my house?" i ask again for what seems like the hundreth time. "you left your back door open. although i will have to tell you, addie will always find a way in. she's had a bug up her ass about this house, always has." constance says. finley comes up to me and i pet him. "hey there bud." i say to him.

"what a beautiful dog. you know i run a little doggy daycare type of thing at my house." constance starts. "thank you, and that's very nice." there was a long pause of awkwardness. "well it was great to meet you constance, and your daughter." i say to break the ice. "i'm gone, oh! and i brought you a little eh, housewarming gift. help get rid of some of that bad juju." constance makes her way to the exit.

"i'm glad you're getting rid of that wallpaper." constance points to the tin she just handed me. "it's sage, for...cleansing the spirits in this house. too many bad memories in here." she looks around the house and exits.

i sigh deeply and shake off the conversation. i continue to peel the rest of the wallpaper off the wall. finley starts barking at the attic. i groan and walk towards him. "fin, you gotta stop doing that! it's so goddamn annoying." i pull the string on the attic and stairs come down. i climb the creaky stairs and turn on a light. dust starts filling my lungs and i start to cough. i look through old boxes and come across old photos. pictures of the house, and a family portrait. i purse my lips together and put them back in the box. i open another box and it's full of old gay porno magazines i chuckle to myself.

as i walk back down the steps, i see two boys laughing and running through the halls. "what the fuck?" i close the attic and start chasing after the two boys. "come out you little shits, i know you're in here." i can't find them anywhere. i decide to just leave it alone, and go up to my room. i take out a pack of cigarettes out of my backpack and light it up. i let the smoke sit in my lungs for a bit before exhaling out smoke.