//
As of this moment, Peter was trying to yank his arm back from Ben who was basically dragging Violet and Peter down the stairs.
"Dad, stop. You're hurting my arm!" Peter exclaimed.
"Dad, I'm not a dog!" Violet added. "Just leave me here! I don't feel well!"
"I don't wanna go!"
"No, I don't trust you anymore, I don't trust Violet and I don't trust Tate!" Ben told Peter.
"Tate?" Peter questioned, remembering Tate knocked him out to buy Violet time. "I haven't seen him in weeks! Vi!"
"I haven't seen him in like a month," Violet lied.
"No more," Ben told his children. "Your mom's coming home and you're both coming with me to get her."
"Dad, please, I don't feel well!" Violet repeated as they were still being dragged out the front door, towards the car.
"You can lay down in the car," Ben told her. "And when you get home, pack up your things. We're leaving this house for good."
"What? You guys are back together?" Peter asked.
"I don't know yet-your mom wants to go to Aunt Jo's to give birth, and I'm supporting it," Ben answered.
"No, you don't want to do this," Violet stated.
"You really don't," Peter added.
"Your mother's been locked up in a psych ward for weeks. I won't let her stay there for another minute. Are you gonna get in the car or do I have to make you?" Ben asked his kids to which they both stayed in place, not moving. "My God, what is wrong with you guys?! Get in the car! Your mother wants to see you both!"
"I'm gonna throw up!" Violet exclaimed as she and Peter both got in the back seat but that didn't matter to Ben. "Fine. I'll lay down."
Violet lied across the seat with her head in Peter's lap while Peter just sunk into his spot, so he wouldn't be visible in the rearview mirror.
As the car started, Peter forced his eyes shut.
The car began to pull out of the driveway, going past the property line, and within the blink of an eye, Violet was back in the house, standing in front of her bedroom window while Peter was sitting on her bed beside Tate who was on Peter's laptop.
"What's gonna happen when they get back? What do we say?" Violet asked Peter, turning away from the window as Ben drove past the house.
"I don't know. We'll figure it out though," Peter answered before looking over Tate's shoulder and chuckling, "It's not UTube with a U. It's YouTube. Y-O-U," he told his boyfriend.
Tate smiled. "Oh," he mumbled in a cute tone, fixing the URL while made Peter grin.
"If they find out we're dead, they'll go insane. Literally, for real this time," Violet told Peter, sitting beside him.
Peter nodded. "They can't know."
"Well, you can't control it forever," Tate spoke. "I think you know that now."
Peter nodded. "I guess I do, don't I?"
"I mean, it is what it is," Tate told the twins.
"One of these days, this computer will be obsolete," Violet said. "People will have microchips implanted in their brains or something. We won't be able to watch YouTube or anything."
"The saddest thing I've ever heard," Peter stated.
"...We'll be like all the others here; prisoners in a windowless cell. Who's gonna show me the new ways of the world?" Violet continued. "Nobody here is happy."
"I am," Peter answered as Tate rested his hand on Peter's thigh. "I think for the first time in a long time, I'm actually really happy."
"And the others are not like us," Tate added. "They're lonely. We're all friends. We have each other."
"Yeah," Peter agreed, resting his hand on Tate's as well as Violet's. "I got the two best people I could ask for."
"We'll never have kids," Violet told her brother. "Be an aunt and uncle like we used to say we would be."
Peter paused and didn't say anything. That part was right. He wouldn't get to be the cool uncle to Violet's kids like he thought about.
The trio turned their heads to the hallway when they heard someone talking.
"That voice..." Peter said, recognizing it to which he got up to follow as did Violet and Tate.
He walked down the hallway, approaching the open door.
"Chad? Patrick?" Peter questioned.
Yes, by now, Peter knew they were ghosts but they were painting the room as a nursery.
"Hello, Peter," Chad greeted coldly, stepping down a ladder. "Care to help us paint your sibling's nursery?" he asked.
"Why are you guys-"
"Who asked you to decorate the nursery?" Violet asked, now standing behind Peter.
"Let me break it down for you, sweetheart," Chad stated. "This is our house and we're having twins."
"Who's your surrogate, one of those nurses in my basement?" Violet remarked.
"No, no. A very, very human surrogate, Elvira..."
Peter's face fell. "Chad, don't tell me, you mean-"
"Your lovely mother," Chad confirmed.
"Chad, what the fuck?" Peter asked, now growing angry.
"You think you're gonna steal those twins?" Tate asked. "You pathetic homos couldn't steal the shit out of your own ass!"
Chad and Patrick chuckled. "You know, you're really the one to talk, homo," Patrick replied.
"You know what? It doesn't matter. As soon as my parents get back, we're leaving here. They're leaving," Violet told the guys. "So knock yourselves out."
"Honey, your parents aren't going anywhere as long as you and Petey stuck here," Chad replied.
"And don't you get all snotty, little sister," Patrick added. "You'll be begging to babysit. As big as this place is, it does get..." Patrick eyed Peter lustfully as Chad's back was turned. "Very, very lonely."
"It could get ugly, though," Chad told Violet before turning to Peter. "Were you and your sis a C-section? Is there an existing zipper we might use?"
"Watch it, you goddamn queen," Tate snapped.
"Oh, I am quaking in my loafers, flamer," Chad remarked. "What are you gonna do...murder me?"
Peter scoffed. "And to think you were one of the good guys..." he mumbled in betrayal.
"Don't feel too bad, Petey," Chad told me. "You'll still get to visit your baby siblings every now and again."
Peter whispered to Violet as they walked away, "I think I know who to call to help."
***
10 minutes later, Peter and Violet sat in the kitchen until Constance came into through the back entrance of the kitchen.
"My brown Betty turns to black Betty in 20 minutes," Constance told them. "So tell me what this is all about."
"We need help," Violet told her. "Do you know those two guys that lived here before us?"
"Frick and Frack? How could I forget?" she remarked.
"Well, they're upstairs and they're planning to kidnap my mom's babies and raise them themselves," Peter spoke.
"Well, let me assure you that is never going to happen," she reassured the boy who assumed to just be a friend of her son's.
"My mom's on her way back from the hospital today. And we don't trust them," Violet added.
"I called 'cause I want to talk to that woman I met...Billie, I think," Peter stated.
"Billie Dean?" Constance questioned to which Peter nodded. "About what?"
"Getting rid of ghosts. There's gotta be a way," Peter answered, grabbing a cigarette, placing it in between his lips and lighting it, taking a long drag.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of it," Constance reassured him before walking deeper into the house.
Violet looked at Peter. "Who the hell is Billie Dean?" she asked.
Peter exhaled a cloud of smoke before answering, "Someone I'm hoping that can help."
***
Within an hour, Constance had Billie Dean come to the house where she inspected every inch of the house while Constance and the Harmon twins sat in the living room.
"So much pain here," Billie spoke. "So much longing and regret. Fear. Sadness. Guilt."
"And perversion," Constance added. "Now, can you ferret out the fairies for us?" Peter didn't appreciate Constance insulting...'his kind' as Constance would probably say but he bit his tongue. "I mean, that's our main concern at the moment."
"Targeting a particular spirit is going to be difficult," Billie stated, specifically eyeing Peter and Violet who sat on the couch and noticed this. "This is a very crowded house."
Peter turned his gaze to the floor until he heard Billie's voice speaking within his head, "You were so young. I'm so sorry."
At the same time, Violet and Peter looked up, confirming they heard the same thing. "Oh, shit," Peter thought. "Please don't say anything...to Constance or anyone else..."
"Please don't tell," Violet begged Billie in thought. "They can't know."
Billie didn't say anything else upon the subject out loud or in thought as Constance asked here, "So what can we do?"
"Somehow, we have to try and dislodge them from the paramagnetic grip of this place," Billie answered.
"The what?" Peter questioned.
"The evil," she explained, slowly walking into the dining room area to which Violet and Peter followed. "It's a force just like any other, Peter. Pure physics. Real and powerful. Created by events. Events that unleash psychic energy into the environment, where it's absorbed. Like the way a battery stores energy. You'll see it all the time in places like prisons or asylums." Peter nodded at this. "Negative energy feeds on trauma and pain. It draws those things to it. The force here in this house is larger than the many individual traumas. And it has a need. It wants to break through. It wants to move in our world. It's using those trapped between this world and the next as conduits."
"That's very interesting. But what do we do about the gays?" Constance asked her. "I mean, how do we get rid of them?"
"Oh, there might be a way. I can't promise..." Billie trailed off, sensing a force close by, specifically someone standing in the kitchen entryway. "He can't be here."
Peter turned and saw the love of his life. "It's just Tate," he told Billie.
"Billie Dean, that's my boy. That's Tate," Constance introduced.
"I want to help," Tate spoke.
"You've helped enough," Billie told him in a tense tone, not even looking at him which Peter observed carefully.
"Not now, Tate. Go on," Constance told her son.
Tate's gaze flickered to Peter as if to ask if he was okay being alone. The Harmon boy nodded in response to which Tate left. Peter turned to Constance and Billie. "What just happened?" he asked.
Constance chuckled. "It's just that, sometimes, when a medium meets a spirit so directly, it has a powerful effect," Constance answered while Billie looked to Peter with concern. "That's all. It's nothing to concern yourself about."
Billie could sense that Peter's feelings for Tate ran deeper than any friendship or love she's ever seen but she did not want Peter to get hurt. That's why she didn't tell him what Tate has done.
"Okay, so what can we do?" Violet asked Billie.
Billie sat down at the dining room table to which everyone followed, sitting around her. "It's difficult to banish a spirit, but not impossible," Billie answered. "The most successful attempt that I know of happened when America was known as the New World."
"Are you kidding? That's like 500 years ago," Violet stated.
"Spirits do not follow our physical laws. Nor are they affected by time," Billie replied. "About the only thing they have in common with the living is their suffering. Regret. Pain. Loneliness. In 1590, on the coast of what we now know as North Carolina, the entire colony of Roanoke-all 117 men, women and children-died inexplicably. It became known as the Ghost Colony because the spirits remained. They haunted the native tribes living in the surrounding area. Killing indiscriminately. The elder knew he had to act. He cast a banishment curse. First, he collected the personal belongings of all the dead colonists. Then they burned them. The ghosts appeared, summoned by their talismans. But before the spirits could cause them any more harm, the elder completed the curse that would banish the ghosts forever."
"How?" Peter asked.
"By uttering a single word. The same word found carved on a post at the abandoned colony." She uttered the single word, "Croatoan."
Constance looked at the twins. "So now you know what you have to do."
***
Once Billie and Constance left, Peter and Violet went back upstairs where Tate was pacing anxiously.
"What did she say?" Tate asked as they entered Peter's room.
"We have to get something of his," Violet answered. "Something important. Like an heirloom or a ring. Like a talisman. If we have the talisman and we do this special ritual, he'll be gone."
"That sounds like bullshit."
"Tater, Billie Dean's for real," Peter replied. "She studies this stuff."
"The bigger guy..." Violet trailed off.
"Patrick."
"...He wears a ring. It's like a wedding ring, but I can't remember which hand it's on."
"I don't trust her!" Tate exclaimed. "Now, why'd she say all that stuff about me? I did something bad, didn't I?"
Violet stayed silent while Peter hesitated but just told him, "Let's just get the ring." He paused, "I'll keep Chad distracted, you get the ring."
***
Peter entered the basement where Chad was picking up more baby supplies at the end of the stairs.
"Need some help?" Peter asked him, making Chad lookup.
"Have you finally come to terms with what's happening?" Chad asked.
"Maybe," Peter answered, coming down the stairs. "Seriously, let me help you. It's a pain the ass to make multiple trips."
"Fine," Chad agreed before stacking baby blankets in Peter's arms but took notice at Chad's wrists. He wasn't wearing his watch.
"Are you really going to let me babysit?" Peter asked Chad who picked up a box full of baby stuff.
"Depends," Chad answered as they walked up the basement stairs.
"On?"
"If you're going to try and steal them back although that's not likely since we're all stuck in the same place."
"I thought you liked me," Peter stated.
"I do," Chad admitted as they walked upstairs. "But you can't stop me from having those babies."
Peter stopped walking and asked, "Do you only want to have kids because you think it'll keep you and Patrick together?"
That made Chad stop in place at the top of the stairs. "No, for your information..." he answered in a snappy tone.
"You might have an on-point gaydar but I have an on-point radar when it comes to issues in a family or relationship," Peter said, walking up a few steps. "I don't want to be the one to tell you this but Patrick doesn't love you-"
"That's where you're wrong," Chad replied, his eyes narrowing at Peter's. "We may not have the perfect marriage but we're working to make it better."
"I see you're trying to work to make your marriage better but him?" Peter asked. "He was eye-fucking me when your back was turned."
Chad was slowly getting mad. "You know what, Peter-"
"Take it from someone who's family keeps falling apart and forcing itself back together because of a baby on the way. The same pattern is going to keep repeating over and over again until you completely break apart. At least you won't have to keep going through that same cycle of pain constantly."
Chad placed the box down. "Listen to me, you little shit. You might have a broken family and love life, and I'm sorry for you but don't try and drag your problems into my life-"
"Harder! I like it rough," Tate yelled down the hall.
Both Chad and Peter followed the voice into the nursery where Patrick had shoved Tate against the wall, punching him to which Tate fell to the floor.
"I fell in love," Patrick spoke. "God help me, I was going to get out and be with him, and then you killed me, and now I'm stuck here..." As Tate managed to stand, Patrick punched him to the floor again. "With him!" At the end of that sentence, Patrick looked to the doorway where Chad was standing with a hurt expression. "Chad..." Patrick uttered.
"I'm sorry," Peter told Chad, feeling genuinely awful for him but he just hurried away while Patrick followed him. Peter turned to Tate was on the floor and had a bloody nose, rushing over to him immediately. "Babe, Tate, are you okay?" Peter asked in concern even though Tate would heal.
Tate only grinned, raising Patrick's wedding ring up. "I'm perfect," he answered.
Peter grinned. "Yeah, you are," he stated before pecking Tate's lips and helping him up.
The pair walked into Peter's room where Violet was sitting on the bed. "Hey, did you guys get it?" she asked.
Tate raised the ring in response.
"I can't find Chad's watch though," Peter answered. "It's not on him or in the nursery."
She stood up. "I think I might know where it's at. I saw it him go to the basement with him wearing it." She opened the door. "I'll be back."
As the door closed, Peter sat against the headboard of his bed while Tate crawled beside him, lying down so his head was on his boyfriend's lap, facing towards the ceiling.
"It a nice ring when you really look at it," Tate stated to Peter who was fidgeting with Tate's hair.
Peter looked at the ring himself before humming. "I guess it is."
It was quiet for a moment until Tate patted Peter's knee. "Hey," he spoke, earning Peter's attention once more to which Tate raised the ring up to him. "Will you marry me?"
Peter laughed but answered, "Anything for you, Tater." He grabbed the ring before pushing Tate's hair out of the way to peck his face with kisses which made Tate smile and scrunch his nose.
"But if we could actually, what would you say?" Tate asked him.
"I'd say 'yes' because I love you," Peter answered. 'If we could actually', he meant if they were alive... "I wish I could've met you before," Peter uttered although he knew that if he did meet Tate alive, they'd have a very different age gap.
"Me too," Tate agreed. "But my mom would've never been okay with it. She's not a fan of..."
"The gays?" Peter questioned. "Yeah, I heard her downstairs. 'Not a fan' is the understatement of the year."
Tate sat up, his eyes never leaving Peter. "I'm sorry you had to hear that," he stated.
"It's okay, she doesn't know about us so I'm fine with it," Peter replied, pecking Tate's lips.
"You know, I really wish we met before but I'm here now and I'm never leaving you, Pete," Tate told him whole-heartedly.
"Good, I'm glad," Peter said with a smile before he presses a small chaste kiss on his jaw then pressing another to his lips.
Tate hummed, leaning towards Peter and pressing a longer kiss against my his. Peter's hands plunged into his hair, softly running through it as he pulled Tate closer as his breathing was starting to get heavy. Tate's hands fell to Peter's hips as he deepened the kiss to which Peter gently bit his lip.
He gasped, lightly pushing Peter to lie back on the bed. Somehow, he pulled his warm body closer to him. Tate's lips moved to Peter's neck and pressing against the spot under his ear. The Harmon boy let out a breathy moan as Tate's tongue traced his bottom lip to which Peter tugged his hair roughly.
The door opened to which Peter and Tate quickly sat up.
"Hey, Vi..." Peter greeted in a shaky voice as he hid his face behind his hands.
As Violet closed the door, she looked at them both. "Were you guys about to have sex?" she asked, looking at their crumbled attire.
Peter and Tate answered at the same time:
"No, we-"
"Yeah, and-"
Both boys share a look before Tate corrected his answer, "No, we were just talking."
"So you didn't have your tongue down my brother's throat?" Violet asked Tate.
Peter rolled his eyes and only asked, "What'd you get?"
Violet raised her hand up to show she was holding an expensive watch. "He took it off to paint," Violet answered. "Why does a ghost need a watch?"
"Probably don't need it, just keep it for good memories or something," Peter answered.
The rapid knocking on the door made Peter and Violet jump. "Peter! Violet!" Peter stood up, giving Tate a reassuring squeeze on the hand as if to tell him that he doesn't need to hide (because Ben can't see him). "You guys disappeared on me! What the hell happened?!"
Violet looked at her brother. "I think...we have to tell him," she whispered.
"What? No!" Peter whisper-yelled. "They can't know! We cannot do that to them right now!"
"They're not going to leave unless they know."
"They'll call us crazy..."
"We'll just figure it out..."
Through the door, Ben still said, "...Kids, your mom's waiting in the car. We have a plane to catch."
Violet looked to Peter who reluctantly nodded before pulling the door open. "Good. Go far away," Violet told Ben.
"Just don't bring Mom in the house, please," Peter begged.
"What are you talking about?" Ben asked. "You're coming with us."
"No!" Violet shouted. "We can take care of ourselves."
"And if you want to, you can come back for us later," Peter lied. "But for right now, you just have to trust us and get out of here before something bad happens."
"Tell mom I love her and good luck with the babies," Violet added sadly as Ben pushed his way into the room.
"What's the matter with you two? Huh? Are you high or something?" Ben asked.
"I wish," Peter remarked.
"I stopped at a red light and you were both gone. Where did you go?" Ben asked them.
"Nowhere. I was right here," Violet answered. "And so was he."
"We wanted to go, Dad," Peter said in a sad tone. "I swear to God, we did. But we just couldn't leave the house."
"Stop it!" Ben snapped at his son. "You're lying. You're both on drugs, I can tell."
"Clearly, you can't..."
"Tell me what kind, right now. Tell me!"
"I'm dead!" Violet yelled. "Peter and I are both dead!"
"Vi!" Peter scolded.
"Don't you get it?" Violet asked Ben. "When you die in this house, you don't get to leave."
Ben looked at Peter. "It's true, Dad," Peter admitted. "I'm sorry but that's why you need to go and take Mom somewhere safe."
The car horn could be heard going off downstairs and Vivien yelling, "Ben!"
"That's exactly what I'm gonna do," Ben told his children, grabbing both of their arms. "You're coming with me."
"Dad, I know it sounds crazy but Vi is telling the truth," Peter said, trying to pull his arm back. "We didn't tell you anything because we didn't want you or Mom to get hurt." They passed by the bathroom. "I drowned, okay?! Hayden killed me and made me drown!" Peter yelled, making Ben stop.
"She what?" Ben asked in concern.
"She pushed me into the tub and didn't let me come up for air, I'm dead, Dad," Peter told him softly.
"I took some pills," Violet added.
"I tried to save her..."
"I didn't mean to kill myself."
The sound of the opening made everyone rush downstairs as Vivien yelled, "Ben!"
"What's wrong?!" Ben asked as he saw Constance help Vivien inside as her water had broke.
"The babies are coming," Vivien told Ben to which he helped her to the living room as Vivien objected, "No! No! No!"
Peter and Violet had a look of fear as they realized that Vivien would most likely give birth here as Constance closed the front door.
"Oh, God," Peter mumbled as Vivien was screaming in pain on the couch.
"Take it easy, now. Don't forget to breathe," Constance told Vivien. "Breathe."
"I can't get any service," Ben said, pulling out his phone.
"I got to go to the hospital now!" Vivien yelled.
"It's too late for that; you're already crowning," Constance stated.
"I'm gonna call Dr. Hall. We'll get you an ambulance right away,' Ben told Vivien, going into the kitchen.
"Breathe, Vivien, breathe," Constance told her.
"Oh, God! It hurts," Vivien whimpered.
"Well, of course, it does, honey. That's a woman's curse."
She continued to scream in pain as Violet and Peter watched in horror to which Constance noticed and approached them.
"She can't give birth here," Peter told Constance.
"It's not safe," Violet added.
"Well, then make it safe. You know what to do," Constance told the twins.
They both went into the basement but Peter said, "We'll get rid of Chad and Patrick but what about the other ghosts? The ones that are much more dangerous."
"We'll..." Violet began. "I don't know."
They approached the already burning furnace as Peter said, "I hate Patrick but what happened isn't Chad's fault. He's not a terrible person, he's just been hurt by someone he loved."
"We're doing this for Mom, to protect her. We can't feel bad for them now," Violet told Peter.
Peter opened the small panel to the furnace before tossing in Patrick's ring in the flames as Violet did the same with Chad's watch.
"Hopefully, Chad will thank me for getting rid of that unfaithful asshole," Peter mumbled.
Speaking of...
"What exactly do you think you're doing?" Chad asked, standing behind the twin, holding pieces to the crib. "Is that my $12,000 watch that you're putting into the furnace?"
Violet grasped onto Peter's hand as Peter told Chad, "I'm sorry." And he meant it.
"Croatoan! Croatoan! Croatoan!" Violet and Peter yelled together.
Chad began to gag, dropping everything he was holding. Only ten seconds later, he laughed. "Just kidding," he told them. "So where'd you get that one? That press-on nail psychic who was here earlier? I mean, really? The Roanoke spell? Please, tell me you'll be slitting the throat of a chicken next because I've always found that very dramatic. I also quite enjoy the burning of the sage to rid the house of spirits."
"It didn't work," Violet mumbled.
"Of course it didn't work," Chad told him. "It's bullshit. It's all bullshit. People make up these spells and chants in order to feel like they're in control. Well, guess what? They're not. Never have been."
Peter reached his hand into the furnace, unbothered by the flames as he grabbed both the watch and the ring which weren't damaged badly. "Here," he said, handing them to Chad.
"Thank you," Chad told Peter as he placed the watch in the pocket of his jeans while he tossed the ring back into the furnace.
"What are you doing?" Violet asked as Chad who picked up the crib's pieces, tossing them into the furnace.
"My own bullshit ritual," Chad answered. "There's not gonna be any nursery. We're not gonna be parents. Your mother's babies are safe. From us, at least. I'm doomed to spend eternity with a man who doesn't love me."
"I'm sorry," Peter told Chad.
Chad shrugged. "Of course, it could be worse." He looked over at the boy. "Peter, when we first met, I told you when get a man, make sure they're loyal to you and they love you. And while your man does love you...he'll always be a monster."
"You're wrong," Peter quickly said. "Tate's changed. He doesn't even remember what he did."
"Oh?" Chad questioned. "When did he change? When he murdered me? When he murdered my boyfriend?" He paused. Peter was going to be hurt but he had to know. "...Or did he change when he raped your mother?"
Peter's face fell but he asked, "What? No...that-that's a lie."
"Is it?" Chad asked as Vivien screamed in the distance. "I think you're about to find out."
As Chad left, Peter thought everything over. Everything.
Vivien teared up as she said, "But I wasn't shooting you. I was shooting him-the rapist in the rubber suit..."
"Rubber suit..." Peter mumbled, backing towards the stairs.
Hayden grinned. "Oh, Petey. I'm not the one you should be worried about," she whispered before looking over to the bed. "Oh, Mr. Rubber Man. Come say 'hello'."
Peter looked towards the bed to see a man in the black rubber suit Tate had was hovering over Vivien, holding her wrist down while she screamed and called for help.
"Hey!" Peter called, getting the Rubber Man to look up at him, freezing at the Harmon boy.
The man got up and disappeared as Vivien still thrashed as if he was still there.
Unknowingly, the back of Peter's legs hit the stairs, making him fall back.
"Peter?" Violet asked. "Are you okay?"
But her voice sounded far away.
Once he turned around to look for Tate more, Peter gasped in fear as a 5'9" figure in a black faceless rubber suit stood in front of him before shoving its hand over Peter's mouth to prevent him from screaming and pushed him back into a wall nearby.
The person in the suit started to laugh which Peter recognized who it belonged to.
Peter shoved Tate back. "You fucking asshole. That wasn't funny," he replied.
Tate unzipped and removed the mask, grinning at Peter. "I scared you."
Peter scoffed, trying to brush it off. "No, you didn't." Peter finally recognized the suit from the attack. "Where'd you get this? My dad threw it out a while ago."
Tate shrugged. "Finders keepers," he replied before leaning forward to press his lips to Peter's in deep, three-second kiss who kissed in the same way...
It took a moment for Peter to process the truth he didn't want to face.
Peter forced himself to stand but his legs felt weak like he could collapse at any moment.
"Are you okay?" Violet repeated.
"Chad was right," Peter uttered quietly. "Tate raped our mom."
"How do you know that?" Violet asked.
"The man I loved raped my mom..." Peter repeated like a broken record.
Violet grabbed Peter's face. "Breathe, it's okay."
"No, it's not!" Peter suddenly snapped as his eyes were clouded with tears. "This whole thing is very fucking far from okay!"
Vivien screaming again made Violet and Peter turn their heads towards the basement door.
"Worry about Tate later, we have to focus on Mom," Violet told him.
Violet pulled Peter up the stairs who was barely registering he was moving as if he was barely there.
When they reached the top step and Violet pushed the door open, the sound of a baby crying filled the room.
Peter didn't move as Violet slowly approached them unseen.
"You did it, babe," Ben told Vivien, pecking his forehead. "Honey, you did it. You did it." Ben looked to the doctor. "Is everything all right?"
"She's bleeding," the doctor said. "I have to stop the bleeding.
"Cut the cord. It's time to separate mother and son," Constance told him.
"Can I see the baby?" Vivien asked.
"Hand him to me," Constance told the doctor to which he did, Constance cradling the baby in her arms. "I'll get him washed up. I'll bring him right back."
As Constance walked towards the kitchen, she passed by Peter to which his eyes scanned over the beautiful newborn.
Whether that was Tate's son or not, Peter felt an urge to help protect his little brother from harm...even if he may not be in this house for long.
"Doctor, is everything all right?" Ben asked the doctor.
"Nurse, I need pressure on this," the doctor told the nurse.
"What the hell is going on?"
"She's going into shock. I can't stop the hemorrhaging."
"Vivien, stay with me. Vivien," Ben pleaded to Vivien who was looking dead-tired.
"Mom..." Violet spoke, approaching Vivien.
Vivien gave her a tired smile. "Violet..."
It was then, Peter's feet moved forward towards Vivien, taking his spot beside Violet.
"Mommy," Peter spoke, kneeling beside her.
Vivien reached out to Peter, her fingers grazing over his features. "Hi, my baby boy..." she spoke in a soft voice.
Peter forced back the tears as he grabbed Vivien's hand, holding it in his as he said with a voice crack, "I'm sorry I didn't go see you at the hospital. I wanted to. We both wanted to, but..."
"You're here now-that's all that matters," Vivien told her children.
"Vivien. Listen to me," Ben spoke. "Concentrate on my words. We can be happy, honey. Just like we were before. Before my mistakes, before this house."
"It's okay, Mom," Violet spoke. "If you're in pain, let go."
"...I don't think I have a choice," Vivien uttered.
"Hold on, Vivien," Ben told him. "Stay with me."
"Come to this side, Mom," Peter whispered as tears fell and he pressed a kiss to Vivien's forehead, pushing her hair out of the way. "Let go. You can be with us."
"Don't die. Don't die on me, Vivien," Ben begged. "We can still have a life together. We can still be happy."
But she was gone-her hand fell from Peter's and the light in her eyes was gone.
Peter wiped his eyes with the back of his hands and even though he couldn't be heard, he told Ben softly, "I'm sorry, Dad."
Peter raised his head and stood up, slowly, the rage and pain building up inside of him began to explode as his legs carried him to the stairs.
"Where are you going?" Violet asked him. "What are you doing?"
"I have a matter I need to take care of," Peter spoke in a monotone as he walked up the stairs. Once he reached the top step, he walked slowly towards his room with clenched fists.
On his bed was where Tate was lying, Peter went unnoticed until the blond sat up with a small smile, ready to greet his boyfriend until-
"My mom's dead," Peter spoke in a flat tone, his eyes glazing over the bed.
Tate's face fell, scooting closer to Peter at the foot of the bed. "I'm so sorry. I know you were close..."
Tate tried to place his hand over Peter's but the boy moved his hand back which only confused the blond. "Yeah, we were...." Peter spoke, crossing his arms and taking a step back. "At least once upon a time, we were. My dad's down there all alone now. And I don't know what the fuck to do."
"That makes me sad," Tate stated, moving to stand in front of Peter. "I like your dad. He was nice to me."
"He's a therapist, he's nice to all his patients. Even the ones who lie straight through their teeth to him," Peter replied.
"What?" Tate questioned.
"Why did you start seeing my dad in the first place? Your mom thought you needed help, I know that but..." Peter asked.
"I did. I do," Tate replied.
"But you knew you were dead."
Tate hesitated for a moment but answered, "Yeah. I knew."
"Do you know why?" Peter asked.
"The cops shot me," Tate answered. "Right here in this room."
"Why did they shoot you?" Peter asked, his dead tone not changing. "Do you know why to that, at least?"
"I don't know," Tate answered as a tear fell from his eye. "Peter, you're scaring me."
"You want to know what you did?" Peter asked, ignoring what Tate said before. "You murdered people, Tate. Kids. Like us our age. The kids that came to us on Halloween. You know how I know?" Tate didn't answer. "Because I saw everything from your eyes how you killed them and how you pulled a gun on the cops...and they shot you dead because of what you did."
"Why would I do that?" Tate asked, more tears falling. "Why would I do that?" he repeated, his voice cracking. "Why would I do that?" Before Peter would've hugged Tate, held him in his arms until he stopped crying...not anymore. "Why would I do that?"
"I have no fucking idea..." Peter answered before asking, "Why'd you kill Chad and Patrick?" He swallowed harshly before asking, "Why would you rape my mom?"
Tate quietly sobbed, staring at the ground in shame. "I'm sorry," he uttered, finally meeting Peter's eyes. "I'm sorry. I was different then."
Peter scoffed, nearly laughing dryly. "I used to think you saw through me and who I was. I thought you were attracted to the darkness, but I was dead wrong. You are the darkness."
Tate shook his head. "No. Before you, that's all there was." He took a step closer to Peter who didn't move as Tate told him, "You're the only light I've ever known. The only person I've ever loved. You've changed me, Pete."
Peter reached a hand up to brush Tate's cheek. "I believe that," he stated making Tate give him a smile. "I love you, Tate." His hand fell from Tate's face. "But I can't forgive you." Tate's smile fell too. "You have to pay for what you did. All the pain you caused. All the sorrow you caused to not just those kids but my family and-You're the reason my mom's dead."
"No!" Tate exclaimed.
"Yes, you are!" Peter yelled back, making Tate flinch. "That baby-my brother-whatever it was-it killed her." He took two more steps away from Tate. "I can't be with you. I won't be with a monster."
"What are you saying, Peter?" Tate asked Peter.
"You know what I'm saying," Peter uttered as his eyes with more tears. "I'm saying go away."
Shock and sadness washed in Tate's face. "What? No, don't do this," he begged.
"Go away, Tate," Peter told him.
"You're all I want! You're all I have!" Tate yelled.
"Go away!" Peter yelled, gripping onto his own hair tightly, forcing his eyes shut although he could hear Tate screaming. "Go away!" he yelled once more.
The screaming stopped to which Peter slowly opened his eyes. The room was empty and only Peter was there-alone.
And that's when Peter began to sob, crying as heavy tears pooled down his cheeks.
His legs finally gave in to which he fell to the floor, pulling his knees up to his chest so he could wrap his arms around his legs and hide his face away as he muffled his cries with his arms.
"I got you, it's okay," Violet mumbled, wrapping her arms around Peter from behind.
Peter only placed a hand on her arm that was around as he cried, "You were right. I was an idiot because I was in love..."
"It doesn't matter anymore," Violet told him.
Someone else kneeled and wrapped their arms around Peter, resting her head chin on his head, softly rubbing his shoulder. "That was very brave. I'm proud of you," Vivien cooed to her son.
"Mom..." Peter whimpered, using his free hand to hug his mom tightly. "I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry you had to die." He whimpered to which Vivien only shushed him. "I'm sorry you lost your baby."
Vivien pulled back to wipe his tears and soothingly run her hands through his hair. "But I didn't lose my baby," she told him softly before looking at Violet who was still hugging Peter from behind. "Neither of my babies."
Peter only sobbed, leaning into his mother completely as Vivien wrapped her arms around both Peter and Violet.
Peter didn't know what to do anymore. Everything was a mess. The one person he had ever loved was a bad person, his sister, his mother, and one of his brothers was dead and his father was alone.
***
Hi!
Two more chapters and this book is compete.