Chapter 5:
Bella
It didn't take long to unpack the few belonging I brought with me from Seattle, especially with Jacob's help. The man is pure muscle now, and I was grateful for his help to move the renovation materials into a back room and rearrange some furniture. This place still feels deserted, but the view from the floor to ceiling windows in the back room subdues the lonely feeling. The view outside the glass is breathtaking, thanks to the hill the manor sits on. There's nothing but trees for miles, but just beyond them, on the horizon line, is the ocean. The sun looks like it's being swallowed by the water. Reds, oranges, and purples paint the sky and I sigh. I wish Jacob had stayed just a little longer. I'm not ready to be alone with my thoughts again, especially with the night quickly approaching.
Maybe it was a stupid idea to live alone in this giant house so soon after the accident. The thought of moving back into Charlie's house wasn't preferable to either of us, though. My bedroom at his house was still untouched by time. He'd kept my posters on the walls and my purple bedding in the same state I'd left them. As endearing as it is depressing, but that's Charlie.
A chill creeps up my spine and spreads out into goosebumps along my arms. I get the distinct feeling that I'm being watched. The glass would give anyone a clear view of me from outside, but the growing shadows along the tree line would mask them from me. Maybe the stranger from before is out there again. Or maybe I'm just being paranoid.
The trauma from my car accident is still at the forefront of my mind. It's not uncommon to hit a deer in your car in the Pacific Northwest. The deer doesn't unsettle me or haunt every waking moment. The eyes do. Those unnaturally red eyes that peered out from woods at the side of the road, watching the accident and the aftermath play out. The more times I replay the scene in my head, the more I'm convinced that whatever the eyes belonged to was what chased the deer onto the road that night. I just can't shake the feeling that it wasn't truly an accident. The deer. The eyes. The car brakes that were determined to be defective.
Renee explained away my concerns easily. The head trauma had to be responsible for what I saw and felt. Accidents happen. I hate to admit that, for once, she's probably right.
I take one last glance out the window and turn to find the thermostat. This house is freezing, and I'd prefer to not die of hypothermia in my bed. If I died overnight, who would show up to my shift at the coffee shop the next morning? A travesty.
After finding and setting the thermostat for 78, I make my way back to my room. It's the main bedroom of the manor and still has the large four post bed, two dressers, and an intricately carved mirror hanging on the wall. I grab a pair of boy shorts and a hoodie from the dresser I threw everything from my suitcase into earlier. Then head to the en suite bathroom to wash off the stress from the day with a hot shower. Thankfully, the plumbing in this place is in decent shape and I let the water pressure hit all the right spots. My mind drifts off to the stranger in the woods and his golden eyes and what it might be like for him to chase me through this empty house. A hungry cat chasing a mouse. My pleasure mounts and cascades through me in waves mixing with the warm water on my skin. I'm almost ashamed that I found my release thinking about a complete stranger, but tiredness follows quickly behind the last wave of ecstasy racking my body. I need sleep and I hope the change of scenery will keep my nightmares at bay. At least for one night.
Someone had freshly washed the bedding before I arrived. Most likely it was Charlie, since the sheets are still purple, but dark satin as opposed to the light floral color in my old room. I jump into the soft bedding enthusiastically. I can do this. I can start over again and leave all the horrible memories of Seattle behind me. Sighing, I roll to my side to see something sitting on the nightstand. My blood turns to ice.
There on the nightstand is a single chess piece. A red pawn. That almost certainly wasn't there before I took a shower.Bella, you're losing it. There's no way someone snuck into this house while I was showering to leave a chess piece for me to find. The rest of the game must be in the room somewhere and this pawn just didn't make it back into the box. That has to be it. I let myself find comfort in the thought as I drift off to sleep. I'll make it a point to find the rest of the game tomorrow.