Thomas.
Adeline was not sure if she heard right since her head was spinning real bad. She looked up and watched Joseph's face some inches away from hers, his eyes looked empty as if he was betrayed all over again. And there, outside her house David was blasting music, Master Blaster by Stevie Wonder.
Joseph looked helpless and bewildered. The expressions on his face started changing with every passing second. She tried really hard to keep her eyes open but she was losing consciousness and within seconds Adeline collapsed in his arms.
"Adeline?" Joseph whispered watching her losing her balance. He put down the dagger on the counter behind her and hold onto her tightly. He had no idea what was happening but he was sure that it wasn't Thomas behind that door. It was someone else, someone-
"ADELINE CARTER OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR! STEVIE WONDER RELEASED HIS NEW EDITION!"
He had never been in a situation like this before. A wave of guilt swept through his body. Moments ago he was threatening Adeline with a dagger while she was crying. He looked down at her neck, there was a small cut, the blood around it got dried. Joseph realized what he had done but by the time he realized, it was too late. Adeline had passed out already in his arms and he was clueless what to do anymore.
He carried Adeline to the couch ignoring David's screams and his radio.
"ADI? ARE YOU EVEN HOME?" David was screaming on the top of his lungs.
Joseph couldn't take that any longer. He laid her down on the couch and put a blanket over her almost wrapped her in it. And strode through the hall to the front door. The music playing on his radio was so loud that it made him wonder if the neighbours still haven't beat the shit out of this man.
NOW'S THE TIME FOR CELEBRATION
NOBODY EVER TOLD YOU
His hand took hold of the metal lock and unlocked it. After taking a deep breath,
NOBODY EVER TOLD YOU THAT YOU THAT
WE'RE JAMMIN', JAMMIN', JAMMIN', JAM-
he pushed it open.
*POP*
"SURPRISE!"
An explosion occurred unfortunately directly at Joseph. From head to toe he was covered with confetti and colorful paper pieces. Smoke that erupted from the party popper had vanished now. Face to face now stood David and Joseph. David's mouth hanged open and Joseph, standing in the doorway fully covered with papers, pissed.
"HOLLY MOLLY!"
David was standing there with wide opened eyes. Eyes balls ready to pop out of his eyes.
"Turn. Off. Your. Radio." Joseph warned him with a serious facade.
"ADI! ADELINE CARTER!" David tried his best to ignore the man standing in front of him as if he can't see him or he's a ghost.
"She's sleeping. Stop Shouting." Joseph folded his arms in front of his chest.
David's mouth dropped and he gasped way too loud. "WHAT? OMIGOD" He clapped his both hands in front of his mouth. "No No No, this can't happen. Adi tells me everything, how can she hide such a thing from me." He shook his head in declination.
"It is not what you're assuming. She slept cause she was tired, now would you like to go and mind your own business?" Joseph was so ready to throw hands at him for what he did but he held himself back.
"What do you mean? This is my best friend's house. Get aside. Let me in." David walked past Joseph and went inside.
"Adi?" Once he found Adeline laying on the couch he almost ran to her but before he could reach Adeline, Joseph grabbed him by his elbow and pushed him to the corner.
"Don't. I said she's sleeping."
In the blink of an eye, David freed his arm from his grip. "Don't get in my way man." David jerked his arm away from his. "And who are you btw? I've never seen you before in this town or around Adeline?'' David squeezed his eyes and started throwing questions at him.
Adeline shifted under the blanket but none of them noticed that.
Joseph further came in his way. Both of them were now standing face to face. "Don't!" Jaw clenched and his eyes looked wild.
David pointed his finger at him. "You better stay away from Adeline."
"Or what?" Joseph looked him in the eye and took a step forward but so did David.
"You have no-
"Please stop it!" Adeline was half sitting now, and almost crying.
"I literally thought that inviting both of you here would somehow help me resolve the case but no, looks like I made a mistake inviting the people I was trusting it with. I needed your help not this."
Both of them were mortified to the ground.
David stepped forward and slowly pointed at Joseph.
"He started it first."
"OH REALLY?" Joseph raised his voice, looked ready to throw hands at him.
"I've had enough! I want both of you out of my house right now!" Adeline threw the blanket on the other side.
The boys stood damn straight both looking down. David all of a sudden found the carpet really interesting. And Joseph, he was looking everywhere except for Adeline. After a pause David broke the silence.
"I'm sorry Adeline, I just wanted to give you a surprise but he was there." He took a deep breath and continued. "Look, I've never met him before and I didn't know you were seeing a man. Of course I got surprised."
Adeline shifted in her seat. "Wait wait wait. you're taking it in a wrong way. I actually invited you both to solve this mystery! But- Ah!" Adeline huffed. "I understand, It was all my mistake. I shouldn't have invited both of you at the same time."
"No, it wasn't, we're best friends Adeline, of course you can call me anytime and I'll be there for you."
"Anyways, I can deal with my problems on my own now, this is my house and my problem. I don't want other people to get involved anymore." Adeline was staring at Joseph who was standing in the back mortified to the ground, trying his best to find something interesting to look at but then rolled his sleeves back and put his hands in the pockets of his dress pants.
"Adi, I'm not other people okay? And I'm sorry I was just trying to make your day a little better." David exclaimed, he was already disturbed over Emma which was quite visible on his face. Adeline didn't push him further.
"Ah, it's alright then"
"Are you hungry?" Adeline looked up at him. He nodded.
"I made sandwiches for you. Go eat something Dav. I know you're starving." Adeline smiled at him.
David smiled back and jogged to the kitchen.
A silence broke down between two of them. After a moment Joseph finally spoke up. "I shouldn't have done that. My impulse thoughts got over me." Adeline looked down at his hands, he was playing with his rings. "I'm sorry." Said while looking away.
A small laugh left her lips, "What did you say?" She asked in disbelief. "So you don't think that I'm a killer anymore? A dumb stupid girl who was sent here by your enemy?" While venting out on him, flashback hit her
Thomas! He said Thomas!
"So Thomas is your enemy, right?"
Joseph's head jerked up and he kneeled down beside the couch on the floor.
"You do know about him, right? I swear I won't do anything stupid this time. Just trust me with it, he's not a good man once he's done with you he'll kill you off." He was almost begging, sitting on his knees in front of her.
He looked confused and scared.
Adeline looked down at him. She wanted to slap him hard for what he did to her but his confused face, lost eyes, visible pain in his voice made her stop and his facade, it literally changed from that hard chiseled to a soft innocent looking face. His brown hair looked messy. His eyes pleading for an answer.
how does he changes from lunatic psycho man to this innocent looking?
"Have you met him before?"
"Joseph" Adeline was concerned. "I already told you I have never met him before but I do know a little about what he did and I'm not here to kill you or anyone, I promise. You need to trust me." Adeline looked at him at the eyes.
Joseph was confused about himself. It had been his life purpose to take the revenge, to kill Thomas the same way he killed his father. He never had any ray of hope in his life. Spend his last 20 years serving in a cafe, alone. No one was ever there for him, he was carrying on with the memories of his Dad. When he saw Adeline for the first time, she was just an ordinary girl in his eyes but not until he got to know about her origin. An old wound got fresh again. The buried memories flooded back into his mind. After 20 years, someone came back. Thomas had been hiding ever since he murdered his father. Meadow Nook had been closed for years as if the time stopped after his father's death, after Noel's and Dalton's death. But now this girl. She came here discussing the closed case in the public. Claiming that she owns the Meadow Nook when we all know that Noelwas the last one who had it's possession. Of course, It did confuse him. But at the same time he wanted to trust Adeline.
In the background, David was stuffing sandwiches.
"I trust you Adeline." Joseph nodded but he was still not completely sure if he trusted her or not.
Adeline saw his eyes reflecting in the light of burning fireplace. It was a tear
He took her hand and held it in his. "Please, don't break my trust. I don't have many people left in my life to trust on."
Adeline bent forward and brushed the confetti off his brown locks. Her brown eyes clashed with his hazel ones. Joseph's eyes trailed down her neck where he put the dagger.
"And sorry for that too."
"You already said that." Adeline's hands were still in his. She tried to freed them out of his grip but it only tightened. With a confused expression she looked up. In the meantime, Joseph leaned forward abruptly which made her flinch. He advanced his left hand and tucked the brunette strands behind her ear.
What is he doing? Just a moment ago he was trying to kill me and now he's looking at me as if I'm the most precious one in his life. No, I can't fall for this lunatic man, no matter how good looking he is, this can't be my weakness, I got to be stronger than that.
"For that." He was still looking at her neck. Adeline took a deep breath and looked away.
"You know when you put the dagger on my neck, I did prepare myself for death. I knew no one's gonna save me and this man, Joseph Williams, is going to slice my throat in half."
Joseph put his head down, his impulsiveness got him into a situation he was regretting. "When I first got to know about you, I was suspicious of you because after 1963 nobody ever visited this manor and Thomas was the last one who owned it. Adeline, I don't have friends or any family. Noel's family was all I had, they treated me like I was there own child and Thomas, I thought of him as an elder brother but I never knew what his real intention was, he acted so well. He destroyed everything. Murdered people, Murdered my father. He killed every single human I cared for and my will to live ended that day, my life, my childhood was snatched away before I could even live it. I don't have any happy moment in my life, no happy memories. Killing that man is my sole purpose to keep living." Joseph let go of her hands and leaned against the table edge. Adeline was concerned for him but she didn't show it.
Joseph continued "Today when I entered this house, I refused to believe that this could be a trap. But then I gave it a thought and i couldn't think the other way around I couldn't think of any possibility and then I saw you going room to room with that that gigantic knife looking for me that's when I lost control. It triggered a memory."
"I'm sorry." He looked at Adeline as if searching for something in her eyes. In the dim light, her face was gleaming. His eyes examining every detail in her features. She's flawless.
"I'm sorry for you father." Was all Adeline managed to say. She took a deep breath and continued "Joseph, I know it sounds unconvincing but it's true that my Grandma owns this manor, as for Thomas, I've never met him before and never even heard of until I shifted here." Both of them were now doing the same thing, convincing the other with their side of story.
"Adeline, Can I meet your Grandmother?" Joseph
"How'd I know you're not gonna pull out a dagger on her?"
"I said Im sorry for that, I never wanted to act like I did, you know living alone makes you an over thinker and before coming here I over thinked the whole visit a thousand times which is why I was looking out for even the tiniest threat and when I felt one I acted impulsively without giving it another thought and I regret that." He scoffed. "Its funny how over thinkers do think of everything but still makes the wrong decision every time, insanity at its peak." Joseph chuckled but it sounded empty.
Adeline did forgive him, "It's alright Joseph, we all are slightly insane. I too have such habits that I think will definitely be a cause of my death someday." At last she smiled.
"Can we just not talk about death?" Joseph rested his arms on his knees.
"Okay, If you say so, I won't." Adeline suppressed a smile. Silence broke between them again
"Adeline did you cut the bread with a dagger?" David was standing in the center of the hall with the dagger in his hand. Both Adeline and Joseph jerked their heads in his direction, they almost forgot David was here too.
"I- uh- actually I couldn't find any other knife."
"ADELINE CARTER IT HAS BLOOD ON IT AND THE WORST THING IS I ATE THOSE SANDWICHES!"
"Why does he always yell?" Joseph gave him a disgusting look.
"Did you say something? you're lucky that your love interest doesn't feed you bloody food. And Adi?"
Adeline burst into a laughter. "Finally, I'm getting professional at it Dav, no?"
It took a minute for him to understand what was she talking about.
"Adi, honestly you got me this time, I see you're becoming a pro at this and to be honest you don't need any improvement anymore. Surprised me twice in a day, first with him." He pointed the dagger in Joseph's direction. "And now those sandwiches." Adeline was not sure if he was being sarcastic or not. He never looked this offended.
"Oh, by the way, who is this Thomas? I've been hearing this name ever since I entered the house." He sat down on the arm of the nearby sofa.
"Not someone you need to know about." Joseph snapped.
"Did I ask-"
"David, you don't get it. Joseph-"
"Right, I don't get it! This man Joseph came out of nowhere and he matters more than me now?"
"DAVID, NOT AGAIN."
"I called you so I could discuss the case with you."
"What is it you need to discuss? Is your house haunted or something-"
"Yes."
"Because then you got to need a pri- wait WHAT?"
"It's more like cursed. This house I'm living in used to be Noel's. And her fiance, Thomas, he murdered innocent people. He also killed Joseph's father and he's still out there hiding." Adeline was standing now so was David.
"It is said that the murder happened here in the very backyard 20 years ago exactly in December."
"Adeline you're joking right? See I'm already not over the last two pranks of yours yet. You need to hold your horses." David tried to convince her but little did he know she was not lying at all.
"David, Its the truth. I've been hearing screams and seeing stuff ever since I came here"
Joseph shifted on his cushion and David got stoned but in less than a minute he screamed and dashed towards Adeline, almost jumped on her.
"David, nobody's gonna hurt you, sit down."
David sat beside Joseph hiding behind a cushion.
Joseph gave him a hard look. Adeline too sat on the carpet. All three of them were sitting in front of the lit fireplace forming a circle.
"What did you experience here?" Joseph asked waiting impatiently for an answer.
"When I first came here, I heard a screams from the backyard which impelled me to go and check, when I reached there, I saw flesh and a dagger full of blood." Adeline was explaining when David abruptly threw the dagger really far away from him as if it was on fire. Both of them eyed him.
"What?"
"Stop acting like a child! And It was my dagger that you just tossed over there." Joseph said.
"Okay. Where was I? Don't interrupt me this time. Then I called the police, they came in no time but they already knew its history-"
"Everyone knows." Joseph interrupted and he too got a glare.
"They didn't investigate anything and left. That night I saw someone in the backyard too, it was more of a shadow that I saw but it looked like somebody was murdering someone. Of course that got me terrified real bad. And also I've heard music playing on the gramophone multiple times."
"That must be the study." Joseph finished.
"How do you know?"
"You still haven't heard my side of story, Miss Carter." He was back to his arrogant self.
"Honestly that's what I called you for."
"Okay so from where do I start?"
"Just start already" David insisted.
"1963, July, 4th."
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A/N
Please give your feedbacks. This chapter took me days. :)
-Sarah Mateen