"Trying" Normal [Editing In Progress]

Chapter 7: Let Me In

I looked over the blue mailbox doors when the name plate for unit forty-two caught my eyes and a smile formed on my face.

C&S Pines

I made my way to the second floor and the door to unit 42 was to the right of me.

So Greta's unit is right between mine and Cassie's? Glad I trapped her in mine. She won't be able to listen to our conversation.

I knocked on the door when I heard Cassie's voice come from the other side.

"Just a moment." Her footsteps approached the door when a moment of silence passed before she let out an excited gasp. "Vincent!" The lock clicked, and the door flew open. Cassie stepped out and pulled me into a hug.

"You're okay!" Cassie's embrace was tight, if not crushing. Time dragged until she finally released me. I put my hand to the side of her face and looked into her eyes, that were slightly red.

Was she crying over me? I can use this, remember technical truths. Her delusions will fill in the gaps. You need her to tell you about the job and keep her brother from figuring out he could probably kill me if he wanted to.

"Were you worried about me?" She nodded. My face warmed up as I gave an embarrassed smile. "I was thinking about you on the way over here... well, a few things about you, actually." Her face was ecstatic. "Would it be okay if I came in? You could show me around-" A man's voice interrupted me. 

"No! Don't let him in here!" The voice tried to sound stern but had a hint of fear in it. I looked behind Cassie to see a man similar to her. His hair was short and in a buzz cut. The man's equally amber eyes looked at me with scorn and anxiety. Remaining quiet, Sean crossed his arms and watched me. "What did you do to my sister?" 

He asked when Cassie turned to face him. "He has been a gentleman!" Sean shook his head when she stepped towards him with her fists balled. Sean let out a sigh and shook his head.

"You came home and started crying about how worried you are about a guy you've known for less than thirty minutes!" Sean watched as Cassie stared him down. She turned back to me.

"Sorry about my brother. I don't know why he's being like this. Come in!" Her tone was apologetic. Cassie's smile grew as I stepped in and shut the door. I passed by her and Sean and watched them from the living room.

Cassie turned back to him when her voice took on a sharp edge. "I've never talked about your past choices, have I?" 

Sean stepped towards her with his teeth bared. He raised his hand and pointed at her. "Yes, you have!" His voice seemed to become increasingly aggravated while Cassie scoffed in response.

"Not in front of anyone else!" Despite their age, the sibling bickering seemed to withstand the test of time as the two threw vague references to their past relationships at one another. As they went at one another, I took a seat on the couch and dug my tome out of my backpack.

While they yell at each other, might as well figure out what Alexander was worth.

I glanced at my book. Its cover was the same shade of silver as my eyes. Woven into the leather cover were the intricate lines and patterns that made up my pentagram. I opened the book and flipped through until I reached the page that outlined my current totals.

I always get video game vibes reading this part.

Souls Collected: 97.24/500

Souls Consumed: 72.30/97.24

Current Remaining Souls (months): 24.94

Next Ability Unlock: 72.30/75.00

Onset of Override (Days): 20.99/21.00

Override (Days): 27.99/28.00

Death Reset (Hours until ready): 0/24.00

Maturity Date (months*): 427.12

He was worth about 5.1 souls, that lines up with his time as a ghost. I got a decent soul buffer, maybe I should go nuclear for the level up?

"What are you reading?" Sean asked. He leaned in to get a look. I slammed the book shut, causing him to jerk back. I gave him a wicked smile.

"Careful, there! If you read this without my permission, it could blind you, drive you mad, or something worse." With each horrifying possibility, I watched him tense up further at how close he came to death or destruction. He stood there silently. I added in one other story I heard from Samara. "Oh, I don't know if it's exaggerated, but I have it on good authority that one person's head exploded from reading one of these." Terror filled Sean's face as he realized I wasn't lying. I leaned back on the couch and continued.

"When I say exploded, I was told that room was reddd." As I dragged out the last part. I saw his face sink in despair. "So do you want to thank me for saving your life?" Sean stared me down, panicked noises escaped him. He was struggling to decide what to say first.

"What are you!?" Is what finally came out. My smile grew.

I guess it's time for that revelation.