Survive him, Thrive with him.

Chapter nineteen

Jacob shakily starts his car, trying desperately to remember his training from several years ago. All of that work, yet he preferred biking, especially since the only things he needed to do were in close range.

He presses on the pedal and starts to feel it coming back to him, the periods of studying, the fake crashes in the empty parking lot.

He takes the car down the road and merges onto another street, crossing the town to visit Claire.

She didn't even tell him when she got her own place. Her mother didn't know about this, and they were all shocked when they heard that her father was going to jail for child abuse, testified by Clair herself. How could they not have heard this?

Jacob contemplates about when the guys will come over again. Last night they tried to put together new missing child and teen cases to see if The Slender Man choose victims specifically. So far, nothing, but they weren't going to stop until they found him.

But, oddly enough, something inside of him was telling him to stop searching and stay away from the topic, but he passed it off as the scared part of him that is afraid he will find The Slender Man, and won't know what to do.

Hell, they might even die if they see him.

Jacob shivers as he pulls up into a long wooded driveway, his mouth widening as he cuts through the trees and sees a dark looking mansion, ivy climbing up just about every surface it could grab. The place gave off an evil feel, but it was too interesting for Jacob to listen to his instincts.

He parks in the driveway and steps out, eyes still roaming the landscape. Maybe they could explore the vast woods surrounding this place for The Slender Man. Him and the guys planned last week, but they all chickened out before they could go.

Claire runs out and greets him with a smile, wearing a black sundress and her hair up. A man follows her, but slower, as she grabs Jacob's hands and squeezes them.

"Hi! How have you been?" She asks.

"I'm pretty well. Who's this? Jacob asks back, eyes never leaving the blonde's blue eyes.

"This is my fianceé, Dyn Main. He's from Whales." She enthusiastically tells me. He feels part of his heart sink over this. She hasn't told him anything, and all of this stuff happened in such little time!

Father in jail, moving out, fianceé!

Where did the time go?

"It's nice to meet you." He croaks, holding out his hand to shake Dyn's. As soon as their skin touches, Jacob gets a cold sensation that travels up to his elbow, but then gets as warm as it was before. He takes his hand back quickly and forces a smile, Dyn's expression warm, and inviting.

"Well, we shouldn't just stand here! Let's go in." Claire exclaims, leading them inside. The inside of the house was even spookier than the outside. It was antique, but everything had the feel that it was fresh, like they were still outside. Jacob doesn't question it as Claire sits him on an old style, hand carved sofa and sits next to him, Dyn siting next to her.

What kind of name is Dyn anyways?

"Believe it or not, this house was recently renovated. You can still feel the wild running through this place." Claire breathes. Jacob half expected her to take out china cups and tea, but instead Dyn stands up and walks away, practically floating across the floor.

"Why didn't you tell me about all of this?" He whisper ask.

"I did, I went to your house and Will brought tequila." She explains, rolling her eyes.