Insane

•Chapter 7: Findings •

A wet tongue smothers my nose. I immediately break away from my sleep and wipe my nose clean with my wrist. I scrunch my button nose as I stare at my Rocky. Memories from last night start to flood my mind and I quickly look at the fireplace. My throat closes up and my legs push me further and further away till my back bangs against the wall. I pull my knees up to my chest and swallow hard to get rid of this tightening sensation affecting my throat. My eyes get lost in the black ashes and remaining pieces of wood. Rocky takes a few steps towards to dead fire. His nose begins to push through the ashes and he uncovers a white object that gleams through the darkness of the black ashes. "Wait, what the hell?" I crawl slowly towards the intriguing white oddity. My fingers lightly brush the surrounding ash and pick up the little tag. "A.B?" When I read the tag I immediately remembered when I saw it hanging on the dolls hand. I flipped the tag over to read the word, "Annalise." I reread that name over and over again. I drop the tag on the floor and sprint over to the kitchen. I open the drawer, revealing the metal baby spoon that I had seen the first day in the house. "What does this mean?" I whisper to myself.

"Is that you?" Alice's voice echos from the top story. I blink hard and reply. "Yes- uh, yes I'm up." My hand throws the spoon in the drawer and I slam it shut. Alice's bright face peeks through the kitchen. "Hey..." she bites her lip, "Is everything ok? I came home to you passed out on the floor." I pass my hands over my face, pushing back my hair. "Yeah. I'm just stressed. That's all." I sniff in and make my way out of the kitchen.

Alice grabs my arm, "Scarlett!" She catches my attention and I widen my eyes. "You're not acting like yourself ever since the first night in this house."
I quickly pull my arm out of her grip. "You think I don't know that?! Things are happening Alice! Things are going on and I'm the only one who sees them! Tell me how I'm supposed to explain that to anyone?!" My loud reply left her speechless. She lowered her arm and closed her mouth. I give her a cold stare and move towards the stairs. I was itching to get out of this dress and into something more comfortable.

Halfway towards the stairs Alice responds in a low voice, "Scarlett." I turn around and see that she sadness painted on each aspect of her gorgeous face. "You're probably seeing things because you're nervous. This is very likely..." She begins to talk in her Psychiatrist voice. "Alice," I sigh. "Nervous for what?"
"Your new job, you start in a few days remember? It's taking a toll on you dear."
"Holy shit! My job!"
I give into her little assumption. "You know what, I think you're right. I'm definitely on edge because of the nerves."
She puts on a smile, "See! I knew I didn't get a Psychology degree for nothing ! You're going to be fine." She pulls me into a tight hug and she rubs my back with her hand. I close my eyes and really feel the hug as it's the one thing that has calmed me. She pulls away from me and we continue our way up the stairs. I grabbed a change of clothes and realized that I haven't eaten since last night.

I decide to take a quick shower then eat. I turn off the water and step out of the shower. My feet leaving tiny puddles of water on the white tile. My hand grips the towel and wraps it around me while I squeeze the remaining water out of my hair. My steps continue to the vanity. I meet with the fogged mirror. My hand glides through the mirror, making a clear swipe between two pieces of fog. I stare at my face, how it's changed dramatically since we've arrived. My eyes have red circles around them and the veins have become more prominent. I take both of my hands and rub them over my sore eyes. The stiff pull of my hands stretch the skin around my eyes. I let out a sigh and place my hand on the mirror, leaning on it. "Get it together Scarlett."
I drag my hand down leaving a trail of my long fingers on the mirror. I get dressed and shuffle down the stairs.

I reach the fourth step at the bottom and it gives off a loud creak. A creak that I have never heard before on my many trips up and down these stairs. I retract my steps and go back to the step, simulating the creak again. My head turns downward to see the step. I crouch to examine what was causing that irritable sound. My eyes catch that the wood is slightly lifted upward. I bang my palm upward on the loosened wood, immediately lifting the board clean off. I throw the board to the right and bring my attention back to the opened compartment. A box. It looked like a jewelry box, a porcelain jewelry box. I pull it up and out from the stairs.

I opened the latch and pulled the lid up, exposing three pictures. "Why wouldn't these be in the book?"
I collect them all and place the box aside. My eyes study the people in these photographs. They were slaves. Slaves who worked for the family in the book. The first photograph showed a woman. I glanced at her clothing and her facial expression. Then I move onto the second photo. This one depicted a man, both looked so serious. My fingers glide to the third photo and I place the second one behind the first in the pile. "Oh my gosh!" My eyebrows frown and I cover my mouth. The picture held the couple hanging from a tree. I am left speechless. "Wait..." I go to a window that showed our enormous backyard.
"It's the same tree."

"Oh my gosh..." I hold up the picture against the window to see the event that took there many years ago. My heart begins to feel heavy, I take the pictures and stuff them all back in the box. Alice sees me sitting on the floor. "Scarlett?"
I show her the box, "Look at this, look at what's inside."
She grabs the box and sees the contents. She purses her lips, "What else do you expect from an old box like this. Especially from this house."
"That's it?!" I say to her. "Do you not care?"
"There's nothing we can do..." she walks around me and sits on the couch.
"What the hell Alice?"
I place the box back in its place and cover it up. "There, good as new!" She smiles from the couch. I reply with a half smile. I get the car keys and drive into town.

If there's anything that I need more, it's to get out of that house.