SWNOVELS Chapter Chapter Thirty-Three
"Let's give it a hour of hard work and then you can get some sleep." Lee had started picking up random kitchen items halfway into his sentence. I joined right behind him by picking up tattered clothes and empty bottles.
Just like he said, we gave it it an hour and the place didn't look half bad. There was a resemblance of a wooden floor and the outlines of a kitchen.
In the morning, I stretched out on the questionable mattress I had thrown down the night before. The light that came in through the windows was actually surprising. It showed that the house had once been very beautiful. With a good scrubbing it could be brought back to life.
Walking down the stairs, I was able to see more. Upstairs held all the bedrooms. It had been a sizeable house. Downstairs was the kitchen that melted into the living space. The only thing that was separate was the entryway that made no sense.
I turned the faucet at the kitchen sink. Water. I scrubbed my hands, then brought the cool water up to my face. The was water seemed safe to drink, but I wasn't that comfortable. That meant it was time to venture out into the town.
A quick walk led me right into the middle of the main street. Lee was right. The town was completely different during the day. It came alive with people bustling about. Small shops had their doors open and attracted quite the crowd.
I wanted to browse the shops, but my growling stomach compelled me otherwise. I settled for the local general store and tried my luck.
"Good morning miss!" An over enthused shop keeper bellowed out to me. I let out a small hello and kept myself on track. All I needed was a few staples.
Bread, Peanut Butter and Jelly.
I brought my things up to the counter, "How much?" I said curtly.
The old man just smiled as he rung up the items, "That'll be five even. Gave ya our discount and everything."
I wish I was a little kinder to the sweet old man, but I was alone without Lee. I didn't know enough about the town. I just wanted to get the food and leave.
As soon as he bagged the items, I snatched them from him and scurried out the door. I raced back to the house. I found a dusty spoon and washed it in the sink before dipping it in the peanut butter and shoveling it into my mouth. I was so hungry.
After ingesting three sandwiches, I thought it was time to get to work. I had nothing better to do while I waited for the sun to go down. So I set to work.
There was large bay doors in the living space. When they finally budged, they opened up to a balcony that looked over the water. It was beautiful. I imagined myself sitting out and looking over the water on warm summer days.
By the time the sun has set, I had gotten the house swept and mopped. The house was coming alive. "Look at you." Lee chuckled. "A regular ole homemaker." He walked down the stairs.
I laughed. "So what's the plan here?"
The air in the room went stale, "We wait."
And we waited. We waited for days. We waited for weeks. There was nothing. Just days of me staring out at the ocean. Lee disappearing at night. It was the same thing everyday...Until, there was a knock at the door one night.
Lee had already left for the night. It was me all alone in the house. "Who is it?" I called out. There was another knock at the door. "Yea, who's there?" I shouted even louder.
I grabbed a hammer off the counter, raised it above my head. I was ready to strike. My hand gripped the door handle and slowly turned.
"Christi!" Martin bear hugged me. I was taken back by the fact he was standing in front of me right now. Dee emerged from the dark of night and stood behind Martin.
"It's good to see you." Dee rested a hand on my shoulder. He stepped around us while Martin finished hugging me.
"I thought you two were dead!" I said angrily.
"Honestly, I forgot about this place. We tried to catch up to you, but you had already disappeared from your hometown." Martin walked through the entryway closet.
"How did you know to come here?" Dee asked as he looked around.
I forgot that I had water boiling on the stove and rushed to save it, "Lee brought me here after he realized I was being followed."
They didn't know. Why would they?
"Followed?" Martin interjected.
Dee looked over at me with a questionable look. "When I cam back, Lee said he was watching others who were watching me. He said it was best that we leave. I'm pregnant." I blurted.
The room was silent.
"Lee is here." I looked back at the stove. I added noodles to the boiling water.
"We will all protect you and the baby."