All Gloves Are Off - A Haunting of Hill House Fanfiction

Chapter 1

Hill House - 1992

"Theo...Theo, what's happening? I see something down here. Theo, HELP!" a young Luke Crain cried from the basement of Hill House. Whilst playing in the numerous rooms, Luke and Nell had discovered that the elevator in the kitchen connected to other spaces in the house. This evening Theo had found Luke attempting to operate the elevator from the kitchen and after persistent begging from him, she had decided to assist him in discovering if the elevator could, in fact, take him to a different room. Luke eagerly climbed into the elevator and Theo began to send him up, however, the controls sent him into the basement that the Crain family weren't even aware existed. Luke did not stop screaming the whole time he was stuck in the basement. Hugh and Olivia entered the kitchen filled with worry. Dread poured into Theo as she prepared to be blamed for the ordeal but before too long, Hugh and Olivia had demanded she leave the kitchen and she was stuck with the guilt of what she had done to her little brother.

~

Theo's House – Present Day

It had been a long day at work, as it always was. Theo opened the door to her home, making sure to avoid Shirley on the porch opposite to her. She didn't want to talk about work today. As a therapist for children, Theo had heard and witnessed struggles that no young person should ever have to go through. Today was no exception. A 10-year-old boy had come in to see her with feelings of anxiety. He had recently been put into the foster system after being physically abused by his father for the entirety of his life. The boy smiled though constantly tremored, he winced when Theo placed her gloved hand on his shoulder, but he still managed to maintain a warmness about him. Thoughts ran through Theo's mind about how anyone could harm a child, given she has dedicated her life to helping them, even attaining a Ph.D. in her profession. Seeing how positive the boy had remained after the horrors he had been put through had forced Theo to rethink the way that she had viewed her life.

Although she never had a normal childhood, it was nothing compared to the hell some kids had been put through. She was loved by her parents and had a relationship with her siblings up until Steven had released the book surrounding their time living in Hill House. Though Theo was not fond of the way in which Steven had written about events, she was fond of the $15,000 in royalties that were offered to her. She would never tell Shirley that she had taken the money, it was all about the principle for Shirl. Unbeknownst to her, Kevin, her husband had taken the money to keep their business afloat. Shirley had a habit of letting her emotions get in the way of financial needs. Working in a mortuary isn't something that Theo would be able to do, living next to one was difficult enough.

Theo hadn't had a proper relationship with anyone in her family for a long time. However, seeing Shirley was inevitable. Luke was in and out of rehabilitation for heroin addiction and Theo was fed up with being involved when Luke didn't want the help. Occasionally she would think back to the elevator incident and blame herself. Maybe if that hadn't occurred he wouldn't have so many issues that he needed to drown with substance abuse. They all had their own problems; Theo's problem was drinking. After a long day at work, she would go to a bar and bring home a woman for casual sex. She had no desire to become attached, after all, they would eventually start wondering about her gloves and there was only so long she could use the excuse of being a germaphobe.

Theo let out an extended sigh before throwing her brown, leather satchel onto the floor beside her beaten up sofa. She proceeded to remove her coat and place it gently onto the coat rack by her door. Although her day had been tedious and upsetting, to say the least, she was aware that sleep was not an option as she remained unsettled. Furrowing her eyebrows and glancing over to her satchel, she considered the option of reading through her work files and writing reports on her patients. She shook her head at the thought, instead, showering and changing into her usual bar attire.