The Stand In

Chapter 11

I was all for following Zak and those delightful back dimples to anywhere he wanted to go,  until I caught a glimpse of his home. 

"Holy... Shit." 

Sunlight shone through the floor to ceiling glass panes, flooding the lounge area with light, there is also a wonderful view of the garden and pool. Light marble floors sweep through his home, whilst pale walls and dark statement furniture stood out. A large exposed brick wall held a TV and fire place and hints of further rooms lingered around the corner. 

"Everything okay?" Zak pauses, a few feet away. 

I look over to him quickly before lifting my hands up. "This place, where do I sign up?"

He laughs and comes back a few steps to see it from my point of view. "It's home. The perfect balance between dark and light. Especially in my line of work."

"It's truly breath-taking."

"I'll give you a tour."

"I'm holding you to that." I warn following after him, whilst still trying to take in every little detail.

From what I could see, the house was open planned, there was no doors from the lounge to the kitchen, which only made it more luxurious in my eyes. The house flowed perfectly without them, with them, it would have ruined the vibe entirely. The kitchen is smaller than the lounge area, but it sits perfectly on the balance of practical, cute and liveable. 

Often large homes have kitchens too big and I for one, am not a fan. 

"I like." I tell him, walking around the kitchen island, noticing that the dark furniture and light brown marble also reflects in here. 

"So glad I have your approval." He teases making me glance over. 

"You were seeking it from the moment you invited me in." I reply knowingly, walking over to the kitchen basin and looking out the window. There's a  further view of the two layered pool and green grass, along with some bushes and trees.

God, I'm jealous already. 

I turn to see him fiddling with what looks like a small controller. "What's that?" I ask seeing his frown deepen. 

"This? It's a digital recorder. We use it for investigating." He says pressing buttons. "Listen."

I move across the kitchen and stand close hearing the recording play. There's a couple voices that I don't know, before Zak hushes them. "Why don't you like us down here?"

There's a pause and I almost ask what is suppose to happen when a response comes through. It's hard to hear but there is tone.

"There." He says pausing it. "Did you hear it?"

I nod. "What is it?"

"That's a spirit communicating with us." He says making my brow raise. 

"For real?"

He nods "Sometimes they are really clear, but this one is garbled. I can't work it out. Aaron is normally the guy for it but I want to try and decipher this one before I give it up."

"Aaron?"

"Co-investigator." He says before tossing it down with a sigh.

"No, play it again." I tell him picking it back up and handing it over, because I don't know how they work. He replays it and then does it a few more times.

"Watch." I pick out before closing my eyes and concentrating really hard. "Watch." I repeat. I open my eyes to see Zak staring at me, he's zoning out really hard to hear, and for some reason, I don't mind. This way, I get to look at him and his hazel toned eyes. The  blue, grey, green and brown work into a beautiful watercolour.