The old Barlow mansion above. --^
Chapter 4- Oops.
Edmund's POV
"I'M BACK, BITCHES! AND I'M HUNGRY AS HE--" Rafe suddenly barges in the kitchen making the both of us stop our conversation and stare at him
"Do you really have to shout?" Brandon replies and Rafe immediately looks at us in confusion.
"What? Did I interrupt you guys getting to know each other?" He says with a teasing smile immediately before cackling out loud. "Oops."
"Idiot." Brandon clears his throat making me look at him. "What are your plans for today?"
"I... I was planning on heading to the library to do more research about the old Barlow's place." I said, trying to hide the awkwardness between us, making his brow quirk up in confusion. "I need more history about the place. Maybe there is still some information about the place that I still didn't know yet."
"It's snowing hard outside and it's fucking cold." He says with a hint of worry and I glanced at Rafe, only to see him smirking at me.
"You know, girl's gotta work." I say with a soft chuckle. I then immediately stopped midway when I realized what I just said. "I mean... Man... Er. Guy's gotta work. Yeah, since I'm a guy. Get it? I mean-- I really should just shut up." I rambled off quickly, only to hear both Brandon and Rafe laughing at me.
"I understood what you meant, Ed. There's no need to explain."
Why does this feel like a déja vu? Hm, I wonder. But,
Ed. That sounded good.
My eyes flew back to him as I heard him call me by such name. I couldn't even hold back my smile. It was a stupid reason but I don't know why I felt a slight happiness deep inside me. What the hell is this man doing to me?
"But seriously, it's freaking cold outside. You really should just stay home for the day. Or perhaps... Stay here. " He says making my eyes widen and my cheeks heating up.
Is this man trying to make me stay for a little longer?
Impossible.
The badboy hotshot Brandon Dolin, wants me to stay? Nah.
Maybe he was just bored and since I was at his house at the moment, he thought of making me stay? I don't even know, really. It's hard to read this man's mind.
I look outside through the window and noticed all the snow building up outside. Clearly, it was impossible for me to go out. With a sigh I looked back at Brandon, as he also looked at me with a smile.
"I guess I'll be staying a bit longer." I say defeatedly.
"Good. I like that idea." Brandon says with a smile.
What's up with this man? Is he playing with me? Or is he living up to his flirtatious reputation? I heard from Shane how Brandon used to screw almost all of the girls in the town. But he maybe he changed? I don't know, really.
"So uhm. What made you decide to buy the old Barlow mansion?" I ask trying to get a conversation started.
"Well, when we were young the three of us used to play in the old mansion. We even used to scare Shane and regret it later. Anyway, when I was a kid I've always loved the mansion, even with it's scary atmosphere. Since we weren't rich before, I'm not implying I'm rich as fuck right now, I promised to buy the mansion when I grow up. So when I came back here, I was glad the mansion still not yet owned by anyone else."
"But who did you buy the mansion from?"
"Oh the previous owner's son was still alive. He was living in California. Do you remember Jamie Barlow, Rafe?" Brandon calls out to Rafe.
"Hell, yeah! We used to hang out with him. We even used to tease him with Shane." Rafe says with a chuckle.
"Why did you tease him with Shane?" I ask curiously.
"Shane used to have a crush with him. Or we think so." Brandon says with a shrug.
Oh.
"Speaking of Shane, where did he go?" Rafe asks as he puts his plate on the counter.
"He must've checked the horses. It must be quite cold at the stables right now." Brandon answers him and Rafe nods before leaving the kitchen.
"So, what brings you to Maryland? Out of all the places in the world, you decided to stay here." Brandon suddenly asks.
"Well, it started when I inherited my Grandma's house. And since I was never really a fan of the big city, I decided to live here and set up an antique-slash-furniture shop." I answer him with a shrug. I noticed Brandon's eyes were only on me. I feel like he's trying to look through my inner soul. It's so weird.
"How does it work? Do you like, have a collection of antique things and just sell it?"
"Actually I have a supplier back in LA that owns a furniture shop and some of the antiques also comes from him so sometimes some of my customers order through me then I buy it from him, and sell it in a bit higher price. It's like I'm the Maryland branch of his shop. But then I don't really sell like big furniture. Just those that I can manage to carry with my little arms." I explained and chuckle.
"Well, I wanted the Barlow to have amazing furniture and furniture arrangement. I'm sure you'd do an amazing job." He says with a smile.
"I'll do my best, Brandon." I say confidently, trying to hide to nervous and pressured I was of the idea. "So what are your plans in the furniture? Any color schemes or designs?" I added quickly.
"Well, I wanted to give like an old feeling to the customers. I don't want any modern designs. I was planning to rebuild the mansion almost like what it was before." He says and I nod, trying to take notes in my mind.
"Did you hire any construction companies?" I ask and he chuckles.
"No, Ed. I'll be using my own company. Back in California."
Oh.
"But you planned on living here for good. How would you do that if your company is back there?" I ask curiously.
"Well, I still keep tabs on the company while I live here. But I did plan on making an office here and settle here fot good."
"You're quite the busy man." I say with a soft chuckle.
"Yes, I am." He answers with a smile before looking out to the window, making me look on the same direction.
"It seems like the snow has slowed down. Would you like to check on the Barlow Mansion with me?" He asks and I nod.
"Sure." I mean, why not? I was about to have a research about the place. I'd love to check the so-called-scary mansion.
Soon, I was riding shotgun on Brandon's car. The ride was not long so we didn't have any long conversations. When we arrived, Brandon stops the car infront of the mansion. Brandon immediately goes out of the car but before I could react he opens the door for me.
"Oh my, what a gentleman." I say and he justs laughs.
I look forward and immediately see the mansion standing in front of us.
It looked really old. And really freaking scary. The mansion really has lost it color probably due to being abandoned for so long but I'm sure it looked good back in the old days.
"You okay?" Brandon asks and I nod in reply. "Come on, let's go inside." He adds and we both enter the mansion.
Brandon opens the large door and it creaks as it slowly opens. Inside was what looked to be a looby. It had a big space and maybe because it was empty. I looked around and noticed all the cobwebs and wood that lost its beauty through the years. Dust covered, well, everything and the lights only entered through the windows.
Tools had already been placed on a side and stacks of wood laid near it.
"It needs some renovation, but I'm sure it'll look good when it's done." I say and Brandon smiles.
"You know, the three of us used to sleep here inn the hall. Mom would scold us every single time." He says as he looks around. "We were really troublemakers back then."
"Yeah. When word came out that you came back the whole town was talking about you." Brandon laughs in reply.
"I mean, what's new?" He says and I smile.
"Ye—"
A single sob filled the hall. It sounded like a woman's voice. Soon it was followed by another. Then another.
"D–did you hear that?" I could feel the Goosebumps appear on several parts of my bodt. Suddenly, everything felt cold and I was shivering in my coat.
"No. Why? Are you alright? You look pale." Brandon says and I look towards the empty hall.
"I thought... I thought I heard something. I must've been imagining." I say nervously and Brandon nods.
"Okay, let's get out here. I wouldn't want you passing out on me." He says teasingly and I just nod. I wiped my forehead and I immediately felt cold sweat.
Soon enough, Brandon and I were back on the car. I was still silent as Brandon started the car. I bit my lip as my hands wouldn't stop shaking. Before the car left I looked at the mansion one more time and before I could look away I noticed a shadow by a window. I couldn't tell if it was looking at us but I know two things for sure...
It was definitely a woman. And I was fucking scared.