The Magpie's Death

Welcome Home (2)

The greeting was as cheerful and friendly as his sister's and Jade joined him behind the desk. Both had soft freckles dotting fair, rosy cheekbones. Both were slim and attractive, and radiated a relaxed, almost carefree attitude. Standing side by side, even their height was similar, at least half-a-foot shorter than the Magpie. There was a playful smirk on the man's face as he rested an arm around his sister's shoulders. Everything else about the pair screamed twins, but that one look and the sparkle in his eyes made him seem much more youthful.

With a chuckle, he waved the father and daughter over. "Mr. Miller?" Jade corrected him and he nodded. "Ah, sorry. Sam. I'm Jackson Glass, but everyone calls me Jack or Jackie. My sister's away during the day, but I'll be here most of the time, so let me know if you ever need anything."

Leaning over the desk again to get closer to Ellie, he flashed her a grin. Unexpectedly, she inched forward, her eyes a little wider.

"Aren't you precious," he cooed. His sister told him her name and he nodded again. "Ellie. You let us know if you need anything, okay?"

She barely nodded back and the Magpie took in a quick breath, then huffed out an inaudible laugh.

"I guess she likes you." He muttered his words to mask his curiosity. Of all the people for Ellie to find interesting, she chose this man?

"Yeah?" Jack turned to him and grinned again. It was a bright, happy grin that made him pull back, his curiosity turning to surprise. "I'm glad. I like her too."

He grabbed a set of keys from a thin cabinet on the wall behind him.

"Your room is up the stairs, then take a right and go straight to the end of the hall. Since you'll be here a while, we gave you the VIP suite. Which in this house just means the slightly larger room on the end." He winked, handing the keys over. "It does have a great view, though."

Without responding, the Magpie took the keys and picked up his suitcase. Jack nodded anyway. The man clearly liked to nod. And smile. The Magpie was struck with a strange feeling looking at him, but couldn't determine exactly what it was. His smile seemed both genuine and exaggerated, and a hint of something sad hid in his dark green eyes. Something that had been there a long time. His sister, on the other hand, was entirely sunny, her own green eyes always shining. It would be best to stay wary of them both. He was stuck living in this house until who knows when and might need their help, but friendly was the same as nosy. He didn't want to give any unnecessary information away.

Carrying Ellie and the luggage up the stairs, the boards protested at each step. Everything in this house made noise. Door hinges creaked, floors groaned under the smallest weight, and the open space carried and echoed every sound. Sneaking in here would be difficult. These old houses were large, but also cramped, with many oddly-shaped rooms and long, thin halls. Good for hiding, but bad for escape.

Heading down the hallway, he heard a light laugh from below, then Jade's voice quietly asking, "What kind of face is that? You're too obvious."

"What? I can't appreciate a good-looking man?" There was a little chuckle from Jack, followed by a heavy sigh. "With those dark brown, brooding eyes... Did you see the size of his neck and shoulders?"

"Well, I thought he was kind of scary. Like he could be seriously dangerous if he wanted to be. And his little girl's big eyes just staring blankly... Weird family."

Jack huffed at his sister and the floor whined under his feet as he left the desk. "You don't know anything about them. Don't be so judgmental." There was a pause, then the footsteps started again. "I'm gonna check and see if they need anything."

As quickly and as quietly as possible, the Magpie slipped the rest of the way into his room. Tossing the suitcase on the bed, his eyes darted around the space, trying to find the most convincing 'I wasn't listening to your conversation' place to stand. By the time Jack made it down the hall, he was staring out a window with Ellie snug in his arms.