Golden

Chapter IX: She

The Gallagher home wasn't what they were expecting. It was huge but it was a historic house that had seen better days.

The Addington Estate had a few signs of neglect but they were nothing compared to the Gallagher home. Tall grass was everywhere and the paint had peeled off on most parts. Some tiles on the roof were missing as well.

Liam let out a low whistle. "Even my hideout looks better than this."

"Shh! Someone might hear you!" Selena swatted his arm.

"Like what, ghosts? This looks like a house straight out of a horror movie."

Harry, on the other hand, took out a small handgun. "I'll knock."

"Oh my God!" Selena rolled her eyes at her two companions.

"We can't be too careful. We're on their turf. And they can turn out to be jerks like this one," Harry nodded over to Liam.

Liam merely grinned at Harry mischievously.

Selena muttered under her breath, "Let's just get this over with."

Harry knocked on the door using the butt of his gun.

They waited for a few seconds but no one opened the door. Harry knocked again, louder this time.

When no one answered, he tried opening the door. It was locked.

"Maybe no one lives here anymore," Selena said.

"Someone definitely still lives here," Liam was peeking through one of the large windows. "I can hear movement inside."

Selena raised an eyebrow. She didn't hear anything. It was actually a pretty quiet afternoon.

"Still has a lot to learn about us, Golden," Liam winked.

"Yeah, yeah," Selena muttered as she walked away to look around. The chilly air whipped past and it sent a shiver down her spine.

She looked up at the house and spotted an open window on the second floor. She pointed at it. "We can go in through there."

"Ohhh, trespassing! I like it!" Liam nodded as he walked over to next to her. "How do you suggest we climb there?"

"You can give me a boost and I can climb over those ledge and hoist myself from there."

It was Liam's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"I used to cheer back in high school, okay?"

"Well what do you know, there's a lot to learn about you, too."

"No, it's too dangerous," Harry cut in. He had walked over next to her so all three of them had a good view of the window. "You're gonna be alone inside with people we don't know shit about."

"Well, then how do you suggest we get inside?"

"We can ask him," Harry pointed towards a thick bush behind Selena and Liam. The two turned to look.

"What do you want, kid?" Harry asked.

A few seconds later and sure enough, a little boy emerged. He looked like he was around ten years old. He had blond hair and dirty cheeks. He was wearing a jumper and some brown pants that had prominent holes on some parts.

He also had a small slingshot in hand.

"Who are you?" the boy asked.

"We asked a question first, little punk," Liam said.

"No one's gonna open the door for you," the little boy said.

"Do you live here?" Selena asked.

"You can go through the back."