What Lies Beneath

Chapter Twenty-Five: A Bend Before the Break

Joe sat on his sofa, still confused by everything that the strange boy had told him. He had wanted to ask more questions, but before he could, Paul had disappeared.

It wasn't like him to get so caught up in something he wasn't even sure was real, but something deep down told him that finding out the truth was very important.

Every time he thought about the house, he would see the girls face. She looked so alone and afraid. He remembered how she tried to act brave and tough, but he could see through her facade. She was terrified. He didn't know of what, but he was going to find out. There was no way that he was going to let anything bad happen to her.

Paul told him to investigate the last year that the house was open and that was exactly what he was going to do. He didn't care how long it took him. He was going to solve this mystery. Not just for that girl, but for everyone else hidden within those walls.

Through the years he had learned to trust his gut, and his gut was telling him that there was something seriously wrong with that house.

It was only five o'clock, which meant he had a lot to do and not a lot of daylight left to get it done. He only hoped that he would be able to figure it out in time.

Paul made his way through the crowded streets. He needed to find a taxi, but not just any old taxi. He needed to find number one forty-three and he only had a small window of time to do so.

He hadn't planned on staying a Joe's for so long. He had planned to deliver his message and then be on his way. Unfortunately, he hadn't anticipated that Joe would have so many questions.

As he pushed through the crowd images began to play through his mind. In them he saw a girl running, terror clearly present in her eyes. Then there was a boy with blood running down his face. Underneath the blood, the boy smiled and licked his lips. When the images changed again, he saw a girl in white chained to a bed crying. The sadness of it all was so overwhelming that it brought tears to his eyes.

Paul blinked to remove the tears and the horrible visions. The thought of walking away crossed his mind once again, but he knew that he couldn't. He had to go to that house. He had to play his part, otherwise things would not turn out the way that they needed to. After all, everyone has a destiny. This was his.

Swiping at the now drying tears on his cheeks, Paul pressed on in search of his cab. He had to get to the house before midnight.

Sophie answered the door after the second knock. She didn't know who she was expecting, but it certainly wasn't the person who was standing before her.

"May I come in?" His accent sent shivers down her spine. It was as if his voice had the power to chill her to the bone.

"I suppose so." Sophie stepped back from the door and ushered her unexpected guest inside.

"Sorry to disturb you, I just thought that I should properly introduce myself. My name's Charlie." He offered out his pale looking hand. When she went to take it, she found that she was hesitant. A voice in the back of her mind whispered warnings of danger. Instead of taking his hand, she offered him a curt nod and a small smile. Charlie's smile turned into a frown. For some reason Sophie thought that this expression fit his face better than the smile that was plastered there only a few short seconds ago.

"Sorry, I'm not really a hand-shaker. I hope you don't mind."

"That's alright. I wasn't always much of one either, but my parents made me practice until it was like second nature. I suppose they thought that it was good for me." His voice trailed off as he reached the end of his sentence. She could tell by the distance in his eyes that he was remembering something, then just like the smile, it was gone in an instant.

"When did they die?" Sophie didn't mean to be so blunt, but there was something in his voice that caused her to believe that they weren't around anymore.

Charlie stared at her for a while as if in consideration before he answered her question. "My mother killed herself when I was very young after my brother disappeared. When I turned eighteen my father left, and I haven't seen or heard from him since." Where there should have been sadness in his voice, Sophie only heard boredom.

"That's horrible."

"I suppose, but if you ask me, they did the right thing. They weren't the best parents. In fact, they only really loved my brother." There was so much anger when he spoke of his family. How sad, she thought.

"I'm sorry. That must have really hurt you." Sophie had always wanted a family of her own but figured that with her curse it would be impossible. Charlie, however, did have a family only to have them abandon him. She couldn't help, but to think that she was better off having never been able to have one at all.

"So, what have you been up to all day?" Charlie hadn't come to get sidetracked from his objective with meaningless talk about his crappy childhood. No, he had a mission.

"Nothing. I-" Sophie paused and instinctively glanced at the old gray pillow on the window seat that hid her secret. "I haven't really done anything."

"Understandable." Charlie watched Sophie as she tried to keep from looking at the window seat. What could she be hiding, he wondered.

"What about you?" Not wanting to talk about herself anymore, Sophie decided that it was best to turn the tables on him.

"Nothing much, just been wandering around." The truth was that he had spent his morning searching for something, something that he now believed she was in possession of.

"It's so strange." Sophie didn't look at him, or the window, when she spoke. In fact, she wasn't really looking at anything in particular. I suppose you could say that she wasn't even really speaking to Charlie in that moment either. No, the words she spoke were words that came out without her notice.

"What's strange?" Sophie didn't bother looking at him when he asked this question. Instead she retained her blank expression.

"How life is so fleeting. You could be going about your day like any other and then BAM! You're dead." Charlie found himself cringing a little at her words. They didn't seem to be something that she would have said and yet they came from her mouth. Still, there seemed to be something off about it.

"I guess so."

"Yes, I suppose you would, wouldn't you? You wouldn't like it if everyone knew why you were really here. Isn't that right, Charlie?" Charlie flinched at the sound of his name. It wasn't so much that she said it, it was more the way in which she said it. Sophie still wasn't looking at him, but he knew what was in her eyes. After all, he had seen it in his own.

"What do you mean by that?"

"She doesn't have what you are looking for. Leave now, and do not return." Sophie finally turned to look at him. Her eyes were blank and her face void of emotion.

"Fine." Charlie knew that he couldn't argue. He had tried before and failed. He didn't like being told what to do, but in this case, he had to listen. So, without saying another word, Charlie turned and left the room and Sophie, who stood motionless in the center, behind a closed wooden door.