(TW: There will be discussion of Transphobia)
I wandered around the house as soon as all the movement seemed to stop. Chef Iplier was in the kitchen and I snagged some breakfast; crepes, before I was shooed out of the space. He really didn't like other people attempting to mess up his genius as he put it.
I heard my name being called quietly from the room with the recording sign above it, and I felt the dread settle in my stomach. Even though I had been in the house for just over a month, I had hardly seen anyone else. I'd met Wilford and Dark repeatedly and Chef Iplier, but all of the others I only caught glimpses of. I don't think the goose counted.
Shaking my head I headed into the mostly dark room. The Host swiveled in his chair, the blood soaked bandage soaked through, blood trickling down his face. My heart was in my throat. I almost wanted to vomit.
'Wh-What happened?'
'...The Host tells Evan, 'not to mind how it happened' and requests that he be walked to Dr Iplier on the third floor. The Host admits that narration is uncomfortable when the blood rushes trickles into his mouth...' I swallowed thickly, blood wasn't something I hated, but the way he described having to constantly talk with blood rushing into his mouth was something you could almost feel. And it left a bad taste in my mouth.
Nodding, I helped him out of the chair and took his arm, walking carefully. As soon as I closed the door of the recording room, the Host just stopped talking. It was like he completely changed, He went from lightly holding my arm to clinging onto it with a death grip as blood dripped down his chin and onto his trench coat.
He was dead silent, stiffly moving through the corridor. When we got to the stairs, I quietly mumbled about them, unsure if he needed guiding or not. Slowly, carefully, he gripped onto my arm as I made sure he stepped on each stair. If he fell, I could probably do nothing, but at least I was watching to make sure he wouldn't.
A single step, the gentle tug, another step. I waited patiently for him to grip the railing with his other hand in the death grip as we took each step. My arm was going numb inbetween spasms of nerve pain.
Carefully, I helped him up the last couple of stairs before opening the first door, it was empty. The second, shrouded in darkness. The Host tugged on my arm three times, I headed to the third door and was greeted with a medical office.
'NURSE! Sorry, how can I help?' A man, who unsurprisingly looked identical to all of the others in this house, burst out from behind a curtain in a doctor's uniform.The host looked in the direction of Dr Iplier's voice before letting go of my arm slowly. I squeezed my fingers and tried to get the feeling back, only to be confronted with pins and needles at the slightest movement.
'The Host, he won't tell me what happened but he's bleeding a lot.'
'Ah yes. I see.' He placed a gentle hand on the Host's shoulder before leading him behind the curtain. The doctor looked at me with a relatively pointed look when I didn't move. 'And what do you want?'
'Uh nothing. I was wondering what happens when the Host stops narrating?'
'It isn't obvious?' He pinched his nose in exasperation, 'Shut up Nurse!' He hissed under his breath for continuing, 'He is completely blind. Now, kindly, you aren't dying. I have a patient at the moment, Please leave.'
I nodded heading back out into the hallway. Maybe there as a bathroom on this floor? Stepping quietly across the hall I cracked open a door that I hoped was the bathroom. Surprisingly, I was hit with the bright white of polished tiles.
Closing the door behind me I walked over to the dividing wall between the toilet and shower, only to hear muffled sobbing. How hadn't I noticed it before?
'Hello? Who's there?'
The sobbing stopped.
'Hello?' I asked again.
'Who are you? Why are you here?' They asked in return, standing up slightly from the toilet bowl so that they were visible over the divider. It was a girl who looked familiar. I wasn't sure why. 'You! You're from the coffee shop! What are you doing here?' She asked, eyes squinted as she stood up. That's who it was, Yan the girl who ordered the iced coffee.
'Uh, I'm Evan. I've kinda been kept here by Dark, through a deal I guess. Are you alright?' I asked, concerned about her red rimmed eyes and quivering bottom lip.
'No. I'm not, but, please don't tell Dad or Papa about it if I tell you?'
'Okay, before I ask who you're referring to, why not?'
Her gaze got a dangerous glint to it and I took a half step back.
'Please?' I nodded, she looked around the bathroom, before continuing, 'I'll tell you in my room, if that's okay?' Her voice got so shaky and small that I let her lead me out of the bathroom and down to the last room in the hall.
Her room was brightly lit, with a small cabinet on the bedside table and photos hung up on twine just above the bed. There were some anime posters on the wall and a couple bags next to the wardrobe. There was even a small desk in the corner, covered in more photos. It was almost like a typical teenager's room. Almost. I noticed, after a double take, the katana handle sticking out of one of the bags and all of the candid photos of the same person.
She sat down on the bed, which had a floral bedspread and shrunk back in a ball against the wall. I closed the door behind her and sat down on the opposite edge. If only to give her a little space.
'Well, it's happened a lot at school. These boys, they, call me all sorts of horrible things and they say that I'll never be a real girl and that my Senpai doesn't love me and that he'll leave me for an actual girl and that just because I wear a skirt doesn't mean I'm a girl. They constantly taunt me. Even in sport when the class is split, they call out to me to come over to their side because I'll apparently always be a boy. But I'm not! I don't think, truly that I ever was! I don't want to hurt them because they're friends with my Senpai. And, and' She started sobbing into her knees.
I knew from the fact that she was in this house, that from the photos on the wall and weapons in her bag she might be a little unsettling, but she was still a crying teenage girl. I moved a little closer on the bed and put my hand on her shoulder.
'Hey, it's not okay that they called you those things. It's not okay that they taunt you. You're really strong you know. But, I think maybe you should tell someone, just in case. It doesn't have to be your Dads, but I think that they might appreciate the strength that it took to let them know.'
'But I can't!' She looked up, 'You've seen my Dad and Papa. Sorry. Wilford and Dark. You know what they're like. They're strong. I know how they would retaliate. Don't you?' She buried her face again. I nodded, Dark was scary. But, they also gave me the whole speech about protecting the others and Wilford, even though he went insane and threatened me, he was protecting Dark.
'Yes, they're both strong and a little insane. Maybe even a bit vengeful. But, all they want is to protect you and the others.' She looked up with a smile, tears still streaming down her face.
'So you see it too? They're not that bad, right?' She asked in a small voice.
'No Yan. They're not that bad.' It was the first time I had admitted it outloud. It's true. Though Dark threatened me, and would probably go through with it, they didn't seem to mind whenever I helped out around the house, or helped the Host. They had a purpose to threaten me, scaring me away from the house. It was to keep the others secret. If they and Wilford were helping raise a trans teenage girl, they couldn't be too bad.
'They have their moments. But, we all do right? That's what keeps us human?' She continued, her voice growing a little more confident. All I could do was nod. I supposed she was right, it was what kept us human. That balance between doing the right thing for the wrong reasons and the wrong thing for the right. Which was I? I shook my head a little and got up from the bed.
'Where are you going?' Her voice got small again.
'I just thought you'd want some space. Work through things you know?' I admitted quietly.
'I uh, I've finished my homework and I want to learn how to do makeup. I would ask Google or Papa, but I don't want to bother them. Doy you know? Can you help? Please?' I couldn't resist those sad eyes. I had a suspicion she would start crying again if I said no, poor thing.
The amount of times I had helped my sister, especially when she was drunk, I was practically and expert. I nodded hesitantly. It was a little different doing it on my sister than a teenager I didn't know.
She pulled out an embroidered bag of makeup and set them on the desk. An eyeliner pencil, foundation, some colourful eyeshadow, a few shades of lipstick. She applied foundation and I explained how to use the eyeliner. She was a little shaky at first, but with the left eye she was fine. I showed her slowly how to apply the eyeshadow and blend it. Her eyes lit up as she blended the eyeshadow looking properly in the mirror. Her eyes glossed over a little and she placed a hand on my arm, squeezing as she resisted the urge to squeal.
'Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!' She screamed, but quietly.
'Honestly, it's alright! If you need that sort of advice, I might be able to help. I haven an older sister.' I smiled before heading out of the room.
I walked out into the corridor, heading up the stairs to go back to my room for bit. Looking down on each step, I couldn't help but wonder about Laura. Did she ever think that I had just disappeared and wasn't doing the right thing? Did she think that I hated her? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if she hated me. It seemed both Yan and I were keeping things from our parental figures.
I headed to the staircase at the other end of the fourth floor corridor when the ominous ringing sounded from a nearby room. I tried to ignore it, to just move past and make it peacefully to my room.
No such luck.
The ringing grew louder and I resisted the urge to flinch at the cold hand that appeared on my shoulder in the suddenly darkened room.
'Dark.' I nodded respectfully.
'I would like to see you, in my office.' They claimed, voice dripping with languid malice. I nodded following them into the dark room.
I sank down in the uncomfortable chair as the ringing grew louder, steadily in my ears. They placed their hands on the table and leant forward.
'Now, anything to say?' They snarled.
'Uh-um. A little more progress with Yancy, I have a deal going. And um,' I almost blurted Yan's secret. 'That's all.'
'Is it now? A deal, interesting. Perhaps you will make the right choice eventually. And what else were you saying?' Their dark eyes saw straight through me. The ringing got a little louder and I had to resist the urge to wince and cover my ears.
'And, I was consoling Yan -'
'Why, were you consoling my daughter? What does she not feel she can tell me?' Their voice was calm, almost monotone but the increased volume of the ringing, the darkening of the room and their flashing aura clearly screamed otherwise.
'Some boys at school had said some things and,'
'What THINGS!?' Their flashing aura grew even brighter. I couldn't hear myself breath or think at the paralysing fear.
'I promised I wouldn't tell.' I squeaked, Dark leant back and tapped his fingers on the desk. 'But, they had called her some transphobic slurs and told her on multiple occasions that she will never be a real girl. She was crying Dark, I couldn't do nothing.' I pleaded.
'As I thought. This is why I allowed you to stay, the Host has informed me you do good for the house. But,' their voice was echoing, 'I have some choice words to say to certain people. At the next meeting, you will accompany Wilford and I,'
I shook my head, 'I-I can't do that. I don't know what I could do-'
'Shut it. Yan seems to trust you, and so, I will bestow a little favourability upon you.' The door opened to reveal the bright presence of Wilford, peeking his head through the gap in the door.
'Oh,' he slurred, 'am I interrupting something?'
'Hi Will. And no, come in. We were just discussing some, harm done to Yan's wellbeing. No, no. It was not Evan that caused it,' Dark claimed before Wilford could pull out his revolver, 'He will accompany us to the next meeting at the school. Perhaps the Host is right afterall'
'Well alright,' Wilford agreed, 'But Warfstache aint taking shit from nobody!' He claimed as Dark sighed. Clearly this had happened before.