Echo [Klaus M.]

[Chapter I • Home]

"This is a nice place," Emma told me as we walked into my old house.

"Yeah," I whispered. The last time I was in this house, I still had my sight. My mother and I left town a couple weeks after the accident that blinded me when I finally was able to leave the hospital. My mom had packed up our things and left the rest of our furniture and stuff here. I think some part of her thought that we would come back to Mystic Falls, to this house. But she never did; instead, I was the only one to come back home.

I still remember what this house used to look like over three years ago. The walls were painted an off-white color with dark brown wood flooring. There were four bedrooms upstairs, two of them that belonged to my mother and I. The other two used to be my grandparents' and my uncle's, that's now a guest bedroom. One bathroom was on the ground floor and two more on the second. The only things left were the huge living room and open kitchen with an attached dining room area.

This place held a lot of memories for me and my family. It was not only where I grew up, but also where my mom and her parents did too. I swore to myself a long time ago that I wouldn't return to this town or house, but now I had to. For my uncle. For my family.

"You okay, Aria?" Emma's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah," I cleared my throat, petting behind Luna's ears next to me. "Just, been a long time since I've been here."

I heard Emma placing our bags on the floor. "I understand. Are you sure you want to stay here? We could get a room at a hotel if you want?"

"No," I shook my head. "This is fine. It'll just take some time to get used to being back." I held onto Luna's leash before saying, "Luna, forward."

My golden Labrador immediately obeyed, leading me slowly. I thought back on the memories I had of this house, trying to create a map in my head of it's layout.

Emma came with Luna and I, dragging the luggage upstairs. When we got into the hallway, I stopped and pointed towards the left. "The last door is the guest bedroom. Or you could have the first one which used to be my grandparents'. Whichever one you prefer."

"Which room is yours?" Emma asked.

I nodded to the door at the end on the right. "That one."

"Then I'll take the guest one, it's right across," Emma decided firmly, making it clear there would be no argument. Not that I would give one.

Emma was right at my heels as Luna guided me into my old bedroom. I could imagine that it still looked the same. It had cobalt blue walls with white trimmings and light brown wood flooring. My bed would be at the center of the room, right across from the door. A nightstand on the right side with a desk on the left facing a window. There were two doors next to each other on the right side, one being a closet and the other a bathroom. On the left, there was a bookcase, dresser, and large lounge chair for reading in the corner.