As I awoke from my dreamless slumber, I noticed there were no longer arms around my waist. I groaned as I pulled myself up from the bed, the lights in the room still off, allowing the blinding sunlight to filter through the curtains, leaving behind beaming rays of the sun's exposed light. I looked around the room, my vision slightly blurred from the sleep clouding my senses. I made way to the loo, treading over the soft, carpeted floors. I eyed the door, spotting the light trailing out from the bottom.
"Perrie?" I called out.
"Yeah, Jade!?" She replied, her voice sounding from behind the door.
"Are you in the loo? I can go make breakfast for us in about ten minutes if you'd like. I just woke up, so I'm quite tired."
"Yes I am, and I'll be out in a few if you're that tired. You know I have no problem making us breakfast."
"No, I will. You've done enough for me, so it's time for me to do something for you." I said, grinning confidently.
"Okay Jade."
And that was the end of that conversation.
~~~~
Ten minutes. Ten minutes of me struggling with the stove. Ten minutes of me struggling to follow the easiest godd--- recipe this earth has ever seen.
Five minutes. Five minutes of me struggling to reach the cups. Five minutes of me struggling not to punch Perrie in the face. Five minutes of Perrie laughing her pretty little head off.
One minute. One minute was all it took for Perrie to not only get the cups, but also to get the stove on, and get a proper start on the recipe. Needless to say, I was profoundly fuming. I crossed my arms over my chest like an angry child, quietly stomping off to the sofa. I checked my phone quickly, noting that we only had four days left of our break.
As the sunlight glistened through the windows, I could hear the birds chirping outside, giving me a good reminder of our date with the boys today. Jeremy told us that we didn't have to go on separate dates, and that we could just do double dates for each if we preferred, which I did. I hated being away from any of the girls, Perrie the most. Not even a minute later, I could smell the food from the sofa, my body happily following the scent. As I sat down at the table, I noticed that Jesy and Leigh-Anne where already out here, which led me to wonder when they woke up. They most certainly weren't awake when I woke up.
"Hey girls. How are you all this fine morning?" I questioned, giving each of them a much deserved hug. At this point, the prank was the least of our worries. Our worries lie with making management happy so they didn't cancel our radio tours and interviews. I'd rather ruin a prank than let down the fans any day.
"I'm great today. I have one last date with Jake before we leave off, and he told me he has something special planned." Jesy informed us, a dreamy smile gracing her lips.
"As for myself, not quite having the best day. I don't feel too well, and I had to cancel my date with Jordan." Leigh-Anne responded quietly, the aforementioned pain now sorrowfully evident on her once softened features. The pain contorted her face slightly, the sickness now quite visible on her skin.
"As for Perrie and I, we were supposed to be going on a park date today, but I can rain check for us and see if the boys wouldn't mind coming over here so we can take care of you." I spoke for Perrie and myself, my words directed towards Leigh.
"You don't have t-" she spoke softly, cutting herself of as she ran to the bathroom. The sounds of her heaving echoed through the flat, my face twisting with disgust. Soon after, Leigh-Anne came back, fixing herself a glass of water, no doubt in an attempt to wash out the gunk. I cringed slightly, still remembering the sounds from only moments earlier.
"Leigh, we are definitely staying here and taking care of you. You are in no condition to stay here alone. Just look at you!" I exclaimed, gesturing towards the greenish pallor blanketing her skin.
"I guess you're right..." She drifted off, her eyes darting around the room.
"I'll go call them quickly. I'll be right back." I said, walking out of the room with my phone in hand, heading straight towards our room. I hurriedly dialed Luke's number, desperately wanting to get back to the food.
The phone rang three times before he picked up, his voice still gruff from the early morning wakefulness.
"Aye, Jade?" He spoke.
"Luke, we have to rain check the date for today. You all, if at all possible, need to come over to ours and help take care of Leigh-Anne." I hurriedly explained, hoping to speed things along.
"Oh, um, sure. We never have anything planned. I don't start work till you go on tour." He responded, a shuffling sound heard in the background.
"Okay. See you in a little bit. Bye!" I said happily, not hesitating to hang up before he could say goodbye.
I ran back into the kitchen, hungrily awaiting a plate of food. I stopped just a few centimeters shy of slamming my pelvic bone against the corner of the table, catching my breath as I sat down next to Perrie.
"Slow down baba. We don't want you getting hurt now, do we?" She questioned, giggling as I reached for the food.
"I'm f---ing hungry. I'm not slowing down for anyone!" I exclaimed.
"Jade, language." Jesy scolded, causing everyone to deliriously laugh.
"Shut your f---ing face and let me eat." I grumbled, stuffing my face with bacon and muffins. As soon as I finished eating, I shuffled into Jesy's room, opening her closet to help her pick an outfit. She walked in shortly after, obviously quite stressed out about looking perfect.
"Jesy, Jake would think you look perfect in a bloody wooden barrel. Stop freaking out about it." I calmed her down, and helped her to pick jeans and a jumper. She wore black jeans, a black jumper and had a red flannel to wear, or tie around her waist if she got a little too warm. I nudged her along as she grabbed some boots and began to change, my expression not wavering. When she finally finished getting dressed, she turned around, and my eyes went wider than saucers. "Jes, you look... You look beautiful. Go get 'em tiger!" I exclaimed, giggling.
Jesy grinned happily, shooing me out of her room so she could finish getting ready. Meanwhile, Luke and Matthew had just pulled up, based heavily on the car horn and squeals emitting from the general vicinity of the flat. I groaned, realizing I'd have to most likely endure Perrie and Matthew snogging. I'm quite thankful that we have to take care of Leigh-Anne, because that means that they can't snog out in the open. But I don't want them in our room. Good lord this prank is so much work. I grumpily walked out of the flat, immediately getting picked up and spun around by Luke, to which I couldn't help but giggle.
He sat me back down on the ground before crouching down, signaling for me to hop on his back. I happily obliged, completely forgetting my fear of Perrie and Matthew snogging in front of Leigh-Anne. He carried me all the way into the flat and intentionally fell onto the sofa, leaving me laughing so hard that I was gasping for air. Matthew and Perrie came casually walking up the stairs to the flat, holding a calm, civilized conversation. Compare that to Luke and I, who had fallen off of the sofa, my petite frame settled on top of his chest, still choking on laughter.
We have to look proper mad. I concluded, deciding our situation was anything but normal.
I slowly stood up from on top of Luke, looking around for Leigh-Anne. I found her crouched over the toilet, dry-heaving. I quickly held her hair back from her face, just as she started to retch. I, myself, tried not to vomit at the stench. I've never been good with bad smells. They offend my nose on a whole new level. Perrie walked in, donning a crimson blush on her English rose cheeks.
"What happened with you?" I questioned, Leigh-Anne going for another round of vomit.
"It's nothing. Here, let me take her. I know you aren't good with bad smells." She tried to speak comfortingly.
"Perrie, no. I was the one who cared enough to go look for her when I noticed she wasn't in the living room. You know, maybe Leighade is real. Maybe Jerrie isn't as real as I thought." I sneered, not trying to seem insensitive to her feelings but ultimately coming off douchey.
"Jade, calm down. I just wanted to get you away from the smell. Gosh." She threw back, her eyes wide with shock at my outburst. A few seconds later, something clicked in her head and she nodded, forcefully pulling my hands off of Leigh's hair and pulling it back on her own. Perrie calmly patted Leigh's back as I left, quite grouchy that Perrie thought she could go spend time with Matthew and then act like it was her intention to help Leigh when I already was. I grumbled under my breath as I sat down on the sofa, completely disregarding Luke and Matthew, who were currently sat having a chinwag on the other end of the sofa.
I overheard Matthew say something about Footie, then completely ignored their conversation. A little bit later, I felt the sofa shift as someone came and sat next to me, their weight indenting the sofa beside me instead. Shortly thereafter, I felt hands go to my sides. I started twitching from the tickling, trying to glare at the person while attempting not to laugh. Needless to say, I failed. I was gasping from laughter as Luke picked me up and gently threw me on my bed. I managed to contain my breathing as I noticed Luke crawling onto my bed as well. He began to wrap his arm around me before I jumped out of his grasp, not wanting to compromise the prank. I bolted out of the room and found Leigh laying down on the sofa, her condition seeming to have worsened. I helped lift her head up as I sat down next to her, laying her head back on my lap as I stroked it, a sick bucket nearby in case she needed it.
"Do you want some tea love? And do you know where Pez went?" I asked quietly, not wanting to give her a headache.
"I think I s-saw Perrie walk into my room with Matthew, and tea would be nice. Two sugars." She replied, her voice hoarse. I was fuming as I made Leigh her tea, and my blood was boiling by the time I went into Leigh's room. When I walked in, I saw Perrie and Matthew cuddling on the bed, and I about lost it.
"What the he-- do you think you're doing? You're going to screw everything up!" I about screamed, referencing our prank.
"Jade, I can explain. I-" Perrie started, her eyes watering.
"Save it. Snog Matthew some more. At least I have Luke." I huffed, turning around to leave before I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Baba wait, I wasn't snogging him. I was comforting him. Look." She said, gesturing to what I now recognized to be his red, puffy eyes.
"That doesn't change anything, Perrie. You could be lying to me. Wouldn't be the first time I trusted someone with my feelings and they lied to my face. You need to just- let me leave." I mumbled, forcefully pushing out of the room. I ran back into the living room, Leigh-Anne still sitting on the sofa, but this time, she didn't look as bad.
I ran over to her and laid down next to her, curling into a ball and shaking. Leigh-Anne, being the great thing she is, comforted me even though she was sick. I hugged close to her body, not necessarily caring wether she got me sick or not. I just wish Jesy was here. She's so much like our mother, she could calm me down by talking. Suddenly, my pants started vibrating and I pulled out my phone, answering the call before checking the ID.
"H-hello?" I spoke quietly, hiccuping from the stress my body was being put through.
"Jade? This is Jeremy. I wanted to talk to you about the whole 'Jerrie' thing?" He said, asking me more than telling me.
"Do you have a few hours?" I asked, unsure of the situation as I walked into the bathroom.
"Yeah. I'm technically off today but this seemed important." He explained.
"Okay, well, it's kind of a funny story..." I began, already not so sure about this.
~what felt like many hours later~
"... And now I'm sitting in the bathroom of our flat, talking to you, trying to figure out what to do about this." I ended the story, quite impressed with myself for not breaking down in the middle of it.
"So, what I took from that is this. You thought you were as straight as a pencil and wanted to pull a prank on the girls with Perrie saying that you two were dating, 'Jerrie' was discovered, you had to fake date your childhood best friend and crush due to my brother's request, and you found out you were, in fact, not as straight as a pencil, but as straight as a squiggly line?" He said, causing me to laugh.
"Well that isn't how I would've put it, but yes. No one can know but us though." I reminded.
"Yeah, I got that. Jade, hon, you know I love you too much to jeopardize what could be the greatest prank in history." He said, chuckling softly.
"I know, bud. I know. Thank you for this. Don't forget to get those pictures off of the paps if you can." I said, smiling.
He hung up the phone as I walked out of the room, noting that Perrie and Matthew were still in Leigh's room. I sighed as I fell back onto the sofa, lightly tossing my phone onto the table. Leigh had fallen asleep and Luke hadn't left my room, leaving me in the quietness to wonder what he was doing. I groaned as I got up from the sofa, trudging into my room. When I walked in, he was sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. I sat down next to him and pulled his hands off of his face, looking deep into his eyes.
"Luke, I, what's wrong?" I tried to ask, feeling extremely awkward.
"It's nothing. Please. Let it go." He spoke gruffly, catching me off-guard.
"Luke, you are the only person I have left who I can trust. Please, I'm not quite having the best day." I began, getting cut off by the sound of someone falling off of furniture. I groaned as I ran out of the room, thankful it wasn't Leigh-Anne. I went back into my room and wrapped my arms around Luke, hugging him tightly.
"What happened to you?" He asked softly, holding me as tightly in his arms as I was holding him in mine.
"I got in a fight with Perrie and I'm not close with anyone else who's going on tour, and I'm going to be completely alone. Honestly the stress and pressure has almost become too much. I don't know if I can handle it much longer." I quietly explained.
"Jade, I could go with you if you need me to." He responded, now stroking my hair.
"No. You have a job. It's more important that you sustain yourself. I can't let you-" Luke cut me off.
"Jade, do you love me?" He asked, his eyes sparkling.
"I-uh, I don't know..." I paused, drifting off, "I need to go check on Leigh-Anne." I said, slithering out of his grasp and walking into the living room, not entirely wanting to confront the question of who I loved, seeing as I wasn't entirely sure.
I didn't find her in the living room where I left her. Instead, I found her once again, crouched over the toilet, vomiting. I pulled her hair back from her face again, patting her back gently.
As soon as Leigh finished, she cleaned off her mouth and we went back to the living room. We sat down on the sofa, and soon after we were met by Perrie, whose eyes were now red and puffy.
Because I felt bad for yelling at her earlier, I patted the spot next to me with a small, warm smile adorning my face. She just looked me in the eyes before sitting down beside Leigh-Anne. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that something was horribly wrong.
"Perrie, wait. I-I'm sorry for yelling at you and not letting you explain. Tell me now, what happened?" I said softly, not wanting to startle her.
"I-uh... Matthew told me his parents were getting a divorce after 26 years of marriage. He started crying when he told me, and the only logical solution I could think of to calm him down is the same one I use on you. Cuddling. I promise I didn't mean for it to seem like that." She explained, her eyes lightly glistening with tears.
I grunted and looked away in response, at first. It wasn't that I didn't believe her explanation, I was just hurt that she thought she could say she used something I found as sweet as cuddling to calm someone down.
"Okay. Thank you for telling me." I responded quietly, not quite feeling as happy as usual, for multiple reasons.
~~~
"STOP BLOODY LYING TO ME!" I screamed at Perrie, turning away from the fuming blonde.
"STOP ASSUMING THAT BECAUSE I SHOW AFFECTION TOWARDS ANOTHER HUMAN IT MEANS I DONT LOVE YOU ANYMORE!" She screamed back, stomping closer to me.
"Why can't you figure it out?" I questioned aloud, my voice shaking.
"Figure out what?" Perrie taunted.
"That I already know that no one loves me. You don't need to try to cover it up." I said quietly, again, turning away from the blonde, who was now shocked speechless.
"Jade, I- I had no idea you felt that way." She spoke quietly, placing her hand on my shoulder.
"Don't bother lying. I don't care anymore. Just go away. I don't ever want to talk to you again, alright? You're making things worse for me, as much as I hate to admit it." I said, shrugging her hand off as I stood up.
"Fine then. At least I do have people who love me." She sneered.
That was the final straw. I stumbled out of the room, my vision blurred. I collapsed onto the bed, burying my face in one of the pillows in high hopes that I would pass out and never have to deal with this again.
~~~
Matthew and Luke left a while ago, but I still haven't spoken to Perrie. I'm still so confused about my feelings, and my mind can't handle all the emotions firing around my body like rockets on drugs. I was sat at the dinner table, next to Jesy rather than Perrie. No one had asked me about what happened or if anything was wrong. In fact, no one had spoken to me at all since I spoke to Luke on my bed before running to help Leigh, besides Perrie. Thankfully, Leigh felt a lot better now, so that wasn't something we had to worry about.
Everyone had food on their plates except Perrie. As much as that worried me, I pushed it to the back of my mind, not wanting to start another fight. I quietly sighed as I picked at my food, eating some of it, but not as much as usual. By the time everyone else finished eating, Perrie still hadn't put a single thing on her plate. I tried to shrug it off but the other girls didn't take it the same way.
"Perrie, what's wrong? There's never a time when you don't eat." Jesy said gently, trying not to sound rude.
"I don't want to talk about it. Please, drop it." She spoke softly, looking down in an attempt to ignore the question.
"I don't particularly want to drop it, but I don't want to agitate you either, so I will." Jesy said again, shaking her head disapprovingly.
I walked close to Jesy as we went into the living area again, sitting in between her and Leigh-Anne on the sofa. I solemnly leaned my head against Jesy's arm, deciding whether or not to tell the girls that the whole thing was just a prank. Or better yet, I could say we broke up. It would cover Perrie's sadness as well. I lifted my head up, preparing myself to make the announcement.
"Guys, there is something I'd like tell you all." I spoke as loud as I could, still sounding as if I was whispering.
"Yes, go on?" Jesy beckoned, sending me a warm smile.
"P-Perrie... Perrie and I, uh, we uh, we broke up..." I drifted off keeping my gaze on the floor. When I did decide to look up, however, I noticed Leigh-Anne and Jesy comforting Perrie while she rattled off some ridiculous lie about how the entire thing was my fault, and how I hurt her heart so badly, she couldn't bear to continue doing the things she used to love most. Both Leigh and Jesy were glaring at me now.
"As if. Everything she's saying is full blown lies." I scoffed, crossing my arms firmly over my chest.
"And what proof do you have to back that up?" Jesy questioned, her usual friendliness now evaporated into thin air.
"Well, for one, I walked in on her cuddling up to Matthew earlier today. My guess is that they had a good snog and were cuddling in the romantic air." I sneered. Perrie's eyes went wide as they welled with tears, making my heart break into millions of little pieces. I hated to do this, but at the same time, my means were justified.
"Got anything else?" Jesy retorted, her features softened ever so slightly.
"Yes, actually. When we had that fake 'date' with the boys yesterday at the cinema, I found out she kissed Matthew. I didn't think too much of it at the time, as I just assumed she was doing it because we were in public, and we were supposed to be 'dating' them. Now I know better." I replied, twisting the truth ever so slightly.
"Well, I saw Jade cheating on me with Luke! I walked into our room to get some clothes, and I saw Jade sitting on our bed, holding Luke. I must've walked in very quietly, because they never saw me." Perrie croaked, her voice hoarse from tears.
"I honestly don't know who to believe. It's giving me a headache." Jesy said, her head bowed as she rubbed her temples with her first and second fingers.
I snuck a quick glance at Perrie, knowing I'd regret everything I said. Her face was swollen from crying, tears silently spilling down her cheeks. She was huddled up at the corner of the sofa, holding her legs to her chest as she quietly rocked back and forth, threatening to release a loud round of sobs at any second. I wanted to comfort her, but at the same time, I couldn't handle seeing her face. I ran into our room and shut the door, locking it behind me as I slammed face first onto the bed.
"I'm so f---ing stupid. Idiot! Why do I have to be so bloody stupid?" I yelled into the bed, my muffled screams ringing throughout the flat. Soon after, I heard banging on my bedroom door. I chose to ignore it, deciding I'd be better off wallowing in my idiocy alone. Usually I'd tell them everything, but I couldn't risk ruining not only the entire prank, but their trust in me, since Perrie would come up with some lies to cover herself. I groaned as the banging became louder and more insistent, which meant I wasn't getting out of this.
"What?" I yelled, only slightly lifting my face from the sheets
"Jade Amelia Thirlwall you let me in the room this instant or I'll beat your sorry little a--!" Jesy screamed, still relentlessly beating the door.
"Ugh, fine." I groaned, lifting my tired body off of the bed and making my way to the door. I slowly unlocked it, pulling the door. Jesy almost fell face-first onto the floor. She grumbled as she stood up and started dusting herself off, just before closing and locking my door again, making her way over to my bed. She sat down on it and patted the area of fabric next to her.
I awkwardly sat down beside her as she wrapped her arms around me, soothing me like a mother would.
"I know this is a hard time for you, but why did you act so rude to Perrie out there?" Jesy asked, rubbing my back gently.
"I... We got into a few fights while you were gone and I, uh, I feel so stupid! She was the only person I could talk to about everything, but now I can't stand looking at her! I ruined everything..." I mumbled, my face now firmly pressed to the side of her top, fat tears rolling down my cheeks like a waterfall.
"Wait it out, she'll come through eventually. I know Perrie. She can't stand being away from you for too long." Jesy replied, playing with my hair.
"T-thanks Jes. I love you so so much. I don't know how I lived without you." I admitted, hugging onto my non-biological sister.
"It's kind of my job, Jade. Well, y'know, besides singing in Little Mix." She said, chuckling softly. "Well, how about we go out there and join the other two? We were going to watch a film." Jesy suggested.
I shook my head and turned away from her, desperately not wanting to have to see Perrie's face.
"I-I don't want to see Perrie's face... At all.." I choked out, trying to avoid the temptation to shove my face harshly into a pillow.
"Jade, I can be your Perrie, if you will, for a little bit, until things work out. I can let Perrie stay in my room, and I can sleep in here. During the film, you were going to sit by me, if that's okay." She offered, smiling at me while she played with her fingers, which were rested in her lap.
"I-I guess that'll work.." I murmured, swiftly pushing myself up and off of the bed. Jesy linked her hand with mine as we walked out of the room, a wide grin on her face.
~~~
I was seated firmly on the fabric-coated sofa, desperately trying not to claw holes in Jesy's arm. They, despite my fervent pleas and begging, put in a horror film. I was now sat on the sofa, leaning harshly against Jesy as I held in my screams, a whimper slipping out every so often. Despite my not wanting to see Perrie's face, I snuck a quick glance at her, my heart sinking at the pain evident in her usually soft features. I vehemently denied an emotional connection between myself and Perrie, blaming my 'false' concern on our deteriorated bond.
Against my bodily will, I was deeply intrigued by the horror film playing so emphatically on the telly. My nails were deeply ingrained into Jesy's arm, my body visibly tensing at every loud noise or creak in the flat. My eyes were glued to the telly, visibly wider than everyone else's. Eventually I hid away in the side of Jesy's top, not wanting to endure the bloodshed any longer. Jesy wrapped her free arm around me in a comforting embrace, her vision still locked on the telly.
"Jes..." I whined, my voice almost silent.
"Yes baba?" She said, locking her eyes with mine.
"I don't like this film... I'm gonna have nightmares."
"Calm down. You'll be fine."
Perrie
"Yes baba?" Jesy spoke softly, meeting Jade's gaze.
I was hysterical. Baba? Baba?! That was my nickname for Jade. Nice to know she moved on from one friend to the next so easily...
I held my tears in, leaning softly into Leigh-Anne. She wiped the stray tears that were threatening to burst from my eyes, stroking my side as we watched the film.
I can't believe Jade would do that.
Jade
The film ended long ago, but my fears did not. I lay in my bed, wide awake, Jesy snoring beside me. The reality of my situation was that I was in a dark, quiet flat, surrounded by three other girls, two of which cared deeply for me, the other I didn't care to know wether she did or not. Every time my eyes started to close, flashes of the film would go through my mind and my eyes would shoot open, my breathing anything but steady. After this had happened 4 times, I gently shook Jesy awake.
"J-Jes.. Can you calm me down... The film is keeping me up.." I mumbled, unsure of how she would handle it.
"Jade, I promise, you'll be fine. Just close your eyes and push the film out of your mind. If you actually have a nightmare, I'm here." She murmured, already halfway asleep.
I groaned softly and collapsed back onto the bed, testing my luck as I slipped into unconsciousness.
~~~
I awoke in a dimly lit room, the only working light flickering rapidly in the corner. Confused and dazed, I stretched and cautiously stood up, placing my hand on the wall adjacent to where I had been laying. I looked around the room once more in a feverish attempt to regain my bearings. The room lacked any source of light besides the flickering lamp, which was not of much use. Despite my lack of clear vision, I managed to make out most of the room.
I had been laying on a dirty mattress, which lay on an old, rusty, rickety metal bed frame. The pillow that was gingerly set on the mattress was small, and seemed to be leaking feathers. Beside that, there was a little end table that had nothing but a notebook and pen resting on its dusty surface. In the corner of the room, where the flickering lamp took its residence, was an old rotary phone, and beside it, a little book, most likely containing phone numbers. Needless to say, this room was anything but familiar to me.
I carefully picked up the notebook, opening it so that I could see its contents. I squinted my eyes, carefully reading each word. The book was full of lyrics, but they were our lyrics.
You used to tell me that you loved me once, what happened, what happened?
Where is all of this coming from? What happened, what happened?
You say I'm crazy and there's nothing wrong,
You're lying and you know I know.
Baby what've we become, what happened?
We used to never go to bed angry,
But it's all we ever do lately.
You're turning away like you hate me, do you hate me?
Do you hate me, oh?
My mouth hung agape as I read them, only then realizing just how much those lyrics related to my situation. I threw the book down in frustration, returning my gaze to the room.
Something caught my eye in the flickering light, piquing my interest. I mindlessly walked over to it, almost stumbling over the upturned corner of a rug that I had not noticed before. As I neared the dusty table, I saw the peculiar object that had caught my wandering eye. What lay there, collecting dust, was an old picture, housed in an equally as old frame. I gently blew off the dust, interested in the photo. Upon further inspection, I noted that the photo contained a small family, which consisted of a son, a daughter, and a mother and father.
The daughter was dressed in a frilly dress, whose fabric stopped a little bit below her knees. The son was adorned with tight-knit knickers and a dress shirt, an uncomfortable facial expression permanent on his face. The mother was wearing a Sunday dress and a frock overtop, her hands entwined and resting at her legs. The father, however, is what stood out the most. He wore an iron-pressed white Oxford, covered by a dark jacket. He had denim-clad legs, which was definitely off putting, considering this picture looked like it was taken long before jeans were worn.
I gently placed the photo down again, shrieking quietly as I heard the low rumble of an old phone. Lo and behold, the rotary phone was incessantly ringing. I swiftly pulled the phone off of the receiver, placing it to my ear.
"H-hello?" I croaked.
"Watch your back, darling." A deep voice resounded in my ears, catching me off-guard. Before I had a chance to respond, the voice cackled dryly and hung up, leaving me speechless. My eyes swiftly darted around the supposedly abandoned room, and I noticed a few things I hadn't seen before.
For one, the lamp wasn't flickering as violently, providing a bit more illumination in the room for a slightly longer period of time. I also saw the portraits adorning the peeling, painted walls, providing little hints to my whereabouts. I studied one of the portraits on the wall, this one of the same boy as before, but seemingly older. Now he looked as if he were an adolescent, maybe around the age of 12. He now wore dark brown loafers, from the looks of it, and a white Oxford. He had dress pants clinging to his legs and a blazer over the Oxford, along with a tie loosely tied around his collar. I made the assumption he was in a school uniform, based on the well-groomed hair and dressy outfit.
The next thing I happened to notice was the door opposite my position in the room. I quietly walked over to the door, my fingertips grazing the cool metal knob. I slowly turned the knob, the door creaking as I pushed it open. As I stepped out into what I recognized to be a hallway, the floorboards creaked and groaned beneath my weight. I stumbled down the hall, disregarding the phone call from earlier. It was all too soon that I realized this was a dead-end hall with no doors besides the one I had opened. The hall had dead-ends on both sides, making me feel like I was enclosed in a tight space. I had slight claustrophobia, this showing as I started breathing faster, my heart rate seeming to increase more by the second.
Soon enough, I was sitting on the floor in a fetal position, rocking back and forth as I hyperventilated, spots appearing in my vision. Off at the other end of the hall, I heard the creaking of floorboards, and the light pitter-patter of little feet. As the sound neared my grounded figure, I quieted down, despite my being in the brightest lit area of the entire place. After a few moments, the sounds stopped, and I looked up. When I did, I was met by the gaze of a small little girl, blonde, braided pigtails resting gently across her shoulders, with little baby pink bows tied around their ends. Something that definitely stood out to me was her striking blue eyes.
"Hi! Who are you?" She asked me, her high-pitched voice piercing my ears. She stretched out a chubby arm for me to take, and I did, shocked as she helped me up by herself. From the looks of it, this girl was about 7 or so, barely old enough to be in year 4.
"I'm Jade." I said quietly. She giggled loudly, the echo of the shrill sound tinkling down the abandoned halls.
"That's a pretty name. Come here, I wanna show you my room!" She happily shrieked, dragging me down the hall. We passed the only door I knew was in this hall, and kept going. The further we went, the darker it got, and the more deafening the silence felt. By the time we got to where she said her room was, the hall was pitch black, and I could barely hear myself think over the silence. As soon as her chubby arm pulled me into the room, I knew something was off.
It was an exact replica of the room I woke up in, the only difference being the pictures and quality of the room. Instead of old, dusty, musty walls, the walls shone a bright pastel pink, no signs of dust evident anywhere. The pictures were the exact same pictures, only they were in vivid color instead of dull, peeling sepia. I looked around the room again, this time, noticing the girl was nowhere to be found. I heard a shrill cackle from behind me and froze on the spot, too afraid to turn around.
The last thing I felt was a blade being plunged into my back, and then darkness. It was as if I was floating in eternal darkness, an ethereal void of desolate despair. I felt like nothing, and silence overtook me.
Then, my vision went pitch black.