I lay in bed wishing I was home. I missed my friends and whatever family I had left to lean back on in my hometown. As I lay staring at the white ceiling, swimming in my thoughts, I heard voices come from the end of the hall behind my door.
I slid my legs out of bed, planting my bare feet on the cold floorboards and made my way to the door quietly, listening deeply for the voices which resided behind my door. I pressed my ear up against the door, placing my palms either side of my head softly on the wood.
"You shouldn't be in here," I heard a male voice speak in an almost sarcastic tone, yet it sounded like no one I'd ever heard speak before.
"I-I kno-sorry but, who are you?" I heard a familiar voice answer the boy, the stuttering not unusual for her.
"I'm Miles, I live here," The boy began began, his voice highering as he seemed to make himself sound innocent, "You should go to bed," I heard the boy reply, a heavy pause spacing his sentence before the dismissal.
Just as he finished speaking, I felt a sudden urge for a drink as my mouth had grown dry, or maybe I was just too curious for my own good. I tightly wrapped my warm fingers around the cold metal of the doorknob and swung open the door, stepping outside into the long hallway as the cold night air wafted against the exposed skin on my face.
"Hey?" I heard the same male voice on my left as I stood in the hallway, except this time, he was the one who sounded confused.
I turned my attention to the boy. I noticed he had long, curly black hair which sat comfortably on his shoulders which seemed to follow a narrow frame. He wore a tie around his neck which was perfectly straight, along with a navy blazer which seemed to be far too oversized for his figure.
As he approached me, I could feel his eyes study every inch of my body, making me feel uncomfortable yet not intimidated. I wrapped my arms around my body as I felt exposed to him, like I knew he was able to see right through me, or more through my shorts and shirt.
"Hey, I-I don't believe we've met" I copied my aunties stutter as I forced my body to face his.
He situated himself before me and leaned his shoulder on the wall casually, forcefully shoving his hands in his pockets with a small, toothy smirk on his face.
I saw his eyes travel from my legs to my face, causing goosebumps and raised hairs to shoot up every area his eyes met, "I'm Miles, you must be Elizabeth," He said with confidence, almost like he owned the place.
I smiled subtly, diverting my eyes to the floor and back up at his. I couldn't help but grow nervous under his gaze, my stomch tying itself into untiable knot.
"So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow" I dismissed him as I turned quickly on my heel and made my way towards the steps of the mansion, finding myself wondering how he knew my name. The bare skin on the bottom of my feet swept against the soft carpet which coated the landing and staircase, causing memories from my old life to intrude on my current thoughts.
"Where are you going? You don't want to walk this house alone, trust me," Miles warned as he strode past me, grabbing my wrist and guiding me down the steps, instantly wiping the memory from my head.
His skin felt cold but soft against my own, his boney fingers pressing against the veins in my wrist and making me squirm ever so slightly from the pressure.
"Okay?" I muttered to myself as I was forced to follow the boy, feeling him tug gently on my arm as he guided me through the lit corridor.
I walked into the kitchen, the cold tiles on the floor making the goosebumps rise all over my body this time. I suddenly got a very negative feeling about Miles, like that feeling when you're sixth sense kicks in, that feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and my chest felt tight, not from the cold air filling my lungs or wafting against my bare skin.
He turned and looked at me just as the feeling hit me, the moonlight brushing his porcelain skin and making his pale complexion grow. He seemed possessed almost as his eyes grew dark, almsot black. He released my wrist before standing directly in front of me, eyeing me once again as I was unable to escape his threatening gaze.
"So, how long you staying for? I know Kate is most likely gonna be leaving soon, all of Flora's nanny's leave after a month or so," The boy looked at me as he spoke, his breath colliding with my face as he remained so close to me. I noticed he chewed on his lower lip as his eyes trailed up and down my figure, every inch of my gut telling me to run.
"How come?" I questioned hesitantly.
The boy stood before me, his eyes suddenly stopping on my brown iris'. My lower back was pushed against the counter top when he placed his hands either side of my waist, leaning his weight on the counter.
"If I told you that, you'd both leave now," He whispered, his warm breath washing over the hair which brushed against the skin of my ear. I felt my neck grow warm at the feeling of his tall figure leaning over me.
I gulped after he spoke, many meanings of what he said washing over me before I snapped back to reality.
I looked up at him, a small smile growing on his face as his pink, plump lips stretched over his boney structure.
"Here," He said as he handed me a glass of water after pulling a glass from the cupboard beside my head, running the cold tap and filling it, "Oh and if I were you, I'd stay in your room until morning, like I said before, you don't want to roam this house alone, you're vulnerable,"
He turned on his heel and strutted off, glancing back at me once with a smug smile on his face. I was confused, I'd didn't mention how I was going to get a drink, and how did he know I wanted water?
---
The next morning I woke up about an hour later than I usually do. My head thumped, hard, like someone had hit my head with a mallet.
I got out of bed anyway and made my way downstairs after I had gotten changed.
"Hey, are you okay? You don't look so good," Kate asked as we met on the corridor. She looked happy for once, a small smile growing on her face and her eyes gleaming a sky blue in the light.
"Oh yeah, I'm fine, just a headache I guess," I replied, returning the smile.
"Hey I think Miles and Flora are in there, you haven't met him yet, have you?" Kate asked as she swung open the door to parlour.
"Well, we met last night, I needed a drink so Miles showed me to the kitchen," I said as I entered the room, diverting my attention to the black haired boy who sat beside his sister.
He looked up at me, smiling.
"Hey, sorry about last night, I didn't mean to scare you or anything," Miles said as he looked between Kate and I.
"Oh, it's fine," I smiled.
"Cool," Miles replied as the phone rang from the adjoining room. Flora ran to answer it before anyone else could react, "So, do either of you ride horses?" The boy asked, curiosity filling his tone.
"She does," Kate laughed as she pointed at me. I could feel my cheeks change colour as three sets of eyes fixed themselves on me, Mrs Grose also being in the room.
"Yes, ten years actually," I stated.
"Woah, seriously? How old are you then?" Miles asked, leaning forward. He seemed overly interested in my age.
"Uh, I-I'm sixteen" I stuttered out. He smiled at my answer.
"How 'bout you Kate? You ride at all?"
Kate looked between Miles and I, almost like she was searching for an answer.
"I did at camp, although that's a lie I just stayed on the horse," She replied, a wide smile sitting happily on his face.
"Well, I could teach you if you want? I mean if you can handle it," Miles responded, smirking.
"Oh is that a challenge?"
"Yeah, I suppose,"
"Well yes, I accept your challenge,"
Just as the two had finished talking, Flora came rushing in.
"It's the head teacher at Miles' school, he said he wants to talk to whoever is in charge," Flora said as she skipped across the room.
"Yes fine," Mrs Grose said as Kate looked to her for permission to answer the phone.
Kate nodded and made her way to the phone. As she held the phone to her ear, I noticed Miles turn around and stare at her the entire time she was on the phone with the head master.
Kate had a worried expression on her face as she spoke. She didn't say much but whatever had happened it didn't seem good.
"So, what did the old man want?" Miles questioned Kate, his eyes locked onto hers, peering up at her.
Kate looked around the room a worried look filling her eyes.
"Uh, he, uh," She stuttered, "He gave me a list of homework for you to complete whilst your home," Kate finally spat out.
Miles had a look of relief wash over him before he spoke again
"Cool, that sounds fun," He over emphasised every word he spoke, like he was attempting to hide something, "Hey, Flora told me your into music, that right?" Miles asked as he diverted his gaze to me. I had a wide eyed expression as he spoke. How did she know that?
"Oh, yeah, I write music for the piano and the guitar, I took it in school so," I said as I stood up, mimicking his movements.
"That's awesome, I wanna hear some," Miles said as he began making his way to the door, "C'mon" He gestured for Flora and I to follow him.
"Uh, where are you going?" Kate asked Miles turning around as she did so.
"To my room," He replied, frowning slightly as I stood beside him, my hands placed awkwardly in my Jean pockets.
"Your plate, aren't you going to take it to the kitchen? Mrs Grose-" Kate began but I cut her off.
"Kate why don't we do this another time?" I interrupted my auntie, my eyes darting between her and Miles.
She scowled heavily at me but sighed and ignored us as Miles, Flora and I all left the room in silence.
"Thanks, I thought she was gonna have a go at me," Miles said as he shut the Parlour door behind us.
"It's fine, I know how she can get sometimes," I smiled as he made his way up the staircase, Flora following, her smaller footsteps not matching Miles' and my own larger ones.
As we entered Miles' room, I stood in awe for a moment as I eyed his guitars. You name it, he had it.
"You like them, huh?" Miles chuckled as he stood before me, spinning his body around to face me. He smiled, his teeth showing as he did so. He appeared happy by my reaction to something he was clearly fond of.
"Hell yeah,"