Faded Heart

XXV. Gold On the Ceiling

Driving to the Crain house felt even more eerie than the first time. The roads leading to the house felt even longer and windier than before. It was almost night time, so I felt much more vulnerable than before. Mrs. Crain could strike us at any moment. There was a pit in my stomach as I continued to think about what could happen while we were here.

Luckily there were many distractions during the car ride. JJ sat next to me, a protective hand snaked around my thigh the entire time. I think he knew how I was feeling. It was hard being back at the Crain House, especially at night, when it brought up so many awful memories for the both of us. Hollis meant so much to me, going back to the house where she was murdered felt wrong.

I used to barley think of Hollis. Before, she was a distant memory, but now it felt like all I could think about was her final moments. It scared me to think she spent them alone as she was murdered by the one person who she should've trusted the most. Now, we were going back to that place in the dead of night, without any protection for ourselves. I had no idea what could happen tonight.

Throughout the entire car ride, John B hasn't stopped asking questions in preparation for when we got to the house. I felt slightly grateful for his overly anxious preparation serving as a distraction for me. "Alright, you guys got rope?" He asks from the driver's seat.

"Got it." Pope replies shuffling through the supplies piled in the back of the cramped van. With the large amount of supplies and the six of us back here, there was no space for much movement. We were all basically shoulder to shoulder. Every wild turn John B took caused us to crash into each other. Each of us throwing our own apologizes quickly after.

"Grappling hook?"

"We don't have a grappling hook, Johnny." Ashtyn mutters from the passenger's seat. Ashtyn has been unusually quiet through the car ride. It seemed like the girl was having her own internal struggles, but was also calmed by her own boyfriend in the front seat with her.

"We're not batman." Pope grins, continuing to pick through supplies.

"Pulley?"

Kiara grabs a rope from below her feet, "Check."

"Dark clothes?"

"Got it." Sarah giggles, looking down at the clothes that we all chose. The eight of us sported our own unique dark outfit. This reminded me of the times when JJ and I used to play hide and seek at the Crain House with Hollis at night. That thought made me even more nervous than before. The pit in my stomach is growing bigger. Hopefully this didn't turn out to be an extreme game of hide and seek with Mrs. Crain. I had my fair share of traumatic events at this house. I didn't need to add another thing to the list tonight.

"Flashlights?"

"Check." JJ says, his hand gripping my thigh tighter. The two of us continued to bounce up and down when we hit the old brick roads. The two of us shared a look when we realized we were getting closer and closer to the house. I was grateful for him. Having him by my side was the only thing holding me back from having a complete fear induced break down. Just a slight brush of the skin was enough to calm me down slightly.

"Alright, good. we're ready." John B pulls into the lot and puts the car in park. His voice was filled with excitement. He, more than anyone else, had been waiting for this moment for a while.

I shift my weight nervously. I didn't want to be back here, but it was the only choice at getting the gold. "Let's go, already."

"Let's go get rich guys." A slight smile crossing my boyfriend's face. Although he was as nervous as me, he was still excited about the gold. Back at the Chateau, he talked about it all day. This was the first time it had finally felt like we could get this gold before my parents, Claudia, and Ward did.