Everything I Never Wanted

Chapter Five

Anna pulled me towards the staircase, not even looking at me as she did so, I could feel eyes boring into the back of my head, the knowledge made goose bumps appear on my arms, which I tried to get rid of with my one free arm. As I was rubbing my arm uncomfortably, I glanced behind me long enough to see Damien staring at me, his brown eyes so intensely focused on my blue ones that I had to look away after only a second. I glanced back long enough to watch the corners of his mouth lift in a slight smirk before I was pulled up the stairs and I was forced to turn around or risk falling flat on my face.

Anna, who was completely oblivious to what had happened, let go of my wrist, but continued to lead the way up the stairs. I followed her, trying not to make it too obvious that his stare was bothering me, since I could still feel his eyes on me as I climbed the stairs. It wasn't until we reached the second story landing that I heard the office door slam shut. I jumped at the sudden noise and risked a quick glance downstairs, the foyer was now empty.

I let Anna lead me by my elbow all the way to the end of the hallway and stop outside of a wooden door at the end of the hall. But, what I thought to be a bedroom, turned out to be a narrow staircase that led up to a small third floor.

The third floor landing was just a long, narrow hallway with about six doors, all closed, leading off it. There wasn't much to see in terms of decorations, while what I had seen of the rest of the house had had intricate decorations; this floor just looked like it had been forgotten, though I had a feeling that it hadn't really been an accident. The lighting was adequate, but not nearly as beautiful to look at like the chandelier I had seen in the front foyer.

Anna unlocked the last door on the right. The room beyond was small and bare of any wall decorations and the hardwood floor was dull and just as bare as the wall. The furniture was sparse. An old, brass bed frame sat against the far wall with a twin mattress that had obviously seen better days. It was covered by a thin sheet and a blanket, which didn't look like they would be much protection against the chilliness in the room. Anna made her way into the room and turned on the only provided light, an old antique lamp sitting on an even older wooden night stand. There was an alarm clock next to the lamp, which was probably the newest object in the room since it was digital. The time glared back at me in bright red numbers, 5:05.

"The bathroom's right next door, you'll be sharing one with Lauren, who has a tendency to hog it a lot, so you might end up using mine and Daniel's." Anna noticed my obviously confused expression, "You'll probably meet Lauren soon... she's been here the longest out of the four of us, so she kind of thinks she gets special treatment because of that."

"Oh."

"Yea... which means that she thinks she can pretty much do whatever the hell she wants including hogging the bathroom most of the time. We just kind of let her think that she deserves it since Daniel and I are too tired to argue with her, since we both know that that's not the case at all." Anna explained, "He treats us all the same no matter what she thinks."

The sound of a door slamming – possibly the attic – closed made me jump in surprise and Anna jerked her head out the doorway, looking down the hallway, "Hey Laur – Oh, hi Daniel... I thought you were Lauren."

"Do I look like a girl to you?" was his response.

Anna rolled her eyes, "Well...no, I thought you had already come up here. I wanted Casey to meet Lauren before we went to bed."

"Well, I haven't... I've been busy."

"You've been busy? With what?" Anna asked, as Daniel finally came into view, though I could barely see him (except for his head) because Anna was kind of in the way. "And what is that on your neck?" she asked. "Oh my God... did he bite you?"