Chapter Text
Lydia crept down the stairs to the long forgotten basement. In the months since they’d moved in and renovated the home, for some reason, the basement had been left untouched. But now the house was hers. Well, her’s and Beetlejuice’s. They’d had the house to themselves for nearly a full day now since the demon had terrified her dad, Delia, and their egotistical guests. He’d now gone to set up for the evenings scaring festivities, and, now fully unsupervised, she had decided to get acquainted with the one room in the house not even the Maitlands wanted her to see. The basement.
The energy within it felt heavy and eerie. It had been vacant since the cleaning crew had long since removed the Maitlands’ corpses and scrubbed away at the blood and gore left behind. Well, as much as they could.
She paused at the bottom of the stairs. Taking a moment to settle her pounding heart as she looked around. It was easy to tell where exactly the floor had given out nearly a year ago. Not that the Maitland’s had informed her of the date they died. They preferred to forget. But that had not stopped her from doing her own research of the home which resulted in the discovery of their obituaries.
The teen’s gaze fell naturally to the floor beneath the newer looking boards. There was a distinct patch of concrete that remained darker than the rest. Her stomach turned. Yeah she had watched a variety of horror films full of blood and gore and obsessed over bones and death; but this was different. This was the death site of her friends . Her family . The image of the Maitlands’ broken, contorted, and cracked bodies laying in a bloody pool sickened her, and she darted her gaze away to another section of the basement.
It was evident that this space had been used as Adam’s primary woodworking space. Three antique furniture pieces in various states of restoration sat abandoned. It was as though Adam had just walked away, leaving a fresh coat of stain to dry. Except, the furniture had now collected layers of dust, as had the counter along the wall with all of its intricate tools. It was clear he was a skilled artisan. Lydia would have to bring some of this upstairs for them. She knew he’d never return to the basement. He had every reason not to.
Finally her gaze landed on a small cozy den area the couple had created. Likely so that Barbara could keep Adam company, and maybe work on her own hobbies alongside him. But something strange caught Lydia’s interest. On the small couch that sat in this section, there were a variety of blankets, pillows, and…toys. Those of a child. She frowned. They never had kids. Maybe they were preparing for one? But these looked both brand new and somehow worn. Like they’d been used.
She sighed. Perhaps this was where Beetlejuice had made his home while watching the Maitlands. Yet, why would he have toys around? Yeah he was probably bored, but she highly doubted Beetlejuice would be interested in playing with any of them.
She moved toward them. Something still felt odd. Ever since discovering she could see the deceased she had begun to recognize the feeling of a non-living presence. She felt the familiar shiver run through her, like she was being watched. The feeling grew the closer she stepped toward the scene, and she froze when she heard the whisper of a footstep behind her. Lydia took a slow, reassuring breath before returning her focus, leaning curiously to pick up an artifact. A small, soft, teddy bear. But before her fingers could touch the fabric -
“Don’t.”
The voice was clear and unfamiliar. Lydia stopped immediately and spun around. There stood a girl. She appeared no older than herself. A longing, sad, but determined gaze in her pale sea-green eyes.
“Who are you?!” Lydia inquired. No one else had died in this house. She did her research. She would know.
“Go away,” was all the ghost replied.
“Not until you tell me who you are, this is my house!”
The child looked confused and all the more agitated.
“Leave. Now. Before he sees you.”
He. Beetlejuice?
“What do you mean? BJ? He’s my friend. He wouldn’t hurt me.”
The child seemed to grow more agitated and pushed her toward the stairs. “Go! NOW! This is my space! Get. OUT.”
Lydia huffed in annoyance and decided to just give in. She could ask Beetlejuice about it later. Heck, maybe even the Maitland’s would know. But then again, they would definitely know if there were another ghost hanging around here…right? Lydia glanced one last time back down the stairs to the darkness below. The girl was gone.
Lydia sighed, rolled her eyes, and left the basement, slamming the door behind her as she went off in search of her friends.