Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 35763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 179(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 179(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
“I hate this place.”
“So you’ve told me. You’ve been mumbling it every five minutes since we landed.“ Is it the same? Jack rises from his chair to explore the surroundings. “They said there is a staff. This Eden. I’ll have—"
“I already have someone on it.” I interrupt him.
“Of course you do.” Jack's smirk irritates me. Typically I ignore them.
“What does that mean?”
“You’re on edge, that’s all.” He opens one of the fridges. It’s industrial-sized.
“They have updated, but a lot of it remains the same.” My eyes linger on the windows that line one whole wall of the kitchen. There is a stone porch that lets you see out to the ocean. Mom loved eating breakfast out there.
How can a place hold some of my sweetest memories from my childhood as well as my worst nightmares?
Chapter Four
TEDDY
“Have you ever heard of him?” I pose this question to Willa as I close her bedroom door. Her room, like most of the rooms, is quite spacious. It has a sitting area with a fireplace. I bet her room is as big as some Manhattan apartments.
“Never.” Willa goes over to her bed, sitting down. I follow after her, trying to stay focused on her and not West. I have a million questions there. I’m sure Willa has to as well, but I think ours might be very different. “But with how much he resembles my brother, I’m guessing it's true. He’s my uncle.” I nod, sitting down next to her.
“We can try and dig up stuff if you want.”
“How?”
I shrug, but I already have a few ideas. I bet her father's office is filled with information. “There are ways.” I wink at her.
“Don’t go all Nancy Drew.”
"You love when I go full Nancy Drew," I counter. I am rather good at finding information, and I’m too curious for my own good. It doesn’t hurt that I have my own agenda as well. That only stokes my curiosity even more.
“I just hope he was telling the truth. That he’s not like my father.” Willa fiddles with the button on her cardigan. She can be quiet and reserved but not typically with me.
“This is bullshit,” Rich says, bursting into the room.
“Let’s take a breath.”
“We can’t breathe through this, Teddy,” he snaps.
“Hey, don't take it out on her.” Willa is quick to come to my defense.
“It’s okay. There are a lot of emotions going on.” I can take it if it helps Rich calm down. He can be a hothead at times. It seems to run in the family. West tried not to show it, but I could see an underlying tension in him as well.
“How about we watch a movie?” I offer. No one says a word, so I get up on my own and start one. I get into bed with Willa while Rich drops into one of the oversized chairs next to it.
At some point, I doze off. When I awaken, Rich has already left, and Willa is sound asleep. I check my phone to see that it’s only nine. I slip from the bed to use the bathroom. A text pops up from my mom asking how Willa and Rich are and if she should make dinner. I tell her I’ve got it. I don’t think she knows anything about West yet.
I plug Willa's phone into the charger before leaving her bedroom. I step across the wide hallway to where Rich’s room is. Their rooms are on this wing of the house. There are a total of three. Karl kept one to himself. He stayed true to it for the most part when he was home. Willa and Rich preferred it that way, so it worked for all of them.
I hated it when he was home. There was this tension that lingered around the whole estate. I avoided the main house as much as possible whenever he was here. He always gave me the creeps. Willa would often end up at the guesthouse, crashing in my room.
She never explicitly stated what she was doing, but she didn’t have to. I knew she was masking it behind hanging out and just happened to fall asleep in bed with me.
I press my ear to Rich’s door to see if I hear anything, but it’s quiet, so I step away. I'll prepare something for them to eat later. I’ll leave a note in the kitchen for them. If they are able to sleep, I want to let them do so. I’m sure they haven’t had much rest.
When I come to the end of the hallway, I pause. You can either go straight to Karl’s wing or right to the other. If you go left, it’s down the stairs to the entryway of the home.
Everything's in its place, making me wonder where West and Jack went and if they are still here and getting settled in. I glance around, not hearing anything. Seeing this as a change, I venture down Karl’s wing.