"Violet." Valerie said, leaning against the bathroom door, watching her recently deceased sister cut herself. "How long are you going to keep mutilating yourself?"

Violet looked at her dead sister like a dear caught in headlights. Valerie had never reacted like that — it scared her.

"Arm, please. You're going to give yourself sepsis. That blade isn't sanitary." Valerie grabbed some alcohol, tipping it on a wash cloth and rubbing it on Violet's bloody arm. Her sister hissed. "Oh, I'm sorry. Do you not like the pain?"

"Why are you being such a bitch?"

"'Cause I have to standby and watch my fifteen year old sister, my baby sister cut herself. I can't keep doing it, Vi, seriously." Valerie pointed out, moving the two so they were sitting on the edge of the bathtub. "I didn't want you stuck here like we are."

Violet missed the last few words as she watched the emotional pain take place on Valerie's face. "I'm not a kid anymore, neither of us are. And you're only a year older then me."

"Violet, you're the most important person in my life." She said softly, dropping the washcloth into the sink and grabbing some bandages from the cupboard. She wrapped them around the broken skin. "Ju-just promise me you'll try and stop. Please."

Violet and Valerie sat in silence, staring at each other. The younger one swallowed back a lump of guilt and held her pinkie out. The older one laughed lightly, wrapping hers around it.

"I'll try."

"Thank you."

≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫

Parker and Violet aimlessly wandered around the basement, looking at the crazy doctors collection of things — for a lack of better words.

"They planned some brutal family dinner for tonight. Like it's going to make me feel better."

Parker hummed, reminding her girlfriend she was listening as she picked up a jar to look at it. She cringed upon realising it was the mutilated parts of Nora's baby. Quickly but gently she placed it down.

"Do you believe in a better afterlife?"

"Other then ghosts?"

"Yes, other then ghosts." Parker said, peeking her head around the shelf to look at Violet.

"No. I think what you got is what everyone gets."

Parker gave her a sad smile. "You deserve a different ending. A nice one, a soft one." Parker went on to say, wittering on about how her lover deserved better.

Violet furrowed her brows, listening and listening. She didn't understand what Parker was saying, and seemed confused as to why her girlfriend believed she didn't deserve the same ending. "Not you?"

"No. No, I made my first kill when those people broke in. Killers don't get a happy ending. It's wrong, oh so wrong." Parker muttered, wrapping her arms around herself as she came and stood by her lovers side.

She moved one of her arms to brush back some of Violet's hair. "I love you, you know. So much."

≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫

Valerie laid on her bed, her head in Tate's lap as he read to himself. The boy stopped reading and looked down at her. "Do you believe in ghosts?"

"Tate." She said, giving him a look. "I am a ghost, so why are you asking?" Valerie sat up, looking at her boyfriend.

"I don't know." He said, looking away from her with his face screwed up in confusion. "It can't all be shit, right?" Valerie shrugged at his words, grabbing her grey fluffy blanket and wrapping it around her self. "There's got to be someplace better, somewhere. For people like you, at least." He said, looking back at Valerie.

"Why not you, Tate?" She asked.

She knew the truth, but for the most part she wanted it confirmed by him. She didn't want to believe he was a bad person before his death, maybe even after. Valerie clung onto false hope like an idiot.

"Ever since you got here, this is the better place."

Valerie didn't say anything as she pulled the corners of her lips into a sad smile, patting his shoulder before grabbing her own book to read.

≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫

The Harmon family dinner was silent. Valerie watched from the doorway, refusing to present herself to her family. She couldn't do that to her parents, they needed to grieve with out her there unlike her sister who needed her to keep her a float.

Violet was the only one who could see Valerie.

"You're not eating anything." Vivien pointed out to her daughter.

Violet continued to not eat or look at her parents for a brisk moment. "I'm not hungry, pretty stuffed on bullshit."

Valerie laughed lightly at her sisters comment, taking a seat on the floor as she watched them. She tucked back some of her dark hair, before wrapping her arms around her legs.

"Your mother and I know that you're upset." Ben opened with the obvious. "Maybe there's some things you want to talk about."

Violet looked at her dead sisters as she rolled her eyes. Valerie smiled at her, giving her a sarcastic thumbs up.

"Like Valerie killing herself? Or, like who I'm going to live with after you get divorced?" Violet asked, leaning forward slightly as she turned her head to her father. "Is there a third option? 'Cause both of you kind of make me want to kill myself." She proceeded to turn her head to her mother. "Oh, is that what you guys are afraid of? Why else would you want to try to actually deal with the problem?"

"You never leave your room. You barely eat. These are textbook signs of depression. We're very concerned, Vi."

Violet shoved herself out of her seat, giving her a height advantage over her parents. "Look, you guys drag me al the way out here to save our family, then you decide to break up. You guys a house that I actually like, one that holds the last of my sister, then you're telling me you're selling it, without even asking me what I want. So, fine, I'm depressed. But in not going to off myself. So, you can go back to your policy of benign neglect." Violet pointed out before leaving the room.

Valerie pushed herself off the floor and went after her sister to provide her any needed comfort or at least to let her know she has someone of she needs anyone.

≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫

A while had passed and the Harmon siblings had parted, allowing for Violet to slip out her room upon hearing strange noises and go and discover what was going on in the attic.

She was soft and slow with her movement as she let her eyes casted around the attic, trying to spot what was causing the noise. Violet flickered on the light.

"Hello?"

A red ball rolled towards her. Violet stopped it with her foot before picking it up, looking at it between her fingers.

"Play!" A ghost demanded, startling a scream out of Violet's lips.

Parker stopped Violet from stepping to close to the edge and falling, shushing her girlfriend as she rubbed her arms. Violet turned in panic, a scream coming to a stop.

"It's just me." Parker promised placing her hands either side of Violet's face before placing a kiss to her forehead. "That's Beauregard, my brother. He doesn't mean to scare you." She promised as Violet leaned into the embrace, allowing for Parker to wrap her arms around her.

Parker looked at Beau, a small smile on her lips as she took the ball from Violet's hands. "You scared her Beau, go away and I'll come play later." She told him, throwing the ball over to him.

Beauregard did as he was told, going back into the shadows with his red ball.

Violet buried her head into Parker's neck, searching for comfort as Parker held her tightly, rubbing her back in the process.

"It's ok, I've got you." Parker whispered, rocking them back and forth. Violet pulled away slightly, looking back to see where Beau was. "He's gone." She promised as Violet looked back at her.

"I feel like I'm totally losing it." Violet said, her voice breaking slightly as she teared up.

"They're the ghosts of this house, there's a lot of us, Vi, some of them are insensitive, some like Beau just want a friend. Everyone of us died here, and we're forced to stay. I can promise you though, that they wont hurt you, I won't let them." Parker promised, placing a hand on Violet's face and wiping away the tears. "If you tell them to go away, any of them or I, we have to. You have the upper hand, darling."

"You really know your way around this house."

"I lived here when I was a kid, and before then Addy use to come in. She's always loved this house. Her friends live here." She told her, rubbing away the other tears. "It's strange, you know. I haven't seen my sister in ages. I use to see her practically everyday."

Upon her girlfriend calming down, Parker took Violet to another side of the attic, pulling out old boxes to show her the history of the 'Murder House'.

Old photos and nicknacks rested in front of them as Parker explained the history of such people, like Charles, Nora and their baby, along with other people.

Parker did find one thing. Two broken necklaces, both of which were common amongst the Jewish people, a chai necklace and a Star of David.

She held the dainty gold jewellery up, looking at the small marks of corrosion. "These were Carlie Alms, she was the nurse who was raped. When they found her, her vocal cords had been broken by her screaming and Franklin ripping them, her cause of death was a mere stab wound. I should give her these back, they were her parents, before they were shipped to concentration camps." Parker slipped the gold jewellery into her jean pockets. "You should take the photos, it's good to learn about this houses damned history."

≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫

"Thank you, Doctor Harmon and I'm sorry about Valerie." Parker said, rocking back and forth in he rocking chair as she wrapped her arms around her legs.

"It's not a problem, Parker, I'm glad your staring to feel better. And, thank you for look out for my daughter in her time of need."

Parker smiled at Ben, resting her head on her knees. "She'd do the same if it were I who lost my brother." She pointed out.

"I don't know how you've done it, Parker, Vivien and I can't get through to her."

Parker let out a small breath like laugh. "The difference between you, your wife and I are large, no? Violet is still adjusting to the miscarriage of her brother, the suicide of her sister, your expected break up, the affair, the new pregnancy and you guys wanting to sell her home." Parker pointed out, moving to sit cross legged as she rocked. "Violet feels like you're ignoring Valerie's death, she sees the baby to be as a replacement for her unborn brother and deceased sister, originally she saw this home as a way to hide such heartbreaks, but she adjusted. This is her home. This place is where she sees herself at her happiest. This place, as terrible as it is, is somewhere she feels safe. Violet also knows this is the last place she lived with the whole of her family, where her and her sister were. She doesn't like that you are moving away from them. Valerie is and was the most important person in her life, it's unlikely she'd up and leave willingly."

Ben looked at Parker. He knew the girl was extremely smart — despite being a high school drop out at fifteen. But, Ben had never considered how in touch Parker was with Violet's thoughts and feelings.

≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫

Constance made her way down to the basement, finding Parker and Valerie playing a game off chess on the dingy floor.

"Mother." The daughter greeted bluntly.

"She's your mother?" The sixteen years old asked.

Parker looked back at her. "The mother of Adelaide, Rose, Beauregard, Tate and I in all her glory." She muttered bitterly, knocking down Valerie's Queen. "Are you lost mother?" She questioned as one of of pawns were knocked down.

"Don't be like that, Parker."

"How should I be, then? My mother hid the truth from me. My mother allowed me to believe that Tate was your average dead teenage boy, but no, he's a school shooter, is there anymore things I should know about my brother? Anymore possible crimes I can tick off, other then drugs and murder?" Parker snapped, pushing herself of the floor as she came to stand in front of her mother.

Constance went to place her hand on Parker's face but the dead daughter smacked her hand away.

"Parker, have you seen what happens when you know things like this? Do you not remember what happened to you when Tate died? Or when Beau died?"

She let out an aggravated, breathy laugh. "Do not come to me about my ways of grief when you are a murderer. How many did you kill, mom? 'Cause from what I hear, Moira didn't just drop dead, and the ghost of my father still lingers around this wretched place." Parker questioned, anger bubbling under her skin as her fists clenched. "Where's Addy, she's the one I want to see. I haven't seen her since Halloween. Oh, is that my punishment for hating you? Have I truly met hell, mother? Or are you my hell?"

"I came to say goodbye, Parker."

Parker blinked at her, unbothered. "Bye." She said, turning her back and coming to sit in front of Valerie to continue their game.

Valerie smirked at the younger girl. She held her hand out, allowing for Parker to laugh lightly before high-fiving her.