Rule Number One

Rule Number One.3

A/N: I really want to thank everyone who commented and voted. I really enjoy writing this story and I hope you'll enjoy it as well! :) This is the uneditted version, so do point out my mistakes if you spot any. Thank you and I hope you'll enjoy reading this chapter ^_^

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My two-storey Victorian-inspired house was in full view with the classic white picket fence right in front of me. Why didn’t I notice that? Crestfallen, I bounded back home, making sure to shut the gate properly. Just as I reached the door and fished out for my keys, I noticed a folded note placed neatly on the doormat.

Cautiously, I picked it up and opened it. A snow white feather dropped out of it gracefully and I caught it before it touched the ground, screaming inwardly, “Like a ninja!” as I grabbed it.

As I caressed it, I could feel the softness of it on my fingertips. When I looked back at the note, a cursively written ‘Thank You’ was on it.

A smile crept up to my lips and I quickly unlocked the door. My heart was thudding abnormally because I knew I wasn’t dreaming. Angels do exist, and Ayden was as real as an apple… Weird word choice but true! When I stepped into the house, the living room was in darkness and my family wasn’t anywhere in sight.

“Mum?” I called, with my hands around my mouth trying to amplify my voice, “Dad?” I called once again, but there was no answer.

Grabbing out my cracked phone which happened to be working fine, I checked the time on it. They couldn’t be asleep at that time right?

10.28PM, it read. Nope, it was impossible for them to be in bed at this time. I flipped the light switch on but the lights remained switched off. Again, I flipped the switch but the lights stubbornly stayed unlit.

“Stubborn bulbs,” I muttered under my breath, frowning and inched up the stairs in pitch darkness. It was hard because my eyes have always been a turtle when it comes to adjusting to the dark. Thanks to that, I tripped over a step and fell forward.

It happened so sudden that my body had no time to react. Just as I felt myself falling closer to the jagged edge of the steps, firm arms held my shoulders up.

Expecting it to be Ayden, I stared up, surprised.

It wasn’t Ayden. The outline of the figure had a smaller and less built body, and my eyes kept squinting, trying to find out who it was.

“Axel? What’re you doing here?”

I gawked at him when my eyes finally adjusted better to the darkness and saw his familiar curly red hair. There was something off about him but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. After I finally found my way up the stairs with Axel's help, he snickered, "Why are you such a klutz?"

"Oh you know... It runs in my blood," I mumbled dejectedly as I hobbled to my bedroom door down the dark hallway, Axel following closely behind, "Why are you here again?"

Silence ensued as I fiddled with my doorknob and entered my room. The air suddenly grew thicker and I felt alone. "Axel?" I cried out while looking back at the hallway, hoping he was still there but no response came.

The string of Christmassy lights I hung above my bed suddenly lit up and my head quickly veered back. What is happening? I thought bemusedly. On the bright side, at least I could finally see my room.

My simple cream-coloured single bed was sprawled in the middle of the room with a matching bedside table. The bay window was where it was supposed to be; on the right of my bed, my walk-in closet and bathroom on the left. Everything was in place, but why did it seem so odd?