Chapter Text
Humming to herself, Vanessa looked straight ahead, her dark sunglasses covering and protecting her eyes. She was trying to be optimistic, but she was taking a page out of her twin's book...Being a pessimist. She wished that her parents left her in her school. Moving to a new town, a new house, and a new school was challenging for someone blind. Gone were her routines, her friends, her teachers...The only constant was her trusty-seeing eye dog, Shadow. The black german shepherd that was attached to her soul whined at her discomfort, putting his head in her lap. Sighing, she ran a hand through his fur.
Vivien turned to her two sullen and quiet daughters in the back seat, smiling at them. "The light is different out here. It's softer."
"It's called smog," Violet said from the back
"You should be excited, Vi. You can stop sneaking cigarettes and just start taking deep breaths," Ben said from the driver's seat.
"I need to go to the bathroom."
"Me too," Vanessa chimed in.
"We're almost there."
"Girls, it's a freeway. Really, where do you want me to pull over? Maybe the Honda next to us has a bathroom or something?"
"Bet if the baby had to shit, you'd find somewhere," Violet muttered, petting the small dog between them, causing Vanessa to snicker Shadow laid down at their feet.
"Really? Violet, I hate that word, unless I'm saying it," Vivian sighed.
"I'm really glad we named you Violet, instead of our second choice."
"Which was?"
"Sunshine," Vivien smirked, causing Vanessa to snort.
"Ha!"
"That would be more appropriate for Nessa," Violet chuckled, pinching her sister's arm.
Vanessa swatted towards her sister, smirking in victory when she connected to her body. "Brat! How much longer?"
"Not far...You girls are going to love the house!" Ben exclaimed.
"Doubtful," Vanessa whispered, hearing her phone chime in her earphone.
Swiping her phone, she listened to Siri's voice read Violet's text to her. "They're not even holding hands anymore."
Vanessa whispered back in their made-up language that still blew their parent's minds. "She caught him cheating. No amount of flowers is going to make up for that."
Vanessa sat back in her chair, her eyes closing as she tried to rest. Feeling the car stop, her eyes popped open half an hour later. "We're here!" Vivien smiled, opening the door. Sighing, Vanessa pushed her door open, letting Shadow out before she stepped out. Grabbing her cane, she stepped out, letting Shadow lead her toward her family. Violet lopped her arm through hers, standing next to her. "It's fucking huge," Violet told her.
"Really? What does it look like?"
"Huge, dark, victorian..." Violet listed off.
Shadow stopped at the front yard, yanking on his lead as he started barking at something. "Shadow..." Vanessa scolded. Looking up, she blinked in shock as she saw two little boys staring at her. But just like that, they were gone and her vision returned to the blurry and dark world she lived in. A chill ran down her spine as she was sucked into its magnetism. Ben led the way, ringing the doorbell.
"I love it. Don't you love it, hon? I mean, it looks even better than it did online," Ben grinned, wrapping his arm around Vivien.
"Yeah, it's interesting."
"Great. So we're the Addams Family now," Violet sighed.
"Hey, crabby pants. Come here," Ben said, pulling Violet into his side. Vanessa walked towards her mom, her blonde hair similar to hers as she stood at her side.
"What are you doing?" Vivian asked her husband as he took in the property.
"Isn't this place amazing?"
The door opened, revealing a short, rounded woman with a big smile. "Welcome. You must be the Harmon family!"
"I'm Ben, and this is my wife Vivian, and our daughters Violet and Vanessa."
"I'm Marcy, the realtor. Come on it. Let me show you around."
"Wow..." Violet whistled.
Vanessa took timid steps as she tapped her cane around, not wanting to bump into anything. "It's a classic L.A. Built around 1920 by the doctor to the stars at the time. It's just fabulous. These are real Tiffany fixtures. As you can see, the previous owners loved this place like a child. They restored everything," Marcy gushed.
"Gay?" Vivien asked.
Marcy smirked. "What do you think?"
"Tiffany. Wow."
"Do you cook?"
"Viv is a great cook. I got her cooking lessons a few years ago, and she ended up teaching the teacher a few things," said Ben.
"Cooking lessons... romantic. Aren't you a psychologist?"
"Psychiatrist. You said something on the phone about there being a study that I could use as a home office. I'm planning on seeing patients here, so I can spend more time with the family."
Vanessa continued to wander around, trying to get the lay of the land. Vivien let Hayley down to run around and stretch her little legs, while Shadow pulled Vanessa around. "Violet, honey, would you go see where Hayley went? Thank you."
"Come on, Nessie," Violet told her sister and grabbed her arm to lead her in the correct direction. "What do you think?"
"Kinda asking an opinion of a blind person," Vanessa joked, Shadow barking and still pulling on a lead.
"You know what I mean."
"It's a big fat band-aide for a big fat wound. Shadow...What's gotten into you?"
Shadow and Hayley were stopped at a door, with Hayley yapping at it and Shadow hunched down and growling.
"Hayley...What are you doing?" Violet asked, picking up the little dog. "What are you yapping at? Huh?" Violet asked as she tried to open the door. "It won't open."
"Maybe it's locked?"
Violet tried a couple of more times to open it, finally pulling it open. "Yes!" Vanessa peered down the stairs, a shiver going up her spine. "Come on!"
"I don't know..."
"Why? Are you scared?" Violet asked grinning.
"Violet, don't!" Vanessa protested as her sister went down the stairs, leaving her grip. "Shadow, down..." Vanessa ordered, sending him down the stairs. Taking a deep breath, she began to tap her way down the stairs, gripping the railing for dear life. As soon as her feet her bottom, she could tell the uneasiness was there. Her normally dark world was darker as she gripped her cane. "Violet? Violet?!"
"Boo!"
Vanessa screamed, jumping as tears filled her eyes. Violet laughed as Vanessa glared. "Don't do that to a blind person!"
"You should've seen your face! It's just a regular basement."
"Do you feel like somebody's watching you?" Vanessa whispered.
"No," Violet scoffed, not admitting to feeling the same way. "Come on."
They both went back up the stairs, following their parent's voices and Marcy's to the living room. "Oh, God...they didn't die in here or anything, did they?" Vivian asked.
"Yes, actually, both of them. Murder-suicide. I sold them the house, too. They were just the sweetest couple. You never know, I guess."
"That explains why it's half the price of every other house in the neighborhood, I guess," Ben commented.
"I do have a very nice mid-century ranch, but it's in the Valley, and you're going to get a third of the house for twice the price."
"Right."
"Where did it happen?" Violet asked.
"The basement."
"We'll take it." Vanessa turned her head towards her sister, wishing that she just didn't say that. Because as soon as she did, she swore she saw a group of people smiling sinisterly at her.