I felt something soft poking my right cheek, making me stir. Opening my eyes, the first thing I saw is my mom, looking down at me with relief.

"M-mom?" I slowly sat up, noticing I'm lying on something soft, I gaze down to see it was a black leather couch.

"What's wrong, dear? Did something happen?" She asks, face full of concern as she graze her hand on my forehead."I came back from shopping furniture with the workers who will fix the house, to find you out cold on the floor."

I looked around the room hesitantly to see men in white uniforms, painting the walls, fixing the broken wooden floor or the windows. They are half way finished.

That's fast, how long have I been out?

Suddenly remembering why I blacked out, I stood up. Ignoring my mother's protests, I proceeded in telling her what I saw in the master's bedroom. Something horrifying and disgusting.

"M-mom, we have to leave. The g-monster owns this house," I stammer, every word that leaves my lips are laced with fear. I waited for her reaction, which was a look of confusion.

"Lucy, what is this 'monster' you're talking about?"

"He looks h-human but he isn't. He h-has black empty eyes, the pupils disappeared. Blood stains his tattered clothes, and he ate those c-crows and pigeons upstairs! Please mom, let's leave this town, we could go to another one anyways!" I rambled in one breath, tugging my mother's arm.

"Now Lucinda, I don't want you making up such wild and horrifying stories." She spoke sternly, hands firmly on her waist. This made tears form in my eyes, some rolled down my cheeks.

Why won't she believe me? Does she not understand what kind of demonic thing I have seen?

"B-but mom, he's real! He's really real! He even s-spoke to me! He—"

"Lucinda, I came back here to see you lying on the floor unconscious. You made me scared, nervous, I didn't know what to feel or do!" She exclaimed. "And now this? No, I won't let your delusions ruin this day. Excuse me." My own mother walked away from me, no other words said.

"He's real, Mom. He wants us to leave. I can't stay here any longer. We can't stay here!" I yelled at her retreating back. I let out a frustrated sigh, rubbing my face on my hands out of anger. When I looked up, a few men stared at me in curiosity, some look at me as if I was insane. Ignoring their rude stares, I went outside and sat on the porch.

I broke down, covering my face with my hands, my tears falling continuously. I just sat there, unable to resist the smell of paint, watching as the sun set on the west, the bright orange sky slowly turned into a dark shade of blue. After a few hours, the newly painted door opened and out came the workers.

"Thank you so much." I heard mom say. I turn to see her shaking hands with who seems to be the leader of the uniformed men, before she gave them cash. I rolled my eyes when she gave him a smile before bidding goodbye. I watch the white truck sped away.

"Are you coming inside?"

I nod, stood up and followed her inside. I scanned the room, the old walls now looking new with the color beige. The furniture placed a few feet away due to the wet paint. "Is the second floor finished too?" I questioned, stating at the fixed windows. The smell of paint only faint. "And where in the world did you get those men to work in our house?"

"No, they said they'll work on it tomorrow, including the kitchen and the backyard. And, I saw their adds on the furniture store. I just have to buy paint, new stuff and all they have to do is do their job in fixing the house. It's expensive, but worth it."

We have a backyard?

I stared at the stairs uneasily, the thought of going upstairs made my skin crawl. There is no way I'm going back there, what I saw was enough for me.

She probably noticed the way I stared at the staircase because she shook her head. "No, we are not sleeping upstairs. It's not yet renovated, we are sleeping here in the living room." I exhaled in total relief. "So, I'll just make dinner. How does cup noodles sound?"

"Delicious." I merely answered, hungry as hell, just the thought of eating noodles seems mouth watering.

"Okay then, I'll make lemonade too." Giggling softly, she headed to the old kitchen while humming a familiar tune.

While waiting for her to be finished, I sat down and waited. I took out a magazine that my mom just bought this morning and read it to pass the time. That is when something landed in front of me, I removed the magazine out of my line of vision and stared at the thing that just fell on the coffee table.

My lips parted in shock when I saw what it was. It was a dead crow. Its head missing, and its heart sticking out of its opened chest. I jumped in alertness, I immediately know that he's around.

My ears began to pick up sounds similar to water rushing. I jump back when I felt something cold and liquid touching my feet. I started screaming, it was blood and I don't know where the hell it came from.

"Mom!" I yelled out, hoping she'd hear me. Blood started to flood the floor, slowly rising up. "Mom! Help!" I screamed once again, as the blood starts to rise quickly, it now reached my knees. I climbed up the leather couch, since it's the most logical thing to do.

The last thing I wanted, is to be drowned by blood. Blood that I didn't even know who belonged to. I blindly try to get the blood away from my body, but it was useless. I gasped when the couch rises up, floating above the thick blood. I screamed when I slipped off, I'm now swimming in blood.

"Lucinda! Stop screaming!" I heard my mom scold behind the closed kitchen door but I'm only focused on getting back on the floating couch.

"Lucinda..." It wasn't my mom this time, it was him. I looked up, trying to wipe the blood off of my face. There he is on the ceiling, blood dripping from his lips and his eyes black as night, bleeding like the last time I saw them.

"What do you want?" I whimpered out in fear. He's laughing wickedly, pissing me off, before he removed himself from the ceiling and dive into the pool of blood. The red liquid starts to go down my throat, making me choke; it has a metallic taste. It's horrible.

"Welcome to Blackwell Mound, love." He smirked wickedly, blood dripping down his eyes, nose and lips.

I am now submerged by the blood, that now reached the ceiling. I try swimming up, searching for the surface, but something grabs my leg, pulling me down. I yelped, look down to see him, dragging me down.

The dirty liquid drowns out my screams and my struggles are futile since I'm drowning. I manage to kick his hand away, my heart beating in triumph and swim to the surface.

Gasping for air, I lift my hand to grab the floating couch that got stuck. That's when the monster rises to the surface and grabs my ankle, trying to drag me towards him.

"Come here." He growls, making me cry aloud. "The devil will always win, my dear, and once he likes you, there's no way he'll let you go again."

He successfully drags me down once again, back to the sea of blood. And this time, he didn't give me a chance to escape again.

I tried to swim up to the surface, I tried to grab something just to pull myself up, but I couldn't. It scared the hell out of me. I felt the blood going down my throat, making me choke again. Black dots soon appeared on my vision. Losing air in my lungs, I fell into a pit of darkness.

"Lucinda...."

M-mom?

"Wake up..."

"Lucinda!" I opened my eyes, the light blinding me for a moment, it made me squint. After adjusting to the light, I open my eyes fully to see my mom in front of me, her eyes transfixed on my face. She is holding a spoon on her left hand, and the other hand is on her hip.

"What is wrong with you? Why did you keep screaming for help? I came here to find you asleep and now here you look like you have seen a ghost."

I slowly sat up, groaning softly, I look around. I noticed I was lying on the floor, and that the room looks tidy. Nothing was out of place, except for the magazine that I read is now lying on the floor. No sign of blood. This made me furious and confused at the same time. Was it a dream? No, it can't be.

"I just left you for a moment, and here you are again!" She exclaims.

"Mom—" I began, but she held up her hand, silencing me.

"Save it, Lucinda. I'll make things clear here. You aren't going anywhere else, this is now your home, if you want to leave and go back to that cheating father of yours, I don't mind. But as long as you're here, you are not going to keep making jokes or pranks to make me think that this place is haunted. And if you do it again, so help me, I'll punish you."

I close my eyes as she continues to ramble, leaning on the edge of the couch. I try to imagine I'm in another place, where everything's perfect, where nothing is haunted, scary, and monsters don't exist. Where he doesn't exist. But a place like that, unfortunately, doesn't exist in this world.

"Stupid, if I have only know..." I heard her mumble under her breath. I opened my eyes, shocked that she called me that word and watch as she walks away, back to the kitchen.

What just happened?

"Dad..." I softly cried, burying my face on my hands. I wish he was here to comfort me right now, to wipe every tear away, to hug me. Why did he have to cheat on mom? Why can't he be faithful like other husbands? I just sat there on the floor, not moving an inch.

I heard something open, a creaking noise echoed around the living room, a gust of cold wind blows into the room. I slowly look up from my hands, to see the one of the windows open. I stood up quickly to close it, when my eyes caught sight of the garden outside.

So that's the backyard she told me about? It's huge.

I decided to go and see it.

I close the window and begin to walk towards the front door to go out of the house and see the garden.

It'll take awhile for the kettle to boil and for her to make lemonade.

I grab the flashlight that is hanging on the coat rack. It was already five in the afternoon and I doubt that I would see the garden clearly in the dark. I don't like to be out for long. Just a quick view of the garden and I'll go back inside. No harm.

But I also don't like to stay inside the house because I know what's just around, waiting to jump out on me again, play with my mind, and I won't give him a chance to scare me for his own pleasure.

So, the best option now for me not to see him is to go out to the garden. I doubt he will come out of his house, after all, books about supernatural and scary stuff says ghosts only stay in only one place.

I hope.