Highest Rank #61 in Fanfiction! Juliette McGill finds the perfect position as a nanny for a young boy with special needs. Only when she arrives at the family's home in British Columbia, she discovers that the boy is not quite what she expected and t...
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"Are you ready to return to the house?"
Harry and I regarded each other slowly, trying to read each other's minds. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Clive momentarily squeezed Anne's hand. Then it was like we all decided in the exact same moment and we all agreed, "Yes."
Of course, Dad had never been there, but he was definitely willing to come for moral support and whatever help he could offer.
"So you'll want to connect with some contractors as soon as possible. We're lucky there hasn't been much snow yet, but you definitely want to see what they can do soon."
"I wouldn't even know where to start," Anne said.
Nathan turned to Clive. "There's enough credit in the estate for some of the necessary work to begin now, especially cleaning up the smoke damage. It's already been the better part of a month and you need to address that as soon as possible. Then you have to decide about rebuilding the part of the house that was burned."
"It just feels so strange to walk in and take over," Anne said, shaking her head.
"But it was your home and it still is your home. Legally. So go and do as you see fit," Nathan encouraged her.
"Okay," she said with a deep sigh. "Let's go then."
"I'll drive," Clive offered. We nodded solemnly.
I was surprised to find that he had a nice SUV similar to the one he had driven for Theodore. Harry, Dad and I climbed into the back and Clive opened the door for Anne to get into the front seat beside him. Harry and I exchanged curious looks and then Dad gave us the same look. I think we all noticed how friendly the two were becoming.
It was a longer drive than I remembered, getting up to the house. Of course, we first had to cross on the ferry and then drive into the hills above Victoria. We also stopped at a hardware store and Clive went in alone, telling us to sit tight. When he came back out, he handed a bag to Harry and me. In it, there were dust masks, rubber gloves and trash bags. Neither of us said anything, we just smiled at him in thanks.
I recalled the first time I traveled this road with Clive, how he was so quiet and cut off. I could never have imagined we would be together under these circumstances. As we came closer and closer to the house, I started to feel less settled, less ready to see the actual carnage we had caused. I was seated between Harry and my dad and I grabbed both of their hands and squeezed tight.
Clive pulled into the drive and stopped in front of those massive doors. The house still looked so lovely on the outside. I was glad that most of it was still intact; I would have hated to destroy the entire thing. But we did what we had to do to escape.
We stood outside for several moments, just looking at it. Anne finally spoke, "Well, should we go in?" She pulled out a key that the lawyer had given her; the police had gotten it from the house staff after they first questioned them. She unlocked the door and we walked in. Aside from the acrid smell of smoke and a thick layer of dusty ash, the place appeared to be just the same as when I had first arrived.
