OH, GOD. It's morning.
Fuck that.
I rolled over onto my bed, my brows creasing in annoyance when I stuffed my face back into my pillow.
My alarm rattled my room obnoxiously, making me resist the urge to cover my ears and scream, but... alas... I knew very well that I wouldn't have woken if it was quieter.
Classes started today.
Already in my junior year of college, getting my bachelors in marketing that I was probably never going to use.
My mother's words were always the same, "Better to have a any degree than none!"
Especially when it came to marketing, business, or anything medical related, she would force it upon me.
It made me more... appealing.
After lying there and listening to my screaming ringtone, I finally decided to get up and shut it off.
Getting ready was pretty easy... just had to take a quick shower, huddle by the heating vent while drying off, and then get dressed.
I quickly got my hair brushed, put in my contacts, and then added some makeup (just a little eyeliner).
After finishing, I stepped down the halls of this old, quiet house before making it to the kitchen.
A couple years ago... when I was eighteen, my grandmother passed away from a stroke of some sort. Shortly after her funeral, I found in the will that she left her house to me... a house that happened to be right next to my college campus.
My mother wasn't really happy that she chose to give the house to me rather than her own daughter, but shortly accepted it because she received a butt-load of money.
Over the summer between my senior year of high school and my freshman year of college, I decided to start moving in... and... the weird thing was that things after that got fuzzy.
I was told that one night... I called the police claiming just to be attacked my a man, and then I broke into some cellar of a house before hanging up.
The odd thing was... there wasn't much to remember.
It was all foggy.
I was just gone for two weeks, stuck in that house. Through the thick smoke of memories, I recalled a large frame and menacing features... but nothing more than that.
Maybe a nickname of some sort, I couldn't remember, but I was told by the police that I stayed with them for a couple months before I somehow escaped.
The odd thing was that... they never came for me since.
My mother couldn't care less, she was just glad I was back.
My boyfriend, Mason, was his typical cold-self and closed off.
I didn't mind it... I didn't consider him a boyfriend, anyway. He really was just going to be an aquatinted of some sort because I was being forced to marry him.
It's an odd family ritual thing, I didn't know.
But—alas—I made it back to this house, and with the helping hands of some miraculous worker that took care of the house, it was finally up and running for me!
Hooray.
Now... three years later and I'm almost done with college. I might've gone back with my master's, but I wasn't a hundred percent sure if my mom would kill me or not.
Stuck like this for now. I had to marry Mason over the summer, which was... great.
Sarcasm intended.
But—alas—maybe he'd just let me live my own life in the books I read.
I stepped down to the final floors before I opened the mini fridge, pulling out a small sandwich I made for myself and then headed out the door.
I pressed the sandwich into my mouth and locked the front door behind me, gazing up seconds later.
The man attending the lawn just gazed up, smirking and waving at me.
He had a ballcap on of some sort, as well as a gathering of some black T-shirt and jeans. Although he wore some black robber-like mask with safety-goggles on it.
It was to protect from the debris. Although I do admit I'd never really seen his face.
It was... concerning sometimes, but... he never really came in the house.
I just casually waved back at him, narrowing my eyes.
He's been working on that same bush for like two days.
Well... he did take care of the house.
But I dropped it, stepping forward and making my way to the car.
Almost instantly, my neighbor's door busted open, and a girl came out, wailing and screaming at me.
"Cameroooooooooon!" Maddie called. "Help! I'm late! Drive me?"
I just sighed, shaking my head in annoyance before unlocking my car. "Go on."
She immediately scrambled into the passenger seat before I got into the driver's side, and I started the car.
Maddie was—of course—one of my closest friends. We had been besties since middle school, really. Closer than sisters.
And... she had a thing about being late.
Every day. Constantly.
I took one last glance at the man cleaning the bush before I backed down the driveway and started off to school.
Maddie just quickly shuffled on her seatbelt and got settled. "Has he just been cleaning that same bush for like two days now?"
"Yes," I replied, finding it odd, too.
She noticed, as well?
"Who is he, anyway?" she asked me.
"He's my house's caretaker," I replied smoothly. "I guess my grandmother handed him the deed before sending it to me."
"What's a caretaker?" she wondered then.
"I have no idea."
"Maybe you should look it up," she replied as I made it to a stoplight. "What's his name again?"
"I... don't know," I responded.
I wasn't sure if I even asked him.
"Okay," she said carefully, "and uh... does he have access to your house?"
"Yes," I replied instantly, "he's the... caretaker."
"So he has keys."
"Basically."
"Who are you allowing some stranger to have keys to your house?" she questioned as if I was stupid.
"It's not my decision, it's mom's," I replied then.
She sighed in annoyance, slouching back in her seat. "Ah, yes... the glorious mother mayhem. How is the bitch doing today?"
"Don't know, don't care."
Okay, so I might've talked shit about her a lot. But what teenager didn't?
She then sighed, gazing out the front window. "You should totally look up what a caretaker is. And if they exist."
"You think mom would allow some random guy in my house?" I questioned then. "Why?"
"I don't know. Your mom's a mystery."
I shrugged it off then, continuing to drive.
"And, uh... does he always wear that mask?" she asked me then.
"Yes, to protect from debris on his cleaning."
She nodded slowly. "You should definitely check that out."
"You think he's some serial killer?" I joked flatly.
She just looked over at me. "No, I just think... you should be careful."
"Well, my mom trusts him."
"And we all know just how trustworthy your mom can be."
I looked forward. "Fair point."
He had been the caretaker of that house for the last couple years, though. Ever since my grandmother passed.
But still...
I've never seen his face.
Word Count: 1173
a/n
I know, another short one. But it's longer than the last one!
I wasn't a hundred percent about this chapter, but I think it turned out okay.
I think I'm going to shoot for 1,000 word chapters. Sounds like a good goal for me.
- aspen
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuoKuquv8TX
