"I'm not easy to manipulate," I scoffed at the boy who remained hovering over me.
He smirked, "Sure," He replied before jumping off of myself. I sighed in relief before standing to my feet, "Does Kate know?"
I stood there, thinking about his question. I spun back around to face him.
"My mother was her sister, what do you think?" I replied, sarcasm coating my voice once again.
He sighed and stood to face me, "You could've covered up the deaths, like the "car accident" they were in... Do you think she believes that?"
I stared at him for a moment.
Did she ever believe it? My lie?
I stood frozen, contemplating everything I had told my aunt. I had originally told her that my mother and father were in a car accident and they didn't make it. The whole thing was set up by me obviously, but she believed me, I'm pretty sure.
"Miles, it happened around six months ago now, if she didn't believe me, then she would've spoken up by now," The boy smiled in my direction, striding over to me.
"So, she thinks her sister was in a 'car accident' and died along with her husband?"
I only nodded in response, attempting to create a gap between us once again. My head snapped up when I realized what he meant.
"Miles, I swear if you tell her any of this I'll-"
He cut me off, "You'll what?"
He smirked heavily at me, like a child who had just gotten what they wanted. I gulped, attempting to think of a reasonable response, as getting angry was just what he wanted.
"Just, don't tell her about this, please" I didn't stick around long enough to hear an answer from him. I shot to his bedroom door and flung myself through it, darting down the hallway and into my bedroom.
---
(Time skip - A few hours later)
"Hey, Kate" I spoke as I entered the room, standing beside my aunt. She diverted her attention to me.
"Hey, have you seen Flora anywhere?" My aunt questioned me. I looked over at her, a wide-eyed expression coating her face.
She looked dishevelled, her blonde hair was in knots and messy, her sweater hung from one shoulder, revealing her pale skin. She bit and picked at her bleeding fingers as she spoke.
"Uh, no, are you okay?" I asked Kate, worry in my voice.
She frowned at me, "I'm fine, Miles told me where you were last night, care telling me about that?"
I gulped as she continued to frown at me, adding some disappointment in there too.
Crap, Miles told her? That little shit, why would he do that?
I glanced up at her, holding eye contact for a second before looking away.
"He did? Look, I'm sorry I just-"
"Y'know what, save it, Elizabeth" She waved her hand at me, signalling for me to stop talking.
God, she can be so bipolar sometimes.
I sighed, turning around only to come face to face with Miles.
"Kate, Flora's gone, I-I can't find her anywhere" He stated, slightly out of breath. I looked over to Kate who had already darted over to the curly-haired boy.
"What?"
"She's gone," He said once again, his neck arching slightly forward like he thought she was acting stupid.
I turned to Kate, "Did you upset her?"
She looked stunned at my question, her eyes wide.
She's guilty, just look at her.
"What? Why would you assume that? Let's just go find her" She nodded toward the door, marching through it.
I turned to Miles who wasn't far behind her.
"Hey, why the hell did you tell Kate about last night? And did you make sure to tell her about this?" I pulled my hoodie off my neck slightly, knowing exactly what I was revealing.
His eyes widened, "If you show her that, she won't think it was me"
I knew what he meant. Sure, I got with a few boys in school, but I never 'did' anything with any of them.
"What are you implying, Miles?" I pushed him, wanting to make sure I was right before I spoke again.
He smirked at me, "You think I wouldn't find out about all of them? A hickey on your neck is nothing compared to what else Kate has seen on you"
Don't bite, that's what he wants...
"I was a teenager, what does everyone expect?" I eyed the boy before me, making sure to look him dead in the eyes, "Tell Kate about my parents, and I'll make sure to make your life hell"
He laughed at my statement, however, I could see the fear building in his eyes.
"Have you seen this place? I'm already there"
---
(Time skip, 1 hour later, 5 pm)
I was stood beside Kate, Miles lingered behind us as we continued to search for Flora. I could feel the ice-cold airbrushing my cheeks as I searched the stables, the sweetness of the hay and the smell of leather aggravating my senses.
I swung open each of the doors, both Miles and Kate mimicking my actions. While I entered one stable, I noticed something felt, off. I glanced down at the straw-covered concrete to see a small piece of fabric that was purple in colour.
I picked up the material, inspecting it closely. It seemed like it had been tugged at with force, resulting in it ripping.
I walked out of the stable and faced my aunt, grasping the fabric in my hands and holding my gaze on it, "What did you do?" I whispered to my aunt.
"I-I," Kate paused momentarily before taking a deep breath and speaking again, "I may have yelled at her, I just got so damn frustrated"
"It was you? You're the reason my sister is missing?" Miles intruded on our conversation. I looked up at him, noticing he was just inches away from me.
"She's not missing" I responded without thinking. He looked at me, his eyes dark with annoyance, however, he didn't dignify this with a response, only glanced down briefly at the piece of clothing that sat between my fingertips.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset her, we'll find her" Kate stated, a pleading tone in her voice. I diverted my gaze up to meet hers. Her eyes were bloodshot, hair still a mess and were biting furiously at her fingers.
I hummed a response as I carried the fabric out of the stables, but before I could leave, Miles accosted me.
"Hey, give me that" He gestured towards the fabric. I cleared my throat, handing it to him. After the other night, I find it difficult to look at him.
"I'm going to go look elsewhere," I told him, he only nodded in response. I turned and began making my way down to the "maze" as Flora had called it.
Where the hell is she? Miles is going to kill Kate if I don't find his sister soon, although, I think she's going to be dead before then...
"Flora!" I yelled, worry glazing my voice. I studied the hedges on either side of me, each standing over eight feet tall. I gulped at the thought of it, me being claustrophobic after all.
I sighed when I didn't receive a response. I continued walking deeper into the maze, slowly approaching a small nest of tree's surrounding a lake. I looked around, only the small lake catching my gaze.
I stood at the edge of the water, peering down at my reflection. I noticed something seemed, off. I knelt down to the liquid, brushing it with my hand gently, causing small waves to form like contour lines on a map.
I stared into my eyes in the crystal clear reflection, that is what seemed wrong. They weren't my eyes. I gasped at the sight, throwing myself back onto the damp grass. I felt pressure around my ankle, my head darting up to meet the gaze of a woman.
I know her, she's Miss Jessel! I've seen pictures of her around the mansion.
"Help me" She whispered. Her voice was coarse, she was covered in weeds and was soaked to the skin through her white gown. Her dark hair was a tangled mess, coated in the undergrowth.
Despite her grasping my ankle and her being directly ahead of me, I continued to deny her existence.
Miss Jessel is deceased, you're hallucinating!
No, you're going insane! It's this place fucking with you.
No! She's not really dead, or maybe she's a ghost.
I crawled backwards, her hand releasing its grip on my ankle. She writhed before me, Jessel's body twisting from side to side, attempting to shift closer to me.
I tried to catch my breath, squirming backwards away from the woman who I knew to be dead.
"H-help, me" She spoke once again, exhaustion in her voice.
I stood up, staring at the former nanny. She had stopped crawling, her hands lay on the ground in front of her and legs sprawled out behind her, supporting her weight.
She had to be deceased, right?
I contemplated my options: Speak to Miss Jessel, scream, or run.
Run.