the mansion

we're all sitting in the car 
A red sedan that Mitch borrowed from his mom
The engine still softly growling  

I take a drag from my cigarette while looking over at the mansion

The house looming over us filling my heart with a sense of dread
It's old and abandoned
It's surrounded by a large metal fence not helping the feeling of discomfort it gives me

I can hear Mitch take a deep breath before cutting the engine 
Mitch is nervously tapping the steering wheel
"You know this is breaking and entering right" he speaks after a short pause

"ah don't be such a wuss" Maria says forcing open the car door
"yeah don't be a bitch" I chuckle feeling just as nervous as he does

we get out of the vehicle giving us a better look at the house
It radiates something
A feeling 
Like it wants us to stay out 

I get a nudge in my back snapping me back to reality
I turn around to see Maria skip past me
"hurry up" she teases "we don't have all night"

We slowly open the trunk of the car, each grabbing a bat
I take a last look at the car before we start moving towards the house

We stop at the fence in front of the mansion
"looks pretty easy" Maria says nudging the lock with her bat
The lock is old and rusty and falls apart at touch
Maria has a big gleeful smile on her face as she opens the gate 

"I'm not sure about this" Mitch says clutching his bat close to his chest
Maria playfully nudges mitch with her bat 
"c'mon it's gonna be fun" she says in a playful tone "what's the worse that could happen?"

"hey, don't bully him" I chuckle "If it's all so much fun, you go first" 
"tHeN YoU gO fIRst" Maria replies to me mockingly 
She glides her bat down the gate while walking in, it makes a clanking noise as the bat hits each of the bars 

Mitch still looking visibly nervous as he follows her 
I give one last glance at the car before following them to the house

I look around the garden, It's filled with  both wilted and fresh roses of a variety of colours 
I take a deep breath before tearing my eyes off the odd scenery
"this seems awfully well kept for a house that supposed to be empty" I say nervously
"OOOO so creepy" Maria jokes while nudging mitch 
"please don't" Mitch says visibly tense 

We stop at the front door 
which even though in a slight state of decay, still has a visible and beautiful engraving 
There are roses carved into the mahogany 

Maria gives the door a nudge, which proceeds to fall out of the hinges 

"after you" Maria makes a joking polite gesture to the now open door
I step through the opening, feeling the soft wood of the moldy door beneath my feet
an intense arrays of smells fills my nose, a sweet smell of decaying wood
But there is something off about the smells, I can't quite place it 
The moonlight lights up the rooms just enough for me to see 
I step into a rather large hallway, with a beautiful marble grand staircase
Above me hangs a crystal chandelier, which is filled with years of dust

I slowly keep walking in
My eyes fixated on the marble staircase 
"isn't this..." I slowly glide my finger across one of the steps "oddly clean?" 
Before anyone could respond we hear a loud creaking coming from upstairs

"I told you this was a bad idea" Mitch says, his voice clearly shaking 
"It's probably nothing" Maria says nudging Mitch with her bat
"I think we should-" Before I can finish my sentence Maria is already walking up the stairs

"c'mon" she yells down to us "this is the fun part"
Mitch Tenses up like he's ready to run away at any second 
"just stay here we'll check it out" I say in a reassuring tone