I finally got to move out of my dinky, dingy, and crowded apartment. I FINALLY got to afford a house. I knew working hard would pay off. The house was surprisingly cheap. Apparently it was haunted, or some crap. I knew it was wrong. Only idiots would turn down such an offer.
And plus, I didn’t have ANY furniture except a mattress, cause I didn’t need a bedframe, a worn out couch from my grandmother, an old tv that only could use DVD, and a fridge. I only had a couple of clothes as well. I didn’t need a moving truck. I stuffed all my stuff in the trunk. Moving day, Kelsey, I had thought excitedly. I checked the time. 4:47 PM. Perfect. I turned the keys and followed the commands from GPS on my phone.
After a few turns and stoplights, “You have arrived at your destination” was sounded. I turned off my cell phone, tucked it into my pocket, and smiled. It was the exact same as the picture. Yellow paint, navy roof, and two stories. I whipped my phone out and touched the contact labeled Mom. I mumbled as I texted:
Kelsey: Hey Mom. I arrived. The house is GORGEOUS! Can you come and help me move my stuff?
5:58
Mom: OMG, honey! So proud. Yeah, I’m coming. See you in around 5 mins.
5:59
After some time, I saw the gray Toyota arrived. “Hey, Honey!” I grinned. “Hey mom. Isn’t it beautiful?” She gasped. “OMG, how the hell is it so beautiful?” “I know, right! Now, your girl has to sleep tonight, ya know!” She laughed. “Let’s start with the couch.” One by one, we moved each item. We put the couch in the big room, the mattress in one of the rooms upstairs, the tv with the couch, and the clothes in the closet with the mattress, plus the fridge in the kitchen.
“Bye sweetie,” she exclaimed as she was leaving. “Should I bring you some food?” “No need mom, I’ll get groceries,” I responded. “Ok, whatever you need, call me!” “Yup, bye!” I went back into my car and got a pack of soup cans. When I came back home, I saw a package at the door. Huh. Weird. I didn’t order anything. I picked up the package and squinted at the label. I glanced the address. That was correct. That debunked my theory of wrong delivery. I then saw the name. Amanda Kelley. Hmm. Must have been the previous owner. I looked up my address. I saw a bunch of ghost crap. Then I found the Craigslist link. I read the vague description.
4 Bathrooms.
2 Stories. 2 Bedrooms.
My eyes moved to the next line.
Original Owner: Amanda Kelley
Ah. That’s why. Wait.
Original Owner: The Deceased Amanda Kelley
What the HELL?
My eyes raced onto the package. The name echoed in my head. Amanda Kelley. Amanda Kelley. Amanda Kelley. I breathed. Might as well open it. I breathed rapidly and my heart was pumping fast. I peeled the worn out tape. Inside was a… DVD? I ran in, and tripped. I didn’t care about the bruise on my kneecap, I needed to see what was in here. I pulled the tray out of the DVD player strongly and threw the DVD in. I slammed the tray back in place and pressed the play button.
I saw a dark room with a small lamp in the corner. The wallpaper had yellow and blue cornflowers printed upon it and the background behind them was striped green, one darker than the other. It was peeling and old: And even with the dim lamp, I could see a terrifying… thing. It was shaped like a human, except it was completely black from head to toe, except for a terrifying, white, eerily wide smile on it’s head. A strange golden necklace that had a teardrop shaped green stone hung.
I screamed. I ran to the DVD player and clicked off. Tears trickled down my face. I took my phone and called my mom. “Hey, Sweetie!” “M-mom,” I stammered between sniffles and tears, “I’m staying at your place tonight, no questions asked. “Why? Wait, are you cry-“ I hung up and ran out. I ran to my car and drove as quickly as I could. I didn’t stop to wipe my tears. I silently let the tears roll down my cheek. I just needed to get out of this crazy, stupid place. I stopped in front of the green sign that said “Bloomsberg Apartments, a home for everyone.” I parked my car hastily, ran out, locked it, and raced to the lobby. I gave just slammed my visitor card on the counter, took it back, and sprinted to the elevators. I repeatedly clicked the up button. I hit the 17 button as soon as I got in, and slumped down, sobbing filling the elevator.
I raced to the apartment door. It was unlocked, thankfully. My mom ran after me as I went into the bedroom. I couldn’t stop crying. I needed to let it all out. My mom ran in to embrace me. “Kelsey, sweetie, what’s wrong?
“DV-DVD, Amand-da Kelle-ey, Ne-ecklac-ce-“ I muttered through my sobs. She ran to the kitchen for a moment, then brought a tissue box. I yanked one and blew my nose and wiped my the ruined-mascara-tears off of my face. Once I was calmed down, I told her everything, my voice worn out. “When I came back from the grocery, I… I saw a package in front of the door. I thought it was weird because I didn’t order anything. So, I checked the address, and then I saw the name. It- It said Amanda Kelley. I thought it was the original owner, so I checked the listing, and I was right. Ex-except…” My voice started trembling. “I-It said she was deceased!”
I stopped myself from breaking into tears again.” My mom’s face was a mix of terror and confusion. “What? Then how did the package-“ she started, but I interrupted. “I know, so I thought I would look inside the package. There was a DVD inside. So I put it on the TV…” I started sobbing again. “And it showed this-this THING! It had this huge smile torn through it’s face, it was all black, and it had this freaking necklace, and I couldn’t take it.”
I cried, and my mom patted me and had to stop me again. After I stopped talking and was completely silent, she said quietly and soothingly, “Honey, some mean person probably just wanted to scare you and looked up a random listing. Then they just dressed up in some stupid costume and put on some thrift shop necklace. Then, took a picture in some old room.” “Y-yeah,” I stammered. “That has to be it. I can’t believe I believed in that crap. I’m sorry I have to be a burden.” “Aw, sweetie, it’s fine. The recent discovery of the owner probably just scared you. You can hang here for tonight.”
I slept peacefully, surprisingly, that night. In the morning I just breathed in and out, and stood up. I creeped out of the apartment and into the parking lot. I started the car, and drove back to the house. I decided to just take pictures of the room to send to mom. As I wandered the rooms, I saw another bedroom. I dropped my phone with a loud thud. In the corner, there was a lamp, and there was green striped wallpaper with cornflowers on it, yellow and blue.
PART 2 Coming sometime within this week. Thank you so much for reading.