Stolen Souls

chapter three

"I knew you were trouble
when you walked in."
-I Knew You Were Trouble, Taylor Swift

chapter three

Ten minutes later, James parked the car in a gravel driveway of the house. It was the oldest, most rundown house I had ever seen. The siding was drastically faded and there was a pile of fallen roof shingles in the overgrown grass. Most of the shudders by the windows were crooked. Even the windows had a thick gray film over them from the lack of washing. It amazed me that people could actually live there.

It was pitch black outside, and there were no outside lights. The only source was from the headlights on the car. The boys got out, and it was Camden who opened my door this time.

I followed James as he walked towards the front door. Camden was behind me, eyeing the dirt roads.

The wooden front door opened with a long and loud creak. I stepped inside the dimly lit living room. There was a worn out, faded navy blue couch in the corner. It had a plaid blanket draped over it, which actually looked fairly new. The moth eaten beige curtains were drawn behind it. The tv in the opposite side corner looked ancient and dusty. There was a deep brown coffee table in the middle of the whole room. On top of it was a large candle that smelled of vanilla bean. It was sitting next to a transparent vase of white roses. The ceiling hung low, and James had to duck as he walked underneath the dusty copper chandelier.

A tall blonde girl came rushing into the living room. She was wearing high waisted jeans with a white t-shirt. In her hand was a cream colored dish towel. This must be Courtney.

She looked flustered when she started yelling at James. Both of the boys stood in front of me, and Courtney hadn't noticed I was there yet.

"Where have you been?" She screeched, "Do you know how scared I get when I come home and you aren't here?"

James was the first to speak, "It's fine. We're here now, aren't we?"

She flung the towel at him without letting go as she retorted, "That's not the point! You always do this. You leave without telling me where you're going! Both of you!"

Courtney was starting to hyperventilate, and I actually felt bad for her. They obviously have done this a lot to her, and she was starting to break from it. I didn't know anything about their lives, but this was unfair.

"Everything's going to be fine," Camden threw in.

"Everything is not going to be fine! One of these times you're going to get us-"

Courtney was frozen in place after she spotted me. Fear was spelled out clearly on her pale face. After a few moments, she finally whispered calmly, "James, who's this?"

James bit his lip as his eyes panned from me to Courtney. After a while, he quickly spoke, "It's going to be fine. Just take her to the guest bedroom."

He started to leave the room. When he was next to Courtney, James placed a quick kiss on her cheek. He then walked out of the room into the next. All the color drained from Courtney's face, and she stood rigid in place. Camden followed James, and when he tried to kiss her also, she put her hand up to stop him. He shrugged, and followed James into the next room. It was now just Courtney and me.