Secrets

Chapter 4

I slowly walk toward the house. My palms are sweaty and I can feel myself shivering. I'm afraid of what was to come. I don't know who or what was in this house. I'm still extremely angry at myself for even coming here but, for some weird reason, I kept going forward.

I make it at least three more steps before I am stopped.

"Hey! What are you doing here little girl?" a deep voice says, startling me.

I turned to see a tall, bulky, bald man in a cargo suit. And he was walking toward me. I back up a few inches.

"I- I was..." I stumble and trail off. The man studies me for a moment and his expression softens. "Come with me," he says. He turns abruptly and begins to speed walk to the mansion. I have to scurry to keep up. When we made it to the tall metal doors we are met by two fairly large, muscly men.

"Who do 'ya have here, Russell?" one of the men asks, his musty breath blowing through the air, making me gag. Russell looks at me and back at the men.

"Dunno. She was wanderin' 'round the house." he says, scratching his bald head.

"Is that so?" the man says.

They all look at me. I stare back, dumbfounded.

"Well? What are you doin' here?" the other man says. I swallow.

"Parker told me to come here." I say. I begin to dig in my pocket and get the note. I give it to the stinky man and watch him read it.

"Parker Smith?" Russell asks. The men pass around the note and give each other looks. "Bill, open the door." the stinky man orders.

Bill turns and unlocks the door with a large key from his jacket. He pushs open the door and shoves the key back in his pocket. "Come on, girl." he says. I follow him through the doors and the other guards follow us in.

From the outside the house looks eery and ancient. But once you enter it was warm and welcoming. Just by first glance, I could tell that everything was expensive. The room we walked into was empty and the silence was comfortable. The sofa was a deep auburn and pillows were scattered across the floor. I laughed silently, wondering why those were there. There were paintings of important looking people on the walls. The coffee table stands in the middle of the room with cups, filled with a clear liquid. There must be a lot of people here. We turn down a hall and walk up the stairs. The steps were longer than my life. Constant sighs escape my lips as we climb the stairs in silence. Then, we finally reach the top of the stairs. We begin walking down a long corridor. There is nothing on the walls. The brown carpet was squishy against my feet. We soon reach a door at the end of the hall and Bill knocks on it.

"We have a visitor." he says, hiding his southern accent this time.

"Come in." a feminine voice from inside says. Bill opens the door and I follow. The room was gigantic. A woman sat at a large, brown, wood desk that was far from the door. She sat up straight and her hands were intertwined in front of her. A forced smile was glued to her face as she watched us. Bill stops and we stand in a line, shoulder to shoulder. "Who is this beautiful young lady?" the woman asks. Her voice felt like silk through my ears. Her long brown hair was tied up neatly and her makeup was done perfectly.

"We found her wandering around the premise, ma'am" Bill says.

"She says Smith told her to come here." Russell said.

The womans' eyes widen in shock.

"Smith you say?" she says, relaxing her face. I look side to side. The woman leans back in her chair and studies me. I shift uncomfortably and tried not to make eye contact.

"What's your name, young lady?" she asked.

"I- uh...Laura" I stutter. She stares in silence.

"Tell me, how did you meet Mr. Smith?"