Torn

Chapter 4

“Please remain in your seats as the plane comes to a stop. Thank you for choosing our airline.” The automated intercom woman said.

“Well, this is Oregon.” Brenda breathed happily. Lynz stared out the window. She didn’t say anything until they were driving to their new house.

The sun was rising and the buildings they passed had a glowing outline. The few forested areas set up between the towns were dark and ominous but with lit tips, giving the lighted towns a highlight.

Driving by Eugene, the single-car wide road had curved and wound down the hillside. At the bottom of the gully, Brenda stopped at a huge, private lot surrounded by evergreen trees. A house three-fourths the size of a large mansion sat at the center of the lot. It was incredibly impressive; secluded, modern-looking, and beautiful. "You really bought this house? This is ours?"

Brenda nodded. "It's ours. It cost me a million bucks, but it's worth it. Don't you agree?"

"Yeah." Lynz was barely paying attention. Her eyes scanned the whole house, eager to see what its interior looked like. As she got out of the car to get her things, Brenda said, "Our rooms are upstairs. After you get everything set up, come help me in the living room." Lynz nodded, taking her stuff into the house, trying to ignore the cold air of an Oregon morning.

The exterior was gray-brown with a forest green roof, blending well with the background of trees. The back half of the lot was a forest, while the front was a small patio area, driveway, a bridge hovering above a small creek, and the road. The door to the magnificent house was at the left side of the home, a small roof shading a meter to the elegant glass door. It was frosted, with a large, oval carving of a lone wolf howling at the moon. A brass dummy handle complimented its beauty, especially with the appearing sun reflecting off of it.

Inside the house and up the stairs, the rooms were to the left, and a bathroom was at the right. There were three rooms at the dead end; one on one side, two on the other. Brenda had claimed the one, while Lynz chose the room directly across from Brenda's. The leftover room would be a guest room. Lynz unfolded her table under her window and threw the clothes bag into the closet. It was a small room, but at least it had a closet and her own bathroom, something she didn't have back in New York. She kept going back and forth, moving stuff in. Eventually, she had her bed fully put together to the side of her room, her laptop set up on the table, her toiletries in the bathroom, and her clothes organized in the closet. She would have to paint her walls later on, but all she was sure of now was that she needed to rest, given it took her 5 hours straight to work on her room. She sent a quick IM to Scott before falling asleep on her bed.

LynzDawson15: Hey, I just finished unpacking. I'll send u the pix when I wake up, cuz it's almost 1pm right now & I've been unpacking for like 5 hrs straight. Anyway, talk to u later :)

That evening, when Lynz woke up from her nap she grabbed her phone out of natural habit and read the time- 6:17pm. Damn, seven hours? She got up and as she neared the door, Lynz heard a faint whispering coming from Brenda, down in the living room.

Brenda was reading a thick book, too absorbed to notice she read aloud. She mumbled the words as Lynz let herself fall onto the couch. She grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned the TV on.

"Already checked. Nothing good on." Brenda said, without looking up from her book. She was laying on the couch, but faced horizontally with her legs over the arm of the couch.

"Never is, never will be," Lynz muttered. Brenda looked at her watch, threw her legs to the floor and slapped her book closed.

"6:30!" Brenda said under her breath.