July 15, 2020
"Well, she use to be a beauty," Gabriel said.
Edward walked away from the car, gazing at the building before him. Magnificent was the only word that came to his mind when looking at it. Sure, it was overgrown, slightly crumbling, and some of the paint had chipped off but it still held a great beauty. He could only imagine what the place would have looked like before the Matthews family abandoned it.
They approached the large wooden doors that would lead them into the manor. Edward rubbed his fingers along the cracks that had begun to form. From his time at the sawmill, he could tell the doors were made from mahogany. Above the doors was a stained window, mostly consisting of various shades of blue and purple and a whole lot of black. Years of the wind blowing dirt against the window had darkened most of the colors, taking away from the brilliant colors it once had.
Gabriel reached down into his pocket, pulling out a large key ring. Edward looked at him curiously.
"For some reason, whoever built this place decided that almost every door in the place should have a different key. My mom ended up taking most of the locks off of the shared rooms but who knows which of the keys are useful," Gabriel said.
Edward nodded his head as he watched Gabriel fiddle with each key, trying to open the doors. At the bottom of the stairs, a cobblestone path wrapped around the entire manor along with an untrimmed hedge that wrapped around the path. Similar to his own house, the path split off in certain areas. Unlike his home, the cobblestone paths at the Matthews Manor split off to much more luxurious locations. To the left was a large greenhouse with leaves growing along its glass walls. To the right was a garage that had to be almost half the size of the mansion itself. Although, Edward had only seen the front of the mansion. There was not telling how big it actually was from his view.
Finally, there was the driveway in front of Edward that led to and from the mansion. The trees wrapped around the driveway, blocking the view from the highway, that was a little over half a mile away. Of course, there was plenty more to see inside the building and behind it but the front was already a spectacle on its own.
Next to him, Edward heard the door click and saw Gabriel push against the mahogany doors. A gust of wind whistled out as Edward and Gabriel looked into the belly of the beast. Edward's eyes widened as the inside looked even more massive than the outside. Two grand staircases wrapped around the center of the entrance hall with three marble pillars supporting each. A small, out of maintenance fountain, sat in the middle of the two staircases with a chandelier hanging directly above it. On both sides, in front of the staircases, were doors that led into hallways and behind the staircases and fountain was a blank wall with two open doorways on each side of it. Glancing through one doorway showed a large couch, to which Edward assumed was the living room, or at least one of them. At the top of the stairs was a walkway that wrapped about halfway around the side walls that would lead into more side hallways. And finally, Edward noticed the numerous painting hanging on the walls and random tables and chairs that decorated the entrance. It seemed like every surface was decorated, all except that one wall that stood in front of him.
"You've been standing in awe for almost a minute now. I assume you like the place?" Gabriel asked.
Edward snapped back to reality, looking at the heir to the glorious mansion. "For how dusty everything, it still looks better than my house."
Gabriel chuckled before pulling a picture off the wall and blowing the dust off of it. It was his family photo.
"This was the last photo we took as a family before... well... you know." Gabriel swallowed and looked to Edward.
Am I suppose to cry for him?
"I'm sorry sir, it must have been hard," Edward replied.
Gabriel smiled faintly and looked back to the photo. "My old man was never particularly affectionate but I knew he cared. I wish he could be here today." He looked back to Edward. "And Edward, please just call me Gabriel. I don't much care for formality when I'm not at the office."
Edward nodded before Gabriel handed him the photo. Jacob Matthews and his wife sat in a chair while a young adult version of Gabriel and his two sisters stood above them.
He handed the photo back to Gabriel. "What have your mom and sisters been doing since they left? You told me they were doing well."
"Well as you'll recall from out first conversation, my uncle, mom, and sisters abandoned this place about a week after my father disappeared. They told me that with him gone, the house was targeting them even more and, so, they packed up the essentials, took whatever wealth my father had left, and bought a nice house over by Spokane. Not too long afterwards, my uncle found himself a girl and moved in with her and my mom lived alone with my sisters. I I would visit them rather frequently and let me tell you what, Edward, they were never the same after that final week living here." He put the photo back on the wall and just stared at it, as if hypnotized. "I know I told you that my family was fine but that was a lie. They were deathly afraid of every little bump in the night, every little shadow that was cast, and every knock at the door. They were constantly under the impression that whatever haunted them here followed them back to their new home."
"And what of your uncle?" Edward asked.
Gabriel looked at Edward miserably. "He was fine for a while afterward, maybe like two years before even he couldn't take it anymore and put a bullet in his brain."
There were no words to say. Edward felt terrible but didn't know how to express his condolences. He, instead, looked to the floor with a sorrowful look. "I'm sorry," He managed to say.
"Thank you," Gabriel said. "I miss him and my father greatly and can only hope they find peace in death."
"I'm sure God is taking good care of them," Edward said.
Gabriel gave him a half smile. "If there is a god, I hope you're right."
Edward looked at him, almost offended.
If there's a god?
Of course there's a god, how could he not believe in God? Edward had spent his whole life loving God and receiving love from him. From the time his parents took him to get baptized, to the time Isaac got baptized, to now. Even Sarah believed in God, despite betraying him and deserving to burn in hell for what she's done.
I'm a loyal man. I'm a married man.
God knew Edward was a good man, he had to know. Edward decided it wasn't worth arguing with Gabriel about the topic, at least not at the moment.
Edward looked around the entrance hall, noticing all the shadows and areas that the chandelier didn't shine on. It was amazing that, after all this time, the electricity was still running through the building. Maybe something really was living within the building, watching and stalking. Perhaps it was waiting, biding its time.
"How come the house never, well, haunted you?" Edward asked.
Gabriel walked over to the right side hallway, flickering on a string of lights. "Maybe it's because they weren't interested in me. Maybe I didn't live here long enough." He gestured for Edward to come to him and pointed to the end of the hallway. Written on the far wall, in what Edward assumed was red paint, were big letters saying: WE MISSED YOU. Edward looked back to Gabriel. "Maybe, it's been waiting for me this whole time."
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A large truck pulled up in the driveway, parking right in front of the main entrance. Gabriel instructed the two men in the truck to just leave all the planks, sheet rock, and other hardware he had ordered on the side of the doors. He didn't want them stepping foot inside the house.
"Don't you want to hire a professional for this place?" Edward asked.
"They probably wouldn't do it how I wanted. Besides, I love a good long project. I haven't worked on something so big in a long long time," Gabriel replied.
The manor was just so massive. Edward didn't even know where to start with the place, nevertheless know what he could do to help Gabriel that professionals couldn't do.
"I just think it would be much faster if you were to hire at least a few more guys to help you. I'm not certain that my experience would benefit you very much," Edward said.
Gabriel laughed as he gazed up at his family manor. "Nonsense, Edward, you'll be perfect for this line of work. I'll make sure you know what you're doing."
Edward sighed. He knew Gabriel wouldn't take no for an answer. People like him never do. All he could think of was how much he wanted a drink. Dealing with Gabriel all day was agitating him. He needed something to calm his nerves.
"That's everything Mr. Matthews. The furniture will be delivered to you tomorrow," One of the truck drivers said.
"Thank you very much, gentlemen. We'll see you tomorrow." Gabriel reached out and shook both men's hand while extending them a $30 tip.
Watching their truck disappear into the trees, Edward sighed once more, wishing they could drive him away from his boss. He looked back to the house, noticing, in more detail, all the cracks that stretched across the building.
"So..." Edward started. "How exactly do you plan to renovate this place?"
Gabriel traced his finger around the walls. "Well first, we've got to get this place back into working shape. Floor boards are sticking up, walls are falling apart, ceilings are ready to cave in, and I'm half expecting a pipe to explode or a wire to spark a flame and burn the whole place down."
Edward looked back to all the material sitting out by the door. "I don't think that will be nearly enough to fix up this place."
"Of course not," Gabriel chuckled. "I got all that for my father and mother's bedroom, since I plan to be staying here for most of my nights."
"And what about your wife and daughter?"
That may have been the wrong thing to ask. Edward could the brightened expression on Gabriel's face lessen. In a sense, the two men weren't so different. They didn't like talking about their family. At least, not all of them.
"My wife hasn't been living at my house for the last several weeks and even went so far as to take my daughter away with her." Gabriel coughed to clear his throat. "Needless to say, my house isn't very, well, full anymore."
Except when you're sleeping with Rebecca.
"I'm sorry," Edward said. "I didn't mean..."
"No, it's fine, Edward. As I'm sure you understand, women can be heartless bitches."
It was a feeling that Edward understood all too well. He always felt regret pit in his stomach. Maybe he should have divorced her, should have banished her from his sight. Would it make him happier though? It was a question Edward contemplated to himself all the time. Why he chose to work it out with Sarah made less and less sense to him the more time went by. At the time, he loved her, never wanted to lose her. He felt he needed her in his life and needed to make sure that Isaac would be raised with two real parents. But Edward couldn't help but feel he made a mistake. There was no more love left in him to give to Sarah. He no longer felt he needed her. Even Isaac seemed to suffer for his decision. His son was doing drugs and even cut himself. Would he be happier if Edward and Sarah has separated? Would Edward be happier? Maybe it was too late to know for certain. Or maybe not.
"Yes they can be," Edward replied.
He looked back to the manor, each time seeing more cracks, abnormalities, and decay. Every time he looked it was like the house was actively getting worse, like it was taking off a little more make-up each time.
Why Gabriel wanted Edward to help, he was unsure. What he was sure of, however, is that something was wrong with the place. He didn't know if it was haunted or just some story Gabriel had made up but he knew that the manor was off. Just looking at it made his spine tingle, his hands sweat, and his hairs stick up. Every instinct in his body told him that he should leave. They made him contemplate quitting his job, moving to a new home, forgetting everything he knew about Gabriel Matthews and The Matthew Manor. Perhaps it was an over exaggeration, perhaps not. Whatever the case, there was one feeling that Edward couldn't shake. Somehow, someway, this place would be the death of him.
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