Chapter 4

"Where am I?" she croaked as she rubbed her eyes. Her back was sore from the twisted position she had been in. She squinted at the light that was shining through her eye lids and the stench of cooking microwave food made her stomach churn

"Still on the plane" her eyes opened to the man. He looked slightly cleaner than before as he tucked into the tray full of food in front of him. The table rose slightly as it balanced on his stomach

"How long left?"

"About an hour" wow she had been out for almost six hours. That was slightly worrying on her account but both ways she was glad for it. She felt refreshed and like she was ready for, well anything.

She sat upright, forgetting about how her hair looked. There was no one on the plane that she even cared about seeing her. She quickly combed down her hair with her hands as she wiped the sleep off her mouth.

"What's your name?" the man was speaking again as she asked the air hostess for a diet coke to tone down her morning breath

"Erm, Caroline, yours?" she said between sips.

All her fears from before seemed to have disappeared, maybe someone slipped her a sleeping tablet? She shrugged, whatever it was it was working

"George, where about are you heading to when you get off?"

"Erm" she said again as she thought about it. Where was she going? She pulled out her phone looking down at the text from PC Ward "Here" she tilted the phone screen towards him as he chuckled

"It's upside down" she turned it round "Oh I know this place well. My wife and I used to pass it on our daily strolls. It's massive, is it yours?"

"It's my boyfriend's. I'm just cleaning up his mess, so to speak but I've never been before. He hid it well" she rolled her eyes, bringing back that sudden annoyance she had for Tyler and the way he kept secrets from her.

Her brain was a muddle of emotions, on one hand she was sad that he died but on the other hand she was annoyed with him. She was sure this whole event was turning her in to a skitzo. It made her wonder what else he kept from her; a second family, wife, kids? The possibilities were endless but she couldn't bear thinking about it

"I could take you there if you'd like? Like I said it's literally minutes away from my Villa" she debated it for a while, it would certainly help but was she in that place of trusting a stranger to take her somewhere she didn't know of?

At this point in her life, nothing mattered

"Sure. That would be great"

After what seemed like the longest journey that she had ever endured, she managed to make her way to the house. George was right, it was massive. Tyler had cash; again he hid that one well.

Caroline had often wondered how he managed to pay for luxuries and gifts for her but when it was presented to her she never thought twice before thanking him.

George indulged her in her life story and in fact without that the car journey could have bridged on awkward. But in fact, he had quite an interesting life; he used to be poet back in the day.

George hired a car – like he normally did – and drove her straight to the house. He gave a smile and a wave, leaving her there to fend for herself.

Caroline stood outside the large white gates, peering through the patterned holes as she stared at the house inside. Wow was all she thought. She noticed a bronze Mercedes parked in the corner of the house. She assumed it was Tyler's but then her mind reverted back to PC Ward and his hint about Tyler's step brother.

Maybe he beat her to it and was already in the house? She felt those butterflies that she scolded herself for, why was she nervous? He was nobody, she would do what she had to do and leave. That would be the end of it.

She picked up the courage to try and push the gates open but as she suspected they were locked, instead she rang the door bell to be greeted by a thick British accent. As far as she knew Tyler was American through and through,

looks like he had another detail he failed to mention in the three years they knew each other

"Hello?"

"Erm, Hi, I'm Caroline, Tyler's girlfriend. I was told to come here and sort some of his stuff out" there was silence as she swore the guy on the other line scoffed at her

"Can you let me in?" he hung up as she stood dumbfounded staring at the house.

The cheek!

So what now, he just expected her to stand outside?

Before long she heard a buzz and the gates slowly opened as she walked in dragging her bags behind her. The drive way was just as big as the whole house itself. The garden was neatly trimmed with flowers everywhere she looked. It was truly a beautiful French house.

She walked up to the door, ringing the door bell and knocking but there was no answer. Well this is great she thought, she barely met the man and he already seemed to despise her. She tried the handle and was shocked to find it open

"Hello?" she called out in the empty house as she let herself in. Leaving her suitcase by the door, she peered in, admiring the wooden floorboards, brown leather chairs and furnishings that filled the room

"Who said you could come in?" the voice startled her as she turned round to see a tall man staring back at her as he leaned on the door frame. His brown hair was tousled slightly and his face stern

"Well you opened the gates so I assumed...I knocked, but you didn't answer" he smiled, showing his dimples in his chiselled face

"There's a reason I didn't answer, love" he walked over to her now as she stood back, keeping her distance

"I had to come in sooner or later, whether you like it or not. I have business to do"

"Tyler's my brother so my business love, not yours" she frowned at him. Her face was showing more expression that his did in the whole time she was with him. Talk about arrogant she thought as she rolled her eyes at his obvious attempt to scare her

"Well, love, I think you'll find that Tyler is only your step brother so you have just as much rights as I do" he scowled and she knew she got through to him

"Okay here's the deal, you don't seem to like me and I definitely don't like you so let's make it easier for ourselves. I'll do my thing and you do yours, deal? Okay thanks" she smirked, flicking her hair as she walked past him pulling her luggage with her.

After walking around the never ending corridors, she managed to find a spare bedroom on the second floor. The house was like a maze, almost three floors high with five rooms per floor. But she was shocked to find that there were only two bedrooms in the whole house; hers and Tyler's.

With several different ways of getting to those floors, she sighed, it was a workout just trying to get to her room. She unpacked her bags, sorting out all her clothes into the drawers and customising her room. If she was going to be staying there, she might as well make it homely.

She could hear banging from downstairs as she peered outside her door to investigate. The floor was empty and she assumed it was just him she rolled her eyes. If this was what she had to endure, she might kill him – literally – it didn't take long to sort out her room before she made her way around the other rooms.

PC Ward said she would send her a copy of the will, letting her know what things she can't touch but apart from that, the house was like her own shopping mall, plus the annoying security guard.

She hoped to God that he didn't stay in the house as well. She went past a room that had clothes cluttered around the floors. She inhaled heavily, damn it he already moved in. She couldn't help the temptation to walk in. Her fingertips traced the wooden cabinets as she looked at the photo frames of Tyler and him.

She grinned touching Tyler's smiling face

"What are you doing?" she spun around to see him glaring at her with all kinds of suspicion going through his mind

"I erm..." she struggled to find the words, why was she in there? Pure curiosity or was she just being plain nosey?

"First you invite yourself into my house and then you snoop round my room. What's next" It was more of a statement than a question

"It isn't your house" he chuckled with a voice that made her want to smile with him but she held her ground, he wasn't worth it. She didn't tell a complete lie, PC Ward had told her that it was legally his in the will but her name being next to it had to mean something.

"Not yet anyways" almost everything he said made he want to slap him, it seemed like he deserved a good slap

"Where is your compassion, your brother just died. Show a little respect" she had a fire in her voice that startled him. There was something in her spirit that started that fire inside him, he didn't want to but he couldn't help himself. He had never met a girl with so much passion in her. She annoyed him as much as intrigued him

"I realised I never introduced myself, I'm Klaus" he gave out his hand as she just looked at it with disgust at his lack of response to her comment. Looking from his hand to his face as she grimaced before knocking his arm

"I don't care what your name is. I just want to get this all over with so I can go home" she shoved past him knocking his shoulder as she went past. He couldn't help chuckle. She can't say he didn't try to be nice to her.

He picked up the picture she originally held in her hands, looking down at Tyler

"You've found a feisty one here, brother" he smiled putting the picture back on the table top.

He couldn't guarantee that Caroline and he would get along but for his brother he would attempt to be civil.

After all, it looked like he bagged himself a roommate.

WAHEY KLAUSSS! Did this scene excite you guys as much as it did when I was writing it? I can already feel the fire starting, ooooooh gooody! Now they know about each other, things might just get interesting from here on ;)

© Ms Zola, Oct 2012