Adriana P.O.V.

The gravel of the torn-up road crunched under my hastily shoved on sneakers. I looked at the old trees that used to look so huge to my seven-year old eyes. I walked past bushes and backyards where my childhood friends and I used to play, pretending we were animals and princesses and humans that could talk to humans.

I smiled faintly at remembering the innocence and pure enjoyment of my youth.

When I saw my old house my toes curled at the strength of the memories that washed over me, not all pleasant. It was still the same as it was eleven long years ago. Boards were hastily slapped against the broken windows and the white picket fence was in shambles, all the paint peeling off. The white trim of the house was bleached and the soft blue paint was coming off in stripes.

Out of habit, I opened the little gate to the path to the front door and slowly walked up the house.

I ran my hand over the soft worn wood of the railing guiding the swooped warped stairs. I stared at the old brass door knob and shouldered my small bag, slightly hesitant to return after so many years.

Just as I was about to pluck my courage and enter, I was distracted by high-pitched voices coming from the backyard.

Taking my hand away from the door knob, I walked around the house to the backyard. There were three small seven year old boys sitting in a circle yelling at each other.

"I told you he was too chicken to do it, Trevor!"

"Ya Evan, you chicken nug!"

"Shut up I am not a chicken nug, you are Brad!"

Evan tackled Brad and they tousled on the grass while Trevor just huffed and watched them exasperatingly. He spoke up after a few seconds,

"Are we going into the haunted house or not?"

I decided to make my appearance known by stepping out of the shadow of the house and directed a question at the boys,

"Haunted house?"

They all jumped up in surprise and took defensive Kung foo poses, making me chuckle.

Trevor, obviously being a little older than Evan and Brad, took a step forward and talked to me.

"You telling me you don't know about this haunted house?"

Evan jumped forward and gasped,

"Everyone knows the myth!"

I titled my head in confusion. It was no mystery about what happened here. Leave to housewives to make up some crazy haunted house tale. I hesitantly stuttered,

"Uh...No?"

Even squealed and ran up to me, all nerves forgotten,

"Oh it's so scary! Brad dared me to go in and I was just about to, Brad."

He paused and sent a glare at Brad then continued,

"But my mommy told me that years ago, a murderer snuck into this house in the middle of the night and killed a mom and her daughter. The daughter tried to hide under her bed but the murderer found her and killed her in her room. They say that at night, the little girl's spirit comes back and possesses the bodies of her stuffed animals. She makes them walk around, looking for her mom. They also say the dad abandoned his family and tried to save himself by sneaking out through the alley but it was dark and he fell on a broken bottle and died. If you stay out past seven, you can see his soul pacing the fence, trying to get back into house. If you talk to him, he asks you for things and tries to get you to let him into the house."

I paused, taking it all in. That was some crazy myth. I smiled at the paled frightened boys softly,

"You mommas' probably made that up so you don't stay out past seven, kiddos."

Trevor shook his head fervently,

"Nuh uh I have seen the dad's spirit before!"

I rolled my eyes,

"Probably a homeless man."

Trevor bristled indignantly, grabbed Evan and Brad's hands and dragged them away. Evan grinned and waved at me,

"Bye-bye, stranger lady!"

I smiled and waved back till Trevor had dragged them out of sight. I turned back to my run down house and sighed. One incident had ruined my sweet lively house and turned it into a haunted house. I walked up to the back door and boldly placed my hand on the door knob and twisted it. To my surprise, it was unlocked and swung open with no difficulty.

I pushed open the door and called out,

"Hello?"

Better safe than sorry with checking for hobos and spirits.

When nothing but silence called back I entered my old house.

Its old familiar smell still lingered, even though the majority of the scent was masked with old rotting wood and dust. As I wandered through the house I ran my hands over the dust caked furniture. All the couches and chairs were covered with plastic that had an inch of dust on it. No one had been in here for a long time. With each step I took a small cloud of dust rose from the floor, making me sneeze and cough and made my eyes water.

I slowly walked up the stairs, hearing them creak and groan in complaint under my weight. I walked down the upstairs hallway, gazing at the pink door covered in cheap flower stickers. A small sign hung from a nail in the door. Decorated sparkly letters read,

"Adriana's Room."

Tears welled up in my eyes against my will power. Oh it was so hard for me to think about it. It was so close, the scent and echoes of death made goosebumps pop up on my skin. Thats where it happened, thats where my mother died protecting me, ten long years ago.

I opened the door and the bright happy pink walls lined with stuffed animals. My breath caught. It was unchanged. No one had been in here. It looked like I had left it yesterday.

I walked around, trailing my fingers over everything lightly, trying to soak in everything. It was there in that small closet, that small closet was were everything in my life changed.

Memories swamped over me, so vivid it made me scream. The blood, the hands reaching for me. I sobbed and sank to my dusty old bed covered with flowers and smiling forest animals. The events of that day replayed through my mind like a movie, and slowly broke me apart all over again...

"Hurry Ana! Hide in here and dont make a sound no matter what!"

I was mute with terror as I clutched my teddy bear to my chest. Tears streaming down my face as I nodded at my precious Mom. She was always so happy, why was she shaking and crying?

Before I slipped into the closet Mom pulled me in for a crushing hug. She buried her face in my hair and I felt tears fall from her bright green eyes, making me shiver. The sweet familiar smell of jasmine perfume engulfed me and I relaxed slightly. Mom whispered into my hair softly,

"I love you so much, so so much my dear precious Adriana."

She paused and sobbed, tightening her grip,

"Stay safe and live a wonderful life, sweetheart, and know that Mommy loves you. Oh, your Mommy loves you."

She pressed a hard kiss to my forehead and cheeks, making panic sweet through me. Was she leaving me? Why was she leaving me?

A loud bang and shout came from downstairs, making Mom flinch and shove me into the closet. She piled blankets and stuffies on top of me.

"Don't move no matter what."

Fresh tears fell down my cheeks and I whispered,

"I love you Mommy."

I felt so weak as my Mom gave me a sad smile and closed the closet. Everything became dark except for a small crack that I could see everything out of, my whole room.

I watched Mom take a deep breath and sit on the edge of my bed. What was she doing? Was she going to sleep? She could have just asked if she wanted my bed.

I jumped slightly when my bedroom door swung open violently, cracking the drywall. Mom slowly turned around as three large men entered the room. Tattoos laced up their arms and their biker jackets jingled as they walked forward. I noticed that each man had a extricate tattoo of a snake threaded through a skull on their right shoulder.

The larger man stepped forward and cracked his knuckles. When he spoke his voice was deep and raspy, making me shiver in disgust.

"Where is he Miranda."

Mom gave a fearful little smile and backed away from him slightly,

"I don't know Tom."

The Tom man took a large step forward and gave my Mom a slap. She gasped and went reeling, lying on the ground by my bed. My hands flew to my mouth and held in my sob. I wanted to run out and help but I remembered her telling me to leave no matter what.

Tom grabbed Mom by her hair and dragged her up, making her scream and cry. Tom leaned towards her face and whispered,

"If Marcus wont give us our money, we can always just take another form of payment."

Mom paled and stilled in his grip,

"Please no my husband can get you the money just wait he should be home soon!"

Tom threw her on my bed and the other two men crackled and walked towards her. I watched in horror as they ran their hands up and down her body, grabbing at her chest and kissing her as she screamed and thrashed.

By now I was on the edge of panic and tears were streaming down my face. I stayed dead still and felt darkness starting to tingle on the edges of my vision.

Tom's phone rang and he picked it up, walking away from Mom and wandered towards me in the closet. I froze and stared wide eyed at his pierced tattooed face. His dark eyes sent fear wavering into me and I wanted to faint and escape the pounding terror in my heart.

"Ya Boss? Ya shes here. No we don't know where he is. Got it."

He hung up and moved to turn back to the bed but froze. He slowly turned back to my closet and my heart jumped up into my throat. He squatted down in front of the crack of the doors and my head stopped when he looked me right in the eye. His dark eyes were so terrifying, so cold and dead but I couldn't look away.

Tom winked and held a finger to his lips before standing back up and walking towards my sobbing mom. I whimpered slightly and burrowed deeper into my pile of blankets. Why did he not say anything?

Tom slowly pulled out a long deadly sharp knife out of his belt and it glittered in the dim light of my room.

Tom clucked his tongue and twirled the knife casually as he stalked towards my mom.

"Unfortunately Miranda, Boss needs us back pronto so we are gonna have to cut our fun short here. Right boys?"

One man pulled out a jagged rough rusty knife and snickered. The other pulled out a short wide dagger that was made of a smooth black metal and grinned widely.

Mom backed up against the wall and held her knees to her chest.

"Please don't! Please I beg you!"

She raised her head and the haunted heartbroken look on her face would always stay with me. She wasn't desperate for her, she was desperate for me. In my whole life I had never felt more spoiled and selfish.

Tom held her head up with his large hand. He purred softly,

"I'm afraid not, little Miranda. Times up."

Then he dove forward and slammed the knife into her stomach.

I lurched in the closet, every inch of me wanting to run to her and save her but my instinct to survive made me silent and still, watching in aghast horror as they stabbed her everywhere, in her chest, abdomen, face, everywhere as she thrashed and writhed, trying to avoid their sharp blades.

After a few minutes of agony, I thought I was going to go mad watching her. Then, just as I was about to scream and faint, she went still and the constant sickening sounds of stabbing stopped.

"Lets go Tom."

They rushed out of the room but Tom paused by the door and looked over at me. A small sadistic smile turned his lips up as he whispered,

"One debt is paid. I will come back eventually for the other."

Then he closed the door and vanished, leaving nothing but the smell of blood and death behind him. I shivered and stared forward unseeingly. Mom was just playing dead so they would leave her alone right?

After five minutes of ghostly silence, I slowly raised my quivering weak hands to push open the closet doors. When I tried to speak my voice caught and I felt sick.

"Mommy..."

When she didn't move I crawled over to her side. The scent of blood made me want to gag as I touched her cool bloody cheek.

"Mommy you can wake up now they are gone."

When she didnt respond my heart skipped a beat. Why was she not waking up? I nudged her side, ignoring the fact I was getting blood all over me.

"Mommy common you gotta wake up..."

Tears started to fall as she was unresponsive to my desperate touch. I pulled off my hoodie and placed it on her chest and abdomen, where the blood had stopped flowing. I held it against her and whispered to her,

"You kinda got your shirt dirty, Mommy. Don't worry, I can clean it up while you sleep."

I jumped up and told her firmly,

"Don't move."

I ran to the bathroom and got a wet wash cloth to clean up her face. This should wake her up.

I ran back and she hadn't moved an inch, her face still deathly pale.

I dropped to my knees beside her and lightly dabbed and wiped at her cheek, washing away the clotted blood. Once she was clean I sat down beside her.

"Ya know its not so good to sleep on the floor. Makes your back ache ya told me. Common, lets get you to bed."

I tried to make her sit up but she just fell back down again. Tears started to fall and I sobbed,

"Mommy why wont you move? Why wont you wake up?"

I sobbed harder and harsh gasps made my body shake. My knees gave out and I slouched to the blood soaked carpet beside her. I weeped and held her ice cold hand to my cheek and rocked back and forth.

My throat was hoarse and my eyes were swollen shut when I finally was all dried up. I laid down next to her and slipped my tiny arms around her,

"Don't worry Mommy, I will stay here while you sleep don't worry."

Thats where my Dad found me hours later, cradling my dead mother as I sobbed for all we had lost.

A few tears fell as I stared at that spot on the floor where my mom, the most precious sweet person in my life, had died.

I laughed sadly and wiped away the few tears. Mom wouldn't have liked to see my cry. She would have wanted me to be happy.

The unpleasant haunting memories began to overwhelm so I left my room, closing the door softly behind me.

~~~~~~~~

In the kitchen I rummaged through the cabinets and found they were all empty. Then in a small drawer I found a small brass key wedged against the edge. I pocketed it and continued to wander.

In the dining room I saw a small polished wooden cabinet. When I tried to open it it wouldn't budge. Then I noticed a small lock on the corner. I fished out the tiny brass key and it fit perfectly, making the cabinet doors swing open. My eyes widened when I saw bottles of alcohol and champagne.

"Score."

I fished out a fancy bottle of champagne and popped it open. The fizzy smell tickled my nostrils and I grinned. This was the good stuff.

I remembered my mom talking about how she couldn't wait for me to be an adult so we could sit around in a backyard sipping wine while kids ran around and played.

I poured myself a glass of the champagne and set it down as I pulled a bag of salt and vinegar chips and a small red velvet cupcake out of my bag.

I raised my glass as a cheers,

"Love you Mom."

I tipped back my glass and drained it. The taste was absolutely divine. Next thing I knew, I was well on my way through a second bottle of champagne and my head was starting to get fuzzy. Just as I took another sip a different voice came from the front of the house,

"Ri?"

I grinned widely when I saw Mr. Muscles round the corner,

"Mr. Muscles! Its been sooooo long!"

I tried to stand up from where I had been leaning against the wall but the world lurched under my feet so I sat back down again, giggling and hiccuping.

Mr. Muscles rolled his eyes, huffing in annoyance.

"How do you end up in these situations, idiot?"

I paused thoughtfully. When I opened my mouth to say something Mr. Muscles cut me off,

"Don't answer that."

He walked towards me and scooped me up in his arms, making me laugh in surprise and my stomach dip.

"Woah Mr. Muscles use your muscles and make the world stop jumping around!"

He rolled his eyes and held me closer to his chest. Wow did he have a nice chest. He stiffened when he buried my face in his chest and murmured,

"You smell really good..."

He laughed nervously,

"Please keep all hands inside the ride at all times."

I screamed and thrashed in his grip,

"I don't wanna put my arm in yours! Psychopath!"

Mr. Muscles rolled his eyes and finally made it to his car. He slid me into the passengers seat and smoothed my hair with a large hand. He whispered softly,

"Just wait a second and I'm gonna get you home."

I leaned my head into his hand and murmured sleepily,

"Thats creepy. You know where I live stalker..."

He smiled and gave a little chuckle before closing the car door with a slam. I sighed and curled around my bottle of champagne that Mr. Muscles forgot to take away. When he got in the car he plucked it away gingerly,

"Aaaand thats enough of that."

I whined and weakly tried to grab it back. When he threw it in the back seat I pouted and sat back in my seat. He looked over at me and groaned quietly,

"Stop doing that."

I frowned in confusion. Stop doing what? He was looking down at my lips and his eyes had turned darker. I stopped pouting and he still watched. Then, he jumped and focused on the road.

"How did you find me Mr. Muscles?"

"I have a tracker in your phone."

"Thats creepy."

He shrugged,

"Keeps you safe. Why did you run, Ri?"

I frowned and poked his shoulder,

"You cant call me Ri. Only Jake can call me Ri."

Mr. Muscles rolled his eyes as he sped up.

"Ok fine then, Adriana. From the last time we met did you get anywhere with the guy you said you loved?"

I frowned hard and felt a fresh wave of pain cut through my blissful haze of alcohol. I whispered,

"He is with someone else. There is nothing I can do now."

Mr. Muscles frowned,

"He doesn't know how you feel? Why wouldn't you tell him?"

I glared at him,

"Do you have that kind of courage?"

He sighed and tapped his steering wheel. My eyes strayed to his bulging arms that twitched whenever he tapped the wheel. His tight black t-shirt showed his muscular torso. I was so distracted I didn't hear what he said.

I blurted,

"Sorry what?"

Mr. Muscles frowned,

"I said I have someone I like too but they don't know it."

See ha! He wasn't much better than me! Sudden curiosity swept through me and I eagerly asked,

"Whats she like?"

A small blush bloomed on his cheeks as he hesitantly replied with,

"She is beautiful, she is intelligent, she is the kindest, sweetest, innocent, caring, loving, adorable, amazing girl I have ever met. Absolutely selfless and bold, but also slightly soft and insecure that makes me want to love her even more."

I cradled my cheek in my hand and grinned,

"Sounds like you really love her... Shes so lucky."

He shook his head,

"She doesn't love me. I screwed it up, I let her think I love someone else when I don't. I don't think she ever loved me actually..."

He seemed so sad and unsure that when an idea popped into my head I clapped my hands triumphantly.