Where Love Resides

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Did you do any research into this place?" I asked when I shoved open the wooden door. Chunks of the door were missing and the entire thing was covered in moss. It looked like it could have been some kind of cabin at one point in time. It was big in size and was entirely made from wood with green moss in random places. It was understandable seeing as it was at the beach or near it anyway. The wood felt like it was going to give in beneath my feet was I entered the large open floor of what seemed to have been the living area.

"Yes, I did some research. It used to be a motel of some sort for travellers back in the eighteen hundreds. Apparently it stayed open until the nineteen thirties or forties before the government came in and claimed it to be unsafe. The place was closed down and soon forgotten." Will stepped up to the rotten sofa and took a look around. "I've never actually entered the place, though. It just looked a little too creepy to us when we found it."

"Nothing is creepy until you start imagining things lurking in the walls."

"Great that helps a lot." William muttered.

I grinned over at him, seeing the deep frown on his face as he glared at the walls.

"Stop being a child, it's not as creepy as you make it out to be." I rolled my eyes before turning my gaze on the portrait that hung just above the fire place. "It looks like a really nice family used to live here." I muttered and stepped up to the portrait.

There were three people in the portrait, a woman and a man, standing hand in hand with a little girl seated in front of their standing figures. The girl had a doll in her arms and bright blue eyes. Her brown curls were tumbling down her shoulders and only stopped by her hips. The dresses the women wore were clearly from the nineteenth century with ribbons tied around their middle. The man, or father, was dressed in a crisp navy blue suit and he looked too serious. The women shared most of the little girl's features.

"Isn't it strange that all the furniture and pictures are still here?" William asked.

I turned to find him standing just inside the hallway with eyes focused on another portrait, though this time it was a miniature. I then took a look around to see that everything was, indeed, still in its place. It looked like the place was just cleaned up before everyone left and simply, never returned. It wasn't even robbed, if my suspicions were correct.

"I don't know about you, but I'm really not good with strange."

I chuckled at William's facial expression. He looked absolutely terrified and it was very entertaining. This was supposed to be the big grown-up teacher that kept teenagers in check, yet he couldn't handle walking around in an empty building.

"Aw, is the big bad teacher scared of a little Casper popping up?" I cooed and chuckled at the glare William focused on me. "Come on Will, it's just a building. You probably just watched too many horror movies while growing up." I bumped shoulders with him as I headed down the hallway. Will followed behind me, though whether it was because he wanted to protect me or because he was too scared to be left alone. I opened every one of the fifteen doors leading down the impossibly long hallway and every room was fully furnished. The strong stench of age hung in the air, as did the odour of the moss. The curtains were moulded to the walls and the paint was pealing, looking like a lizard shedding skin. Even the bathrooms still had their curtains even though there were disgusting stains all over the place. Finally, we reached the end of the hallway where the large kitchen was set up. We took in the rusted ports and silver ware all over the place before heading into the parlour. It was fascinating and gave me a lot of ideas for sketches. I grinned at the extent of the entire place. The parlour was done up just like I would picture it to be in the old days, wooden tables and chairs, a piano set up against the far wall and then the bar. It was wooden and stretched the entire length of the far wall with full bottles set up in their holders. "I don't know about you, Will, but I'm suddenly in the mood for a drink."