Almost Isolated

Epilogue

Two years later...

"Of course you can't come here yet," Neri tried to sound serious but Margot wasn't buying. "Can't you realize that I and my husband may be tired from our flight?"

"Maddie and I will be there soon, you better have food."

Neri rolled her eyes. As much as her cousin wanted to sound like the latter only wanted to drop by for snacks and things she bought for them from Paris; Neri knew Margot missed her as much as she missed them.

"I guess, we have to get up now," Toby said, grabbing her by the waist to pull her close under the covers. Neri didn't know he was already awake and listening.

Toby snuggled against her neck. He was so warm and comfortable. Neri hated the thought of getting up soon. And he said, "As much as I wanted to hold you like this in bed, your cousin can be as bossy as you."

She gave her husband a tender pinch on the elbow and laughed as he winced. "I'm not like her. Take back what you said or else... You'll have to cook breakfast."

Toby chuckled and got up. "So how do you want your egg, madam?"

Robbie or Toby couldn't remember Neri as a girlfriend, but he couldn't let her go.

With Toby working and living with his father in Lucena city and Neri in the province, it may had been impossible for them to see each other again. Then, two months after their brief, unexpected meeting, the young CEO had decided to purchase the Jones' house.

His taking residence nearby, started a beautiful friendship and the awakening of a lost love.

"I have a question." Maddie said turning to Toby as she munched on her potato chips. "Why didn't you turn this house into a mansion?"

Neri's cousins showed up around nine in the morning and helped themselves with a bag of potato chips. The two were not wearing facemasks. According to Margot, the government had announced the involuntary use of facemask.

"Dumb question," Margot put in. "The space area isn't enough, isn't it obvious? Toby's house in the city is four times bigger than this one -"

"Or he didn't want Julian, showing up again if he turns this house into a mansion."

Neri only grinned at her husband who watched amusingly at her cousins as the two started a staring contest. Neri and Toby sat opposite the siblings.

"Toby wanted the original structure, one reason he didn't made major renovation," Neri told the girls.

"And the second reason?" Maddie's narrow forehead creased in concentration. "And the third -?"

Toby gave the younger cousin a wink. "The other, last reason is that I don't want Julian bothering me again."

It was a joke but Maddie was too triumphant to acknowledge it. She turned to the older sister, grinning. "Ha!"

"Yeah! Yeah..." Margot scoffed, sipping from her glass of orange juice.

She almost choked at Neri's malicious question. "So where is Philip? Why didn't you bring him along?"

"Philip's dead!" Maddie spat, grinning at Margot. "Dead considering Margot doesn't love him anymore -" The young girl grimaced. "Yuck!"

"Yeah... Yuck!" Margot rose up from her side of the table. "Come over here, twerp!"

"Hey no fighting here -" Toby said, worried about the girls knocking down some furniture. However, the two had started running around the kitchen and then outside the hall.

Margot was cursing all the way to the second floor while Maddie was screaming in glee. A few moments later, the girls were both laughing.

"Now that was a relief," Toby said. "I thought they are going to wreck the house."

"Fortunately," Neri agreed. "Let's have ice-cream?"

Margot wasn't saying much about Philip that month; Neri gathered that there was a problem. The two did not have an official relationship as sweethearts, but as far as she knew, there was a mutual romantic understanding. Her cousin's eyes were always dreamy whenever talking about the boy. Margot was always excited and talkative about Philip but before the wedding, her cousin had seemed to lost interest in the guy.

Neri thought Margot had a broken heart. Then again, she thought whatever happened; it was for the best since her cousin was still very young for a serious relationship.

There was a shriek from the second floor. Maddie. She sounded frightened.

"What the f*CK! MARGOT?" Neri had just taken out the tub of
ice cream from the freezer; she almost dropped it on the floor.

"Language," Toby reminded her.

"It wasn't me!" Margot's voice sounded also terrified; the newlyweds, hurried for the siblings. They found the two in one of the guest rooms, two doors from the master's bedroom.

"What happened?" Toby's question was directed to Margot who was scowling at Maddie.

"I don't... know -"

Neri's gazed at the mirror and froze. There was a message scribbled all over it, in blood: Help

"There's a writing on the mirror," Neri observed as she joined Maddie forward.

"What message?" Toby and Margot said in unison.

"It's there -" Neri faltered, recalling the two had no third eye like her.

She glanced abruptly at Maddie whose arms circled around her waist. She remembered her aunt, talking about her younger cousin having a sixth sense like herself.

"It read, 'help'," Maddie told her older sister.

"Really?" Margot's voice was doubtful. She squinted her eyes to examine the mirror then gave up.

Well, who could that be? Neri wondered as she exchanged worried glances with her husband.

And she thought, the Jones ghost was over.

~ The End ~ (sweet_phoenix35 091622)

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Author's Note:

Yep, this story was already finished since last year 2022. I had problems with a site plagiarizing this work so stopped posting for a while.

I hope you enjoyed this one. Thanks for all your votes and comments.

Till then, supportive friends and readers. God bless everyone <3

- Maylen