The Nightcolt Manor

(2)

About a week later, after getting the keys from Shannon and signing the contract and getting all of her materials together, Nadine drove back to the manor.

She pulled open the gate, hopped back in her car and parked in the cobblestone driveway. She sighed dreamily as she stared up at the large building, pulling out her keys to unlock the front door. Walking in, she took in a deep breath. "Time to get started." She grinned, walking up the stairs and taking a left down the farthest corridor and into the first room. She started with stripping off the already-peeling old wallpaper. After checking for water damage, she found none and moved onto the next room when something caught her eye.

One of the floorboards was loose.

She clicked her tongue and squatted down, inspecting the plank curiously. She decided to lift it up to see if the wood itself was fine but when she moved it aside she was met with a small polished box stowed away. Her hazel eyes lit up, a smile plastered on her face. "Hell yeah, antique and secret treasure.." Nadine muttered aloud, picking up the box and pulling it out of the hole.

She turned it around in her hand, shaking it softly to gauge whether she could tell what was in it. When that didn't work, she finally unhooked the latch and opened it. So it is a jewelry box. Nadine smiled to herself as she looked down at the beautifully made gold ring. In the center was a single blood-red ruby surrounded by pearls. "Wonder who you belonged to." She spoke to herself softly, still staring down at the pretty object in hand.

She was startled from her thoughts when a loud bang sounded from down the hallway.

She quickly got up, pocketing the ring box and racing out of the room. She stared down the darkened hallway. There were no windows in that corridor so she couldn't see anything. She squinted, trying to get a better look. She rolled her eyes, "Shay, if this is your idea of some sick prank, it's not working," Nadine spat, marching down into the darkness fearlessly. Once she was at the end, she peeked into the last door on the right which had a window. The sudden light from opening it hurt her eyes, but when they opened again she saw that a heavy bookcase had somehow managed to fall down.

Nadine frowned and tried desperately to haul the thing off the ground to no avail. She sighed, "How the hell did you even manage to fall in the first place?" scolding the inanimate object frustratedly. She turned on her heel to walk out of the room only to find that the door was.. closed?

She could have sworn she hadn't closed the door behind her. She grabbed the doorknob, jiggling it a bit before realizing it was locked. "Fuck. This isn't funny, Shay!" Nadine yelled through the door ferociously. She jiggled the doorknob once more before laughing. "Alright, fine. You got me. Yeah, I was scared." Nadine said. She jiggled the doorknob one more time and it opened. She grinned, expecting to be greeted with her friend's blue eyes and platinum-blonde hair.

Instead of that, however, her eyes were met with a man's waistcoated chest.

Her face immediately fell and she froze, or more like the air around her froze from the abrupt temperature change. Her breath hitched and she felt as though she couldn't breathe, all the while feeling the soft, cool breaths of the man looking down at her. She closed her hazel eyes tightly, before forcing her gaze upwards. It's not real, it's not real, it's not real. She thought repeatedly.

When she finally opened her eyes and looked up, she was met with.. nothing? She let go of the breath she had been holding in, taking gasping breaths in return. After standing there for what felt like an eternity calming down, she finally walked back down to the room she was in previously, grabbed her stuff, and quietly left the manor. Hopping in her car, she drove off.

——

Once Nadine was home, she sat down on her couch, still dazed from the incident. Ugh. Snap out of it, Nadine. She scolded herself defiantly. She patted her pockets in search of her phone when she remembered: The ring box!

She pulled it out, opening the box once again to look at the ruby and pearl ring. Finally, she pulled the ring from the velvet and slid it onto her ring finger. It fit perfectly. "At least something went right today." She muttered to herself, sliding off the ring and putting it back in its box. Should I tell Shannon about what happened today? No, no, she'd definitely make a huge deal out of it. I'd never live it down. She thought to herself and got up, walking into her kitchen to make herself dinner.

All night, her skeptical mind searched for a reasonable explanation. I only got around four hours of sleep the night prior. She convinced herself that her lack of sleep caused some sort of phantasm. "Guess that's my sign to fix my sleep schedule." She said to herself, pulling the sheets over her body. She finally closed her eyes, drifting off into a very restless sleep.

——

Nadine awoke to her alarm clock ringing obnoxiously. She sat up, rubbing the neverending tiredness from her eyes.

Her dreams certainly hadn't been the most enjoyable things and she woke up repeatedly during the night. I guess I should get ready. I have a contract to fulfill and I can't just back out now. She frowned, running her hand through her brown hair and getting out of bed to shower.

After her shower she got dressed, slipping on some warm leggings and throwing some pleated grey shorts over them and a blue sweater. She tied her up into a braided bun and got to work on her breakfast when her phone started to ring.

"Morning, Shay." Nadine answered as she took a bite of her eggs. "Good morning, Nadine! I was just calling to ask how long this project will take.." Shannon said.

"Well. My guess is about a month and a half. Luckily, the place isn't nearly as damaged as I assumed. Really, it only needs a good cleaning."

"Y'know, this would take a lot less time if you had help." Shannon said in a sing-song tone. "Yeah, yeah. I know," Nadine responded, "I work better when I'm alone. Always have, even on those school projects you would beg to pair up with me on." She laughed, throwing her plate into the sink. "Oh, hush! Your projects were good on their own, but I just added a little color." Shay said.

Nadine grabbed her coat and unlocked the door. "You're right, Shay. But, I do have to get off this call. I have a huge house to cater to." She said goodbye and hung up the phone, off to the old mansion once more.