The Mansion

I did not want this job. But I was willing to do anything for money. Of course, I had limits, but I would rather work hard to earn my money instead of posting nudes of myself online.

I’m not trying to diss anyone who does that line of work, but it’s just not my thing. I knew that college was going to be tough, but ever since my parents cut me off from their funding, I had no choice.

I was shocked when my English professor told me about this job. She asked the class to conduct a set of interviews for an assignment, but since me and my professor started to form some type of bond, she told me that her aunt was offering to pay me for the interview.

How could I say no to $1,500?

It did sound too good to be true, but her aunt was crazy rich, and thought that people who work hard deserve some sort of reward. So, I was pretty damn grateful for this offer.

When I arrived at the mansion, I knew I should not have been surprised, but wow, my professor wasn’t lying when she told me her aunt was rich.

She was fucking rich.

The mansion was located on its own property, surrounded by creepy looking animal bushes. One of them was designed to look like a donkey. I’m curious how much that person was paid for a job like that. I parked my car, and made my way down the extravagant driveway. I raised my arm to knock, but someone had beat me to it, opening the door.

A young man answered the door, wearing a black suit that looked expensive. He offered me a bow.

“Miss Nicoles?”

“Yes.”

“Follow me, ma’am.”

He shut the door behind me as I followed him inside. It was beautiful, but it was a bit strange. I thought the outside looked kind of odd, but the inside was plain creepy. There were a huge number of statues lining every inch of the mansion, and there were even statues down the hallway.

These statues resembled something out of a nightmare. I couldn’t even attempt to describe what any of them looked like. One of them was located by the stairwell. This thing had eyeballs, multiple sets of mouths, and shitload of human hands.

Whatever the fuck that was, I didn’t want to know. Perhaps she had a unique set of taste. The man led me down the hallway, into the living room. I was relieved to not see a single statute here. Instead, I was greeted by a beautiful older woman who was sitting on a couch. She smiled warmly at me, and waved a hand toward the love seat in front of her.

“Good afternoon, Miss Nicoles. Please take a seat.”

“Please, call me Kate,” I said.

She blew a kiss at the young man, and he left the room.

“I heard so much about you from my niece. She rarely ever speaks so fondly about her students like yourself.”

I could feel my cheeks turn red as I addressed her statement. “Thank you. Yeah, Ms. Winters and I got kind of close. She’s pretty nice, and she is a great professor. She takes the time to read everyone’s work in her class.”

The woman winked. “She is wonderful, isn’t she? Now, what questions do you have for me?”

Before I could tell her, she extended a hand toward my notebook. Confused, I handed over the questions I had written down. Her eyes scanned the page, and then she threw the notebook on the table between us.

“I want you to come up with your own personal questions for me. I don’t want you to hold back on anything. I saw the relieved look on your face when you came over here. The statues scared the shit out of you, didn’t they?”

I didn’t know how to respond at first. She was quite straightforward, and I was upset at myself for not hiding my discomfort in her own home.

“I’m sorry. Your statutes are kind of creepy, Ms…”

“Ruby. Please, call me Ruby. And yes, I understand your fear. A lot of people who first entered my home hated those things.” She threw her head back and laughed. It was like listening to a classical melody, and I slightly relaxed.

“Everyone always questions what the hell they are. Want to know?”

I nodded. How could I be dishonest about that? I was genuinely curious.

Ruby sat up straighter, squaring her shoulders, looking me straight in the eye. “That statue is the representation of a God. One that I worship from time to time.”

It took me a full 60 seconds to process what the hell I was just told.

“What?”

Ruby smiled. It was no longer filled with warmth.

“Why did your parents cut off your funding, Kate?”

I stood up from my chair. “How do you…how do you know that? I never told -’’

“I’m rich. I always do research on people who come to my property. The last thing I need is letting a psychopath into my home. Now please, sit. Unless you no longer care for the payment?”

I reluctantly sat back down. I clasped my hands together in my lap. My palms were now feeling sweaty. I maintained eye contact with Ruby as I gathered myself to answer her question. I don’t know, but something told me I could never lie to this woman. It was like some sort of power was in this room, controlling me to do so.

“I stole my parents’ car.”

“Why?”

“I was angry when they bought this gift for my sister. It was a necklace; an expensive one. It bothered me that they never got something like for me before. I know I sound like a spoiled brat, but it has always been this way for me. They always favored my sister more. They do anything she wants.”

I wiped at my eyes, feeling tears start to form. “I stole the car, because I thought if I did something so reckless, they would care. That they would break through their fucked up facade, and show that they actually do love me. But now I wish that car accident had killed me.”

I lowered my head, so that Ruby wouldn’t see my face.

“They scolded me in the hospital bed, like I was caught stealing. They acted like my broken legs and head wound was an inconvenience…not something to cry about.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how angry you must have felt,” Ruby said softly. I raised my head when I heard the sadness in her voice.

“They rolled their eyes at me when they confronted me. And you want to know what they said outside of my hospital room? They didn’t even bother to keep their voices down. It’s like they wanted me to hear.”

Ruby leaned forward, and I found myself doing the same. I felt something touch the side of my head, and slide down. I assumed it was sweat, but it felt like a finger had pressed against my head. The finger slid across my forehead, and for a second, I thought I saw a pair of eyeballs peek at me from my left. Well, it was several pairs of eyeballs.

Along with two sets of mouths.

But I wasn’t afraid.

“They said they wished that my sister was their only daughter. And they called me a worthless pile of shit that they wished did not exist.”

I burst into tears. I cried and cried, and I didn’t realize that Ruby had placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. The sensation that something else was in the room with me had vanished. Ruby waited patiently until I was done and offered me a box of tissues.

I felt exhausted by the time my tears were shed.

Ruby looked down at her watch. “I suppose that concludes our interview for today.”

“But I didn’t get to ask you -’’

Ruby put up a hand to stop me. “Nonsense. You needed to let your emotions out. I could tell something was bothering you, Kate. Now you feel better, no?”

The realization of what I told her was like a car slamming into me. “Oh. I did…I did not mean to say any of that to you. That was…personal,” I finished lamely.

Ruby patted my leg, giving me a huge smile that I wish my parents had given me all those years. “It’s alright, dear. Like I said, you had to let it out. Now, you are free.”

She gave out a loud whistle. The young man returned. He was holding an envelope. He walked over and handed it to me. I could tell by the thickness of the envelope that it was my payment. “Oh. Thank you. I appreciate it, ma’am.”

Ruby stood up at the same time I did. She linked her arm through mine, leading me out. “You’re welcome, Kate. And I think that your life is going to get so much better from here on out.”

“What -’’

Ruby kissed me on my forehead, where I thought a finger had grazed me before.

“Goodbye, Kate.”

Ruby waved at me before closing the door. I stood there dumbfounded for a second, until I felt the fatness of the envelope in my hand. I stuffed my payment into my jacket, and I walked to the car. I pulled out of the driveway, and made my way back to the campus.

Once I made it back home, I received an anonymous email. I clicked it open, and it was an answer to every single question I had prepared for Ruby. I suppose I was going to have to thank her again for the free grade.

I walked inside of my dorm, went to my bed to lie down for a bit, but I ended up falling asleep. I woke up the next day. I felt so exhausted when I awoke, and I couldn’t believe I had stayed dead for that long. It was so unlike me, but I guess telling someone about the family that doesn’t love you can take a toll on anyone.

My phone rang at that moment. I picked it up, and it was a call from the front desk. They asked me to come downstairs, and that it was urgent. I quickly left my dorm room, where I found two police officers waiting for me.

After a strange interview in a mansion, I learned that my parents and sister were killed in a car accident. And everything from my parents would go to me. I didn’t know how to react at first upon hearing the news. I didn’t even cry at the funeral as their coffins were lowered into the ground.

Nor did I question the state of their bodies.

The authorities could never figure out how all three had lost their eyes, their lips, and their hands. I never bothered to fund an investigation into this.

Something told me that Ruby had something to do with this, but why question it?

After all, they never loved me.

And I was not going to think about the fact that the body parts that were taken reminded me of the statues from Ruby’s home.

Because something told me that is what her ‘God’ looks like.

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn