Curiosity Kills

Chapter 1

We have all heard the expression, "curiosity killed the cat," but curiosity can also put us in some pretty tight situations. My brothers and I had no idea what we were getting into the day we entered that house. All I know is that it changed our lives forever.

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For as long as I could remember, the house across the street had always been abandoned. Nobody even looked in its direction because of the legend that had developed over the years. It was said that all who enter that house will never leave it. I didn't believe it until they moved in.

It was springtime, the weather was finally warming up and school had just ended for the summer. I was outside with my brothers, Luke and Hayden, when I saw the moving van outside that creepy ass house. I thought in the back of my head, "They must not be from around here since they chose to buy that house." It didn't concern me though so I continued with my day. Luke and I were playing catch in the front yard while I kept an eye on Hayden. He doesn't really need me to watch him since hes almost seven but mother insisted. He was playing with the remote controlled car that my mom had just bought for us to share. I was teaching Luke how to throw a curve ball. He plays shortstop for the local team. I, on the other hand, enjoy track and field. I'm a natural runner and hurdler. Our fun was cut short when our mother called us inside.

"What's up mom?" She rarely makes us come inside on such a nice day. She likes it better when we play outside rather than sit inside on our phones and laptops all day. I looked at her and noticed she was holding one of her pies. Her pies are famous in the neighborhood. Everyone always came around hoping to snag one.

"Did you notice the moving van at that old house?"

"Yea, why?"

"I wanted to go welcome the new family but I'm in the middle of making dinner. Would you three take this over to them and tell them that I would love it if they came over for a visit sometime?" She smiled at us. Did I mention my mom has one of those world-class smiles? It takes a lot to say no to her.

"Sure mom, we can do that."

"Thank you, boys. Don't take too long though. Dinner will be ready in an hour." I have to admit, taking the pie over that old house wasn't something I really wanted to do. We could've just taken that pie and ate it ourselves, but mom would probably question us on what the neighbors had said about it.

We crossed the street and headed up to the front porch. It was almost falling apart. The paint had worn off, some of the wood boards were coming loose, and there were cobwebs everywhere. Hayden was clutching my arm as we got closer. Luke just couldn't stop staring at this place. It was the oldest building on the block and this was the closest we had ever been to it. I walked up the steps with my brothers in tow behind me. I tried the doorbell but, of course, it didn't work, so I used the old brass knocker. Secretly, I'd always wanted to use a knocker like that, but mom always said no when I suggested getting one for our own door. I waited for about a minute and then the door was opened by a middle-aged woman. She was very pretty with her long black hair and stunning green eyes. I guessed she was around 30 or so as she didn't look very old.

"What can I do for you boys?" Her voice was like silk. It was soft and flowing.

"We saw the moving van and our mother wanted to give you one of her pies to welcome you to the neighborhood." I handed her the pie and she smiled.

"I would invite you in but the place looks quite awful right now. We can sit on the porch for now." Her and I sat on the stairs while Luke and Hayden sat in the grass. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Juliana Riddl. My husband, Heath, moved us here for his job. He's becoming quite the famous architect which is party the reason that he chose this house. He fell in love with the design of this house and the old-time aura it seemed to give off."

"My name is David. I'm fifteen. I let the other two introduce themselves.

"I'm Luke. I'm eleven."

"And I'm Hayden. I'm seven."

"Very nice to meet you all." I heard a creak behind us and saw a young girl watching us from the doorway. She was beautiful like her mother except she had blonde hair and enchantingly blue eyes. I guessed she took more after her father. Juliana turned around and saw her. She waved her over to us. A small beagle followed close behind her. "This is my daughter, Tara, and our dog, Vix. She is about to turn ten." Tara looked us over a couple times but didn't say anything. I tried to get her to talk.

"Do you like your new house, Tara?" She shook her head. It didn't seem like she was too fond of living in such a beat up old house.

"I'm sorry, she hasn't said much since we got here. She is still angry with us for moving so far away from our old home."

"I understand. That must be very hard to do." I enjoyed talking with Juliana and meeting Tara but it was getting late. "It's getting late, we have to go home for dinner now. It was really nice to meet you both. I hope you come over to visit and meet our mother soon."

"We surely will. Tell your mother we said thank you for the pie and it was very nice to meet you as well." We waved goodbye and started heading back down the walkway. Luke turned around one last time and when he turned around he had a big smile on his face. Hayden noticed right away.

"Why are you smiling so much?"

"Tara was watching us go and she smiled at me. She's really pretty."

We crossed back over the street and went in the house to get ready for dinner. Mom was waiting for us and asked us how everything went. We told her all about Juliana and Tara and how nice they were.

After that day, except for the occasional dog bark coming from the house, we never saw hide or hair of Juliana or Tara again.