Smoke And Steel

• Forty-Four - 22 Ocean Avenue •

A/N sorry I haven't updated lately, I just couldn't be bothered between homework and trying to stay sane, plus school has been shiitake mushrooms lately. In other news, it was my birthday the other week ☺️

Ebony

From the outside it looked like a normal suburban home - maybe a little bit nicer than my own, and surprisingly clean for an abandoned house, but pretty normal.

By the time we arrived we'd already been dropped at the Mountford police station, said our goodbyes to Deputy Winchester (that was the nice cops name), called a tow-truck, had the car filled up, and driven here. Eventful morning, I know.

It didn't take long to drive to the house, and once I'd parked the car in the driveway, I looked to Ave to see what he wanted to do next.

"Do you want to go alone, or do you want me to come with you?" I asked, taking his hand in mine and uncurling the fist his was in.

"Come. I want you with me."

"You sure?"

"Yes I'm sure. It's probably nothing anyway and I'm just getting myself worked up."

"Let's go then," I said, opening the car door and stepping out.

Before I could go up to the door I heard Ave say 'wait'.

I spun around and was pulled straight into his arms and into a fierce kiss. My insides couldn't help but melt a little bit when our lips met.

"I needed a little bit of courage," he said with a grin once it was over, still holding me by my waist.

"Well now you've got your courage," I said softly, "let's go inside." I took his hand and led him up the few steps to the door. "You brought the key, right?"

He nodded, pulling a red key envelope from his pocket.

"Then put it in the hole," I said, realizing too late that I was opening up a world of innuendos for him. He must have been nervous though, because all his did was give me a lopsided smile.

It took him a bit of jiggling, but finally the locked clicked and the door was open.

He peeked around the door first, and then opened it fully, revealing a perfectly untouched house. It was as if the house hadn't been touched in the past ten years, and then I realised it hadn't.

Every inch or every surface was covered in a thick layer of dust, and the house smelt like stale air, but it was still magical. Imagine that someone had shut up a show home for a decade, and you would have this house.

Everything was perfectly placed, and perfectly brand new - you could just tell that the house had never been lived in. It lacked warmth.

The only thing out of place, though, was the kitchen table. Well, not the table, but what was on it. In the centre of the thick mahogany table was a gigantic blue box, decorated with a huge blue ribbon.

Avery reached behind him, blindly searching for my hand, and I took it.

"What is it?" He asked, as if I were meant to know.

"I don't know," I said. "I'm not the one with a mysterious key to a mysterious house."

"Do I open it?"

"Obviously."

He took a shaky step towards the table, his hand still grasping mine.
___________________________

Avery

There was a note attached to the box, although I could barely see what was written as the handwriting was so messy. Something inside of me turned, because even though the writing was barely legible, it was familiar.