When Things Turn Dark

Chapter 7

As they headed down the stairs they could her a little thump from Alex's room which the girls both shrugged off as some "magic" thing he was doing. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Laura met them with a smile.
"Where are you two off to in such a hurry?" Laura asked.
"To Nerezza's house, I want to see Lamby and see how her parents are doing," Nat answered.
"Oh! If you can, will you take pictures? I'd love to see the lamb and I have to go to work today."
"Oh... Uh... Sure."
"Did you lose your phone?"
"Pshhhh, nah!"
"Alright, have a nice time dear."
Nerezza and Nat hurried off, going down the street to the right and turning left and onto the next road. They then walked to the second house on the odd side. It was a larger house than Nat's, which was a little confusing since Nerezza was an only child. The house was an uninteresting gray with a dull red roof, and had a medium backyard that lead to a huge field, perfect for Lamby. The pavement that lead up to the house was a little faded, and the door always took Nat off guard since it was, in her opinion, a little too grand for a first impression.

Nerezza walked up to the door, opening it with one swift motion. Nat hopped up behind her, bouncing on her heels. Nerezza stared into the deep purple themed entry way. It included two long staircases swirling up to the top floor, making the room perfectly symmetrical. There were also large archways engraved into the navy blue walls, each was filled with a different nick-nack from somewhere in the world. The room always reminded Nat of the universe, and the symmetry always comforted her faith in architecture.
The raven-haired girl let out a deep sigh and threw herself into the room. Nat skipped in behind her with a grin. Nerezza never liked the entry way, it reminded her of those monster reality shows from the 50's and it also vaguely reminded her of a place mourners would go. Her and Nat would make jokes about it, saying it looked like the church of a cult, but after all these years, Nerezza still found the room unsettling. Most of the rooms of her house had brilliant architecture that she admired, but they still unsettled her slightly. She simply would shrug off the odd feeling, but it seemed slightly stronger today.
Nat felt a tug on her hand, making her look to Nerezza.
"You ok dude?"
"You know the feeling I get in my house?"
"Yeah?"
"It's worse now..."

Nat looked at Nerezza, she was trying to tell herself it was coincidence that she had a worse feeling after coming home from a creepy house, but she couldn't say it. Even though Nerezza had a weird feeling, the sight of her dad made her feel a whole lot better. She had always loved seeing her dad, maybe it was because he used to travel everywhere, or maybe it was just how she was.
"I see you brought a wild Nat into the house," Nerezza's dad said jokingly.
"Ha ha, yeah. I did, didn't I?" Nerezza replied while chuckling.
Nat didn't seem to enjoy this as much as they did, but didn't care enough to say anything.
"You gonna watch the lamb for a bit Nerra?"
"Of course dad! Is mom doing well?"
"As always."
Nerezza knew this wasn't always the case, but today must have been a good day. She took Nat to the backyard where a little baa was heard almost immediately. Lamby was a fluffy little white lamb that was walking around the backyard. He quickly ran to Nerezza, she picked him up gently and held him in her arms. Nat thought this was one of the cutest things she had seen in her life.

Nat just stared at the lamb, it was the cutest thing ever! She pet it's head gently and pulled a carrot out of her pocket. She was prepared for almost anything. The lamb sniffed at the carrot and ate it very gratefully. It chewed on it nicely and ate the whole thing.
"Well it sounds like your mom is in a good mood for once," Nat said, meaning it as a joke.
"Hah, you're telling me! I still hope that she doesn't come out he-" Nerezza started before the back door opened to reveal her mother.