In the middle of it all.

CHAPTER 3

Song: "Basket case" - by Greenday.

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Daxton wasn't sure what he expected when he arrived back home with Mikayla and their plan in mind. A part of him expected a disaster zone with workers running frantically around a house filled with broken furniture. He expected the staff to rush to him, frightened that Cameron was on the loose and terrorizing the city. He was prepared for that. He'd understand that.

He didn't walk into that.

"Hey, you're back." The house was quiet. Calm and orderly. Cameron was on the sofa watching his last decent film on the massive flat screen. A glass of water was beside him, though it looked untouched.

Daxton wasn't sure how to react. "Hi," he mumbled nervously. He kept looking around the room, wondering when the closet doors would burst open with whatever incriminating evidence Cameron had lying around.

Cameron paid his brother no attention and continued to mime along with the dialogue on the screen. Daxton stood in the entry way, a perfect place to be to see three rooms at once. Nothing was different. He could still feel Mikayla's hand on him where she gripped the piece of his arm above his elbow. She was slightly behind him, Nelly alongside her. She was very quiet and stiff. He wondered how all this felt to her.

"What's going on?" She whispered from beside him. Something quivered in her voice and Daxton turned to look at her. Her face gave her away. She was frightened.

He placed his left hand gently over hers and pat it. "It's alright. We're just standing in the entryway. Cameron is watching a movie."

Mikayla nodded. "I agreed to come here without Annabelle because she trusts you but, it means you need to help me instead of her."

His eyebrow quirked curiously. "What do you mean?"

He watched her swallow. "It makes me anxious being in new places. I need you to be my eyes, to tell me what's going on and to not forget me here."

Now it made sense. "My apologies. This is new to me."

"I know."

He smiled. "Let's see if I can get this right. Shall I explain where we are?" She nodded. He looked around the large house and tried to look at it as though it were all new to him. "We're in the house Cameron and I share. It's a large house, probably a mansion depending on who you ask. We have a few staff members who stay here too so this place has a lot of rooms. The main rooms are all upstairs though. We're downstairs at the moment. The front door is behind us. To the left is an archway that leads towards the kitchen. If you listen carefully you might be able to hear Mary walking around, cooking lunch."

He watched as she turned her head slightly to the left. He kept quiet and watched as a small smile eventually came across her face. "I hear pots and classical music."

He smiled. "Mary, the chef, can only cook when there's classical music around her. She says it zones her into her task. She's an amazing cook."

"You seem fond of her."

He shrugged. "She's been with us for almost ten years. She's one of the first hires I ever made. She's sweet, cooks well and doesn't let Cameron get away with anything. I need that here."

Mikayla giggled and subconsciously tightened her hold on his arm. It felt nice and warm.

"Let's continue shall we. In front of us, quite a distance away, there's a staircase. It's big and spirals to the left slightly before ending at a hallway. Like I said, most bedrooms are upstairs. To our right is another arched entryway. It leads into the living room. The room is massive, probably the size of Nick's living room and kitchen combined. It's got a lot of windows because Cameron likes the natural lighting. There's a big sound system and because of all the space, the sound travels. It's best not to go there when Cameron is watching one of his movies. It hurts your ears. It always amazes me he isn't deaf already." He laughed and then stopped, wondering if he had accidentally offended Mikayla. "Sorry."