Misfortune

Chapter 18

After our altercation, I decide to clean up the room I'll be staying in. From the looks of it, I think I'll be the only one staying in here tonight. I grab both ends of the blanket and fan it out causing more dust to fill the room. Luckily for me I already opened a window, but I still had the unpleasant experience of tasting small bits of grain. After fanning out the blankets, wiping away the dust on the desk and letting the room air out, I was officially done. All of this took me at least fifteen minutes to do. I wanted a little time to pass before I try to fully explain to James how I feel, he gets upset easily so I figured creating some space between us would be good. Now that time has passed, I think it's safe to go after him. I take off my sneakers, placing them next to the desk and leaving my coat on the bed before stepping out the room.

Soon as I enter the hallway, I notice something completely different that made the house stand out more. Most of the windows were now open, letting in bright beams of light that reflected off the small antique portraits on the walls. I look to the ground, finally being able to see the soft floral carpet underneath my toes. The house now smelt of some sort of pasta like someone has been cooking. As I took in the cozy atmosphere, I couldn't help but feel a little ashamed for judging Mrs. London's home so cruelly earlier.

I take in one last sniff of the nice food cooking downstairs and begin making my way down the long hall. It doesn't take long for me to reach the end, when I do I find another staircase leading upstairs. My fingers gently travel along the polished railing as I begin walking upstairs. Now that I think about it, this isn't a typical house at all, it's a freaking mansion. A nice humungous home for a little old lady living by herself, how can she afford all this?

I come to a stop as I reach the top of the stairs. I look both right and left down each hall, deciding on where I should walk down first. The right hallway has a large window at the end of it with a small dresser and a vase on top of it. Whereas the left hallway is almost completely black with no windows down it for sunlight to reflect off anything. I stare down at the left hallway for a while, a cold chill flows down my spine as my eyes look into the darkness. I feel compelled to go in that direction but then think, 'what if something bad is lurking in the darkness? 'I know that this is merely just a mansion, but I still have bad anxiety with thinking things are out to get me.

Without wasting anymore time, I decide to go down the right hall. I try each door to see if James is inside but mostly all of them are locked. The only ones that are open are broom closets, storage spaces and bathrooms. I let out a long sigh as I reach the window on the end of the hall. As I look outside, I'm shocked to see how big the backyard is. A grassy meadow stretching all the way into a valley fills my sight. Large trees surround an old walk path covered in grass. As my eyes travel along the path, I catch onto a figure next to an old barn. I rub my eyes, trying to get a better look at who that might be. To my surprise, it's James. I quickly unlock the window, letting in a cool breeze as I call out to him but he's too far away to hear me.

I clear my throat before calling out again," James!"

Still no answer.

"I don't think he can hear you," a soft voice rings out from behind me. I turn to see Mrs. London standing not too far away from me with her hands clasped together neatly.

"I'm sorry ma'am, was I being too loud?"

"Apparently not loud enough."

The cold gaze she gave me earlier was now replaced by a complicated expression like something was bothering her. Her gray locks gently blow from the incoming wind. I notice this and close the window.

"It's August, right?"

Hearing my name roll off her tongue didn't sit right with me. I'm still not to sure on how I should feel about her.