Chapter two-
That night, I stayed out on the swing for a while, reflecting about a lot. I’d made up a list of things to do in my head for the next day, then made my way back to the old, dusty house and made up my bed so I could sleep until the next day.
A few days passed (rather uneventfully) and the silence of the house, and in attempt to avoid my own loneliness, I got quite a bit done. I gave the outside accents a new (and well needed) paint job, fixed the furnace and A.C. system, and fixed a lot of the windows old around the house that wouldn’t open or close (they were really super old and instead of sliding up and down, there’s a crank that you turn and the window swings out). I’d gotten the internet set up, and in doing so I researched my school, enrolled online, and printed out my school schedule, calendar, and weekly lunch menu for the first semester of the year.
The following Monday, I woke up to a shrill noise from somewhere in the house.
Mother! A panicked voice in my head shouted at me. Oh god, what’s happened?
I jumped to my feet, still in my pajamas(which consisted of a white tank top and compression shorts) and bolted down the two flights of stairs (I was on the third floor, my mother was on the main) and ran to my mothers door. I tried to open it, but it was still locked.
“Mother?” I yelled at her, banging twice on the door. “Are you okay?”
“What the hell, Kayla, it’s like six thirty in the damn morning. Let me sleep!”
Well then what was that noise…
I heard it again.
I grabbed a nearby vase for my own protection if needed, and crept toward the direction I heard the noise. I rounded a corner, and was surprised to see a silhouette painted on the curtains I had put up over the blue, stained glass front door.
The doorbell… I cursed myself for not thinking of it before. The doorbell had been really messed up for quite a while and makes an awful screechy noise throughout the house. I silently added ‘fixing the doorbell’ to my growing list of home improvements.
I breathed a second sigh of relief and made my way towards the front door. I pulled back the curtain. I couldn’t really make out the strangers face through the distortion the stain glass provided, but I was certain it was a man due to the wide shoulders.
I put my vase down on the entry table (like I could do much damage, anyways) and opened the door. It was Cam.
I put my hand on my heart. “Cam, I hope you know you’ve scared the crap outta me,” I told him. “and I thought I was an early riser. Would you like to come in?” I asked him.
He did this kind of dazzling half smile that I haven’t seen before. It’s the kind that makes your heart thud. Literally, I felt my heart pick up inside my chest. “Sorry bout that. Sure,” I snapped out of my daze, realizing he was waiting for me to invite him in. I backed away and opened the door more to make room for him.
He kicked off heavy looking boots and came in. “I was going to make some tea, but I guess I can find something to make for breakfast, if you want,” I told him, shutting the door and turning to face him.
