Everything Has Changed: Book Four

Chapter Thirteen: Finding A Way Home

Chapter Thirteen: Finding A Way Home

We rode the city bus to a stop down the street from my old house and I clutched Danny's hand desperately.

I tried to insist I wasn't coming, but Emily told me she was hungry and Ethan started throwing a tantrum, and I decided to be a good parent and suck up my feelings.

Now we're walking down a silent street and the closer we get, the more afraid I feel.

After a while, we reach the house and all of us stand in the front yard.

"No wonder it won't sell." I mutter.

Vines have grown up the length of the house, the grass is so tall that it can't stand up straight...

It looks haunted.

If this was any other house, I would be begging Danny to buy it so we can fix it up and sell it.

We would make so much money off of this house.

"Grace, if you want to catch a ride to another town to stay there," Danny starts.

"We're already here." I say quietly, glancing down at the kids who are really pissed they're still awake.

Dad clears his throat and walks up the driveway. Everyone inches hesitantly behind him.

He unlocks the door and pushes it open.

The porch light comes on and it reminds me of days where Beatrice or Caleb would drop me off after spending the whole day at Danny's house.

The moment I step over the threshold though, everything changes.

The nostalgia I was feeling vanishes, and every single hair on my body stands on edge.

It's creepier this time, because there are cobwebs up in the house.

"Oh, this house is a catch. No wonder it won't sell." I grumble sarcastically. I grab the broom from the closet in the kitchen and start taking them down until they're wrapped around the top of it. Everyone is quiet, not really knowing what to say, and I'm trying to keep my hands from shaking as I put the broom back.

"I'm hungry." Emily says.

I sigh, nodding.

"Is anybody's phone not dead?" I mutter.

Everyone shakes their head and I rub my temples, looking at Danny.

"My phone died on the car ride here." He says.

The clock on the wall isn't working and the clock on the stove says it's one thirty in the afternoon.

I sigh, frustrated, and look out the kitchen window and see lights on in the house across the street.

The people that used to live there had two kids. One of them was Danny and I's age and she used to play with us. The other one was a little boy who kept to himself. Danny and I played with the girl until he moved away, and then I never played outside again. I would see her outside with a guy taking pictures for homecoming and stuff like that, and we would wave at each other in the hallway. If we had a class together, she didn't' mind it if we were partners. She never brought up Danny though. Maybe she thought I was too fragile to talk about him. Who knows.

I feel a hand slide from my shoulder to my lower back, causing me to snap out of my thoughts and realize that everyone is staring at me.

I clear my throat.

"I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" Danny asks.

"Just across the street." I murmur. He looks hesitant.