Storm Clouds (Crimson Hills Chronicles Book 1)

Chapter 4

The following morning, Kat woke up with a growing sense of dread hanging around her. When she left the house to head to school, she noticed that dark grey storm clouds were gathering overhead, and the air was heavy with pressure. It smelled like a storm was coming.

That explains it, Kathryn thought to herself. She'd always been sensitive to changes in the weather, so it made sense that she felt off if a storm was brewing.

She didn't see Bridget on her way to school – usually she was smoking with Braeden and Valeria, but on that day they were nowhere to be seen as she walked up the main road to the school.

"Hey, Kathryn!" Oliver called, running up behind her. She'd been so deep in thought that she hadn't noticed him calling her.

"Oliver, hi." She replied with a smile. "Did you manage to make sense of the Biology homework in the end?" She'd been offering him tips and explaining things when they ran into each other. It had almost become a daily thing, to walk to school together.

"Actually, it made much more sense after you explained it to me." He admitted, running his fingers back through his long hair. He had an attractive face – nothing special, just...averagely attractive – and his wavy hair looked soft and shiny, like he looked after it well. She remembered the scent of his apple shampoo and blushed. "So, thanks for that. I really appreciate it."

"No worries!" She flapped, blustered by her internal assessment of his attractiveness. "I'm happy to help."

"In that case," He laughed nervously. "Could I get your number? Then, if I have any issues, I can text instead of hoping I run into you."

Kathryn paused, weighing up whether Aiden would have a problem with it or not.

"Oh!" Oliver gasped. "I'm not...I know you have a boyfriend. It's purely just for help with homework."

Kathryn cocked her eyebrow up in question, slowly pulling her phone out of her pocket. He was just being friendly, that was all. So, there was nothing to worry about...right?

"Right, okay." She said eventually, exchanging phones with him so they could input their numbers. When they swapped back, she saw that he had put his full name, including his middle name. "Oliver Michael Wade." She read aloud. "Wait- Wade as in...Wade Manor? That huge house by the river?"

She'd always loved Wade Manor. It was an enormous Victorian-era manor house, the main house made of red brick and surrounded by acres of land. The river actually ran through their property, so they technically owned part of it. She'd always wanted to see inside, but it was a private residence, not an attraction, and she'd never met anyone who lived there. She knew the occupants were descendants of the original owners, so shared the same surname.

"Uhh...yeah." He admitted, embarrassed. "My triple-great-grandpa Alexander Wade had it built in 1874, when Old Brookton was still a mining village."

"It must be so cool living in such an old house..." She murmured in awe. There were plenty of other old houses on Eden Way, most of which hadn't changed since they were built, but Wade Manor was the oldest and most beautiful.

"Gotta watch out for those ghosties, though!" He said jokingly as he pushed open the door to their biology classroom, gesturing for her to enter first.

They took their seats at opposite sides of the classroom, smiling at each other as class began. The niggling sense of dread didn't start to creep back until after school, when Kat was sat at the back of the art room with Amber, who was finishing off her art project during club hours.

"Are you nearly done?" Kat whined, leaning her chair back on two legs. "I've got an essay to write."

"Art takes time, boo." She mumbled through the paintbrushes held between her lips.