AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Then the passenger door of the truck opened, and a figure scurried out and over to the front door. I could barely believe my eyes. Standing, I crossed over to the window to get a better look, and sure enough, there she was, seemingly having trouble getting the door to open.
Allison was standing under the umbrella I’d given her and putting her shoulder against the door as she wiggled the key. Our houses were kind of diagonal away from the road, facing each other almost, and I could see her clearly from my front window. When the door finally opened, she reached in, seemingly looking for something, then her shoulders sagged, and her head went back.
I had a feeling I knew why she looked frustrated. That place hadn’t had electricity in a long while. I shook my head, then went into my closet to grab a flashlight and a second umbrella.
Before I left the house, I ran back into the bedroom and switched back into my jeans and boots. Once I was redressed, I jogged to the door and ran outside, making my way over to the formerly abandoned house.
The door was standing partially open, and the weird instinctual protectiveness kicked in again. Even though I knew there was no one else in there, the eerie sight of the door cracked open was enough to make me worry about her. I stepped up on the porch, listening as best I could over the heavy drops of rain hitting my umbrella, and went to the door. I pushed it the rest of the way in.
Apparently, she didn’t hear me. But she certainly saw the flash of light a second later and spun to face me standing in the doorway. I could see the scream well up in her before she realized who I was and caught herself, clasping one hand over her mouth and the other to her chest.
“Ryan?” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here? How did you know where I was?”
“I saw you come in,” I said.
“You what?” she asked, and the edge in her voice was sharp and suspicious.
“I saw you,” I said, motioning to my house, “from next door. I live in the house next door.”
“You do?” she asked, relaxing a bit.
“Yeah,” I said. “Ever since I moved back. I knew this place was abandoned so it was curious to see someone pull up here. Then I saw you get out of the truck. I figured I’d come check on you since I knew this place was…”
“Terrible?” she finished for me.
“Not great,” I said, laughing a little. “I mean, it’s not the worst. It just needs some love. And electricity.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I didn’t know the lights were off.”
“They have been since I moved in,” I said. “No one’s been here for a while.”
“As I heard,” she said. “Would have been great if the management company had told me that.”
“I guess the management company doesn’t pay utility bills,” I said, shrugging. “You would think if there’s no tenants, that would fall on them.”
“You would think,” she said. “Yet here I am, standing in a dark, dank, disrepaired house.”
“Nice alliteration,” I said.
“Well, I made up one of the words. I don’t think ‘disrepaired’ shows up in Webster’s,” she joked.
There was a slight bit of humor there, but she was clearly upset. Her day had gotten somehow worse.
“You aren’t planning on staying here tonight, are you?” I asked.
“I was,” she said, looking around at the ceiling. There was a dripping sound coming from somewhere, but it wasn’t readily apparent where.
“Yeah, but not with no electricity,” I said. “It’s dangerous.”
“I guess I’ll get a hotel,” she said, shrugging and sighing.
“In Murdock?” I asked. “During Bullnanza week?”
“During what now?” she asked, looking back at me slowly.
“Bullnanza,” I repeated, laughing. “They have a big rodeo every year. I’ve seen signs It’s this week. All the hotels are sold out, I’d bet.”
“Great,” she said, letting her arms rise and then fall down to her sides with a slightly wet, slapping sound.
“Look, I know we just met and all, and if you have a better plan or are uncomfortable for any reason, I get it, but you can stay at my place tonight if you want,” I said, the words spilling out of me before I thought better of them and pulled them back.
She blinked at me a few times, like she was trying to comprehend what I just said, then slowly shook her head.
“That’s very kind of you,” she said. “Really, you have been an absolute sweetheart to me all day, and I am very glad for your help, but I can’t possibly put you out like that. I’ll find a hotel somewhere.”
“Hey, we’re neighbors,” I said, somewhat mortified that my mouth was doing a bunch of talking without getting any approval whatsoever from my brain. “Neighbors help each other out. Besides, the closest hotel to here is probably a half hour away, and it’s probably booked up. After that, you’re looking at a good forty-five-minute drive.”
