Home || Enoch O'Connor

02 // Cairnholm

I stared at the "hotel" in horror.

"I mean, it's a little run down." Jake muttered, glancing around.

"A little?" I inquired rhetorically.

"Hey, Dad, what about the home?" Jake called to his dad. "I can go by myself."

His dad shook his head, "Absolutely not. You're not going anywhere alone. And Jacqueline doesn't count."

I scowled at his words.

"We'll find someone to take you." With that, Jake's dad walked out.

Outside, there was a group of teens gathered around.

"Hey, dudes!" Jake's dad called out to them.

I indiscreetly rolled my eyes.

"Can someone take my son here across the island?"

"And his best friend," I piped in after Jake's dad, waving. "That's me, I'm still here."

The group of teens just stared at us expectantly.

Jake's dad sighed, before he threw a few notes of cash at the lead boy. The boy snatched it, and got up. Him and his friend gestured for Jake and I to follow them, and we did. Uncertainly.

"Just for the record, we would have taken you anywhere without a fee, but not your boyfriend." The lead boy told me, a deep Welsh accent emerging.

"Ooh, I like your accent." I told him, grinning. The lead boy turned to shoot his friend a smirk, before Jake pulled me towards him, eyes darting all over the place in uncertainty.

"No need to get jealous." I teased.

I was met with silence.

Fast forward a few minutes later, we arrived before a cluster of trees. The two boys told Jake and I to proceed forward, taking a shortcut through the trees. We uncertainly followed their instructions, before Jake stepped into a puddle of mud.

The two boys burst out laughing behind us.

I glared at them heatedly.

Jake sighed, pulling his foot out of the mud, before we continued on our way. When we reached the other side of the trees, there was a clearing. And to our left, we saw the home.

"Jake..." I trailed off, staring at the building.

Jake gulped, before he continued forward.

The entire building was torn down.

Gone.

×

"Why didn't he tell us they died? That the Germans bombed the house?" Jake wondered aloud.

His dad shrugged, "He leaves for the army, only to come back months later to find that everyone he knew had died."

I silently watched their exchange.

Jake sighed, getting up to come sit next to me. I saw how crestfallen he was.

The next day, we got up early.

"Can I go hang out with those guys again?" Jake asked his dad, who didn't really seem to care. "They asked."

"They asked me too." I piped in.

Jake's dad agreed to let us go, enthusiasm evident in his voice. Wow, he must be really glad that his son wasn't a total loser after all.

"Sometimes I wonder if you exist purely just to be extra." Jake whispered to me, dragging me out of the "hotel".

"So, where are we going?" I questioned, bouncing on my feet.

Jake remained quiet, but minutes later, we found ourselves before the children's home.

What was left of it anyways.

×

If I had thought the home looked bad on the outside, inside, it was worse.

The building had collapsed on itself.

Jake grabbed my arm to steady me, as we stepped cautiously past the debris.

"Hey, look." I said, pointing to an old-fashioned​ clock on the ground. It was still ticking.

I exchanged a look with Jake, before we carried on.

A few moments later, I paused. "Did you hear that?" I whispered to Jake, grabbing his arm tighter. "It sounded like footsteps."

Jake glanced around, eyes wide.

I moved closer to him, basically sticking to him. I was never brave.

My gaze landed on slight movement a distance away, and the breath left my body.

"Jake." I whispered, eyes never leaving the child before us, with a cloth on his face, with cut out holes for the eyes. I was terrified.

"Run." Jake said softly, before we took off.

Not long after, Jake tripped.

And blacked out.

"Oh, for the love of God, you have got to be kidding me." I groaned, bending down to pat Jake on his cheek.

He was practically half dead.