What Lies Beneath

The new house needed to have a few more finishing touches on it before it was ready for the Carson family to move into. They were expected to move in tomorrow morning at around 11. "Hey, Bill, did you remember to dig that box up like I told you?" One of the workers, Ambrose called to his best friend. Bill wasn't paying attention to him. He was listening to music. "BILL" Ambrose called again. Bill snapped out of it and turned around to face Ambrose. "Did you dig that box up like I told you to before we started building the house?" Bill shook his head. "Yes." Ambrose looked at him for a second. Then he shrugged his shoulders, "Alright. If you say so man.

" They picked up all their supplies, got in their truck and followed the rest of the workers out of the community of Bridewater.

------

The Next Day

------

"Mom, dad are we almost there yet?" Little Elena called from the back seat of theirSUV. The mother, Jessica nodded her head, "Yes, sweetie. We have a few more minutes to go." The little girl crossed her arms over her chest and groaned. She then turned to her older siblings, her twin sisters Riley and Jamie were listening to music. Her older brother Aiden, was playing a game on his PSP. She had nothing to do. Her dad didn't allow coloring in the car.

The car suddenly came to a stop. "Mom! Are we there yet?" Elena asked. Her momshook her head. "Sweetie, we're stopping to get gas. We'll be there in a while." Jessica slowly nodded her head. Little Elena was starting to annoy her but she knew she shouldn't tell her own daughter she's annoying.

Eric, also known as dad to his three children, went inside the gas-station to pick up a couple of juices while he went to go pay for his gas. He knew they had been driving for a while and he could tell they were getting impatient and hungry, especially litle Elena. As he was taking his various drinks to the counter, he overheard two men in their late 40's whispering. Being the curious man he is, he decided to inch over a little and listen in on what they were saying. 

"Did you hear about that new house? The one they just finished building yesterday? I heard there's a secret box under threre. The guy who was supposed to remove it was to lazy to do so and last night, you could hear ghost sounds coming from the inside of the house." One guy whispered to the other, The other man nodded his head, "Yeah. I feel sorry for whoever's going to move in that house. What were their names again? Oh yeah, the Carsons. Well, one thing's for sure: I wouldn't be surprised if they only last one week in that house." They both nodded their head in agreement. 

Eric gulped and went over to the cashier. Could they be talking about his family? Was the house really haunted or did they want to get rid of the new neighbors already? Should Eric tell Jessica and they try and get their old home back? No, they wanted a fresh start and he didn't want to freak anyone out. 'It's just a silly rumor. Nothing is bad about that house.' He thought to himself but something told him it was. 

"$28.94.' The cashier said. Eric snapped out of his trance. "Sorry?" He asked, The cashier directed his eyes to the cash register. "$28.84." He repeated. Eric gave him a $50 dollar bill. "Keep the change." He told the man. The cashier smiled and thanked him. Eric gave a slight smile, nodded his head, grabbed his drinks and left the store. Once outside, he put the drinks in the car while he pumped his gas. 

Once done with his gas, he hopped in the car and put his seat belt on. He stared ahead for a few minutes. "Eric." His wife said in a low tone. Eric was still staring ahead with a blank stare. 'What if the rumor was actually something real and the house they were about to move in really was haunted? He didn't want to take his family there and have them move again the next week because of some silly nonsense the guys in the station were chatting about.' "Eric?" His wife repeated. Eric didn't respond to her, he simply started the car up and made his way onto the open highway.

"Mommy, are we there YET?" Elena screamed, growing impatienter by the minute. Jessica turned around. "No. And if you don't stop asking that question and wait until we get there you won't play with your toys until I say so." She warned and turned back around. That oughta get her to shut up for the rest of the car ride.

They finally pulled up into their new home and Eric relaxed. They were just trying to make small talk and get everyone on the block to hate us. He said to himself. The house was just the way they wanted it. A white Spanish villa with freshly mowed grass and the windows were crystal clear. The house was amazing. 

The family got out of their car and carried their luggage and belongings in the house since everything else was already in the house. They only packed things they didn't want to be moved into the house right away in fear of it breaking or getting lost. 

Eric followed his family up the steps to their new home. He took his new house key out and unlocked it. "Alright, master's bedroom is ours: Jamie your room is on the right, Riley, yours is right next to Jamie's. Elena, your room is right next to Aiden's and Aiden, your room is across the hall from Jamie's. Everyone got it?" Their dad asked to make sure and not cause confusion when they climbed the winding stairs. 

They all nodded their head in agreement. 

"I'm going to go watch television!" Elena screamed as she darted up the stairs. You could hear the door slam. The rest of the kids followed upstairs in a normal pace and closed their door so gently you could barely hear it. 

Jessica and Eric were the last ones up.

------

Later that Night

------

After diner had been served, everyone went upstairs to adjust to their new rooms and new surroundings. Jessica noticed her husband has been acting strange all day. "Baby, is something wrong?" She asked as she placed her head on his bare chest. Eric continued to stare straight ahead. He finally snapped out of it. "Nothing you should worry about. Good night baby." And he gently placed a kiss on her forehead. She gave a slight smile before falling asleep.

'The rumor is not true, Eric. Get that out of your thick head. You live in a better home, in a new state and you're not going to put your family though the trouble of moving for the fourtth time this year,' Eric convinced himself, yet he couldn't convince himself enough to believe that thought were actually real. 

Deciding to get it out of his mind, he reached over and turned out the lamp. Falling back on his soft, cushony pillow, he went into a deep sleep.