phantoms / joshler

1

the moving truck was being doused in rain as it approached it's destination. the tires were covered in mud and the rain droplets hitting the windshield were being wiped off as fast as the wiper blades would allow. with all things taken into consideration, the day could  definitely be going better.

with a loud groan, the brakes halted the truck, parked in front of where it was supposed to have headed. the engine cut off, and the driver stepped out, staring up at the new house in front of him that he was trying to begin to call home.

rubbing his shaved head, he clasped the keys with his opposite hand, heading up towards the door and fumbling for the old skeleton key that hung off of his lanyard. water was dripping down his face, rolling off of his coat, and he was grumbling to himself as he swung open the front door and stepped inside, fumbling blindly for the lights.

the switch was just next to the door, luckily, so a dim light illuminated the entryway to the house. he was looking around. the floors were dusty.

"tyler!" a voice came from behind him. he looked back, the passenger in the truck was making her way towards him, umbrella in tow.

"come on, jenna," tyler called out, holding the door open for her and letting it slam when she was inside. she shook off the umbrella and set it next to the door.

"the world had to have chosen today for it to rain," she noted, a bit bitterly, as she pulled off her jacket. tyler was watching her, a grim smile on his face. 

"yeah, i chose a bad day to move, huh?" 

jenna dropped her coat onto the floor. "you did," she retorted, giving him a warm smile. 

absentmindedly picking at his thumbs, tyler stepped forward, looking to go explore the rest of the house. it was his first time inside of it, truthfully. he hadn't seen the inside of it before buying it. he didn't need to. he just needed to get away from where he had been.

the house wasn't something he'd usually swing for. it was ancient, an old queen anne's victorian style house, on the outskirts of columbus, ohio. the realtor had mentioned it was built in 1904, towards the end of the queen anne's style lifecycle, and was in wonderful condition given the circumstances of the house. the heating worked, and while it was dusty, was mostly fully furnished and functional. 

his previous house was a small flat in a high rise building downtown. it was definitely a needed change of scenery. he was surrounded by woods here, and it was vastly different than he had been used to

 the realtor had been right about the dust. tyler could barely breathe as he stepped further into the house. the floors were supposedly made from black walnut - something that seemed obvious with how dark the flooring itself was. it was in no contrast to the walls, though, archways and old victorian crown moulding.  fleur de lis wallpaper was plastering the walls of the grand entry hall, and a grand staircase was opposite of the front door. it split off onto either direction, leading to each of the wings of the house, disappearing up and out of sight. 

tyler glanced at jenna for a moment before taking the archway to his left. to the left of the house was the west wing, which on the lower floor held the kitchen and the dining hall. cobwebs were hitting tyler in the face as he headed to the kitchen. his nose was filled with the scent of dirt and musk from years of sitting empty. 

"how long did you say this place was empty?" jenna called out to tyler. 

"the realtor said it hadn't been touched in like, ten years?" tyler had responded, looking around as he entered the kitchen finally. the trademark black and white tiles adorned the floor. a medium colored wood covered the walls and the appliances looked like they hadn't been updated since the house was built. a gas stove was to his left, and the marble countertops were chipped at the edges.