Inheritance

Chapter 26

A little past midnight, I found myself wandering towards the kitchen for a late snack. As a child, I'd made a habit of waking up during the wee hours of the night to consume any meal worth getting my hands on. It was something that Mrs. Franks had always scolded me for, but that I never quite managed to break from. 

Now that I was much older, the arduous routine had finally caught up to me. While some customarily relied on coffee to function in the morning, I consistently needed my midnight stack or intense migraines awaited me the following day.

Once I reached the kitchen, I mindlessly rummaged through the fridge until I was welcomed by the underwhelming sight of store-bought Alfredo pasta. I assumed Coco had brought it with her, since she couldn't go anywhere without the damn dish. In fact, I was almost sure she had been eating it the day we met.

Convinced that she wouldn't mind me taking a small sample from the container, I loaded an agreeable amount onto my plate and placed it into the microwave. While the food took up the process of heating, I decided to pass time by exploring the ominous living space. 

From the seemingly ancient portraits, taxidermy, and propped birch logs, something about the house had left me feeling eerie. Walking through the first dimly-lit hallway, I cut my journey short when I spotted an old antique doll perched on top of a dusty bookshelf. The doll stared blankly at me, causing me to nearly trip off a creak on the hollowed wooden floor.

Hurrying back to the kitchen, I returned to the simple task of waiting for my food to finish warming so that I could quickly return to my room. When a strange sound from the back door incidentally caught my attention, I immediately lost my mind. Grabbing a butter knife from one of the nearby cabinets, I fearfully waited for what I assumed to be an envisioned intruder attempting to make their way inside the house.

When the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard approaching the kitchen, I readied myself for whatever was to appear around the corner. Impulsively lurching forward with the knife tightly clenched in my hands, I darted aimlessly towards the head of a shadowy figure.

"Sasha, what the hell are you doing?" Kendall's cold hands caught mine, as I instantly dropped the useless kitchen knife onto the floor. The weapon spun around for a number of times, until gravity chose to act on it.

"I-I'm sorry, I thought that you were um..." Now that I had time to logically consider the unlikely nature of a home invasion when the property had been thoroughly surrounded with security, I no longer felt the need to voice my previous concerns.

"You what? Thought that I was a fucking thief?" His unfettered mockery caused me to gain a small surge of annoyance.

However, my peaking irritation hadn't been enough to blind me from how appealing his current presentation was. He wore a scarfed beanie that tucked away his dark locks. His nose held a small red tint and his eye glasses were set symmetrically upon his somber face. 

It was quite ironic how he almost appeared youthful standing before me in such an unguarded state. But, somehow still effortlessly sexy. Reluctantly, my eyes travelled to the laptop securely tucked into his side.

"Were you working outside? It's almost 2am, Kendall." I said distractedly, only to quickly realize how I had come off like a scolding mother.

"Yes, I know. I am fully capable of reading the time." His eyes were doing that thing they did, where they peered so menacingly at me, making me want to shrivel up into a shell.

The piercing sound of the microwave went off, allowing me to momentarily remove myself from his hold before I became consumed by his domineering aura. I internally thanked the machine for providing a convenient escape from my own personalized dose of heroin that was Kendall Fine.