Fragile Pathways

Chapter Two

The next morning, Ari had set herself to mapping out her new home. She had spent at least an hour or two on that task, but, that was also because she was exploring as well as mapping.

As a person walked in to door, to the left of them was a wooden door that led to the basement. It was littered with unpacked boxes of her mother’s, a pool table, white shelves, books, and more. She had explored that area for a good fifteen minutes, only leaving when the furnace rumbled to life, scaring the living daylights out of her. Without a second thought she sprinted up the stairs and slammed the door, too late in realized Regulus had been down there along with her. She heard a scratching at the door and slowly opened it, allowing the dark, shadow of a dog to run out and into the living room. She shut the door again and exhaled, then breathed in, attempting to calm her sprinting heart. The look Regulus was giving her made her frown, that dog had no idea that she had been terrified!

Right?

After she finally calmed her heart, Ari turned towards the right of the front door, wandering into the living room. It expanded back to the back of the house with three entrance ways, all leading from separate rooms. The front entrance was from the main entrance. The middle one was from the hallway that led to her room. The furthest one back was from the laundry room, also the back entrance. The living room contained a large, flat screened television that was mounted on the wall, a fireplace, and color-coordinated furniture. At both the front and back were two large windows, both curtained by the same, honey-golden fabric.

After taking in the main room, Ari returned to the main entrance and continued her self guided tour. She walked past the basement door warily, and entered the kitchen which expanded into a dining room, the two being separated by a breakfast bar. She got bored of those easily, and looked at the wall against the two. There were two entrances to the dining room: through the kitchen, and through an archway at the far side of the room. The dining room had a window at the front, displaying a view of their street. Ari frowned at the thought of people watching them eat. But, really, what was so horrible about that?

She wandered out of the kitchen and to the start of the hall. The dining room and kitchen were to her left, and too her right were three doors leading down the hall, along with two halls to her left and right, and the living room entrance just behind her. Down the left hall was the main entrance, down the right hall was the back door and laundry room, and behind her was simply the living room. She made a mental note to herself never to take a wrong turn in her house again, Hunter and Nick had enjoyed giving her enough Hell for that last night.

Continuing forwards, down the hall ahead of her, to her right, the first door was a bathroom, not including the shower. It was most likely for guests, Ari assumed as she pulled the door shut again.

She skipped the next room, knowing it was her own, and continued down the hall. The final door on her right was empty, void of anything. She frowned. Why hadn’t they put anything in here? Surely they could turn it into a library! Maybe her mum would allow her to do that herself. She had more than enough books to fill up a shelf or two. Add in a chair or a comfy couch and this would easily be her favorite room in the house. She backed out of the room, flicking the light off. Directly across from the empty room’s door, and next to the dining room’s arch way, there was a full bathroom, equipped with a tub, a shower head, a toilet, sink, and a cupboard. She closed that door behind her, too, and carried on towards a larger opening.

To the right of the end of the hall was a room filled with electronics, probably Erich’s room. It was filled with controllers, wires, game consoles, and a large television. Ari laughed, wondering how many times her mother had taken over this room with her games that she had used to love so much. There was a room dedicated to those types of games in her new house, and she probably nearly lost her head when she found that.