Tate's POV
She saw me! Oh my god she saw me! And she recognised me I swear she did. Oh shit...
Normally I'd have been flirty or sassy or rude or SOMETHING, but when I saw her, I didn't know what to do. I mean what the fuck was I thinking, just lamely greeting her and then skulking off? Idiot, Tate!
I had turned the corner out of the corridor with Dr Langdon's office, hoping to lose her following gaze as she surely tried to place where she'd heard my name before. Then I stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Where was her sister? She didn't know... maybe I could get to know Violet.
I looked both ways to check nobody was coming before taking the stairs silently and two at a time.
I ducked my head around my bedroom door. No sign. She normally locked it anyway though. Then I heard a short hiss of pain come from the ajar bathroom door. I peeked inside to see Violet staring at her now bleeding wrist, her back to the door. So I opened it fully, quietly shutting it behind me. I turned to peek over her shoulder at the red blood trickling from her wound.
"You're doing it wrong," I said.
She gasped and turned around to face me, eyes open in shock as blood trickled from one wrist and the other hand had a sharp grip on the razor blade.
"If you wanna kill yourself, cut vertically," I supplied, matter-of-factly.
Maya's POV
It didn't take long to explain psycholinguistics to Dad because he already knew exactly what it was.
When I eventually excused myself, I headed out into the corridor, eventually reaching the bottom of the stairs. I looked up. The bathroom door was locked. That could only mean one thing.
It's not like I haven't tried to stop Violet... it's just that she doesn't wanna hear any of it. So I usually just shut my trap and sit in her room with a first aid kit for when she's finished. I'd talk to her, y'know? Not about the cutting, because then she wouldn't talk, but about other stuff. The new house would be a start... maybe even the basement... or the attic.
I padded softly up the stairs, not wanting to attract any attention to myself. I stopped silently outside the bathroom.
Then I jumped.
I heard a voice.
That wasn't Violet's.
"If you wanna kill yourself, cut vertically."
I could tell by his voice it was that patient of my Dad's... Tate, I think his name was...
Wait...
Tate?
OH MY GOD, TATE!
The one Chad told me about.
Ghosts can be visible!
I mentally slapped myself for not walking around the house with the information at the forefront of my mind at all times. I backed away from the door and into Violet's room. The moving men had been with our furniture while we were at school. Boxes covered Violet's bed, so I tried to neatly place them around the edges of the room, leaving the bed and the majority of the floor free for when she came back.
Then I saw it. Sitting at the top of one of the boxes. The first aid kit.
I took it out before gently placing the last box down and sitting on the bed. Waiting.
The door swung open to reveal Violet and Tate. I sighed.
"Maya," Violet breathed, eyes wide; "What are you...?"
"What am I doing here? Y'know just waiting to stitch you up..."
After some hesitation, Violet responded; "Oh yeah, Maya this is-"
"Tate, yeah... Got that," I said as I glanced at the Westfield High Shooter.
I jerked my head towards the bed and Violet sat down and Tate stood awkwardly while I cleaned up her cuts, wrapping a bandage tightly around her wrist.
"Erm... thanks," Violet muttered as I packed the spare bandages away.
I only nodded in response before-
"Maya!"
"Yeah?"
"Chad's here!"
I beamed, throwing the first aid kit back into one of the boxes.
"Tell him I'm-"
"Coming?" I smirked at Chad's voice coming from the other side of the door, and I swung it open before he dragged me down the corridor towards my room while we laughed.
Part of me felt bad for acting like a total bitch. I was usually nice to everyone. But he murdered people. Countless people. And he just told my sister exactly how to kill herself...
Tate's POV
STUPID!
God I should've known she'd hear me say that! I just told her sister how to kill herself, and now I was watching on awkwardly as Maya easily bandaged Violet's thankfully shallow and horizontal cuts.
I could feel the rage oozing off Maya. It was something I'd never felt from her before. Not even around her Dad... and her Dad cheated on her Mom with a girl only a few years older than Maya! She was one of the most accepting people in the world, and I'd managed to make her hate me... already.
Damn, I thought it'd at least take a week!
Guilt boiled inside me as I watched the stiff exchange between the two sisters... I'd done that... Oops.
But that guilt was soon replaced by rage when Chad dragged her off. He always sticks his nose in everything! Everywhere it's not wanted!
"Hey?" my attention turned back to Violet, which was probably a good thing as I could almost feel my muscles itching to lean back and watch Maya dance through the corridor.
"Hm?" I asked, raising my eyebrows and trying to put a small smile on my face.
"So you like Nirvana?" she grinned.
Maya's POV
Despite the fact we had a very long conversation about ghosts, Chad and I actually had some interior design talk too. He had some great ideas I never thought of before; stuff he said he wanted to work on before his murder. But the weekend was coming up soon, and that meant exploring!
Chad said I'd probably meet Moira within the week. He also said at the weekend, he'd introduce me to Patrick and Nora. I also mentioned I might go and meet Beau. He told me that there wasn't anything wrong with Beau... in fact the kid had a heart of gold and just wanted someone to play with- it was his facial disfiguration that made him seem scary... when in reality it was only the shallow minded who would actually think this boy posed any real threat.
"I might pop up and see him after dinner," I mused, and Chad nodded, smiling.
I hadn't noticed my smile had fallen until his did the same, and he reached to grab my hand.
"Maya? What's the matter?"
"... Nothing," I brushed it off.
He raised a disbelieving eyebrow and I caved.
"Okay, okay... It's Tate. I've seen him."
"Yes, I saw him sneak into that bathroom while your sister was... cutting..."
"Did you hear what he told her to do?" I asked.
"Well I-"
"If you wanna kill yourself, cut vertically," I quoted, the disgust evident in my voice.
Chad didn't know what to say, he only gripped my hand that little bit tighter.
"I don't like it, Chad. Normally I'm really accepting of everyone, regardless of first impressions... But saying that to my sister... egging her on..."
"I'm sure it wasn't meant for-"
"Why say it then?" I questioned rather harshly.
Chad fell silent, though he never let go of my hand.
I sighed, raking my free hand through my hair; "I'm sorry I... I just don't know..."
"My advice? Put him out of mind for now- you visit whichever ghosts you wish to. Go find Beau tonight, he's a lovely child."
I nodded. I'd find Beau tonight; head up to the attic after dinner.
"Maya! Dinner!"
Speaking of...
"I'll see you tomorrow, my dear," Chad smiled, letting go of my hand and leaving my room with a smile and a wave.
I headed out into the corridor seconds after to find he'd completely vanished.
Strange... But I guess he is a ghost...
So I wandered down to dinner and ate in the usual lively atmosphere. Joking, it was like death... pun intended.
Tate's POV
I'd excused myself from Violet to go and listen to Maya's conversation with Chad... not using that as the reason for leaving obviously.
"If you wanna kill yourself, cut vertically," she quoted, disgust clear in her voice.
I felt like I'd been stabbed. I felt so guilty. I didn't know how to make this right. What am I supposed to say? "Yeah, hey sorry I told your obviously depressed sister how to end her life if she needed to."
Because that would go down well...
I didn't listen to much else of the conversation as I had zoned out, until I heard;
"Go find Beau tonight, he's a lovely boy."
Was Chad trying to kill her? Beau's not dangerous whatsoever, but most people aren't particularly accepting of his condition. And I didn't like that. I mean that's the reason Larry's walking round with half of his face looking like a shrivelled avocado!
Then Chad walked out, giving me an obnoxious smile on the way, before vanishing. And I did exactly the same when I heard Maya's footsteps coming.
She ran out into the corridor, looking slightly confused before shrugging it off and heading down to dinner.
The atmosphere was dull, as usual, but I kept a close watch on Maya. She seemed to be acting normal. Wouldn't most people show at least a few nerves a the concept of meeting a facially disfigured ghost in the attic after dinner? No?
I watched as they all finished, Violet pushing her plate away from her, getting up and running upstairs to lock her bedroom door. At this, Vivien shared a glance with Ben.
Maya placed her plate on top of Violet's before asking to be excused, collecting the other plates and loading them all into the dishwasher. Then she took a deep breath and headed up the stairs.
I dashed after her, taking them two at a time like I had once before, careful not to crash into her as she now stood still on the landing.
She looked at the hatch. I couldn't tell if she was preparing herself for the unknown or silently debating whether to go in at all... I hoped it was the latter... Then she might not see Beau ever.
But she began to reach up.
Maya's POV
I reached up and pulled the chain next to the hatch. A flight of wooden stairs began to descend, and I pulled them the rest of the way down. I put my hands on either side of them and stared at them a second. Then I made my ascent.
I was careful not to draw too much attention to myself as I climbed them slowly. When I reached the top, I looked around, squinting in the dark attic. Then I turned and pulled the stairs back up so no one could hear me.
The positive; nobody could hear me if Beau gave me a little fright.
The negative; nobody could hear me if Beau gave me a big fright.
I fumbled around for a light switch or another chain. Anything to turn on a light. When I found a chain, I blindly pulled on it to be met with perhaps the most pointless addition of light I've ever seen. My phone would've offered more light than this. Luckily, there were a few windows...
I looked around the attic. Your typical clutter filled attic.
"Hello?" I whispered, shaking my head at how weak my voice sounded.
"Beau?" I asked.
Soon a shiny red ball rolled out towards me and I stopped it with my foot. I looked up again.
"PLAY!" a boy jumped out at me.
I squealed, hand on my chest as I tried to steady my breathing as I watched Beau struggle against something that seemed to be restraining him.
"Play," he repeated, quieter this time although his sole intention was still clear.
I bent down and picked up the ball, ignoring the slight shaking of my hands.
"With this?" I asked, showing him the ball.
He nodded eagerly and sat down cross-legged on the floor on his side of the attic.
I followed suit, sitting opposite in the same way, a few yards between us.
"Roll?" I asked, pretending to roll the ball; "Or catch?" I pretended to throw it.
Beau followed my roll action before clapping eagerly and I couldn't help my smile. He really did seem to have a heart of gold.
I rolled the ball to him and he happily rolled it back, all the while chuckling to himself or happily clapping in excitement.
I looked at my watch after a while. 9:30 PM
Damn... Time flies when you're having fun I guess...
I stopped the ball, looking up at Beau and smiling; "Hey Beau? It's 9:30. Is that your bedtime or...?"
He nodded, scrambling to get up and clamber into his rickety bed.
I hesitated before following him and sitting on the edge of it. I paused again before grabbing the covers and tucking him in. Then I looked at the ball in my hand and at the little boy in front of me before holding it out for him.
"You wanna hold it while you sleep?"
He nodded eagerly, laughing his little giggle that brought a smile before my face before gently grabbing it from my hand.
I smiled down at the boy, not knowing where to go from here. Then I thought.
"Hey, buddy? You want a story before bed?" I asked.
He gasped, before nodding his head rapidly as he clapped and giggled.
"Well okay then..." I paused, scrunching up my face as I tried to think of a story to tell; "Aha! Well. Once upon a time, there was a boy called Beau."
Beau gasped and clapped when he heard his name in the story.
"And Beau was one of the most handsome boys you'll ever meet. He was also one of the kindest. Beau lived in the attic of a big house, but Beau didn't mind because he had his favourite toy; a shiny red ball. One day, the maid of the house opened the hatch to the attic as Beau rolled his ball, and it rolled out of the attic altogether."
Beau gasped, clutching his ball tighter.
"The ball bounced and bounced and bounced until it stopped at the end of the corridor, outside the guest room. A few minutes later, the door opened and a girl stepped out. The girl was called Maya-"
Beau clapped happily before tapping at my arm at the mention of my name, and I laughed.
"And Maya nearly stepped on this ball," I gasped; "But she didn't. She looked down at the ball and asked herself, "Where did this shiny red ball come from?". She looked this way and that, but she couldn't see anyone who owned it. So she went down the corridor, knocking on every single door. To every person who answered, she asked "Is this your ball?" but the answer was always no. Eventually, there were no more doors to knock on, and Maya sighed. Then she looked up. There she saw the hatch to the attic. "I wonder if anyone's up there?" she asked herself. So she pulled on the chain and the stairs came down. So she climbed the stairs and soon found herself in the attic. "Has anyone lost a red ball?" she asked. And Beau came out, nodding and clapping. So Maya gave Beau the ball and she played with him a while. After that, she'd play with him every night and read him a bed time story. And that was the start of a wonderful friendship. The end."
Beau clapped and giggled as I finished the story and I pretended to bow.
"Now go to sleep, buddy. Close your eyes," I said, closing mine for him to copy.
"Sleep tight, Beau," I squeezed his hand before getting up and heading back down the stairs.
Tate's POV
I couldn't believe it. I'd followed Maya up into the attic before she closed it, keeping in the shadows to help if needed. But she wasn't even scared. He only made her jump. Then she played with him. Actually played with him! Nobody played with Beau except me and Adelaide.
Then she read him a story! About a boy called Beau and his red ball and his new best friend Maya who visited him in the attic every night to play with him! Beau had never been this happy. Not even in life. He'd finally found someone who cared.
I followed her down the stairs so I wouldn't get stuck in the attic all night, and watched the genuine smile on her face as she pushed the stairs back up, looking fondly at the hatch.
I was glued to the spot as she walked back to her room, presumably to change, and I hardly even registered when she walked out to the bathroom to brush her teeth. But I did register when she stood outside Violet's closed door.
I studied her as she raised her hand up shakily to knock on the door.
Soon Violet answered it, looking at her sister questioningly.
My heart broke at what Maya said next.
"Please don't cut vertically," she whispered, before collapsing on Violet in tears.
Violet's face softened like I've never seen it before as she pulled the crying Maya into her arms and into her room before shutting the door quietly behind them.
I raked my hands through my hair.
What have I done?