The Mansion

Chapter 15

"Thanks for dropping me off, Sam. I really appreciate it." I thanked the kind man in front of me as he stood outside of his car with me.

"Don't even mention it, it was truly a pleasure. Especially after the lovely night we shared. " He grinned that cute dimpled smile that made my eyes melt at the cuteness.

"But still, I took you out of your way." I lightly chuckled.

"It's truly no problem, Selena. Besides, my mother would kill me if I had done otherwise," He feigned a wince that had me lightly laughing." Anyway, I better get going."

"Yeah," I agreed," You're right. It's late and I think you still have a way to go." I apologetically smiled at him.

He nodded," Of course. Take care, Selena and I hope to see you again."

"We will see." I softly smiled to which he smiled.

"Alright, goodnight." He said with slight hesitation shining in his blue orbs as if he was contemplating something.

"Goodnight Sam." I smiled.

He nodded and jumped back into his car," Now off with you, I need to make sure you get in safe and sound."

I rolled my eyes playfully but nodded," Sure," Before turning around and slipping in through the gate with a pair of lights still shining behind me until I got to the door. I turned around and sent him one last wave before getting into the house which had the hallway lights already lit up due to my fear of the darkness. But something felt amist, the house felt oddly quiet, too quiet.

"Elias! I'm back!" I called out before waiting for a few seconds to see if he would appear, but nothing happened. "Elias!" I called out again, but nothing came.

"How was your date?" A soft voice suddenly asked from behind me, almost making me jump if it weren't for me recognising the voice.

I turned around at lightning speed to face a weakly smiling Elias but before I could even scream at him, concern took grasp of my insides and had my stomach churning.

"Elias, are you okay?" I softly asked. He looked very distraught as he stared at me with sad eyes.

"Yes, I'm alright," He nodded," Why do you ask?"

I felt confused by his question, because he looked everything but okay to me. He was hiding something and for some reason, that only made me more anxious.

"Are you sure?" I took a chance to ask.

"Of course, Little One," He smiled at me reassuringly, but the smile didn't even reach his higher cheekbones, nevertheless his eyes. "I do apologise for this, however, I need to take my leave for now. Goodnight Selena."

Without warning, he disappeared without a trace.

Did I do something wrong?

~"~"~"~"~"

It's been a whole week since I last saw Elias and I have to admit, I felt very worried. I couldn't help but to wonder what was wrong, especially because he didn't bother to answer me when I called out to him.

I wondered if I did something wrong and have barely slept since. It feels like a part of me is missing and the house felt colder and less welcoming than usual. I even found myself practically moving back in here so I could be here as much as possible in case he decided to come out.

And now, after a long day at work, I am back to the kitchen, boiling a pot of spaghetti for dinner today. I got back at 18:30 after leaving work at 18:10. It's been an awfully long day even though there have been no bad news. But, thats how most days have felt for me since Elias went MIA on me. He's all I ever think and worry about that there is no place that brings me that happiness, that euphoria anymore. It's like everything just disappeared and I'm back to being alone.

Samuel, the guy I went out with had asked me out on a second date, but I refused because for some reason, when I tried to think of him as anything but a friend, it made my stomach churn. Like I was doing something wrong. Like I was cheating on Elias.

I let out a tired sigh and made my way upstairs to my room, but I didn't expect to find what I found or rather who I found standing in the middle of my room.

"Elias." I whispered.

His eyes immediately left the ground and connected with mine. A large wave of sadness seemed to ooze from his being in waves that it made anxiety settle into my own body and make my stomach painfully churn.

"Hi Selena," He weakly smiled," We need to talk."

I slowly nodded and walked further into the room, while closing the door behind me," What about?"

He wordlessly went sit on the edge of my bed, he's hands resting on his thighs as he looked at me with a sad smile.

"Have I ever told you about how I died?" He suddenly asked, which definitely took me by surprise as I shook my head. "Well, here we go," He sighed," It was a warm summer evening and I had just had a very strange quarrel with my girlfriend about something I least expected at that time, marriage. We had only been together for 3 months, but she already wanted me to marry her but I was still unsure of my feelings, or at least that's what I thought. I rode back home upset that night and when I got home, I immediately went to sleep hoping that I would wake up feeling better, but I never got the chance. I didn't even hear the lightning outside, but from what I know, I died in that fire that night. My family was gone on a trip to sell our fruits, vegetables and cotton at the nearby town during that time, so they weren't involved in the fire," He paused to take a deep breath and let the memories sink in.

I quietly stared at him with unshed tears clouding my vision.

"I was there when the place was left abandoned and my parents and little brother moved away due to not wanting to remember how their eldest son passed away in their home. The plot remained empty for many years until the first 'Hill' moved in and built this mansion for his wife. He would always greet me even though he couldn't see me, he was a really nice man. But back to the main reason for the story," He looked at me," Do you recall when I told you that I would tell you about how I got stuck?"

"Yes?" I cautiously answered.

"Well, I believe now is the time," He gave a ragged sigh before continuing," I do not know how I knew, but I knew the reason for me not passing over from the day I woke up,"He trailed off before his eyes connected with mine.

"I got stuck because of something I regret to this day," He weakly smiled at me," Never admitting my true feelings to my girlfriend. Never telling her how much I loved her," He shakily finished, letting tears freely slide down his cheeks as the regret clearly teared him up from the inside, just like a ravenous beast.

The heaviness of his emotions, of his words seemed to weigh heavily on my heart and shoulders. It felt like if I succumbed to it, I would fall down on my knees from the weight. My heart seemed to bleed as my stomach painfully clenched for the man in front of me while it churned in shared sadness and hurt for the sweet man I had grown to adore.

The man who got struck because of regret.

The man who got stuck in 'The Mansion'.