This is L.o.v.e. like it should be

XLVI. Ding, dong!

"Come on, Ava! Ring the bell! I’m freezing my beautiful behind standing out here in the street."

"Let’s just think about this for a second.", Ava replied, feeling a little intimidated by the size of number 32 Victorian Street. It was an enormous suburban house, in the middle of an idyllic street. This setting seemed perfect, if not for the overgrown grass and obscured windows. "How can this be the place? Maybe we understood it wrong."

"Ava, this was your plan. You’re getting cold feet now?"

Ava sighed and pressed the doorbell ringer.

"Alright!", she complied. "Don't be mad at me!"

Silence followed the not soothing sound of the bell. But, despite the almost pleasing sound of the bell, Ava kept looking around, like they were being followed.

"Feeling watched?", Phoebe had noticed Ava's weird behavior, which was not unlike her own.

"We are hunting a ghost!", Ava said, feeling paranoid.

Phoebe was about to giggle at their situation, when suddenly, they heard a sound from the door.

Ava stepped back, away from the house, pushing Phoebe back as well.

The heavy front door was slowly being opened by a hand wearing a black glove.

"Who’s there?", a deep voice came from the other side of the door.

That sound of that voice made Ava and Phoebe held each other's hand and took a brief stare at each other's eyes.

"We fou...", Phoebe tried to speak, but her voice trailed off.

"We… We found something.", Ava interrupted.

"Oh? And what did you find?", the person still behind the door asked.

"Something that might be yours."

A short but gentle chuckle was heard.

"A smart girl after all.", the door opened and an old woman, maybe in her seventies with gray short hair and a bemused but austere expression said "Come in, you two."

"Go inside?", Phoebe asked, unnerved by the lack of light inside of the old and dusty house.

"Do you need a second invitation, young lady?", the woman asked in a firm tone.

"Let's just go in...", Ava pulled her friend by her arm.

"If we die here, it'll be on you. Or maybe on me...", Phoebe whined near Ava's ear.

"Do you have it?", the woman asked, using the walls for balance, as she made it through the sofas in the big living room.

"Aren’t there any lights here?", Phoebe asked, still bothered by absence of light.

"Do you ever stop talking?", the woman replied.

"Ma'am, what do you expect us to have?", Ava interrupted once again, before Phoebe could produce an answer that would further sour the mood of the old woman.

"I know you. I’ve seen some pictures.", the old woman said, slowly sitting down on the sofa.

"Me?", Ava asked, surprised. When she was together with Julien, they kept their relationship away from all the cameras, and even before that she was never much for photos.

"Yes, Ava. Is that right?"

"Yes, and you are?"

"The owner of the locket you found."

"I'm sorry, I don’t understand, what is this locket? Why me?"

"Yes, yes so many questions. Let’s keep this short and to the point then, my son was clever enough to lead you here, but the others are not blind, they might see it too."

"Others?"

"Others, yes. Your promotion was all staged, my dear. And my son, the fool, had to a part to play in that. But apparently his conscience or something got to him and he felt sorry for what he did."

"Oh!", Phoebe was warming up to the old woman. She could have been her grandmother, judging from how she acted. "Your son, the fool?"

"Yes, the fool. He left a box for you, Ava.", the woman grunted.

"A box?"

"There, in that closet by the door. You can take the box, but if you don't mind, I would like to have my locket back."

"What’s in the box?"

"I don’t know, and I don’t care. Just take it already and go. I need to rest!", the woman grumbled.