Anonymous Caller

Chapter 1

(Y/N)'s POV

"Mx. (L/N), in the will, your grandparent addressed you as the beneficiary of their estate. You can choose to keep or sell it. That decision is completely up to you." A woman in a navy pantsuit slid a vanilla envelope and a clipboard across the table.

On the blue plastic clipboard, A stapled document with lengthy paragraphs rested, pinned to the board. A pen looped around a part of the clipboard with a small silver chain.

"Please, sign on this line." She flipped through the pages and then tapped on the line at the bottom of the last page. "Then the estate will be yours."

I signed the document and gently pushed the clipboard back to her.

"Great," She turned the clipboard to face her. "In the envelope is the keys to the estate and the deed to it."

"Thanks for all of your help in this hard time, Miss." I closed the door with a soft click. 'Now the new house awaits me. It's getting late I'll just grab a couple of things and head on over to the house.'

My shoes squeaked on the tile. A chill autumn breeze enveloped me when I left the building. Leaves crunched under my feet on the damp pavement.

The sidewalk had the street lights on like mini spotlights. The envelope sat under my arm, pinned to my body, and my hands in my pockets to keep them warm.

The store sat three buildings down across the street from where I finished the meeting.

My phone buzzed against my fingertips and sang a little tune. I stopped in my tracks and carefully took out my phone. The caller ID read Sam at the top of the screen.

"Hey," I accepted the call and continued my path. "What's up?"

"Hey, nothing much really happening here.  My grandpa just went to bed, so I can do whatever now. You? How did the meeting thing go?" I could hear footsteps on his side of the phone.

"It went okay. I got the deed and the keys..." I sighed and pressed the button on the street crossing pole.

"Do you not want the place? You don't have to keep it, you know." A door creaked open and thudded as it shut.

"I know that!" The sign posted above changed to illuminate a green person walking symbol. "It's just still shocking that they have passed. I don't know what to think of the house."

"Well, you don't have to make the decision tonight, especially with such a big thing."

"You're right." I looked up to the store ahead of me. "I gotta get going now. I'm going to shop a little then go home."

"Okay, let me know when you get home safe."

"Got it," I quickly tapped the hang-up button with my thumb and stashed my phone away. A bell rang from above when I entered.

My cart's wheels rolled with the occasional squeak. Dim lighting shined on the colorful snack packages.

My eyes scanned across the packages with their bold letters until I found what I wanted, dropping the snack into my cart.

Jiffy Pop and other popcorn brands sat at the end of an aisle on a little display shelf. The shelf was as wide as the shelf end that it sat against with a banner over the top. It read "Enjoy Popcorn this spooky season!"  I took the Jiffy Pop by its handle, and it too went into the cart.

I rounded the corner into the next aisle. Bottles of water and soda lined the shelves. Sodas have been held together in six-pack rings and water sat wrapped in a large pack of 32 along the other side. I chose one and moved on to the movies.

In the center, a large bin filled to the brim had a sign that said, "Each movie for 5 dollars!" My cart squeaked to a stop beside the bin and I stuck my hand into the bin.

I rummaged through, shifting movies from side to side. A movie with a white mask with an extended jaw on the cover. The words sprawled on the cover said: "Scream."

The white plastic bag swung in my hands while I climbed the cobble steps that led up to the large gate to my grandparent's old home.

I dug in the envelope for the key. They jingled and swayed on the ring. The intricate gate creaked and groaned as it swung open.

I continued on the long cobble path leading up to the house. Excitement filled me at the idea of settling into the house.

The heavy wooden door opened with a groan and I got past. The house was spacious and in good shape. They had renovated in some ways, but they still had their landline phone on a stand in their kitchen.

'I'm home,' I quickly typed out to Sam.  He responded quickly after with a thumbs-up.

Popcorn popped on the stove, and my movie sat paused on my TV. I swept up the dusty floor out the still-open door. The windows sat open to get all of the dust-out.

I let the broom rest against the kitchen doorframe. I began to give my popcorn my full attention. I grabbed the handle and moved the popcorn in fast circles on the stove's eye.

A bowl of popcorn sat on my lap now and my other snacks sat on top of the coffee table in front of me. My remote was in my hand and pointed at the TV.

I pressed play and settled into the couch. The movie sounded out filling the house with sound. Seconds of the DVD rolled until the screen went black.

"What the hell?" I got up from the couch and went to the TV. "Is the TV broken?" The TV fought for life, the light flickered until static played and wouldn't go away.

"What do I do? This is so weird!" I panicked as the TV's static loudly sounded and something in the middle of the static changed. A black oval formed.

Greasy brown hair slowly emerged and a hand followed suit. The hand tried to find stable support while the body attached kept moving despite the hand's intentions.

My heart leaped out of my chest and my stomach twisted in knots. I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming and alerting this person.

The person lost all hope it seems like of getting out without falling and just letting the TV do the job. Until their lower half fell out lying there, on the floor, in my living room.

On my floor, this person lay sprawled across it. Short sandy blonde hair now appeared out of my TV set. 'When will this stop?' This person had longer arms than the other.

Their arms reached the ground and they pulled themselves further out. They crawled and pushed their face out. They spotted me first before their companion.

Mishift sparkled in their eyes with a grin stretching their lips. "Uraggh!" They stuck out their tongue and violently shook their head to try to scare me.

The person below slowly got out from under the other and faced them with a groan. "Knock it off, Stu." They smack the person's arm then help them pull the rest of themself out.

I now had two people I didn't know in my house that I didn't own for longer than an hour and it seems to not end. A blonde and a brunette followed in quick succession, falling on top of each other.

'What is better than two if not four?' I thought bitterly.
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1281 Words