Deeper Healing

43| Daredevil

Nikolai Coleman

In roughly an hour of travelling, Carlos pulled up in the driveway of the Edwards holiday home.

"This place gives me chills," Leilani remarked quietly, looking at the isolated house a couple of stairs up the terrain. "It's literally in the middle of nowhere," she added turning to me.

Chills was an understatement of the vibes this place gave off. It was deep in the forest and further away from most buildings we'd come across. The land was pretty much vast with a lake surrounding the Victorian-style mansion.

For rich people, it was nothing unusual and pretty much a hobby to have such a secluded enclosure, but maybe it was the fact that it hadn't been used for years that didn't sit well with me.

"It's not too late to turn around and leave," I suggested, looking at Leilani.

She grinned at me, placing her hand on top of mine. "Come on. You scared?" she entreated with a cocked brow.

I chuckled lightly, placing my hand on top of hers. "The only thing I'm scared of is losing you or seeing you get hurt when I could have prevented it from happening."

A soft smile touched Leilani's lips. "You will lose me and see me get hurt every single day if I just sit down and do nothing about the things happening in my life when I possibly have clues, secluded and creepy as they may be."

They could be clues or the perfect scheme to trap her further in mystery and further complicate the web of lies, deceit and drama she was entangled in. The fiery passion in her eyes told me she wasn't backing down and usually, convincing her otherwise was a hustle.

The only thing I could do was walk with her every step of the way. Who knew? Maybe this house held all the answers she needed to be at peace and figure out the source of the misfortunes tailing her.

She turned back to glance at the house before turning back to me. "Antonio wouldn't try and bring me here for no reason. I feel like he's been trying to help but in his usual mysterious nature. I'll have to do the rest myself."

My lips stretched into a small smile as I gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "We don't even know what we're looking for."

Leilani laced our fingers, lifting our held hands to her lips for a kiss. "We won't if we stay in the car any longer. I won't hate you if you stay in the car though. I won't take time depending on what I find."

I chuckled lightly at her implication. "In which universe would I let you do that all by yourself?"

"Exactly," she smiled, opening her door. "Let's go."

I nodded, opening my door as I let go of her hand. Stepping out of the car exposed me to an earthy feel, a fresh gush of petrichor air eddying around me.

Just a few breaths of the air and appreciation of nature and I understood why anyone would want an escape from the city in such a place.

It'd just rained the night before and there were still raindrops everywhere on the tree leaves. I found solace in the tranquillity of the raindrops and the captivating aura they created.

It felt like a momentary escape from the daily hustle, a chance to embrace the elegance of a slower pace, and a reminder that even amidst the stormy skies, beauty and serenity could always be found.

I walked to Leilani's side of the car, directly facing the house. Carlos had left the car first to look around and I could see him go around a curve to the back of the house, his eyes seemingly assessing the ground.

I looked at Leilani, watching as wonder settled in her eyes.

"I know I've certainly never been here before, but I feel like I've seen this house before the more I look at it," Leilani remarked.