better than winning

04 | keys

I furrow my brows at his message and ignore it for the moment. Celine calls my PR manager over and we discuss the new dos and don'ts, that are basically the same. Because they don't even try to limit my social media use, knowing I will do it anyway. During the meeting I glance to my letter a few times, not being able to forget Jamesons words. After Celine releases me from it, I open immediately the letter.

Dear Nayla,

I'm sorry, it was an accident and I wish I could've said it to you earlier, but please forgive me.
I'm begging you, please play the last game with the boys and Avery.

T. T. H.

Is this man crazy? because I am starting to think he is. What accident and game is he talking about? I guess I have to stay at that house until I get my answers. I put the letter into my jacket and tell Celine, that I'm ready to go to the house.I stand in front of the locked doors, Celine quickly disappears before returning with an envelope. She hands it to me while saying, "Alisa warned that, that might happen." Before I can ask her what she meant I see the keys. Dozens of keys. "the fuck?" but before I continue a voice speaks.

"Solve it"

fine I will

"I'll call the law firm" Celine says, but before she types the number in, I take out a paper clip and pick the lock. "You should change locks." I speak, "Nayla, you can't keep doing that, last time you almost got caught" Celine scolds, but still in her professional voice. "Keyword: almost. Don't worry I won't make your job harder." I wave her warning off and go through the door. "I'll look around, call me if I have to be somewhere Celine." I inform her, already wandering off.

I recognise the halls from last evening, this time I notice more things. Sometimes the pattern is wrong, small differences in the colour of the wood and stuff. I walk with my heads full of thoughts until I hear a cough. I snap my hand back up to see a kitchen and a nice looking lady, Mrs. Laughlin, if I remember correctly.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Laughlin. I am Nayla Black. How are you?" I introduce myself politely. "You don't need to say your name, Miss Black. Everybody in this house knows it already." something like that would normally sound scary, but Mrs. Laughlin chuckled it in that sweet grandma voice. "Have you had lunch yet? You look so skinny." she gives me a plate full of food. Chicken with rice and a sauce. I look back to Mrs. Laughlin "Is the-" "Don't worry, there is no celery in there. I got informed about your allergies." she interrupted knowing what I was about to ask. I sit down at the nearest table and I eat my lunch. After finishing I bring my plate back into the kitchen. "Thank you for lunch, Mrs. Laughlin. It was really good." I thank her. "What are you doing? Just leave the plate on the table." she instructs me. "Oh, I really don't mind. I was raised to held staff even if it is their job." I explain and leave the kitchen.

I search for a library. There must be one, right? I had to see if that old man had a special edition book. Lucky me immediately found one, I was on the second floor of the library. A beautiful round library with a wooden stem in the middle serving as a table. It was perfect, everything, except two boys fighting on the floor "Stop it, you know what happened last time, Jamie." Grayson warns, "So do you, Gray" Jameson fires back, they break their fight off and go into separate directions. Because Nash barges in the room, by his side a confused Avery.

"So, whose ass do I need to kick first?", Nash still picked up the previous fight. "Must we always resort to fisticuffs?", Grayson comments in an annoyed tone. "Looks like I have a volunteer for the first ass-kicking, do I have a second?" Nash snaps his head to Jameson. "Couldn't stay away, could you, big brother?" he asks. "And leave the poor girl here with you knuckleheads?" the moment Nash mentions Avery, Grayson seems to finally notice her. "I wouldn't worry too much about Miss Grambs here" Grayson says back with his poisonous tone. "Don't pay any attention to Gray," Jameson informs Avery. "None of us do." "Jamie," Nash warns "Zip it." Jameson seems to be deaf for that moment "Grayson is in training for the Insufferable Olympics, and we really think he can go all the way if he can just jam that stick a little farther up his-" I let out a small laugh, causing him to stop mid sentence and shooting me a look. "Bella! There are you!" he waves to me like a little kid, only making me laugh more as I climd the spiral staircase down, "Please, continue"

Jameson opens his mouth again, but Xander walks in wearing a familiar uniform, "What did I miss?" "You haven't missed anything at all and Miss Grambs was just leaving. I'm sure you want to get settled" Grayson says glancing to Avery at the end. "Wait were you guys brawling without me?" Xander catches on, "This is what I get for being the one who doesn't skip school." he complains. "No uniform. Playing hooky, Jamie? Two ass-kickings it is." Nash decides. Xander suddenly jumps onto him, like a mad man, tackling him to the ground, "Pinned you!" he grins wide. Nash flips him over, "Not today, little brother. Not today" Nash lectures. Weird picture if you think about it two boys wrestling on the ground, two boys just watching and two girls standing awkwardly there, one taking out a phone and snapping a picture of Xander pinned to the ground.

"I should go." Avery says out of nowhere. "You shouldn't be here at all." Grayson corrects, with his signature poisoned voice and ice-cold eyes. "Stuff a sock in it, Gray. What's done is done, and you know as well as I do that if the old man did it, there's no undoing it." Nash puts him back in his place. "And as for you: Self-destructive tendencies aren't nearly as adorable as you think they are.", that directed to Jameson.

"Avery solved the keys. Faster than any of us.", he turns to me, "Well, slower than Nayla, but she picked our lock, causing Oren to fire a few security officers." "Always free to help." I bow, but cock an eyebrow, "But I think I solved the keys faster than Avery, all were basically the same, only one wasn't, right?" Jameson looks shocked, "Why did you pick the lock then?" "It's fun to break the rules?" I say in a duh-tone shrugging my shoulders.

"You gave them the keys?" Grayson snaps out of his thoughts. "We were legally obligated to hand over—" Jameson tries to defend himself but is being cut off, "A key. Not the keys." Grayson finishes for him. Seems like it's a family thing for them, damn Jameson really is in deep shit now. "I was curious how they'd do." Jameson explains "Do you want to hear the time?" "No," Nash replies quick, maybe holding Grayson back from something, instead of answering Jamesons question "Can I get up now?" Xander groans still on the ground, Nash returns his head to him, "Nope."

Grayson has been staring at Avery for the whole time now, I feel kinda bad for her.

"I told you she was special." Jameson mutters.

And I am not?

Grayson walks toward Jameson"And I told you to stay away from her." Grayson reminds him, stopping a few feet away from him."So I see that you two are talking again! Excellent." Xander brings himself into their argument, wrong move.

"Welcome to Hawthorne House, Mystery Girl." Jameson rubs salt into the wound "Stop calling me Mystery Girl.", Avery steps up. "My name is Avery." Maybe I'll call her Ave. "I'd also be willing to call you Heiress." but he directs the nickname to Grayson. "What do you think, Gray? Got a nickname preference for our new landlord?" he asks like he would actually care about his opinion.

"I'm trying to protect you," Graysons tone is different. "I think we both know," Jameson reminds him off something, that's oddly familiar for me "that the only person you've ever protected is yourself."

-

a/n

finally made the whole storyline