Into The Dark

18.

The rain started to pour harshly against the windows, the candles were lit at every possible corner by everyone. The house had become it's usual eerie self at night, all that could be heard was the shuffling of the feet.

Holding a candle, Selassi instinctively rubbed her belly as she watched Nina and Auntie Diane clear the table and put the leftovers in the fridge. Her eyes averted to Theo clean himself up and though she wanted to help, she was tired of being involved in his silly disputes with James.

She knew was partially to blame by being getting pregnant by James but she was starting to see that James had some malicious agenda to get under Theo's skin since he had arrived in this house.

Leaving the kitchen, she walked past Theo to where James and dragged him up by his clothes to room near the from door.

" What's your problem, huh?"  Selassi questioned him, putting her hands on her hips. James looked at her confused, only to be amused by her question which irritated her further.

" You can't be seriously angry about this. He needs to know who the man of the house is and it ain't him, is it wrong to remind him?" He said, smoothing his clothes nonchalantly.

" You're so full of shit, you know? You don't own this house nor you and me together. I hope you get that through your thick skull." She expressed, frustrated at his careless mouth and as she was about to leave, he grabbed onto her and pulled her into him.

She looked at him with a nasty look on her face but that didn't seem to phase him at all, he needed to keep her nearby him for his mission and if he had to do whatever it takes, he's willing to do so in a heartbeat.

" You need to watch your mouth around me, especially since you're carrying my child. That motherfucker you're worried about has cheated on you twice throughout the duration of your relationship. I don't  think it's a problem to remind him of who I am to you and neither should you." James stated, looking at the bewildered look etching on Selassi's face and merely kissed her cheek, leaving her to ponder on his words.

She knew that was some truth to his words but perhaps the guilt of her own actions made feel sympathetic to Theo. Still drifting in her thoughts, a large thud emerged from the living room and she ran in there, only to see that a chair had simply fallen but she noticed no one was there.

The rains became voracious in it's pouring as the tree near the living room window hit against it with such vigour, her body trembled with fear as she walked carefully and looking around slowly.

Picking up the chair, she didn't notice Auntie Diane standing next to her and she wanted to let out a scream but her mouth felt numb for some reason, she caught the sight of Auntie Diane smiling; except there wasn't anything warm or sincere about her smile. For the first time, she notices something she never recognised before, a deep blankness that had a sense of evil lingering around it.

She decided to return a smile and backed away slowly, watching Auntie Diane maintain the unnerving smile and standing with her hands behind her. Selassi quickly jogged up the stairs to see the hallway was not lit, the darkness was thick that she needed to use the cold walls to guide her.

Her breath was ragged as she continued to follow a routine of her hands taking careful steps on the wall, the atmosphere was drenched in eerieness that was spine chilling making Selassi that much more fearful.

She finally reached a door, dragging her hands down to the door and slowly opening the door, she realised that it leads to another set of stairs. Walking down each step carefully, she held onto the railing not only for security but comfort as the temperature started to drop quickly.

Finally reaching wherever she was, she held out her hands to feel for a switch and when she found one,  the lights didn't come on. Remembering her phone was in her pocket, she took out and turned on the torch, illuminating what was lurking in this room.