Getting Back To You (Book 2 of Under The Floorboards)

Chapter 5: Kendall

Before the house, I promised Mark that I'd love him until I die. In ways, I have kept my promise. In others, I have broken it. I love him, yes. Meaning that I care about him, but it's different now. I'm not in love with him anymore. I don't feel what I felt. I think that there's a difference between loving someone and being in love with someone. I promised him I'd love him until I die. I love him, I have kept that part of the promise. But I know he took it as how I meant it at the time; I'd be in love with him until death. So in ways, I broke my promise. I haven't thought about what I'm going to do when I see him until now. It wasn't until we pulled into the old parking lot of the train station that I realized that he might still feel it even if I don't. Knowing that, hurts me inside in ways indescribable. What will happen to us if we find our way back to each other?

"What I don't understand is why its at an abandoned train station... What does the train station have to do with any of this?" Nina asks aloud.

"Some things just can't be explained," Zane shrugs.

"But this can. I've been researching the house and how it's connected to this train station ever since Shelly told us they were somehow linked," Damon exclaims.

"Go on," I nod to him curiously.

"Well Shelly said that William was beaten by one of his parents, right? I googled him and found his parents Harriet and Ron Maxwell. Now Shelly never said which parent but I assume it's his father since Ron's background check states that he went to jail multiple times for assault on William's mother Harriet. His parents got a divorce not too long before Ron went to jail, indicating that William may have had a stronger bond with his mother. I looked up Harriet and found her death records which say she jumped in front of a moving train a few months after William had went to college and married Shelly. She committed suicide. William signed her death certificate. So, I dug a little deeper and found out that it was this train station where she died. Maybe William is somehow using this place to gather up more negative energy to make his hold on the house stronger. He may be torturing himself more than he already was in his life by hopping back and forth from the house and the train station," Damon talks rapidly as he punches things into his phone.

"Holy shit. You're seriously brilliant," Alaska stares at Damon in disbelief. He shrugs confidently.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?" I sigh, slumping back into my seat as I pull the key from the ignition.

Snow floats calmly in the air, carelessly drifting through the wind toward the ground. It isn't as cold as usual, today is a bit nicer. We are all well prepared; winter clothes and coats, scarves and hats, boots and gloves, everything to get us through the cold. We each have backpacks with supplies, drinks, food, and things we could use along the way. I know it won't last us the whole time, but at least it will make things easier for the time being.

Once we all exit the car, we stay close together. We each click on our phones flashlight, cautiously making our way toward the broken entrance. Caution tape is covering it, ripped in random spots as it sways in the breeze. Zane goes in first, pulling the tape down enough for him to step over it. We follow in close behind him, Damon being the last in. There are vacant benches and things left behind from those who fled after the accident. A layer of dust coats everything, some of the particles dance in the air. I breathe heavily, thinking of all of the dust entering my throat. Alaska sneezes, causing me to jump in surprise. My heart pounds in my chest, the thumping noise echoing to my eardrums. I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins, I feel as though a thousand eyes are watching me. I knew from the second we stepped through the caution tape and into the train station, we weren't alone.

I sweep my flashlight down a hallway, old papers and trash is scattered about. Spiders cling to webs and a few bats stay motionless as they hang from the ceiling. I hold my finger to my lips, signaling for everyone to be quiet as we carefully tip-toe beneath the bats towards the place to board trains. I can see it not far ahead, the rails of the train tracks shine in front of my flashlight. Alaska sneezes again, causing me to drop my light as my heart skips a beat. My phone shatters as it hits the floor, its light dies instantly. Broken glass chatters across the dusty ground, the bats eyes flicker open. I find myself shielding my head as they squeal and fall from their sleeping positions. I hear their wings beating at the air, brushing against my arms every so often. I bite my lip to keep from screaming, clenching my eyelids closed until everything is silent again. We all regain our balance, glancing around the room wearily. I swallow hard, my heart beating quicker than before. "Is everyone okay?" I ask, my voice is scratchy as I spit at the ground.

"Fine," voices say over each other as we dust ourselves off.

Without my phone, I rely on everyone else to show the way with theirs. Nina jogs ahead toward the train tracks, the rest of us quicken our pace to stay beside her. Once we arrive at the end of the hallway, Damon flashes his light across the room. I stop dead in my tracks as soon as his light hits it.

The train tracks break off into a jagged hole, the actual train only a few feet before it. The windows are too dirty to see inside, but we don't bother looking. The hole looks all too familiar, as if its an exact replica of the one in the house. "So who's going first?" Zane raises an eyebrow. And just like that, all eyes are on me.