𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 [𝐣𝐢𝐦 𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐱 𝐨𝐜]

Chapter 6 | Destiny Awaits

Later in the day, Liz examines herself in the mirror in her bedroom. Wavy golden brown hair flowed over her shoulders, and she was dressed in a light blue sweater with a loose turtleneck tucked into high-waisted dark gray jeans. Covering her feet are white sneaker shoes. Grabbing her brown cross bag and keys, she walks out of the room, only to bump into Douxie. "Whoa there, love. Where are you going, all dolled up?"

Liz rolls her eyes at Douxie's cheeky remark. "I have dinner with a friend."

Douxie gasps in fake hurt, his hand on his chest. "A date! Are you cheating on me, love? I'm hurt."

Laughing, Liz crosses her arms. "Cheating? I would never! And we're not even in a relationship, Doux."

Hands grasping the bedroom door frame, Douxie barred her exit, his hazel eyes staring down into her turquoise ones. "I can make that happen, love. Just say the word, and it shall be done."

Her jaw dropped slightly, her cheeks warming at the notion. Shaking her head, Liz ducks beneath his arm and heads straight towards the door. Before exiting, she glanced at him over her shoulder. "Don't make jokes like that."

Placing his hands in his pockets, Douxie looks back at her with a smirk. "Who said I was joking, love?"

Rolling her eyes, Liz leaves the apartment, her hair swishing behind her. Outside the building, she gets on her blue motorbike and drives off as hazel eyes follow her through their apartment window.

***

Minutes later, Liz arrives in front of the white-paneled single-family house of the Lake family. Parking in the front, she hops off her motorbike and walks to the porch, pressing the doorbell and knocking on the door as it rings. She waits but hears multiple voices, panicked whispers, and shushes from inside. Before she could think more of it, a car honk grabbed her attention. A blue car pulled up in the driveway, parking in front of the garage. The driver's door opens, and Barbara steps out, waving to her in scrubs and a white coat. Liz waves back as Barbara approaches her, greeting her by the front door. "Good evening, Liz. Glad you came."

"Evening, Barbara." Liz smiled. "Thank you for having me over, but I thought you were heading to work?"

"Silly me, I forgot to grab my phone when I left, so I had to come back," Barbara replied as she fished out her keys. While doing so, Liz thought she had heard AAARRRGGHH before hearing the clambering of multiple heavy footsteps behind the door and ascending into a staircase. With keys in hand, Barbara opens the door, letting them in.

The house was empty, but Liz knew something was amiss. Suspecting nothing, Barbara places her keys on top of a side drawer. Suddenly, a loud thud shakes the house. Both of them look up as Barbara calls for her son. "Jim? It's me."

No response came as Barbara glanced at the kitchen, noticing its vacancy. Frowning, she approaches the foot of the staircase, muttering to herself, "That's weird. He's supposed to be preparing dinner."

Liz pretends not to have heard her, observing her surroundings as Barbara turns to her house guest. "Why don't you wait in the living room, Liz? I'll check on Jim and see what's up."

"No problem. Take your time." Liz complies and heads into the living room before sitting on the couch. While Barbara went upstairs, Liz approached the banister at the bottom of the stairway, noticing it was slightly crooked. Then, she heads to the back of the house and checks the back door, seeing it is unlocked. She frowns at that. They should remember to lock their doors at night.

To her left, above her, Liz could hear loud, hushed voices from upstairs above the landing where the basement door stood. She hears four distinctive voices: two loud ones, which she immediately recognizes as Blinky and AAARRRGGHH, and two others she could not decipher. Her best guess was that it was Jim and his friend, Toby. Great, now another human knows the existence of trolls. That's just bloody brilliant.