Insane

•Chapter 1: Old Memories•

The room was cold, making the floor tiles untouchable. My eyes trailed along the room, noticing the white walls; the color which calmed anyone who remained there. My arms were stiff, barely able to move. I hung my head low, looking at my clothing. The silence was broken by the sound of the metal door being opened. The creak made my teeth grate.

"Hello Ms. Freyman." A distinguished voiced echoed from the entrance. I hear him jangling his keys in his pocket. "Those irritate me you know." I mumble as I try to catch a glimpse of him from the corner of my eye. "I'm sorry? What?" He holds his clipboard firmly with both hands up to his chest. "The keys." My voice sounding gruff. His eyes shift to his pocket and he takes a seat next to me. "I'm terribly sorry about that." His British accent almost makes the sentence sound genuine. "May I ask why?"

I let out a heavy sigh, emptying my lungs. "Bad memories." I whispered the words so quietly, they almost didn't leave my mouth. "Really? Can you explain?"

"There would be too much to explain." I crank my neck upward to him, my sudden shift causes him to stare at the ground to avoid eye contact. "And besides, I'm sure you wouldn't believe me anyways." His timid attitude brings a slight smirk to my face. His eyes begin to circle the white floor, "No ma'am, I wouldn't consider you to be a liar."

I studied his face, such a handsome face. He looked much older than me but his shy persona tells me otherwise. The man remained silent, as if waiting for a reply. I clear my throat, "There were these things- odd things that kept happening."

"Like what Ms. Freyman?" The man directs his eyes from the floor to his clipboard as he pushes up the dark frames which border his green eyes.

"I can't tell you that without explaining the full story..." The confident smile that I had acquired from his timid personality had started to fade. My brown eyes turning into deep, murky water with no meaning. I start to feel the strands of hair that laid on my face, which were irrelevant to my senses before. My breathing slows, and I feel the warm air blowing out of my nose. And I begin to remember when it all began...

~

I turned the cold knob which connected to the rustic wooden door. My modern stiletto boots feel outcasted by the sight of the vintage furniture covered in white sheets. My steps sound heavy against the outdated wooden floor. I take my first deep breath in my new house, making sure to take in the layers of dust and old perfume.

"How are we liking it?" Says Alice. Alice has been the closest friend to me since the beginning of high school, and now that we've both gotten our degrees, it was time to settle down. And what better person to do it with than my best friend.

"I'm thinking that it needs some updates but the house is ginormous!" I say twirling around with my eyes gazing at the high ceilings. "I know, it was a steal!" She says while setting down two boxes near the door. "I can't believe they moved out so quickly though..." I say as my mind recalls when I received an email of the house listing.

It was late at night, I was still reading my old forensic textbooks to refresh on old times and I received an email. As I opened it, they made it specifically clear that the price had gone down tremendously and that it was fully furnished. I took a chance and scrolled through the photos of the house. As soon as you walk in you see a flight of stairs and to your left is an open room which leads to the kitchen, then to your right there's a large open area which holds a tea room. Upstairs held an open floor plan with six rooms, three on each sides of the house. The views of the house were breathtaking and considering that London isn't the cheapest place in the world, this was a bargain worth taking.

My mind comes back to me and I ask, "What are we going to do with all these rooms?" I decide to walk up and take a glimpse at the bedrooms. Going left, I reach for the door knob. My hand firmly grips the knob and even rattles it. "These doors are...locked?" I say looking down from the railing.

"Yeah, I thought you knew. The owners grandson is coming by to drop off the keys from each room."

"You're kidding." I puff out a quick jolt of air and give up on the door. "And what about Chris? Is he gonna bring Ella and Rocky?" Chris is Alice's boyfriend, they've been together since 8th grade and quite frankly they will never not be together. Ella and Rocky are two Siberian Huskies, siblings, who we adopted when we first moved here. Rocky is mine and Ella is Alice's.

As I make my way down the stairs I see Alice on the floor already opening a box. She lifts her head at the sound of my question and tucks her chocolate brown hair behind her ear. "Yeah he's gonna bring them. I'm gonna ask him to bring us some food while he's on his way."
"Yes! Takeout sounds amazing!" I say gliding my way into the kitchen. The outdated but still fully functional kitchen came stocked with plates, cups, utensils, even expensive glassware. I looked through each cabinet, only to find shiny, silver plated forks and knives. Slamming each closed as I move on to the next, I catch my eye on something. A baby spoon. "Annalise?" My thumb rubs over the personalized purple name on the orange rubber handle.

A strangled sound came from the doorbell. As if, it needed a change of batteries. "I'll get it." Alice's voice says from the door. I quicken my pace and finally reach the door. I stood behind Alice and she allowed the door to welcome the guest outside. "Good afternoon ladies. I'm Henry, the owners grandson. I'm here to deliver your keys." His voice was so intriguing. It was rough yet gentle, he licked his lips after speaking a few words. His lips. Oh his lips. They let words spill so easily.

"Um- miss? Please take the keys." He lets out a chuckle. "Oh my goodness," I say quickly shaking my head, "I'm so sorry." He places the keys in my hand, "Great to meet you both, please enjoy your new house ladies." My eyes trail to his smile. Before he turns away, he gives me a quick wink and makes his way down our porch steps. I admire the back of his blue long sleeve sweater that complimented his wide back. I break my contact and shut the door. Alice sat herself on the steps and hung her mouth wide open.

"I know you're not gonna let this opportunity go, Scarlett. You've avoided dating your entire life to focus on your career... it's now time to get out there" My nose scrunches at the sound of her words. Dating has always been categorized as a distraction for me and I feel like I need someone to prove me otherwise. "Alice, I'm never going to see him-" I stop mid-sentence and give myself the proper time to examine the keys in my hand. They were long and thin, giving a close resemblance to old, worn fingers. "7 keys?"
"Seven?" Alice sits up and walks over to me
"There are only six bedrooms in the house. What would this seventh one open?"
"I'm not sure but we'll see, this is our house now remember." She says backing up with open arms, taking in the size of the room.
"I guess you can say that..."