Living the Life of Riley | ✔

Chapter Thirty

As luck would have it, Will didn't have any neighbours, so there was no-one for us to worry about. Unfortunately, like the guys, Will lived on the edge of town. It was a confusing drive, and it took us forever, but we found it. A little cottage, just on the outskirts of Vienna Downs. It sat just before a mass of fields.

Frowning, I wondered how he even got into town. It took us at least half an hour to drive out here. How did he manage to get into town so frequently, and so fast? There were no tyre marks outside his house. No garage. Nothing to suggest he owned a drive – and I'd never seen him drive.

This is on the opposite side of town... How could he manage to follow me around all day, almost twenty-four seven, and live here? It made no sense.

Parking up next to the cottage, the four of us (Jo, myself, Mason and Vincent) got out. We'd left Dylan behind, just in case anything happened. I doubted anything would, but it was our fail-safe. Plus, I had hoped that if Beau had decided to take Thom and Tristan to Liam's, to stop us, that he could somehow flirt and distract them. Just until we got back.

"I didn't imagine Will living out here." I said, ignoring the goosebumps rising on my arms. Even though it had been sunny earlier, it still wasn't sunny enough to keep the warmth going throughout the day. "I imagined something less..."

"Quaint?" Jo piped up. I nodded.

"I thought it would be like... I don't know." Admittedly, I'd never actually thought about Will having his own house. I'd no idea why. For some reason, I thought that he just camped out in the woods, like a wild animal. "Just not this."

We stood outside for a couple of minutes, all of us deciding how we were going to get in. Vincent had checked the back, and there was no door. It was either the windows or the door. We'd discussed the idea of an alarm but I'd said that this place was too far out. There was no point in coming out here, just to rob someone's house. So much effort, so little gain.

I took the plunge, and walked straight to the front door. Everyone shouted, panicking behind me. They quietened down, when I pushed the handle down and the door swung open. My eyebrows were raised.

"There we go. No alarm. And clearly, he doesn't care who walks in or out." No one had wanted to smash a window. Yes, Kelly said Will had left and that they had apparently checked out his house but we didn't want to leave a mark. Just incase.

Walking in, we decided that Vincent and I would take downstairs and Jo and Mason would take upstairs. Luckily for us, downstairs was just one room. There was one door, which led to a bathroom. Vincent looked at the in-room kitchen, while I took the living room. I heard Vincent opening drawers carelessly, I was hoping he was being careful.

On the other hand, there was literally nothing for me to look at. It was odd. Plastic sheets covered the sofa, as if they'd never been used. There wasn't a TV or any bookcases. And there was no dining table or chairs. There was no home-y smell either. It sounded odd, but everywhere had a place that smelled like them. But there was nothing. In fact, it smelt a little stale.

Fingering the plastic sheet, I said, "Vince, what's in the drawers?"

"Nothing. There's literally nothing." He sighed. I heard his feet shuffling, and within moments he was next to me. "Did you find anything?"

"Does it look like it?" I motioned to the sheets. "It's like he didn't even live here."

We heard Jo shout my name, and we walked up the stairs, taking them two at a time (well, I tried but failed). Getting to the top of stairs, I was shocked at the sight. Downstairs, there was no sign of any disturbance but here was a different story. The wallpaper was clawed at, almost as if someone was trying to grip it but failed. The cupboard behind the stair gate was trashed and split into several pieces. The wooden floor was scuffed with long white marks. Frowning, I focused on them, and was tempted to bend down and check it wasn't chalk. Luckily, we were called by Jo.