First Kiss (7 page)

They all seem normal, weirdly normal.

Tim bounds to the black car with him. Heidi laughs, walking inside,
guiding me in too. She seems friendly. The mansion is dark and frightening. It
doesn’t look like anyone lives here, and yet, they are. I glance around at it
all, taking it in. I have no memories of the house, inside. I remember the
outside only. We had come when I was a small girl and walked the grounds. My
mother had seemed to be looking for something. She never spoke much about it
and Mary refused to come here at all. I do a slow circle, crunching the leaves
on the floor under my feet. “How long have you been here?”

“Er . . . uhm, we just arrived. He inherited it a few months
ago.” She sighs, “We are in the process of moving everything in and cleaning.
It’s a terrible mess.”

“I can see that.” The leaves from the winter are scattered
around on the floor and everything has cobwebs and filth. “So where do I
start?”

She points to the stairs, “If you go upstairs, Alex will show
you to your room and get you outfitted in a uniform.”

I give her a look, “Uniform? We have to wear that?”

She nods, blushing slightly, “We do.” If I had to guess, I
would say she is around the same age as Lance. She has grey hair that’s pulled
up into a proper French bun and laugh lines around her eyes. She looks like a
pleasant person, someone who is always sweet. Like Lune’s mom. Someone who has
joy in
their
life, like she smiles a lot. I trust her
and I have no idea why. I stifle a yawn and glance back at the door.

“You look beat. Are you all right?”

I nod at her, “I am pretty tired.” I want to just tell her
everything that has happened, but I don’t even know where to start. My brain
starts at hundreds of years ago . . .

“Just so you know, I let everyone pick a meal each week. I bet
I can guess yours. You look like a roast hen sort of girl to me.”

I scowl, “Hen? Oh, you mean chicken—yes. That’s my
favorite.”

She smiles, “I knew. What other kinds of food do you like to
eat?”

I shrug, “Everything, I guess.” It is the benefit of having a
rotten childhood—you are beaten down so badly, you will eat anything that
is served to you. Except liver, I still hate liver.

She chuckles, “Take a nap and when you’re ready, come down and
help. No use in working if you’re falling asleep.”

I don’t even know why I agree—why I don’t run from the
house. Why did I even take the job in the first place? I just nod, "I
think a nap is a good idea. I am exhausted." I don’t know where it came
from, but I am.

"Just go up the stairs with Alex and let him show you to
a bed."

As if in a trance, I turn and glance at the stairs to see a
guy about my age. I have no reaction to him. My exhaustion is getting worse and
the guy looks about as impressed as I feel. He has dark hair and very tanned
skin. He looks rugged and strong and vaguely familiar. He doesn’t smile. He
gives me an annoyed look actually, like helping me to my room is a burden. He
nods, “Let’s go.”

Heidi calls after him, “Thank you!”

He ignores her and turns and walks to the right at the top of
the stairs. I climb the massive set of stairs and follow him right. The wind is
there, pushing
me and the dry leaves to the right
. It
doesn’t want me to go left.

I turn and follow him down the
dimly-lit
hallway. A smell assaults my nose. I cringe, “What is that?”

He glances back, “Pack rat, they found it in the walls. Killed
it this morning.” His eyes glisten when he says it. He is officially scary. The
stink and the dark hallway add to his creepiness.

He stops at a room at the end of the hallway and opens the
door with a key. He hands me the key and walks away.

I look at the back of him, “Thanks.”

He doesn’t say anything. He just leaves. I sigh and walk into
the room. It’s neat and doesn’t smell like the hallway. It overlooks the lake
and the town. I had always imagined the view of the town was better though. I
can barely make out the small shops, and yet from the town, the mansion is
colossal and easily seen. The window is large, and the feel of the room is soft
and airy. I like it, instantly. I want to stay. I want to sleep. I want to fit
in here. I have no idea why, and yet, no desire to argue with the want to be
here.

I ignore all of my common sense and sit on the bed, bouncing
to test out the softness. It’s firm but not too firm. I lie back, closing my
eyes and let out a huge sigh. I feel wearied in ways I can't explain. I get up
to lock the door and jump back onto the bed, curling up to sleep. I should
change and help out with the cleaning, but I am drained in a way I have never
been.

When my eyes shut again, I have the strangest feeling I am
being watched, but I crash into a deep sleep too fast to care.

Chapter Five

I wake to a sound that reminds me of something.

Without opening my eyes, I prepare for Mary to wake me with
biting fingers and rage. I open my eyes slowly and see that, instead, I am in
the pretty room at the mansion and not my dingy bedroom. I feel like I’m waking
up at home, but it’s not Mary’s, it’s my real home.

Maybe I am at home. Maybe all along it has been my home. I
don’t remember where I lived when I was little. My mom said it was in Maryland.
A small town in Maryland that was never important to us. I don’t remember
leaving our old home. I just remember living with Mary and being sad about Dad
dying. Then Rosie was born and Mary loved her. Mom killed herself and we were
alone. And then Rosie died and I was alone.

Lying here thinking about it, I sense somehow that by being
here, I am less alone. It is a sudden feeling and entirely linked to this
house. Like when I met Bastion. The moment he climbed onto my roof and sat in
my window, I felt less alone. It was a feeling I had never had. Not even when
Lune became my friend or Sarah or Maggie. It was different with Bastion, from
the moment our eyes met really. It was like I knew him, and somehow he saw me
beyond the curse from the start. I miss him. I guess a week is long enough to
make feelings for a person because I still genuinely have them. In fact,
I am haunted by the incomplete feeling I have
from not
saying goodbye.

As I’m wondering where he is and if he’s thinking about me
too, I have the faintest sensation like the air just left the room.

Bastion leaves my brain and I look around the room. I don’t
remember why I fell asleep, why I am here, or why I have not left yet. My
common sense has returned with the night’s sleep.
 
It takes a second for the events to
catch up in my mind. It's then that I realize I am in a strange home, with
strange people, and no one I know has a clue as to where I am. I have no
explanation as to why I was so reckless and stayed. The memory of it is even a
little foggy.

But no matter how at home I feel, I need to find my friends
and tell them I’m okay. I need to leave, now.

I get up and glance out at the town below. I wonder if they
are scared or concerned that I am gone. I can barely make out the stores. I
can't see any cars or people though. It is as if the town has shut down for the
day.

I sigh, knowing no one but Brandon even knows I am gone. He
didn’t even seem worked up by the fact I was getting into a stranger’s car.
Oddly enough, neither did I. The smug
look on Mary’s face,
and the dead look in Mrs. Hamilton’s eyes, haunt
me. Looking down on the
town, it is easy to feel at home in the creepy old house; I am a monster
everywhere else. I deserve to live in a place like this.

I get a creepy tickle crawling up my spine as I think about
the past few days and the ways in which things have gone, and the fact that to
recall it all, I really have to concentrate.

The creepiness of the mansion is short-lived as I glance
around the room and the yard. There is a devil on my shoulder, whispering the
sweet things I need to hear when I look around the room. I am warm and
comfortable here, and that has to be a bigger priority right now. The other
people in the house seem nice. I don’t think anyone has come into my room. I
might actually be as safe as my heart believes me to be. I don’t know how long
I’ve been here napping, but I have a bad feeling I’ve slept through my first
day. The sun looks to be rising and the day has that fresh feeling to it.

Maybe I should give the job a chance, before leaving without
even a single attempt at it.

I quickly change into my maid’s uniform in the closet,
cringing at how short it is. I’m not a costume girl on a good day, so this one
makes me feel like a stripper. It comes to my knees. It isn’t tacky, but it
looks like a real maid’s uniform. Like the kind Lune, Sarah, Maggie, and Jenny
like to wear to get the boys to notice them at Halloween. I sigh and leave the
room, locking it before I go, just like home. At least here I have the feeling
I am safe. Here there doesn’t appear to be anyone like Mary to hurt me, not yet
anyway.

Maybe staying isn’t such a bad idea. They don’t know who I am
at least.

The hallway brings back the instant dislike of the mansion.
It’s still dark and creepy. The stench of the rat is gone but it isn’t a huge
improvement. I tiptoe past the spot that has been patched. No more pack rat. I
glance around the corner at the top of the stairs, but no one is there. I look
ahead at the foyer and I get a strange feeling, like I’ve seen it before. I
glance around again, certain no one will see me if I venture left. The wind
comes instantly, but I walk through it, pushing my way across the stairs and
down the dark corridor. The leaves scratch along the floor, as if trying to
sound an alarm and get me caught. I ignore the
wind,
it really is the only way. I walk until I come to a single doorway; it is the
only one in the hall.

The light seems to be even more lessened in this part of the
house, like it doesn’t want to come this far down the hallway. I reach forward,
actually scared of the thing I will find in the room. I touch my fingers to the
door, about to push it open, when fingers dig into my arm, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
WHY ARE YOU HERE? WHO BROUGHT YOU?” I’m spun around. The voice is deep and
angry.

I wince, preparing for the swinging of arms. I see a man; I
cannot make out his face. He lowers his head so I cannot see him. Not that it
matters,
we cannot really see each other in the dark. “Why
are you here?”

I stammer, “M-m-maid.” My breath is ragged.

His grip on my arm lessens and eventually he lets go.

I am shaking when I muster a few words, “I-I-I’m sorry,
I-I-I’m the n-n-new maid.”

He drops his hands, “This part of the house is off limits to
all staff. Do you understand me? This is my private part of the house.” He
sounds different suddenly.

I nod quickly, jerking my face. He sighs, “Just go downstairs
and get some breakfast. Heidi will tell you the rules of the grounds, and I
suppose, I will see you down there.” His tone is disappointed, maybe that I am
there. I don’t understand.

I want to move past him but he is blocking the way. He's huge
and frightening there in the dark hall, nearly pressing me into the door.
Regardless of dismissing me, he has not moved to make it possible.

He leans forward and I hear him sniff the air. I feel a
disgusted look cross my face. I’m ready to knee him in the balls, when he steps
to the side and lets me pass. I run, rounding the corner and flying down the
stairs. I try to open the door, but it’s locked so I follow the wind and round
another corner, going towards the light. I look behind me to make sure he
hasn’t followed me and smack into something hard, getting knocked back onto my
butt. I cry out as I land on the hard marble floor.

A huge hand reaches down, lifting me off the ground. I look up
to see the angry face of Alex. He narrows his dark-blue eyes at me, “Watch
where you’re going.”

He walks past me, leaving me there in the hallway holding
myself, trembling.

I stumble forward, looking around. The rooms are open and
massive. Our whole town’s population could fit inside one of them. I walk into
what I assume is a formal sitting room. Looking around, I’m confused as to what
is going on and how I will help clean all of this. There is dust, debris, and
mess everywhere but the house is beautiful, if you look past it all. There, in
the bones, there is beauty.

“Stunning, is it not?”

I spin to see the man who scared me in the hallway, at least
it sounds like him,
only
he’s being nice to me. I’m
not sure how to react at first, but then I see him, really see him. It makes me
recoil. He has a cloak on, covering his body. The hood hangs down low enough to
cover his face except for his lips and chin. I can see a mark on his chin, a
scar maybe. I stare too long at it. He walks into the room, leaving the huge
black cloak on. He points out at the lake, “The family who built it was cursed,
apparently.”

I wince, nodding, “I’ve heard that.”

He turns his head, I see his lip twitch, “Have you?”

I can see the scar better with him so close to the window. It
is thick, I cannot imagine what the rest of him looks like. He must be
frightening if he is keeping the cloak up. I look away, remembering how it
feels to have everyone stare at me like that. I glance out at the lake, “You
must know who I am, if you know about the curse?”

“I do.” He says it so matter-of-factly.

“How?”

“The last name. Just now, when I confronted Lance about
offering you the job, he told me your name. I knew instantly. You are the last
of the Lakes. The Lachlans, that is.”

“I thought you wanted a maid?”

He nods, “Apparently, I did.”

I glance at him, “If my last name scares you, I can go.”

He
smiles,
it’s a lovely smile. He
has very straight, white teeth and soft-looking lips, like he might be handsome
underneath the rest. “You think you scare me?”

I nod once. He laughs. It is the kind of laugh that puts a
smile on my lips too. I don’t understand his laughing at the curse.

“You think I, a scarred man in a cloak, would be scared of a
young girl?”

I fold my arms. He is mocking me. I like that he thinks it’s a
joke. He thinks I am a normal girl. Compared to him, I might be. I nod, “Fair
enough, but you should try very hard not to fall in love with me, or else
you’ll die and from the grave you can do all the laughing you want.” I nearly
slap my hands against my mouth. I don’t even know where the words came from. I
could swear
,
I might have even had an accent when I
said them.

He stops laughing, “You should go find Heidi and get
breakfast, like I told you to.” His voice has changed. I nod once and turn,
leaving the room.

“That way.”

He points a scarred hand to the door on the other side of the
room. His hand looks creepy, the way the cloak hangs from his outstretched arm,
like the grim reaper is pointing the direction I should go.

I stop, looking at the size of him. He looks massive, even in
the huge room. I walk to the door, stealing a glance at the scars on his
fingers and hand. They look like thick scratches.

I walk through the door, closing it and pressing my back
against it. I am in the kitchen. Heidi gives me a smile from the counter where
she is baking bread, “Good morning.”

I nod once, “Is it?”

She laughs, “I couldn’t help but hear, you have met the
master.”

I nod again, “I believe I have.”

She smiles warmly, “He is a sweet man, once you get to know
him.”

I shake my head, “I don’t think I ever want to get to know
him.”

Her eyes glisten, “You never know.” She passes me a plate with
a warm cinnamon bun and a cup of tea. I take it and sit in the morning sun at
the huge breakfast table. Lance comes in, getting his bun and tea. He gives me
a grin, “How are you this morning, love?”

I shake my head, “I don’t know. Tired, I guess.”

He smiles, “Well, it is exhausting changing houses and jobs.”
Tim comes and sits next to me. He smiles from his bun and warm milk, “Morning,
Miss Erralynn.”

I give him a funny look, “Lynnie. Call me Lynnie.”

He giggles and licks the
frosting from his
bun, “Yes, miss
.”

Laughing, I point, “Just Lynnie. No miss or misses or ma’am.
Just Lynnie.”

Alex slumps into a chair opposite me. Heidi hurries over,
passing him his tea and bun. I don’t like the way she is waiting on him,
hurrying like he will get angry. He sips the tea and makes a face, “You forgot
the cream.”

She places it down in front of him, “You drank before I could
put it in.”

He scowls at her. She pours the cream, stirring quickly. I
laugh at him, “What are you three years old? Baby can't stir in his own cream?”

His eyes turn to me. Heidi’s eyes are wide. She gives me a
frightened look.

Alex snarls, “What did you just say to me?”

I sip my tea, “You heard me. Do you know how lucky you are to
have someone like her? Someone who makes you tea? Spoiled little brat.”

He jumps up and walks around to me. He looks down on me, “You
want to say that to my face?”

I jump up and look up into his dark-blue eyes, “I do. You are
a spoiled little brat.” I have no idea what has gotten into me, or why I keep
almost using an accent when I talk.

He grabs my arms, but I do something I have never done before.
I shove him back. He is massive so he only moves slightly. A grim smile crosses
his lips.

Heidi steps between us, “The master wouldn’t like this.”

Alex gives her a deadly stare, lets go of me, and stalks out
of the kitchen. She sighs, shaking her head, “Please, don’t provoke him.”

I make a
face,
I can’t even fight it,
”Why? He’s an asshole. I’m sure that you could find someone who is better at
gardening or whatever the hell he does.” I look back at Tim, “Sorry. Don’t say
that. It’s a bad word.” He snickers over his cinnamon bun, and I have no idea
what has come over me.

Lance sighs, “We need him because the master likes him here.
That’s why. We don’t get to question how things work here, we just do our job.”

I slump back into the seat, “Maybe me working here is a bad
idea. Your weird master doesn’t even want me here, anyway.” I look at Lance,
“Can you give me a ride back to town?”

His eyes dart to Heidi. She places a hand on my arm, “Let’s
not rush into things. I think you and young Master Alex will get on famously
once you settle in. He is just an abrupt person. He softens.” Her voice is high
pitched like she is lying to me. “Besides, the master will want you here. He
just needs to adjust to more staff. He knows we need the help.” I roll my eyes
and sip my tea.