𝖢𝖧𝖠𝖯𝖳𝖤𝖱 𝖭𝖨𝖭𝖤
❝ 𝗒𝖾𝖺𝗁，𝗂 𝗍𝗈𝗅𝖽 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗌𝗇'𝗍 𝖺 𝗆𝗂𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗋 ❞
I'D ARRIVED AT SALTBURN BEFORE OLLIE, regardless of the fact that I'd travelled home to collect the information on the curse, as requested by my grandmother. I'd read through the pages on the way to Saltburn — for something that was a sacrificial ritual, it did not seem all that bad. As peculiar as that sounds, it really didn't seem like it was that difficult. A bit disturbing, though, but it's a sacrifice so that's expected.
After being pleasantly greeted by the ever-terrifying Duncan — who I genuinely think is actually a fan of mine, as I seem to be one of the few people he smiles at — by the door, I made my way through the house, moving toward Felix's room that he and I would share. Usually, I'd be in the room connected to Felix's with a shared bathroom, but seeing as Ollie was staying the Summer too, Felix proposed he and I share a room so Ollie could be close to us. I didn't object — why would I?
His parents don't know about us yet, as far as I'm aware, not because they'd mind, just because he wished to tell them in person. I'd been friends with Felix since we were little, and his parents — his mother, specifically — had been begging us to get together for years. I've always loved Elspeth.
As I reached his room, the door was already open. He was sprawled across his bed, a book in hand — one I'd recommended to him a few months back. He'd finally started to read it, I couldn't help but smile as he flipped the pages, completely oblivious to the fact I was at his door.
"Hey," I spoke, my head leaned against the doorframe. I couldn't help the smile that grew across my face as he looked up at me, his eyes lighting up as he did so.
He grinned at me; nearly leaping up from his bed, moving towards me quickly. He picked me up from my space by the door and embraced me, hugging me in the way he always does. He pressed his lips to mine, as he pressed my back into the wall, kissing me deeply.
"Hi," he grinned at me, as he finally pulled away, still keeping my back pressed against the wall. "I've missed you so much."
"You saw me yesterday," I let out a small snicker, before pressing my lips to his again — I'd missed him too.
"Yeah, and I've missed you," he smiled, forehead touching my own. "Didn't you miss me?"
"Yeah, yeah, I missed you too," I rolled my eyes as he put me back on the floor — I wish he hadn't, I'd love to be in his arms forever. "When we gonna tell Elspeth?"
"Whenever you're available to read through her hundred pages worth of wedding articles she's started collecting since we started primary school," Felix snorted, shaking his head, as he moved to sit back on his bed.
My smile dropped instantly, as I joined Felix on his bed. I couldn't give her that. I couldn't read through those wedding articles with her, couldn't plan a wedding with her, couldn't become her daughter-in-law like she's always wanted because if I did marry her son, it could kill him.
Felix's face dropped seconds after mine did. "Fuck, Hope, I'm so sorry," he looked down at his lap, his eyebrows furrowed, showing his anger with himself for not thinking before he spoke. "I didn't mean it like-"
"It's okay," I spoke dismissively, shrugging it off. It wasn't okay at all. Not only would Felix and Elspeth miss out on getting to experience all this, I would too, and that was only just hitting me — like really hitting me.
I hadn't realised how much I'd wanted to marry, or to have children, until that opportunity had been taken away from me. Admitting to myself what I'd always known, that the curse was real, meant I was admitting to myself I could never marry or have children — because unlike every generation before me I could not live with myself if I put another person's life, especially someone I love's, on the line for my own selfish wants.
"We can go see everyone after Ollie gets here and we show him around, yeah? Tell them then," Felix informed me, a small smile, full of pity, on his face.
A millisecond after I nodded at Felix to display that I was alright with doing that, the sound of the gates to Saltburn being opened entered my ears. They weren't quiet gates when being opened, their loud screeching could be heard for miles, not to mention the house was, for the most part, silent, at the moment.
"That'll be Oliver," Felix grinned at me, getting up off his bed, offering me his hand to take. I laced my fingers with his as we left his room, moving through Felix's maze for a home. "Let's hope we get to him before Duncan does."
Honestly, I was a bit nervous for Oliver to spend the Summer at Saltburn. Why? Because he's a great friend, I utterly adore him and I love spending time with him. Odd reasons to be anxious, I know, but it hadn't been the first time Felix invited a friend to stay for the Summer.
Before Oliver, whilst we were in secondary school through to sixth form. Felix and I were in a little trio-friendship with another boy. Eddie. Eddie stayed at Saltburn for the Summer, in our first year of sixth form. A brief romance sparked between Eddie and Venetia, it completely ruined the whole dynamic of our group. And at the end of it all, I picked Felix's side — even if I did think he was overreacting a bit — I'd known and loved Felix's much longer than I had Eddie. I still occasionally spoke to Eddie but all communications ceased when we left sixth form.
Venetia was gorgeous, she dressed provocatively, she was bold, outrageous, desirable. Not to mention, she enjoyed having a frequent shag as much as the next person. And Oliver is extremely good-looking, too. He's sweet, smart and he can be a really funny person when he warms up to you. Not to mention, he's an absolute virgin. I am slightly (massively) afraid that if their paths cross, there may be another Eddie situation; and I don't particularly want to lose Oliver, we've only been friends for a short amount of time, but I really love him. He's a good friend.
Before Felix and I even entered the room that Oliver and Duncan were, regretfully, interacting in, their awkward conversation could be heard, echoing throughout the room and travelling into the rooms nearby. It was what pulled me out of the trance I was in, as I thought about what had happened with Eddie.
"Ollie!" Felix shouted as Oliver came into his eye-line. "Thank God, you're here. I meant it when I said you and Hope are going to preserve my sanity this Summer. Duncan, Hope and I'll show him to his room. Don't worry. Oliver, try not to be too terrified of Duncan. Duncan, stop being so frightening in front of my friends."
"Well, I'll try," Duncan flashed one of his rare smiles, and though his tone was dull, you could tell his small smile was real.
"Come on, mate," Felix threw an arm around Oliver, as he began to guide him through the beautiful structure that is Saltburn. "Come on."
"He is terrifying," Oliver whispered, his voice quiet enough that only Felix and I would be able to hear him.
"Oh, he's alright," I defended, with a snort. "He's just odd."
"Okay. So!" Felix began, walking of Oliver and I, getting ready to give the grand tour of Saltburn. "Er, red staircase. I accidentally fingered my cousin here-"
I let out a loud laugh as Oliver's head whipped to face mine, a concerned, confused look on his face — Felix used the same dumb joke on Eddie when he first visited Saltburn.
"-Henry Seventh's cabinet. Ghost of Granny. Hi, Granny," he continued, pointing to different things, as he bounded through his home;. Oliver and I barely kept up with him at our walking pace. "Green room. Gardens. Some fucking hideous Rubens. Broken piano. Er, blue room, it's blue. And King's bedroom. Actually, the bed still has some of Henry the Eighth's spunk on it. This is the long gallery. Er, dead reli. Dead rellies. Daddy's old teddy. Shakespeare's folio. And maze."
He turned back around to face us, a small smile on his face as he pointed to the door that leads to our bedroom. "So, yeah, we're just though there. Okay! Er, my room — and Hope's, too, for the time being, or forever, if that's what she'd like. You'll be staying just next door — promise we'll try to stay quiet, but I know Hope finds it hard when I-"
"Shut the fuck up, right now, Felix. Or you're sleeping in the maze," I cut him off quickly. I was obviously joking but entirely serious.
"Sorry, my love. Anyways, probably won't be that bad, 'cause we've got the bathroom in between our rooms-" Felix began; walking into the bathroom we were to share with Oliver. "-which we are gonna share, I hope you don't mind. Otherwise, you'd be miles away on the other end of the house."
"Guess that means no sex in the bathtub then," I let out a sigh.
"Not necessarily," Felix turned to face us as he winked at me, ignoring Oliver's presence for a good second.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that then?" Ollie raised an eyebrow.
"Good boy," Felix pointed at him before turning back around, continuing his little tour of the not-so-little home. "Er, dressing room. And, your room!"
"Wow," Ollie breathed, his eyes widened as he stepped into the room; looking around the room in awe.
"I'm glad you're here mate," Felix said sincerely as Ollie kept looking around the room, complete awe and amazement in his eyes — the home was incredible and all the rooms were gorgeously decorated, to be fair to him. Felix stood up from the chair he'd sunk into seconds ago, moving closer to me, putting an arm around my waist. "Right, we will, er, we will leave you to it. Oh, er, just one thing. Mum has a phobia of, er, beards and stubble, so I left a razor for you in the bathroom."
"What?" Ollie asked, a small smirk of slight confusion on his face.
"Yeah, I don't know. She thinks it's unhygienic," Felix spoke. "Er, something to do with her father. It's bonkers. I mean, I'm not even allowed to wear my fucking stud when I'm here."
"Which is fucking criminal," I let out a sigh, leaning my head against his chest, as though I was completely disgusted by that fact — to be fair, I was.
"Anything else I should know about?" Ollie raised an eyebrow, leaning against the wardrobe in his temporary room.
"No. No, just be yourself. They'll love you. It's relaxed, I promise," Felix tried to reassure Ollie. "We'll be in the library."
And with those final words we were off, making our way through the house, towards the library; our fingers intertwined as we talked about the most random things ever — I love Felix and I's random conversations.
Reaching the library that Elspeth, Pamela, James and Farleigh were situated it, not before passing Venetia first, had my heart racing slightly. I don't know why I'm so anxious to tell them, Elspeth's been rooting for us to get together for years now. Something just feels different now that we're actually together, I don't know what it is.
"Stop, right now," Elspeth commanded as Felix and I walked into the room hand-in-hand. "How may times do I have to tell you two that you cannot hold hands in front of me if you aren't together?"
"Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore, Auntie," Farleigh told the woman, as he typed away on the laptop he had resting on his legs.
"What does that mean?" Elspeth raised an eyebrow at the pair of us; acknowledging Farleigh's words, but not acknowledging him as she asked the question.
"What do you think it means, mum?" Felix asked, trying to hide the grin threatening to break across his face — my heart melted.
"Oh, good! Finally!" Elspeth grinned, standing up from her space beside Pamela as she moved towards us, before embracing her son in a hug. After hugging him for a few seconds, she pulled me into a tight embrace — I loved Elspeth's hugs. "I've been waiting years for this. I even said to James, just a week ago — didn't I, darling? — that I had a very strong feeling the two of you would finally be together."
"Yes, yes, you were," James nodded, confirming his wife's words. "It's very good that you two are together now. Er, well done for coming to your senses."
Farleigh let out a snicker at James' comment, "I believe I should have some credit for that."
"Oh!" Elspeth suddenly exclaimed, as though she'd just remembered something. "Have you two helped show Oliver around? Does he know how to find us? How is he, facially, Hope? You know how kind Felix can be, he can't be trusted with things like this, really."
"He's not a minger, mum. How many times do I have to tell you this?" Felix shook his head at his mother as she took her seat next to Pamela again.
"He's not a minger, Elspeth. I promise," I grinned at her, fighting back a snicker at Felix's annoyance towards his mother in the present. As Felix took a seat on the floor beside his father's chair, I walked past the pair and took the empty seat next to Farleigh.
"Right, what we watching?" Felix asked, looking up at his dad.
"Oh! I just got a dvd for this brilliant new movie. It's an American film called Superbad. The reviews are incredible — it's supposed to be very funny. I've been saving it for when you got back here," James rambled on to Felix about the film he wished to watch. I couldn't help the smile that grew on my face, James cared about Felix deeply, he was always thinking about him for anything and everything. It was sweet. I wish I had that relationship with my dad. "Er, would everyone like to watch it?"
THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT HAD BEEN watching this film were James and Felix. Farleigh and I talked quietly as he typed away on his computer, trying to complete all the assignments he'd been set by Ware and his other lecturers so he could enjoy the rest of his Summer — which was a good plan for Farleigh; if he didn't do it now, he wouldn't do it ever. Elspeth and Pamela were speaking amongst themselves, though not very quietly, about Oliver and where he came from — I desperately hoped he was still in his room or had gotten lost in this maze of a house because it would be dreadfully awkward if he heard them speaking.
"Well, I mean, they probably don't have rehab in Liverpool," I heard Elspeth utter as I started to acknowledge and listen to the conversation between her and Pamela.
"No, gosh. No," Pamela shook her head. "No, I can't imagine they do."
"No, see, everybody just goes to ruin, I suppose," Elspeth suggested, raising her eyebrows.
"Where is Liverpool?" Pamela asked.
"I think it's on the sea, isn't it?" Elspeth furrowed her eyebrows as she thought. "Darling, where's Liverpool?"
Both Pamela and Elspeth looked towards James as they awaited his answer. James thought for a brief second; though, even if he knew the answer — which I'm sure he didn't — he was too captivated by the movie to give a detailed answer.
"Er, North," James answered; clearly guessing, as his tone didn't hold much certainty. I'd always been shite at Geography and didn't tend to spend too much time researching different parts of England too much, so I had no idea if he was correct or not.
"North," Pamela echoed, nodding her head as she turned her gaze back to Elspeth.
"It's called Prescot," Farleigh informed the two women on the sofa in front of us. He wasn't at all excited for Oliver's arrival, and his tone really displayed that.
"Oh, it'll be some awful slum," Elspeth shook her head; her furrowed eyebrows expressing her disgust towards the idea of the place.
"Mhm," Pamela nodded, humming in agreement. "Some sort of hellish squat."
"And both of his parents were dealing," Elspeth began, complete shock in her tone. "God, and his mother's a drunk. I mean, babies can be really affected. Traumatised."
"Oh, they come out drunk," Pamela stated, with a small nod.
"Is that right, that he had to put his fingers down his mother's throat to make her sick?" Elspeth questioned; her words forcing me to cringe immediately. I could've smacked Felix for telling Farleigh, and smacked Farleigh for telling fuck knows how many people.
"Farleigh, that's private stuff," Felix let out a groan of annoyance — obviously he very oddly that thought he could trust his cousin, who blatantly hates Oliver, with a deep secret of Oliver's.
"Well, you told me," Farleigh shrugged; he must've thought that if Elspeth knew about that, she wouldn't want him in the house and would forbid Felix from bringing him. He was wrong.
"In confidence," Felix tried to justify.
"It's awful, darling!" Elspeth shook her head, her words directed towards Felix. "Can you imagine doing that to me?"
"I think that's actually rather normal when your poor," Pamela stated.
"We should give him the most wonderful time," Elspeth insisted, and a wonderful time he would be promised. Summer at Saltburn was always wonderful.
"Good luck," Farleigh began, his words insincere, as he began to type away on his laptop again. "He doesn't smile much."
"Oh, no. No, Farleigh. That's just 'cause he doesn't like you," I told him; a snicker leaving my mouth as Farleigh removed his eyes from his laptop screen to glare at me for a quick second.
"Farleigh seems to think he's ghastly," Elspeth began. When it came to many things, more specifically the type of people you wished to be associated with, Elspeth tended to believe Farleigh until he was proven wrong. Purely because he was brutally honest, until he disliked someone, in which case he'd be absolutely horrible towards them with no reason. "Why are you friends with him, darling?"
Dirt poor, not attractive and his parents are drug addicts. Oliver just so happened to walk into the room seconds after Pamela uttered those words. Even though he didn't act like it, and wouldn't act like it, he'd definitely heard that — I can't even imagine how much of the conversation he'd actually heard before he decided to join us in the room.
"And here he is now!" Farleigh announced, looking up from his laptop once again. "We were just talking about you."
"Don't be silly," Elspeth dismissed Farleigh's words, even though they were true. Probably to calm any nerves Oliver had, maybe to make herself look better. "Farleigh, you just make up the most awful things. Of course we weren't-"
Elspeth stood up from her seat and walked towards Ollie. "-Hello, Oliver, darling," she greeted him, taking ahold of his hands. "Oh, what beautiful eyes. Oh, how wonderful!"
"Yeah, I told you he wasn't a minger," Felix snickered as his mum looked back at him; clear approval in her eyes, she liked Ollie already. Farleigh had been proven wrong.
"Oh, but, darling, you're kind about everyone. You can't be trusted," Elspeth insisted. "Oliver, I have a complete and utter horror of ugliness. Ever since I was very young. I don't know why."
"Maybe because you're a terrible person?" Felix suggested, with a chuckle.
"Don't be mean," Elspeth lightly scolded, as she moved back towards the sofa she was previously sat on. "Has Venetia seen you yet? Oh, my God, she'll die. She's been draping herself around the house all day hoping you'll come across her. As it were."
"Do stop. The poor boy's only just arrived," James shook his head, standing up from his chair to greet Oliver, as his wife had done. "Oliver, how good to finally meet you. Trip alright?"
"Yes, thank you, Sir," Oliver nodded, shaking James' hands.
"Oh, God, don't with the sirs. No, no, no, we can't stand anything like that here," Elspeth insisted truthfully. "Go on, come and sit by me. This is my dear friend, Pamela, who's been staying with us."
As Oliver walked to sit beside Elspeth and Pamela, he looked towards me, recalling my words from a few days ago about Pamela overstaying her welcome frequently. I fought back a snicker as he tried to hide the smirk growing on his face.
"Hey," Pamela greeted, outstretching her hand towards Oliver. Ollie shook her hand quickly before taking a seat in between her and Elspeth.
"Pamela, darling, will you go and find Annie and ask about tea?" Elspeth asked.
"Yeah," Pamela reluctantly breathed after a few seconds, nodding her head. "Yeah. Who, which- Which one's that?"
"You'll find her, darling," Elspeth insisted; she wanted Pamela out of the way, for some reason, probably to inform Ollie of the whole Pamela situation. "Annie."
"Where's, erm-" Pamela began, but she was quickly cut off by Elspeth, who was staring at her intently.
"You'll work it out, darling," she insisted, looking away from Pamela quickly, averting her gaze back to Oliver.
"Okay, I'm going to work it out," Pamela nodded to herself, still seeming quite lost as to what she was supposed to do and why she was supposed to do it.
"Kitchen," Felix spoke up, informing her as to where Annie would be.
"Ah, the kitchen," Pamela nodded absentmindedly; making it so blatantly obvious she'd rather someone else do this than her. "Kitchen. So, Annie in the kitchen. Annie in the kitchen."
Pamela moved to the half-open door, though she waited by it, rather than exiting the room, as though she was waiting for Elspeth to change her mind and make her stay in the room.
"Off you pop," Elspeth nodded towards Pamela, earning a nod from the red-head as she quickly left the room. The very second Pamela had left the room, Elspeth's head whipped back towards Ollie. "Poor Dear Pamela. She's been staying with us while she gets back on her feet. She's had an awful time this year. Hideous."
She paused for a very brief second before realisation fell over her, and she quickly placed a hand on Ollie's chest. "But, oh, Oliver, so have you. God, I was so sorry to hear about your father. How utterly, utterly tragic. I've lost so many friends to addiction. So, so many dear, dear friends. It's the root of Poor Pamela's horrid too, I'm afraid."
"And the only interesting thing about her," Farleigh offered his input, not looking up from his laptop.
"Farleigh!" Elspeth exclaimed; though she wasn't really shocked or disgusted by her nephew's words, she felt the same way. "No, she is rather dull, actually. But she's so beautiful. You have to admit, she's very beautiful. But it's only ever really been a curse. I mean, the men, Oliver, you wouldn't believe it. The latest one is some ghastly Russian billionaire. Malignantly ugly, of course. And she's been holed up here for months hiding from him."
Venetia moved into the room we were occupying, loitering around the door for a quick second. before slowly moving further into the room.
"Anyway, let's not talk about that. Darling, tell me about your mother. How is she bearing up?" Elspeth asked; Ollie's mouth opened as though he was going to answer her, but Elspeth didn't give him enough time before she began to speak again. "Still drinking?"
"Stop!" Felix shouted, embarrassed by his mother's harassing behaviour."
"Ignore him," Elspeth insisted, shrugging off her son's words.
"It's rude," Felix whispered.
Ollie just be in some kind of fucking emotional nightmare right now, and I don't even blame him — Elspeth can be quite overbearing when she meets new people, or she wishes to find something out; kind of alike Felix in that way.
"Nothing shocks me, Oliver," Elspeth told him; which would've been clear even if she hadn't informed him as Venetia had just lit a cigarette in front of her, her literal mother, and she was completely unfazed by it. "Absolutely nothing. Tell me everything."
Oliver took a deep breath for a second and everyone leaned in to listen to what he had to say, "Er, I, er, don't know, really."
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
4100 words of pure, utter shite, hope you enjoyed xx Also half this was written when I was like fucking tired as fuck so they may be astronomical errors in this.
FINALLY AT SALTBURN GUYS 😘