Stay with me • A Tate Langdon fanfiction

[doriengray]

Comments and critique are welcome! If anyone wants the wattpad link, pm me! I update more frequently on there.

Amber is a journalist in the making. For years she's spent many hours of her life documenting, creating and sharing her many writings and her parents couldn't be more happy for her. And to make things even better, the college she's had her eyes on since she began writing has offered her a spot in their prestigious writing and journalism program, if, she can create a piece of writing so amazing it'd blow them away.
So, when her parents bring up the idea of them perhaps moving, Amber didn't hesitate to bring up the house she'd been obsessed with since she first heard about it. The Murderhouse, it was back up for sale again. Her parents were apprehensive at first, but when Amber brought up the fact that it would help her with her final product for college, they reluctantly agreed.
At first, Amber had decided to write about the murderhouse's history, and her experience while living there. But, when she meets a cute yet psychologically challenged Tate Langdon, her plan suddenly takes a completely different turn.

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Chapter One - Arrival

Amber gazed out of the car window absentmindedly, watching the rain drops cascade down, tracing the trail they left with her finger. In her lap sat her notebook, it's faded green cover torn and scratched, but she still gripped it with the love she gripped it with the day she was given it for her birthday, six years ago. The pages were full, and have been full for many years, but she always kept it close to her, as it give her the inspiration and the confidence she needed to grow with her writing. The day she was given this, her eleventh birthday, had been the day she discovered she had a love for exploring, investigating and writing. She's never let it leave her side since.

In the drivers seat, her Dad pushed the windscreen wipers into top speed, as he battled to see the road in front of him through the thick downpour. Her Mum sat with a book in her lap, and was oblivious to the weather chaos happening outside the vehicle. Amber soon grew bored of watching the rain drops, and instead her gaze turned towards her younger brother beside her. He was playing on his Nintendo DS console, such concentration on his face you'd think he was taking his SAT's. Amber let out a small laugh, pulling her cardigan tighter around her body as she watched him curiously.

"What are you playing?" she asked him, and he didn't raise his eyes to meet hers, instead he answered almost ignorantly

"Mario Kart." he said simply, showing no signs of wanting to hold a conversation with his older sister. Amber rolled her eyes, adverting her eyes back to outside the window.

"How much longer do we have?" her British accent drawled, as she sighed with boredom., watching the buildings pass her car with distant eyes. Her family had moved from London when she was 7 years old, as her Dad had been offered a manager position at a large corporate company in the USA. She had found it hard to fit in at first, with the trends and the ways of American's, but she eventually learnt to accept herself for who she was, a British writer with a purpose. It wasn't unknown that her parents had money, and lots of it. Amber's mother, Lucy Smith, had been born into the riches. Her parents owned one of the largest horse racing companies in the world, breeding, raising and racing the thoroughbreds. Her mother was much more into showjumping herself, and went on to become a trophy winning competitor. She then met Amber's father, William Smith, at a horse race where a few of her families horses were racing, and as her Dad described it, it was "love at first sight". Lucy gave up her showjumping when she fell pregnant with Amber, and hadn't been on a horse since. Instead, Lucy dedicated most of her life to Amber and Aidan, giving them nearly anything they wanted, and because of that Amber had grown up privileged.

"Not long now, Am." her Dad said, as he steered the car through the busy, and wet, freeway. Amber sighed once more, leaning her head back on the carseat, taking a deep breath in. She reached into her pale denim jeans pocket, gripping her iPhone and pulling it out. The earphones were already plugged in, so she just pressed play and put the earbuds into her eyes, letting her eyes flutter close as the soft classical melodies drifted into her ears.

Amber didn't seem like the type of person to want to move to the infamous Murderhouse, instead she seemed like the type of person to prefer moving to an elegant styled house, surrounded in vineyards, with white horses in the paddocks and herself sitting in the sunshine with a soft pink dress on. And in all honesty, that's what she would have preferred. But, something about the Murderhouse was just pulling her in. She had first found out about the house when she had to do a school project based around interesting American landmarks. Most students picked something mainstream, such as Walt Disney World or the Statue of Liberty, but Amber was the type of person to not settle for something as basic at that. She dug and she dug, until she came across a picture of an old-style house, titled ''Murder House''. Instantly she clicked on it, and the history and stories of the house drew her in. If it wasn't for her dream college, Stanford, and the need to produce a gripping and detailed writing piece for her to be able to be selected into the university, she wouldn't have brought it up to her parents when they were discussing moving houses. Aidan had been growing more and more uncomfortable at his school, misbehaving and becoming a lot more troublesome than usual. The Smith's had decided that it was probably time for a change anyway, and so instead of working with Aidan to control his anger, they took the easy way out and moved completely.

Her parents had questioned Amber when she brought up the house in Los Angeles. "Why would you want to move there?" "That's a bit creepy isn't it.." "What about this lovely house here?" But, Amber knew had to get her way, and with some eye battering to Daddy and argumentative points about how lovely the house would be renovated, she won the case and her parents bought the house nearly instantly.


Amber was just drifting off to sleep when she felt the car come to a stop. Instantly her eyes blinked open and she pulled the earphones out of her ears. Curious, her hazel eyes peered out of the car window, up at the house they had pulled in front of. The largeness or style of the house wasn't enough for Amber to become excited, she had lived in and seen better, but the instant creepy vibe and the lore behind the place was. She hurriedly stuffed her old notebook into the white backpack by her feet, slipping her phone into her pocket as well. She slung the bag over her shoulder, and pushed the door of her parents BMW open, grabbing the umbrella propped up against the carseat, hurriedly getting out.

"Bit excited, are we?" her Dad asked as he stepped out of the car as well, stepping over to his daughter, stepping under the umbrella and putting an arm around his shoulder. The two of them stood there, looking up at the house with a sparkle in their eyes. Her Dad saw a house full of potential, with some renovation and a splash of paint, he was almost sure the house would become a masterpiece. When him and his wife first went for the house tour, without their children, they had envisioned the perfect little mansion, where they could live in luxury. Amber on the other hand saw a house full of endless stories and investigating. She almost reached into her bag and got a notebook out just to write about the vibe the house was giving, but decided against it, as the rain was getting heavier and she didn't want to risk ruining her work.

Aidan and her Mother walked up to the both of them under their own umbrella, and the family of four stood there, full of excitement, nervousness and curiosity.

"Well, come on then! Let's go take a look around before the storage truck gets here." her Dad said, and began to walk off towards the front door, dragging Amber behind him.

In an upstairs room, Tate sat at the windowstill, his brown eyes fixed on the family pulling up in the drive way. His eyes narrowed as he watched them get out of the car, and instantly his eyes were drawn to the girl. She had light auburn hair that fell in ringlets onto her shoulders. She was wearing a white dress, with a light blue cardigan covering her shoulders. A white backpack was slung over her shoulder, and she was looking up at the house with such wonder in her eyes. Tate's breath caught in his throat. She was beautiful, he was sure he was feeling the same wonderful feeling he had felt when he first saw Violet...

Just the thought of the girl who broke his heart was enough to send Tate to his feet and begin pacing around the room, his hand running through his tangle of blonde curls. What was he going to? Was he going to stay hidden from these newcomers and let the others scare them off? Or was he going to let himself be seen... let himself become attached again... no... he wouldn't do it, he wouldn't let himself hurt another family as much as he had hurt the Harmons. He fell onto the bed in that room, leaning his head down on his hands, closing his eyes. But... the girl... No. Why not? Because. His head was so full of thoughts he began to shake, tugging at his hair in frustration. What was he going to do?

At that moment he heard the downstairs door slam shut, and he lifted his head from his hands, blinking away the tears that were starting to form. Ever since Violet had sent him away, his emotions had been completely out of whack, more than normal. He got angry or upset at the slightest of things, and wanted nothing more than to hurt himself and sometimes, others.

Amber slipped off her shoes, which were now wet and muddy, leaving them on the door mat. The floor was slightly slippery under her socks, but she didn't even think about that as she ran her hands over the walls and furniture. It had a musty smell to it, and dust was scattered nearly everywhere, but even Amber, a girl brought up surrounded by luxury, could admit it had some sort of beauty to it.

"This place is old." Aidan said, his DS still firmly gripped in his hands though he was no longer playing it. His eight year old eyes glanced around the place, and his face wrinkled up. "And it smells funny."

"Don't worry kiddo, once the storage truck gets here we can fill it with all our things and tidy it up real good." his Dad said, ruffling his hair with his hand.

Amber had migrated to the kitchen, where she was running her eyes over everything. She didn't even hear her mother approach her from behind. "Liking it so far, love?" she asked, placing a hand on her daughters shoulder.

"Oh yes, I can already feel the inspiration to start writing about this place." she said in a hushed tone, turning around to face her mother. Her Mum was still beautiful, despite the fact she had successfully carried and birthed two healthy children. She had the same coloured hair as Amber, auburn, and the same delicate features. The only different between the two was the fact that her mother had bright green eyes, whereas Amber had light hazel ones. Her mother smiled at her, pulling her into a hug.

"I'm glad you suggested this place. We're going to be able to make it just how we want, your father's already planning some of the renovations." she said into Amber's ear, and she smiled lightly. To speak truthfully, Amber was slightly sad that her parents had ideas to renovate the house, and get rid of the historical aspects to it. That's why she wanted to get writing as soon as possible, so she could get as much detail down about the house before it was all gone. Suddenly, Amber tensed, as she thought she saw a shadow dart across the floor infront of her, but she closed her eyes, telling herself not to be stupid. The one thing that Amber wasn't interested in, nor believed in, was ghosts.