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𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 : 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐃𝐘 & 𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒

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My darling girl, my beautiful girl. 

It's time for you to wake up.

When I opened my eyes, I was face to face with a paramedic who was giving me a small smile. Pity shone in her eyes and even I knew better than to hope it had all been a dream. A nightmare. But I woke up to tragedy.

Louise Lake's body was no longer hanging from the chandelier of her room. Instead, I caught the last glimpses of her body in a black bag being rolled out of the room on a gurney by two paramedics in matching navy outfits. 

The white men carried your father out and now the blue men take your mother. Which was worse? Which will hurt the most?

The woman in front of me had kind eyes that were sympathetic, not at all empathetic. The expression on her face was one of sorrow, pitying the young girl for losing her mother. If I had to guess, the woman before me still had both her parents because she tried to offer me kind words of condolences.

"It's okay, sweetie," she purred as I sat up. She was kneeling in front of me, one hand touching my shoulder. Her hands were warm, she was alive. "What's your name?"

"Blaire," I croaked out, surprised to find my throat so dry. I was even more surprised to find that I unexpectedly calm, my heart beating steady in my chest. You've done this all before. "Blaire Lake."

The woman's head dropped as she sighed, "I'm sorry about your mother, dear. There are some kind officers downstairs who would like to speak to you, if you're up to that?"

"Why are they here?" I asked, finding my voice as she helped me stand. "She--" I swallowed, throat scratchy and raw. "-- she killed herself."

"Just standard precaution, that's all," she assured me. "They have to treat the home as a crime scene, even if it was suicide." She held onto my arm as she steadied me, my legs were weak and my head was beginning to spin again. The room smelled like a specific cleaner, bleach potentially, but something about the room smelled too clean. I couldn't even smell my mother's perfume over the smells the paramedics had brought with them, disrupting the peace. "Would you like to call someone first? Maybe your father or another family member?"

My stomach fell and I reached for the bed, sitting down out of breath. I didn't have any family to contact, there wasn't anyone who would come and help me. I didn't have any aunts or uncles who could talk to the police or even contact the hospital with information, or hell, plan a funeral. That was all on me, I was in charge of everything.

You're all that's left. Everyone's left.

"Honey? Did you hear me?"

I looked up, relieved to find my eyes blurry from tears and not the staggering gray. "Sorry--" I nodded, letting out a shaky breath as I said, "I'm sorry, I don't--" I swallowed thickly, it was harder to speak than I thought. "--my dad is dead and I don't have any other family besides my mom..." I trailed off because what was I supposed to do without her? I was a legal adult so I could live by myself without the issue of foster care but what was I supposed to do with her? I didn't know the first thing about fixing the heater, cleaning out the vents, replacing the special lights in the kitchen. I needed her here, I needed her structure and love, I needed her constant warming presence.

There was a knock at the door and both our heads turned. There were two officers standing awkwardly in the doorway with a detective leading them. The detective was the one who spoke, "Miss Lake? We're here to ask you a few questions, if that's all right?"

I nodded and he approached. He was tall, tan, and had dark hair. I could see the two day old scruff building up across his jaw and cheeks and there was a dull scar across his chin, almost as if a blade had caught him roughly. He wore a nice suit, dark gray with a white undershirt and black tie. His shoes were polished but there were scuffs against the toes and heels, like maybe he had to do some heavy running in them not too long ago.

"I'm detective Mike Ronaldo, here with the county police," he informed me, he had a slight accent. His voice was familiar to me, I just couldn't put where I had heard him before. "I'm terribly sorry for your loss, Miss Lake."

I only nodded back.

"Some of the paramedics downstairs said they recognized your mother, she worked as a nurse at the hospital in town, correct?" he asked, pulling out a small notepad and pen.

I nodded again.

"Was she well liked at her job?"

"Yes."

"Was it just you two living here?" he asked, gesturing to the room.

I nodded again and then it clicked, how I had recognized him. "You were the detective who worked my father's case."

He tapped the end of his pen against his head and he nodded, slowly. "I knew I had seen you somewhere before, was hoping that would've been our first and last encounter."

I folded my hands in my lap as I nodded and said, "Was hoping that I'd wake up and this would all be a dream."

"If only," he muttered before going to his questions. "Did your mother have any enemies?"

Did she? Did she have any enemies like the ones who stalked in the gray? Like the ones who tore my father away from us? The ones who told us lies?

I shook my head. "She was, um, fired from her last job. She worked at the hospital outside town, but everyone loved her there--"

"Except that they fired her," he wrote that down as I nodded and sighed, "Yeah, they did fire her, so I guess they weren't as friendly as I thought."

He motioned to the papers next to me on the bed and said, "Looks like she had everything set up for something like this, do you believe this was premeditated?"

My mouth fell open because I didn't believe she had wanted to do this, not until we had our little talks about dad's history and my future. Mama, you promised never to leave me, why did you leave me here? "She wasn't depressed, I mean, she was sad because we lost my dad a year ago, but, she wasn't sad enough to kill herself--" I shook my head, rubbing my mouth with one hand. "--she was happy, she was a happy person."

"Was she acting strange leading up to her death?"

I stopped myself from shaking my head because she had been weird. Locking herself in her room, angry phone calls, collecting all of that paperwork out of the blue. So, I nodded and said, "Two days ago, she started acting weird, locking herself in her room. She told me last night she had an early shift at the hospital but when I woke up, her car was still in the driveway."

"Had she missed work before?"

I shook my head. "She would always go then find someone to cover her shifts if she needed to leave early. She was never one to miss work, we needed the money."

"And what time did you arrive home today?"

I thought for a moment before saying, "Around three? Three fifteen, maybe?"

When I looked up at him, he was writing down what I had been saying quickly onto the notepad. His handwriting was messy, his letters skinny and sloppy. When he looked up at me, I watched him blink.

Once.

His eyes were black. Empty, soulless, an endless black. The whole eye was glazed over, a shiny tar-like black.

Then he blinked again.

His eyes were brown.

His brows furrowed and he asked with a strange look on his face, "Everything all right, Ms. Lake?"

"Your eyes--"

"What about them?" he rushed out, bringing one hand to his face as if to ask is there something on my face?

I shook my head, my mouth still open and gaping because what the hell did I just see. Your eyes are playing tricks on you, you're exhausted and traumatized and you need to get to the hospital, you need to stay with your mother--

"Sorry," I finally breathed, shaking my head. "Is that all, detective?"

He hummed in response, taping his pen against the pad. "Is there anyone, anyone at all, that you can call? You shouldn't be staying here alone."

I didn't need to think long and hard because her name was already in my head as I said, "Yes, thank you, sir." It was awkward, speaking in a quick voice as I stood, happy to have my legs back to normal, I didn't feel as weak. I was pulling my phone from my pocket as I felt something fall from underneath my shirt. I saw the note hit the ground and I stepped in front of it hastily, Mike Ronaldo did not need to see my mother's eerie suicide note. He didn't need to see that she had left me some twisted, dark letter remarking my soon demise because you're next never meant something good.

"What's that?" he asked from behind me and I picked it up quickly, stuffing it into my pocket as I said quickly, "Uh-nothing--"

He was already walking towards me, holding out his hand and I pulled the envelope from my pocket. I held it out for him to take as I said as calmly as I could, "Thought it was a suicide note but it was empty."

The actual note weighed down in my pocket, it wasn't a good idea to lie to a cop, but was he even a cop to begin with? What made me see those black eyes? 

Black like nothing. Black like darkness. Black like death. 

He only hummed in response, motioning for an officer to his left to take it, "It's evidence for the time being."

I nodded like I understood before backing away from him to pull my phone out.

Pandora arrived only fifteen minutes later as I sat on my front steps. Detective Ronaldo was still in my mother's room, snooping and digging through her personal life for clues as I waited for a phone call from the hospital.

They had taken the body to run an autopsy, just in case her very clear suicide had been a murder. Murder, I laughed to myself. If only. It would make this tragedy make sense, that she didn't actually leave me behind. That she hadn't deliberately stepped up onto that chair and taken her life, condemning herself to the gray world I was just being introduced too. 

All I needed now was the phone call to tell me it was alright to come, to see her body and plan funeral arrangements. How the hell was I supposed to plan a funeral? Did the hospital help arrange it? Would they transport her body or would I have to find someone to do it for me?

Pandora exited her car with a worried expression before she was jogging across the front lawn as I stood. We collided against each other, arms thrown around each other as the tears finally came to my eyes.

Crying in her arms was the easiest thing I had done all afternoon.

~

"What the hell even happened?" Pandora asked once the tears had settled and we were sitting in my living room, the police long gone by then.

"I found her in her bedroom," I told her, rubbing my eyes. "But the night before, the ghost from the tunnel took me into her room and found all these papers, like she was planning on doing this."

"I thought she was happy--"

"I did, too."

Didn't we all?

"Then what changed? I can't imagine that everything just shifted for her so suddenly, how horrible that could be--"

"I think it's my fault," I interrupted her for the second time, leaning back against the couch as I sighed. "I think the idea of me being anything like my father drove her over the edge."

Pandora took my hand, gripping it tightly as she was reassured me, "It's not your fault, you couldn't have known she was going to do this."

"She locked herself in her room after I told her I could see them like my dad did," I whispered, shaking my head pathetically. Your fault, your fault, your fault.

"It's not your fault."

I shook my head again as I buried my face in my hands. "I heard something fall in the middle of the night, it was her, she was just hanging there for hours and, I just, I didn't know!"

"Did she leave you anything to help you understand what she did? Like, why did she do that?" I shook my head but I dug my hand around my pocket for the little note, handing it over. Pandora read over it quickly but her eyes stayed glued to the paper as she whispered, "Blaire, what the hell does this even mean?" When she looked up, her eyes were dark and her brows furrowed tightly. "Is she trying to warn you about something?"

"If she is, then what's she warning me from?" I questioned as she handed the note back. "You're next. Does that mean I'll be next to die soon? Next to leave?"

"Means that whatever got her is going to get you next."

"That could mean anything, especially now," I told her, because I wasn't sure what could be after me. Ghosts? More people with black eyes like the detective? "The detective who talked to me, his eyes were black."

She gave me a puzzled look before saying, "Huh?"

"He blinked and one second his eyes were this pooling black mass and then he blinked again and his eyes were back to normal," I informed her. "It could've been my imagination but considering everything so far--"

"Yeah, no," she choked out a laugh, shaking her head. "Black eyes seem like a totally reasonable thing."

We didn't finish what we were thinking because the doorbell rang and we both suddenly sat up straighter. I didn't have any clue who could've come to the door but as I neared, I could see the figure through the small windows on either side of the doorframe.

I threw the door open with one hand on my hip as I said, "Ace? What are you doing here?"

"This is going to sound creepy, but don't take it that way, okay?" he said, stepping past me and into the house. He gave Pandora a little smile before spinning on his heel and saying, "I was going to come over after school to ask if you've talked to your mom about everything but I saw the ambulances and the cops--"

"You were here?"

"I drove past and I just decided to come back later, I didn't want to intervene with whatever was happening--"

"Her mom just died, asshole, she's not going to answer any of your little questions," Pandora said suddenly from behind me. She came up to my side, glaring at the boy whose face dropped at the news.

"Wow, did I miss something?" I asked, looking between the pair. Pandora's comment had been laced with venom and Ace didn't seemed surprised by the tone.

"We got into a disagreement after school--" Ace started but Pandora finished with, "I heard him blabbering to Blondie that you and me weren't worth the effort the preps were giving."

"I was trying to get them off your backs--"

"Oh, yeah, sure you were."

The pair stared at each other for a hot minute, eyes narrowed and arms crossed. I was thankful my phone broke the silence, ringing back by the couch. It was a number I wasn't familiar with and I prayed it was the hospital and when I answered, my prayers were received.

I hung up a minute later, typing the name of the doctor into my notes before looking back at Pandora and Ace who continued stare daggers at one another. "I have to head to the hospital, meeting with one of the doctors. Pandora, will you--?"

She was already nodding, grabbing her car keys and saying, "Let's head out--"

"Let me come with you two," Ace said, grabbing my arm as I tried to pass by him. He grip was gentle, not at all as threatening as it had been the day before in the printer room. "You shouldn't be doing this alone--"

"I'm not alone," I said just as Pandora snapped back, "She's not alone, I'm with her."

"Please, just let me come and support you, too," he pleaded and Pandora and I looked at each other. "Let me make up for all the creepiness the past couple days." For a moment, I really considered turning him out on his but I stopped myself, nodding.

"Who wants to drive?"

~

The drive to the hospital was awkward, Ace sitting in the small backseat of my truck. I don't know how I was the one chosen to drive but I had foolishly thrown my name into the mix and  now in the driver's seat, I was gripping the wheel so tightly my knuckles were white.

Driving to your mother, driving to her body, driving to her grave.

When we arrived at the hospital, there were still no words being spoken between the three of us. It seemed Ace's attempt at getting Blondie and John off our backs had been much worse than the pair described to me earlier because Pandora pushed past Ace as we got out of the bar and stuck herself by my side as we entered through the main doors and towards the front desk.

The hospital was eerily empty.

The lights were flickering and the halls were dark.

Shouldn't there be more people here? Families of patients? Nurses wandering about?

I made it to the receptionist, standing in front of her desk, tapping my fingers against the sign in sheet. My eyes met a doctor who was pushing an older man in a wheelchair down the hall, some of the only people we'd seen so far. He gave me a slight smile before turning down a different hall. Glad to know it wasn't totally empty and that there were still patients and doctors lurking in the dark room, it eased the nervous shake in my hands.

This was the place she worked. She walked these halls. She helped these people and now she was dead.

The woman at the front desk looked up and gave me an identically tight smile as the doctor did before and said, "How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for--" I pulled my notes up on my phone and frowned as I read the name. "--uh-Dr. Hex?" Ace stifled a laugh behind me and let out a loud cough to cover it up. The name sounded like it came from an old episode of Scooby Doo, someone masquerading as a doctor.

Surprisingly, the woman knew who I was talking about because she smiled and said, "Just a moment." She spun away from me, dialing a number on the large black phone by her desk. "There's a girl here to see you--" She put a hand over the phone, looking at me. "Your name, dear?"

"Blaire Lake."

She gave me a knowing look before speaking into the phone, "Yes, a Blaire Lake is here to see you, sir." She placed the phone down, giving me a gentle smile. "He'll be down in five minutes. For now, can you please just sign your names here?" She pointed to the sign in sheet and under the date of today.

I wrote our names down in a quick scribble, looking over my shoulder to see my two unlikely friends sitting in some of the chairs in the waiting room behind me. Before I could follow their lead and sit down too, the woman at the desk cleared her throat.

I looked back, hand on the counter ready to push away and sit as she said with a strained look in her eyes, "You're Louise's daughter, aren't you?"

I nodded.

She sighed, frowning as she murmured, "I'm so sorry for your loss, dear, your mom was really loved here. Hard worker and was always so nice."

I gave her a tight smile because I didn't know what to say in situations like these. Did I just nod my head and say thank you? Did I ask about my mother, know more about her time here? Would you tell me all her secrets, too? I was thankful for Pandora's voice behind me, "Come on, Red, let's sit and wait."

I gave the woman another smile before retreating back towards the seats. I plopped down between Pandora and Ace, mumbling, "Said the doctor will come down in five minutes."

Ace crossed his arms. "How do these sorts of things work? Like, what do we do if we see the body--"

"Ace," Pandora said firmly, looking past me and at the boy with narrowed eyes.

He held up his hands, mumbling, "Sorry, I just, my uncle did all of this for me when my parents died, so I'm nervous."

"Not the only one," I muttered and Pandora reached over and took my hand. "I'm hoping it'll all be easy, I'll get to see the-uh--" I let out a dull laugh, shaking my head. "--the body and then, I guess, I'll call the funeral home?" I didn't have the first clue at what was going to happen or what I was going to have to do, not even the most exciting hospital dramas on television could've prepared me for this. "I'm thankful that you both are here, even though this definitely isn't what you both probably had planned on a school night."

Ace let out a hollow laugh, shaking his head. "Definitely not my idea of a typical hang out."

Pandora nodded with a small smile, gripping my hand.

"I haven't even been in school for a week and everything is falling apart already," I laughed dryly, shaking my head. 

Everything has fallen apart and you left. You left me.

"You might just be unlucky," Ace responded.

"Really, really unlucky," I murmured under my breath before I heard the sound of shoes hitting the tile floor down the long hallway in front of us. The man who approached us wore a long white overcoat, his name stitched above the pocket. He held a clipboard tightly in his hands, his dark eyes nearly hidden behind the small glasses he wore. "Ah, you must be Blaire."

I stood, holding out my hand as he did his, shaking firmly.

He motioned with his head for us to follow him. "I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your mother," he explained when we arrived at the elevators, waiting patiently for them to arrive. "It must be extremely difficult for you."

I only nodded before asking, "Is there paperwork I need to fill out or something? Nobody really explained what I'm doing here."

Hex gave me a pitying smile. "Yes, not many documents but just a few we need signatures for. We also had to call in the other emergency contact in your mother's files and he's already waiting for us in my office."

Victor Macabre.

The elevator finally arrived with a small ding and the doors opened and all four of us shuffled inside. We stood in a clump, Pandora squeezed in behind Hex as we rode the elevator down. When the doors did finally reopen, she was the first to walk out, pushing Ace and me out of the way. She didn't seem to be a huge fan of confined spaces.

Hex walked us down to what had to have been his office, opening the door for me to go in first. I was instantly hit with the smell of old ivy, a familiar smell outside of old homes and buildings. The doctor's walls were covered in diplomas and awards, along with a few pictures of himself with patients. There were no photographs of family, he seemed to be alone. As my eyes traveled the room, they stopped dead at the man sitting in one of the chairs in front of Hex's desk. When the man turned, giving me a flashy, money winning smirk and my stomach dropped. He stood, sticking his hand out for me to take.

"You must be Blaire," he said in a pleasing tone as he shook my limp hand. He gestured to himself with gusto, still smirking so tightly that it turned his lips up into tight curves, saying, "Victor Macabre, an old friend of your parents."

"I know who you are," I said slowly, taking him in. He wore a black suit with a small white collar, one of a priest. He had dark hair that was graying and his eyes were dark and I urged for them to turn black, for something terrible to happen. Always expecting the worst, little girl, don't you know it's bad to wish for tragedy? 

"You worked with my dad."

He nodded, seeming surprised that I had recognized him. "We met only once during his time with the church--"

"I don't remember that," I said, rushed. I didn't like him. There's something wrong here, something terrible is going to happen because of all this. I narrowed my eyes at him, sniffing the air. He smelled old and evil and his smile was mean.

He nodded slowly, looking between me and Hex who stood behind me in the doorway with my two friends. When he looked back at me, he cleared his throat and said, "I'm the acting funeral director for the church and a working priest there as well." He sounded proud of himself and it made me want to reach out and strangle him. The urge didn't die away as he added, "I'm sure you're familiar with the church, since your father worked there after all."

I nodded, my teeth gritted together. Killer, killer, killer, killer-- "The Clandestine Church, right?"

He nodded. "That's the one!"

That's the only one, you insufferable hag. I bit the inside of my cheek, horrified that I was thinking things like this towards this man. This stranger. 

Hex shuffled behind me, coming to stand next to us as he said, "Here, won't you two please sit? We have just a little business to discuss, as well as papers to sign before I can take you to see your mother's body."

Cold, unmoving, lifeless mom. Frozen and dead for me to see.

"I can see her?" I asked, shocked as I side stepped away from Macabre to sit down in one of the chairs. My friends stayed where they were in the doorway, an extra level of protection.

Hex nodded, pulling out his chair and sitting. "I can run you through the general autopsy, give you the personal items found on her." He looked between us, folding his hands on his desk as he said, "You both were her emergency contacts, therefore I'm sure you'd like to discuss funeral arrangements?"

Macabre nodded, speaking first, "The Clandestine Church has that fully covered, of course. We can have the body transported there for further arrangements--" He looked at me, eyes wavering. "--only if that's alright with you, Ms. Lake?"

I nodded, dumbstruck. "Why are you doing this? I barely even know you--"

"Your mother left me in charge of your finances and, well, you to a point," he informed me, crossing one leg over his knee. He seemed too casual, like this was all normal to him. My mother's body had been found only two hours ago and he seemed perfectly fine with the fact that he was in charge of all of the money in my family, all of the bills, everything. How well did my mom have to know him to allow this? "We discussed it after the death of your father, such a tragic thing. I worked closely with your father, so she trusted me, which I hope you do, too."

I don't.

But, it was better to have his help than do it all on my own.

"Here are just some forms you have to sign," Hex said, directing our attention to his desk as he slid a few files over. I grabbed one of the pens as he explained, "Transportation of the body, death certificates, cost of autopsy and so forth."

Macabre signed them quickly, writing a very stiff V. Macabre on the dotted line. I wrote my name out on the adjacent line, embarrassed to see what my signature looked like next to his. When we finished, Hex took the papers and smiled stiffly, "Now that's taken care of, how about we take a trip down to the morgue?"

"Just us, right?" I asked, looking over at Macabre with a worried glance. I didn't want him following us, I didn't want him anywhere near my mother. 

You and me, always, my love. 

Me and you? We're going to live forever.

"Of course."

Hex stood as the two of us did, awkwardly following one another into the hallway. The two men shook hands before Macabre turned to me and said, "I'll be contacting you in the next few days to discuss the funeral."

"And you're just...taking care of all of it?" I asked, still shocked that the man in front of me was supposed to take care of me and my money. Do you want it? Do you want what's left of my family? What's left of me?

He nodded. "It's what I signed up for, so yes. You'll be safely looked after until you graduate from high school."

I was astonished. I didn't have much to worry about like I thought besides the fact that a stranger was practically babysitting my finances. "I guess we'll be in contact soon?"

He nodded again. "Don't hesitate to come down to the church, we would be happy to see you."

That place will eat you up, that place will kill you.

From next to me, I watched Ace shift in his stance. Eyes narrowing as the man finally turned his back and walked down the hallway. Ace gave me a knowing look of don't trust him, he's bad news and I couldn't help but think the exact same.

"Shall we?"

I almost forgot Hex was standing behind us, waiting for me to follow him down the hallway and towards the morgue. I nodded to him before saying to my friends, "Wait here, I'll try to be quick."

They nodded, looking between each other as I left them. I almost wanted to turn around, to have Pandora take my hand in hers and have her by my side. Don't leave me like she did, don't let me be alone.

I followed Hex down the hall and towards two big double doors. I wasn't surprised that his office was on the same level where they kept the dead bodies, he seemed to be in charge of this department.

He pushed one door open with his shoulder, keeping it open for me to walk through. He flipped the lights on as the door shut loudly behind me, swinging back and forth with a phantom wind. I looked out in front of me, my head moving on a quick swivel that launched me forward. My mouth fell open as everything seemed to fall into the gray trance.

Mama, will you visit me like the others? Will you say goodbye?

Instead of the gray taking over the edges of my sight, it took over everything all at once. Swallowing my eyesight whole, I blinked once and saw color and then blinked again and saw the gray. The world around me was completely gray and Hex stood frozen beside me, mouth parted and waiting to speak, but I couldn't help my eyes wander towards the people that seemed just as surprised to see me as I was to them.

The people stared.

I should correct myself, the dead people stared.

And they were everywhere.

i hate this chapter!!!!!!! hate it!!! you will b catching me rewriting this.

yall....i know i def messed up some of the logistics of like what happens when someone dies so like....if something's wrong....pls kindly help!!! tryna have it as accurate as possible.

vote/comment or dr hex and creepy macabre will get ya