*ONGOING WORK* The House

Chapter One

“Well here are the keys to the house and the check.” My grandmother's lawyer, Mr. Davis said as he handed me a rather large key with defining marks. The check was written to Ms. Kinsley Renee Carter. My grandmother was the one who named me and yet I never met her. “Thank you Walter, and the address please” “Oh! Of course, how could I forget about the address, that’s so silly of me.” Mr. Davis was an older man going into his late fifties and was always all over the place and forgetful. He pulled all of the drawers open until he found his large notepad and wrote the tiniest writing in the top left corner of the paper. He ripped the page out and folded it before handing it over to me. “Thank you, is there anything else I should know about before I leave?” Mr. Davis looked around the office before throwing his hands up. “Not that I know of Kin, if there is I’ll make sure to call as soon as possible” Mr. Davis has called me Kin since he first contacted me. I didn’t ask until later, but that's what my grandmother used to call me.

I walked out of his office and to my car saying my goodbyes to everyone who worked in the firm. My car was filled with my clothes and other valuables that would last me the time it would take to fix up the house. I took my phone out and called my brother. It took two rings before he answered. “Are you on your way?” my brother's voice echoed through the speaker.  “Yeah, I’m on my way. Do I need to send you the address or do you want me to come pick you up?”  “I’m almost done packing my stuff, so I’ll be ready by the time you get here,” he said. ‘Okay, I’ll call you when I get to the house. You better be ready when I get there.” My brother reassured me before I hung up the phone and tossed it in the seat next to me. I turned my car on and pulled out of the parking spot that I had been parking in for the past month.

I slowed down to the stop light and sat there watching other cars go by. I was starting to drift into a different world, but was taken out of my daydreaming by my car ringing. It was my best friend calling me. I pressed the green button and continued to drive as the light turned green. “Hey girl.” I said. “You don’t sound good” I was never good at hiding my emotions to anyone, especially my best friend. “Thanks, that makes me feel so much better.” I said. I merged into the middle lane and waited for cars to pass by.  “Just calling to check up on you. Your dad told me you got the key to the house today. And the check.” I sighed as I turned left down a hill that led straight to my dads house. “They keep telling me to sell the house as it is and leave the remodeling to whoever is crazy enough to buy it, and that I should use the money she left me to further my education.” There was a pause before she started talking. “But that’s not what you’re going to do is it?” She asked. “You already know the answer to that. I’ll call you when I get there to make sure it has cell service.”

“If you need me to come out there with you just let me know. This is really weird and I don’t feel comfortable about this.” She said, “Thanks Shey, tell Bradley I said hi.” I hung up the phone as I was pulling into the driveway of the stone house. I unlocked my phone and scrolled through contacts till I made it to my brother. I pressed the green button and my car was ringing. “Can you come in and grab my other bag for me?” he said. “Yeah and I’m keeping the car on so it stays warm” I said and hung up. I unbuckled my seatbelt and exited my car to the back door. I unlocked it with the spare key my dad left me. “Marco!” “Polo!” I heard the distinct voice of my brother coming from the foyer. I walked through the kitchen into the living room, making my way down the hall where it took me to the foyer. “Hey ugly” My brother said. “Hey trash goblin,” I retorted. “My other luggage is on the couch, I can carry these two” he said, lifting his matching red luggage up to show me. I grabbed the oddball carryon from the couch and followed my brother back to my car. “So how long do you think this will take?” he asked. “I don’t know. When Uncle James went and checked the house he said it wasn’t worth fixing, but I don’t want to put it on the market if no one is willing to buy it as is” I said. “Don’t worry Uncle James always exaggerates about everything,” Chris said. “You’re right, the house is probably in great condition,” I said. Just then our little sister ran out of her room into the foyer. “Can I go with you guys? I want to see Gran's house too,” She said. I looked to Chris for help, but he smiled at our sister and then me. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?” I asked. “Oh come on Kin, none of us have seen the house and all of a sudden our dead estranged grandmother is giving you her house,” He did have a point. We never met our grandmother, who is our fathers mother. Dad always told us that Gran was a strange woman and that we would never meet her until she changed her dangerous lifestyle.

“Call Heather and make sure it’s okay with her and she can go,” I said. “You don’t have to, I messaged Mom when she was on lunch,” Kennedy pulled her phone out and showed us her text to her mother. It very obviously stated that “If Kin and Chris are fine with it, I am too. Make sure to pack some clothes and be back before monday. You still have a week before Christmas break starts.” “Okay well, do you have any clothes packed for the weekend?” I asked her. “I packed as soon as she sent the message,” Kennedy ran into her room and grabbed her Hello Kitty duffle bag and threw it over her shoulder.
“Let’s get this show on the road then. It’s still gonna take us almost three hours to get there,” I said.