Stockholm Syndrome

Chapter 1- The House.

"Hi, my name is Trinity Anne Summers. I just moved here and I have an appointment with my realtor?" I waited for the lady at the desk to look up my name and who I was supposed to be meeting with.

"Alright Ms. Summers, have a seat and Jessica Hamilton, your realtor, will be with you in a moment," She shot me a smile which I didn't return. 

I took a seat in a blue leather chair, allowing my body to relax for the first time in the past three months. I had just moved from Melbourne, Australia to Torrance, California. I had spent the past three months selling most of the items in my parents house and then shipped anything else to America. I hadn't really wanted to move, but I wasn't exactly given a choice after what had happened. I already felt homesick, and seeing as I don't have a place to call home right now, I was seriously dreading the move.

"Trinity? Hi, I'm Jessica, your realtor. Based on your specific requirements and price range I have formed a list of homes that are for sale for us to go and look at. Would you like to go today or wait until next week?" I looked at the neatly dressed woman in front of me. Her red hair was up in a tight bun, a tight pencil skirt, a pink blouse that showed hardly any cleavage.

"Uhm, I would like to go today please. How does this work? Do we go in the same car. . . or?" I hadn't done this before, so I was completely clueless.

"Well we could go together to help the environment, and that way you can look through the houses I have picked out and decide which houses you actually want to look at." I nodded and picked up my purse, following her out of the building and to the car park.

As we climbed into her car, she handed me a file containing different houses in the area. I sifted through the images and information, but none of them really caught my eye. Almost all the way through the stack I found the perfect one. It was a decent sized house and was only 10 minutes away from Redondo Beach. 

"This one. I would like to see this one please," I showed her the house and she smiled.

"I had a feeling you would like that one. It's a short drive from here, but feel free to continue looking." Jessica nodded her head before driving onto the busy roads of California.

I didn't bother looking through the rest of the pictures, I already had my mind set on this house. Instead, I watched curiously as Jessica drove, making mental notes about certain buildings and roads. I found myself admiring the craziness of the traffic. I had to blend in as much as possible, even though I knew I had a thick Aussie accent, that I had no desire to lose.

I paid close attention when we arrived into the neighborhood, pulling onto Castle Dr. I could feel the growing excitement as we drove closer to the house. I closed my eyes, wanting to be surprised when I got a first glimpse of my future home.

"Here we are, I hope you like the outside. Nobody has lived here in quite some time, people think the outside is too creepy." Jessica laughed, mumbling something about crazy Californians.

I opened my eyes and gasped. The house was absolutely beautiful. It was a black and creme coloured house, brick pillars holding it up. The front yard held large looming trees, a flower bed full of roses, tulips, and a few other flowers. There was a small pond in the middle of it all, a cute little fountain of wolves howling in the direct center. The garage appeared to be a three car garage. There was a cute little path leading up to the front door, but before you could even get close to the front door there was a gate. The front porch area was fenced off by beautiful iron designs. The fence was tall and looked sturdy with all of the iron that made it up. The gate had a lock, along with a security pad for codes.

"It's beautiful," I whispered, stepping out of the car and following Jessica up to the gate, watching in wonder as she typed in a code, entered a key and pushed the door open, stepping aside for me to walk in first.

"Of course, if you choose to get this house you will be able to change the security code and lock. That's for your own privacy and protection." She explained.

I nodded my head and waited for her to unlock the large door to the house. I was practically bouncing in excitement. When the door opened I grinned even wider than I had previously been. The door opened into a hallway, that had one closet for shoes and coats. As we walked down the short hallway you could see the first staircase. To say I was happy was an understatement, this was my dream home. The staircase had an iron handrail, black carpeting and a wall that hid the second set of stairs leading upstairs. Looking to the left before reaching the stairs, there was a huge living room. No furniture yet, thankfully, but it had a beautiful fireplace- a real fireplace. Walking into the room I took note of the large wall made up of windows that showed the front yard, on each side of the window wall were black curtains, currently tied back with little black ribbon.

"If you follow me this way, there is a dining room area." I followed Jessica through the living room and to the right.

She had made the dining room sound small, when in reality, it was massive. There was a huge chandelier, pure crystal, and a place where you could put a long, oak, dining table. On the right, there was a swinging door that lead to the kitchen, counter tops made up of granite, black cabinets lining the wall. There was a breakfast bar, a sleek stove on the inside. Above the stove was a wine glass holder, empty for now. On the other side of the bar were four black stool chairs, that had back rests and arm rests. The fridge was on the opposite wall, a nice steel refrigerator that had two doors and a drawer underneath. On the other side of the kitchen was another swinging door that lead to a smaller room, which I would turn into a library. To the left of that was a sliding glass door that lead to the backyard. The backyard wasn't huge, but rather a cute garden, a few fruit trees lined the fence and a small stone path weaving through other sections of the garden.

The house didn't have a basement, which I was thankful for, I had a fear of basements. There were three bedrooms upstairs; the master and the two guests. There was a long hallway that separated the master bedroom from the two guest bedrooms. There was a decent sized bathroom near the guest bedrooms, but I didn't really care about that, I was excited to see the master bedroom. I opened the black door and walked in. The main area of the room was massive, an area for a new four-poster bed, a lounge chair (probably a princess sofa) and a walk-in closet. At the back of the closet there was a door that lead to a staircase. Jessica told me that the stairs led down to a room that would be my art studio. The bathroom in the master bedroom was huge, a hot tub sized bath, a shower with glass doors. A black counter top with  two red porcelain sinks. Did I mention that all the carpets in the house were black?

"I'll take it. How soon can I move in?" I grinned, finally feeling at home.