She hated him. She hated him more than she ever thought possible. He was a kook- her natural born enemy.
He didn't hate her at all. Not one bit. It couldn't have been farther from the truth. Did she know that? No- and she never would.
-
"You and I...
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〰⋅〰⋅〰
Pope lifted the ornate letter in the air, the address looming in the background. "Twenty-seven King Street."
They were finally there.
"Talk about home security." JJ voiced, glancing up at the huge spiked gate enclosing the mansion on the other side. "Are those spikes to keep people out?"
"No." Kie replied.
"The slave quarters are over there." Pope gestured to them just beyond the plantation. "These spikes were to keep people in."
"Wonderful." Kori voiced, pushing open the gate with a creak. "You think anybody's home?"
"One way to find out." Pope murmured, following after the blonde. As they reached the porch, Pope lifted his hand, gripping the door knocker momentarily. Then he hit it against the door, a loud echo sounding through the house. "You think that was too much?"
"It echoed the entire house, that's for sure." JJ pointed out. "So they definitely heard it."
"Maybe nobody's home." Kie offered.
Kori glanced at her. "Or...they're coming from the fifth floor and we all just need to chill out."
Almost as if on cue, the door swung open. A man stood in the doorway, his eyes scanning the four teenagers. His eyes stopped on Pope, a smirk lifting the corners of his mouth. "You must be Pope."
"Um...Are you Mr. Limbrey?" Pope asked.
"Ms. Limbrey was expecting you yesterday." The man corrected.
"Oh. I'm...I'm sorry. My car broke down on the way up here—"
"Carburetor blew up in the middle of Nowheresville." JJ interjected, causing the man to glance at him. "Sorry about that."
"Yeah, she was, uh, real upset when you didn't show up."
"We tried to call, but there's no number on the invitation." Kie lifted the letter.
"Makes it kind of hard to reschedule an ominous meeting." Kori quipped.
The man tilted his head at her before letting his gaze fall back to Pope. "She also expected you to come alone. The instructions were explicit. Your friends can stay outside."
"Well, we're kind of a package deal, man—"
"JJ," Pope turned to him. "It's okay. I got this. I'll be good."
"Yeah." Kie nodded her head. "We'll be right here."
The three of them went back to the car as Pope went inside, disappearing behind the walls of the huge home. Kori didn't have a good feeling about this. Something was off. Maybe it was the creepy man and his even creepier gaze, but maybe it was the fact that they wanted Pope by himself. That was what really scared her.
