Chained (BEN Drowned)

Chapter 3

At the dining table, Grandpa suddenly asks if I'm enjoying my stay so far without looking at me. He's rapidly cutting the meat on his plate, it's as if he's in a hurry to get away from here.

I nodded. It'd actually be a lot enjoyable if I wasn't all alone with someone constantly glaring at me.

It took me awhile to have the courage to questions that's been in my mind before I got a chance to visit here, but I let it out after he drank his water. "Can I ask why you didn't  allow any visitors for a long while?"

He spaced out for awhile, gathering his thoughts. Then he looked at me, both hands clasped on the table. "It was a grievous time. I  was busy and I have tasks to deal with, and I wanted to mourn alone for your grandmother."

I remembered how he shut his family out. We received a message from him one day that Grandma has passed, unexpectedly. And that there was no need to go through the process of funeral service as he already went on his way. Some were suspicious and some were worried. He was visibly irritated and sad when relatives visited. Since then, he never let anyone stay, not even his grandchildren.

As time passes by it started getting unusual as he never calls, or attend reunions. It was worrying. I'm convinced he let me stay so the extended families wouldn't be too skeptical of him shutting everyone away. I'm convinced I was put here to be the medium for accompanying and keeping updated about him with his mourning. I received a text from my parents instantly asking how he was the moment after a day passed. I still don't know whether to inform Grandpa about this.

"Is everything alright now? We didn't even get to see her one last time. The others were very upset about it."

"I know, and I'm truly sorry about it. It was.... quite a shock for me as well." He drifted his sights away, the indistinct shock appearing. He seemed distant. I couldn't continue to question him.

He stood and walked towards the door. "I need to go do something now. It's urgent. Feel free to take snacks on the cabinet whenever."

"Wait, what about the others? Why am I the only one allowed here?" I didn't get to better communicate my sentence very well as I never even got an answer. The door was shut and I stood here in silence.

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I didn't get to ask him about if he wants my other cousins to stay as well. Instead, I'm in my room texting my parents an assurance for Grandpa. I didn't want to out him that way with so little information and observation I got.

Throughout the afternoon I stayed inside my room browsing through the net on my phone. There's this one site filled with fictional horror stories- some are rumored to be true.

The logo  showed a drawn chalked circle with an x formed in front it right at the header. Beliefs, stories, characters and experiences were formed here. I used to frequent on another page where people talk in forums about searching proof that these entities exists. Reading it has become one of my hobbies to pass time.

One particular story and news has been boosted up these past days about a murder near the city we resided. A recent mangled victim was found in an apartment with the initials carved on their chest: "JTK"

The people went wild in the comments. The last victim I know was a student at a school just near us. I guess it is good that I'm away from the chaos that's been happening there lately.

I tried  checking the second floor once again to see if the double door was unlocked. It was still locked. All I could recall was this is where my cousins and I would spend our days hanging out in the spacious room. Though the memory still lingers, I couldn't specifically remember each detail of it. I just know we spent a lot of our time in this room.

Just below was both Grandpa and Sasha having a serious conversation. With this much distance, all I could hear were the mumbles of a troubled old man. Though I couldn't make out what's in Sasha's m ind with her back facing me.

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My stomach grumbled at the dead of the night, making it hard for me to fall asleep. With the sudden sound of the thunder, I debated whether i should just knock myself out to sleep, but it was too strong to ignore.

I should've asked for more portions earlier at the dinner, but the silence and uneasiness at the table prevented me from staying too long nor prodding more questions. Grandpa looked exhausted, and didn't even speak a word to me. It was obvious he didn't want to continue the conversation.

I opened the lights to make the floor less scary while I held my phone up just in case I get unlucky. Hung up on the walls were three picture frames- one that caught my eyes was both my grandparents smiling. It's the first joy I saw on his face in years.

My grandma was wearing her white blouse partnered with her bright pencil skirt. The picture helped most of her wrinkles fade away,  but even so nothing can beat  the charm she gives off.  If she were still here, maybe Grandpa would have loosened up and be more welcoming.

As I was descending the stairs, I heard the creak of a door slowly opening. As an automatic response, I hid at the side. I'm confident I won't get scolded awake at this hour,  but passing by someone this late is awkward for me, especially if it's someone I'm not close with.

Sasha comes out of the door I failed to open earlier, while holding a candlelight, illuminating parts of her irate face. She bit her trembling flat lips and sighs. Although the unusual part is not her using a candlelight with no power outage, but a kitchen knife  clenched in her hand. It's my first time seeing someone bring it out of the kitchen. Maybe I did just have to force myself to sleep instead of getting snacks.