Brahms: Unmasked

Returning To The Heelshire Mansion

The book cover is made by MarinaM56 , so go give her a follow!

After a long hard battle with Brahms, you manage to escape with an injured Malcolm. Part of you feels overjoyed that you have successfully managed to free yourself from this fanatical ordeal, but part of you feels some sort of sorrow for this lost soul named Brahms.
As you continue to drive Malcolm to safety, it hits you that maybe you should return, so you can find out who Brahms really is and why he was in the walls for all of this time. After all, it's clear that he has fallen deeply in love with you.
What is going through my mind? Do I really want to do this?

After taking Malcolm to hospital, you start to slowly drive back to the Heelshire mansion, only realising how over powering and dominant it really seems from the outside. You step out of the car, shaking nervously as your about to face that dirty white porcelain mask once again. You open the huge, creaky wooden doors, as quiet as you can, hoping that Brahms cannot hear you entering the house. There is no sight of him anywhere. Its like nothing happened a couple of hours ago. As you walk around the corner, you enter the library. You make a horrifying discovery...
As you peer around the corner, you can see what looks like Brahms, dragging Cole's lifeless body back into the walls.
Brahms' ugly green cardigan is removed, exposing his muscular, slender arms. Now his stained singlet is in view.
In your innocent, and naive voice you say,
"Brahms?"
He drops the body to the ground and stares at you in confusion and astonishment, wondering why you came back. In his hair-raising childish voice, he says,
"Greta?"
You ask him why he is dragging the dead body back into the walls. His response is,
"I will make him suffer for what he has put you through".
Am I hearing this right? A loonatic trying to fight my battles? Cole is dead.
After a while, you are finally able to convince Brahms that Cole suffered enough, when he pushed and shoved the sharp piece of porcelain into his jugular. Brahms then followed you into the kitchen. By this point, you were very anxious and highly strung, as you were alone with a psychotic murderer who could kill you in seconds if he wanted too.

As awkward as it was, you ask him why he wears that grubby, hideous porcelain mask.
"Why do you wear that mask?"
He looks at you, his eyes glistening in the light, almost making you feel sorry for asking. He finally alters his voice.
"I don't like my face. It's ugly."
In your head, you try to piece together the information Malcolm told you about him. He murdered when he was a child, and he was in a fire. Maybe his face is burned or scarred?
"Can I look at your real face?"
As expected, Brahms answers with a firm, "No!"
He must be very self conscious about it.
You attempt to encourage him by saying, that if he removes his mask, you will stay and look after him. To be honest, I assume that either way, I'll be staying here.
I must have been very desperate to see his face, as no one in their right mind would stay and look after and unpredictable psychopath! Without a word, he began to slowly take his mask off, reaching behind his small ears, causing it to slide off of his face and into his hands. You became nervous but excited. As he removed it, you began to see his guilt free looking face. On the left looked like a normal man, that was very shy and timid, just like Mr Heelshire told you when you first arrived. On the other hand, the right side, it was a completely different story. He had red, blistering, infected burns/scars, which looked extremely uncomfortable and painful. Wearing the mask must have irritated them more, so it must have been a relief when he removed it. Amongst all of this, you were happy because you were seeing his face for the first time. This is Brahms Heelshire. His spirit which you thought was possessing the doll.

He didn't look like a guilty man, just misunderstood and stereotyped by the wrong influences. His dark, twisted curls bounced upon his forehead and covered his sparkling orbs.
Part of you felt so guilty, and you just wanted to free him from this peculiar lifestyle, but part of you felt frightened of this male. Or what he could do to you.