**Chapter 5: The Cracks Beneath the Floorboards**
441 Words
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The letter stayed in Evelyn’s hand long after the tears dried on her cheeks.
She felt hollow—like the house had swallowed something vital inside her.
Rosie.
Her twin sister. A name erased from memory, buried beneath years of silence and grief.
But she was never truly gone.
She had been here. Watching. Waiting.
---
That night, Evelyn tucked Lila into bed and kissed her forehead.
“No more attic, okay?” she said gently. “You don’t need to talk to Rosie anymore.”
Lila blinked up at her. “But she said she needs you.”
Evelyn tried to smile, but her heart sank.
“She’s not angry,” Lila whispered. “But she’s scared. The bad man is still here.”
---
Evelyn froze.
“What bad man?”
Lila looked down at her blanket. “The one who lives under the floor.”
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Later, Evelyn sat alone in the attic again, flashlight in hand. She stared at the rocking chair, the doll, the drawings. Everything felt colder now. Sharper.
She dropped to her knees and began checking the floorboards.
They creaked under her weight—old wood, warped and dry. But something felt… wrong.
She knocked.
Once.
Twice.
*Thud.*
The third knock echoed back—hollow.
There was something beneath the boards.
She grabbed a screwdriver from the tool cabinet and pried open the loose plank.
Dust swirled.
Her fingers brushed against something wrapped in fabric.
A small bundle.
She pulled it out and unwrapped it.
---
Inside was a **child’s dress**—Rosie’s. Blue, torn, and stained with something dark.
Beneath it was a **diary**. The cover was cracked, the pages yellowed.
The first page was written in shaky handwriting:
> *If you're reading this, I didn’t fall.*
> *He pushed me.*
>
> *He said if I told, Mommy would be next.*
> *So I stayed quiet.*
>
> *But now I’m stuck.*
>
> *Please, Evelyn. Help me.*
>
> *– Rosie*
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Evelyn’s mouth went dry.
She felt the attic shift around her—as if the walls were listening.
Suddenly, a loud bang echoed from downstairs.
Lila screamed.
Evelyn jumped to her feet, heart racing, and sprinted down the stairs.
“LILA!”
She found her daughter standing in the hallway, trembling.
“The man was here,” she sobbed. “He was in my room.”
Evelyn pulled her into her arms.
“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” she whispered.
But her eyes drifted to the dark staircase leading back up to the attic.
Something was hiding up there.
Not just Rosie.
Something worse.
---
*
- Writer
