The House That Tells Secrets.

CHAPTER 1; The bloodied girl.

MINNIE MCINTYRE-- 2009--

I enjoyed sleepovers at my friends house, well, up until the point they begin to yawn that is.

"We will stay awake all night, just talk and tell ghost stories." My friend Carrie promises at the school lunch table. Carrie is by far the prettiest girl in school. Her hair finely pulled back and tied in to a long flowing Platt that falls down to just below her jeans. I throw her a ' you said that before' type glare. "I promise this time. Last time, I was tired ok. It will be different this time." Carrie promises. I slowly stir my spoon in the thick, porridge like mash potato and ponder whether to except this offer.

"I don't know. every time I come to yours you always fall asleep and I'm sat awake staring at the ceiling." I answer, not looking up from my splodge of mash potato.

"You could try counting sheep." Carrie requests.

"Tried that, didn't work" I answer.

"Well that doesn't matter because I'm not going to fall asleep this time anyway." Carrie says. "Come on Minnie, We can have such a ball." She continues. I turn and look her in the eye. Her head tilted to the left and her eyes all sparkly.

"Fine." I say, rolling my eyes. Carrie claps her hands and throws her head side to side.

"You wont regret it." She says, standing up and grabbing her tray. I again throw her the ' you said that before too' Glare. Grabbing my tray to we both walk up to the dustbin, slide the food in to it and throw the tray to the swats who volunteer to wash them and skip of to class.

At the end of the school day, we both sit outside the school gates and wait for Carrie's dad to pick her up. A car bibs over to us. Running into it we jump in to the back.

"Oh hello Minnie, didn't know you was coming." Arnold, Carrie's dad says.

"Don't worry dad, I rang mum earlier today, she's cool with it." Carrie announces.

"Well that was before--" Arnold says, stopping to turn around a corner.

"Before what?" Carrie asks.

"Our house has flooded. The rain storms we keep having has finally taken its toll on our one hundred year old plumbing." Arnold announces.

"So where the fuck are we meant to stay." Carrie hollows from the back seat.

"HEY!" Arnold shouts back, looking through the tiny mirror at Carrie, scorning her for her swearing. Carrie huffs and throws her head to the side and looks out of the window, knowing she was in the wrong. "To answer your question, we'll be sleeping at house 426 tonight." Arnold announces. Carrie scrunches her face together and looks at her dad.

"Where?" She says, her face staying scrunched up.

"It's a house I bought today." Arnold answers. He is a wealthy man through buying, redecorating and selling houses. "Kind of a dump but it will do for tonight. That ok with you Minnie?" He asks me, looking through the tiny mirror again, this time to me. I nod my head, anything is better than the council flat I live in with three bratty brothers, but for Carrie who is used to a lavish lifestyle in her five bed roomed house in the coxwalds, this is a huge letdown.

After a lengthy drive we pull up outside two huge black gates. Looking out the window and past the gates, I see the house.

"What do you think?" Arnold asks.

"Really spooky looking." I answer.

"Looks like something you would see in a Dracula movie." Carrie utters.

"Come on honey, it isn't that bad." Arnold replies. The fact is, Carrie is right. The house leans on a small, narrow hill, all dark, even though the day is really bright. A little bit leaning to the left, like the earth is crumbling away beneath it. A three story house, each floor also tilted. Trees all bare and skinny outside.

"Look on the bright side Carrie, we will have fun telling ghost stories in this place." I joke. Carrie just blanks me and storms to the black gates. Pushing them open, they creak so piercingly. Followed by her dad and they both trot on up the hill to the house. I'm beginning to wish I didn't come here now. I slowly follow on, shutting the creaking gates behind me.

Later that night, I sit with the rest of the Clarkson's eating supper. The entire house is full of empty boxes. Arnold digs in to his stew on the end of the table, gravy dripping down his lip. Mrs. Clarkson, Brenda is sitting next to him. Eating hers much more lady like. Raising the spoon up to her mouth and slurping it, her other hand underneath it to catch any dripping gravy. Carrie is sat next to her mum, leant a bit to the left, resting on her prodded up elbow. Scrapping the bowl with her spoon, still kind of miffed to have been forced to stay here. I sit opposite Carrie, dipping bread in to my bowl of stew.

"I have made you up a bed on the floor of Carrie's bedroom out of cushions Minnie, I hope that's ok." Brenda says me.

"Yes that's ok." I answer.

"Lets get one thing straight ok, it is not my room, this isn't my house. Got it." Carrie rages, sliding her food in to the middle of the table and storming of upstairs.

After finishing my food, I go on up stairs and jump on to my make shift bed. Getting out my phone I update my face book.

JUST ENJOYING THE NIGHT WITH MY GIRL CARRIE ;) I'L CHAT TO YOU FACEFOOKERS TMW. XX

I put. Turning my phone of and sitting up, hearing Carrie come out of the bathroom, I cross my legs and get prepared for a whole night of chattering. Carrie walks in to the room, wearing silk purple pyjamas.

"So what do you want to talk about?" I say, resting a pillow on my lap.

"Not in the mood. I need some shut eye." She answers, still in a stinking mood.

"What. You said today that--" I say.

"NO! What I said was we will be having a all nighter in my house. This is not my house. Therefore I sleep." Carrie answers, throwing her self under the covers.

"I cant believe this." I hollow. Throwing my pillow to show my rage.

"I'm not staying up all night talking. What is your problem about sleeping at sleepovers anyway. It has the word "sleep" in it." Carrie argues, pulling down her eye patches and laying down. I throw my self back on to my pillows in a huge huff and begin to do what I do every night I sleep over at the Clarkson's and stare at the roof.

Twenty minutes later, Carrie is snoring away and I'm still laid in the same place, fiddling about with my hair clip. lifting myself up and gasp in boredom. Looking over to see if Carrie is fully asleep, I feel the urge for the toilet. I stumbled out of the bedroom and plopped of to the bathroom.

I walked into the bathroom and flicked on the lights, and that's when a shocking sight hit me like razor blades. Blood stains spilled over the edges of the bath. Inside the bath lays a little girl lay sprawled, her whole body covered in blood. Her eyes were filled with bloody tears, and she was crying out, over and over again: "Help me...help me..." She keeps trying to get up, but a unseen force keeps pushing her down. She doesn't seem to realise I'm of a sudden, I jerk awake from what seemed to be a dream. The threads of the dream still persistent in my memory. Then again my bladder was calling for relief. I didn't want to use the bathroom, but when you have to go you have to go. I zombie-walked to the bathroom, shockingly really tired. Rubbing my tired eyes to guard them from the light, they don't feel so right. My hands were like ice block, no surprise as this house has no central heating. I also could feel something warm slowly sliding down my fingers. Blood? or maybe it was just sweat from my dream. Getting to the bathroom, I head straight to the mirror. I stood up and looked in the mirror. My eyes were tightly closed together as I tightened them because of the light, but there was no blood. Then a hideous idea hit me and I turned to the was the girl, this time fully aware of my presence and staring at me. Blood decorated her face like gruesome war paint, and her mouth was moving -- was she singing? Was she telling me something? I couldn't own lips begin to widen as I tried to form a scream. But before I could scream, I blacked out. I am awaken by a shaking of my shoulder.

"Minnie, Minnie." A voice says, slowly opening my eyes, I see Carries worried face looking down on me. A slight tear in her eye.

"Carrie." I says, shooting up and looking at the bath tub and see…. Nothing, absolutely nothing.

"Where's the--" I quickly stop myself, knowing I will sound crazy.

"You scared me half to death." Carrie says, throwing her arms around me. "Come on." She says, helping me up. "We are going to stay awake all night now, I promise." She continues, guilt in her voice.

"I'd rather just sleep." I answer.

"Whatever you want babes, you can sleep in my bed with me." She says. In bed, I lay down and stare at the roof, just like I did before, but this time it is out of fear. Fear of seeing that girls face looking at me, as it does every time I attempt to sleep.

As the morning birds tweet, Carrie begins to stir. I quickly roll over and pretend to do the same. I feel Carrie sit up, having a good old stretch and yawn. I act as if I just woke up to and roll over and face her.

"What time is it?" I ask, rubbing my eyes as part of the charade.

"About seven thirty. How are you today?" Carrie asks, stroking my head.

"Oh fine. That little slip I had last night, I almost forgot it." I answer.

"Is that what it was then, a slip. I don't know how long you had been there, I just got up to go to toilet and there you was, laying on the floor." Carrie explains.

"I promise you girl, it was just a slip." I reassure, believe it my self almost.

"Well, wait until I tell my dad. He will hand this house straight over to the person who sold it him." Carrie says, shooting herself out of the covers and shooting to the door. "DADDY!" She squeals as she walks down the hall. I follow in pursuit, a lot slower than her though. Getting to the bathroom, I stop and look upon the closed door. Battered and on the verge of falling apart. I turn and walk away, but a feeling inside me just wont go away, a feeling to check inside.

"I swear dad she was close to death when I found her." I hear Carrie saying down the hall, stretching the truth.