Mansterville Part 1
~Waverly~
It was around the end of October when the convoy of moving trucks rolled up in front of the gated old mansion that sat just across the road from us. I had heard them coming down the private drive, gears grinding & shifting. I was actually very impressed they had managed to maneuver the huge 18 wheelers down the winding narrowed pig trail.
I stopped halfway up the stairs rushing back down to the sitting room as fast as I could.
I jumped onto the sofa peeking out the blinds at the enormous home across from us that had sat abandoned the entire 7 years me and my mom lived here. I'd always assumed the place had been condemned for one reason or another since no one except an older fella that kept the grounds clear ever came around. I guess my assumptions had been wrong.
Before I knew it, over a dozen large men were marching about toting heavy boxes and furniture inside the large structure like a well trained army.
After snooping for a solid 20 minutes or so I popped up off the couch and flitted off to the kitchen for something to snack on while I viewed the live action theater going on across the road. I shot my mom a quick text informing her about the turn of events that had suddenly come out of the blue today.
My mother was the town's doctor and she wouldn't be home for quite some time, so this was definitely something new & exciting since nothing ever happened in our small boring town.
I remembered when we first moved here. I was only 12 years old at the time, my mom had always been a single parent since she had me at age 18 and I had never even met or seen my father...he had been non existent since the day of my birth.
You see....I was the product of a hot steamy one night stand my mother had with a guy she never saw again after that. Neither of them had given the other any last names. All I knew was that his first name was Caspin and I had inherited Heterochromia iridum from him, a genetic condition in which the colored part of the eye (iris) is multicolored. And believe me when I say I have gotten plenty of strange looks throughout my life because of it. One of my eyes is half honey colored amber and half sky blue the other is multicolored. It's like blue, green, amber, and brown all swirled into one. I always felt like such a freak growing up with weird eyes like this, but then my mom would tell me how unique and mysteriously beautiful they made me and that was what had drawn her to my father.
Shay (my mom) had given up her life for me. She had gone against her strict parents, urging her to terminate the pregnancy.
She could have gone on with her life without being tied down with the responsibility of a child, yet she chose to keep me.
She had always told me that I was meant to be and had changed her life for the better. My mom says she gave birth to her best friend, and we were definitely more like the best of friends than mother & daughter.
She had busted her ass to get to where she is now and I always admired her hard work and determination....she was and simply is a beautiful & amazing lady.
My mother is still a very attractive woman at age 37, but could easily pass for someone in their mid twenties and is always being mistaken for my sister.
I snapped my head up hearing another couple of vehicles racing up the road as I stood leaning against the island inside the kitchen reminiscing.
Living in such a secluded rural area was always pin drop silent and I could hear cars coming from down at the end of the dirt road. I rushed back out into the living room leaping onto the couch on my knees as I lifted one of the slats on the wooden blinds peering back out.
A small sleek sports car came to an abrupt stop in front of the large iron gates followed by a large black suv. A big cloud of dust formed around the vehicles then floated away with the light breeze. Two guys slid outta the suv. Then a tall muscular fella that drove the expensive sports car stepped out slowly looking about accessing the surroundings and taking in a deep inhale of air as he leaned his well built body against the vehicle. I watched as his nose lifted as though he were sniffing the air thoroughly.
"Odd fella." I commented to myself snickering at the way he twitched his nose.
Suddenly his head whipped around looking right into my direction as I quickly released the blinds hunkering down on the sofa. My hand automatically covering my mouth as if he could actually hear me breathing, I quickly removed it rolling my eyes at my own stupidity.
"For God's sake...he didn't see me!" I voiced out, fussing at my foolish behavior.
I waited a few minutes and slowly lifted the blind once again. Not a single soul was out there now...they had all undoubtedly gone inside.
It was difficult to make out much from where I was. I jumped up weaving my way through the hallway and climbed the spiraling staircase up to the turret, which also served as part of my bedroom. I could see everything on our property from here...including all the grounds across the road. I always felt on top of the world sitting up here in my little panoramic window seat.
I had taken great pains in perfecting this space. A place where I felt most at peace to study and just kick back & chill with a good book. Now It would serve well for my incessant prying. Yea it got kinda boring at times in a town where nothing ever happened, so I was all into what kinda new neighbors we had. I mean....can you blame me? These folks would be the first to ever live this close to me and my mom since we moved into this house seven years ago! Of course I wanted to see exactly who we'd be sharing common ground with.
I dug around inside my desk trying to locate the small binoculars gifted to me from my mother a couple years ago. So I could set up here and spy on unsuspecting critters that would occasionally sneak into our territory.
"Ahhh! There you are!" I snatched them up, wiping the dusty lenses off with the bottom of my shirt. I shuffled back over to my cushioned seat at the window, putting them up to my eyes and twisting the little center piece to focus in.
I got up onto my knee's searching over the grounds of the new tenants and stopped dead when I came across tall muscular sports car guy....or better yet "nose twitcher guy." I giggled. He was looking carefully around the grounds, taking in every detail. He squatted down grabbing a large clump of dead leaves and earth bringing it up to his snooter inhaling deeply. I could see his eyes taking on a bizarre swirl of colors as he held it close to his face.
They looked striking light green.....but then they seemed to twist to a shade of amber....then dark brown...or was it black. I gasped, covering my mouth and quickly lowered the binoculars rubbing my eyes. I shook my head thinking I was just seeing shit wrong.
I placed them back to my specks focusing on the guy who stood now with his back to me as though he were getting a feel for the property. He turned completely around to where I could see his entire front clearly and oh my holy God he was unrealistically gorgeous.
"Wowww." I spoke out loud. My mouth gaped open wide.
Dark wavy hair that nearly hung down over his beautifully shaped eyes. His nose....just right, and those lips were to die for. I could even see the cute little beauty marks scattered here and there over his perfectly constructed face. This guy was beyond exquisite.....he was fucking flawless.
I just kept gawking at him. His body was well muscled...and damn was he tall with the broadest shoulders. His eyes seemed to find me from where he stood, which was impossible! Wasn't it? Yes it was! I remember staring up at this very window from the lawn. When the lights were out you could not see anyone...whether it be day or night. My mom had gotten prism type windows for that specific reason. Yet his eyes found mine, causing me to drop the binoculars and back away as chills ran down the length of my spine.
A fearful exhilaration gripped me as I stood like a stone statue in the center of my room. My arms hugged tightly around my shoulders biting my lip lost in a plethora of wild thoughts.
I nearly jumped outta my skin when the phone inside my back pocket vibrated, my shaky hands fumbling to get it out, nearly dropping it in the process..
"H...hello?" I stuttered badly as if I'd been caught red handed doing some unthinkable act.
"Hello my girl....you alright honey? My mom asked, her voice laced with a bit of concern at my shaky, stammering tone.
"Ye...yea. I... I'm ok, just caught off guard when this phone vibrated my ass cheek while I was snooping on the new neighbors." I giggled nervously.
"Ah yes, the ones you texted me about earlier.. Well....did you get a good look at them my dear?" My mom snickered a bit.
"Ye...yea I got a good look at one of them." I lowered my tone.
"And?"
"Aaand...All I can say is this guy...... he is the most magnificent living, breathing piece of walking art I've ever set eyes on. That's the best way I can describe this fella." I spoke with sincerity, my eyes closing at the memory of his impeccable features.
"Sounds like my girl is a tad bit infatuated with the new neighbors....well one of the new neighbors. I think maybe I should invite them over for dinner as a welcome to our neighborhood. Soo whatcha think about that?" She replied questionably.
"No Shay, please don't do that!. I mean we don't know what these guys could be capable of. You trust people too much. Let...let's just please wait before you invite complete strangers into our home. Ok." I stood flabbergasted that my mom would wanna do such a reckless thing like that. And yes I called my mom by her given name most of the time....it was just something I'd done since I was little.
"I swear sometimes you sound like the parent here and I the child." She tittered.
"I'm not exactly a child anymore Shay and I know the dangers of jumping into things like that too soon." I had read so many crime books and was fully aware of the fact that one shouldn't trust so easily. I puffed a bit.
"You're right...you're absolutely 100% correct Waverly. We'll hold off on any invitations to dinner for now and see how these new neighbors behave."
"Thanks mom. How's your day going by the way? Anything interesting happen?" I asked slowly, strolling outta my room and back down the stairs.
"Nope...except for a hysterical teenage boy that was brought into the ER for an evaluation. He claims he saw some weird creature run into the woods as he was coming home from school today."
"Really...what did he say?" I asked, leaning up against the kitchen countertop, my eyes widening.
"You know I can't share any more information about that with you darling. I'm sorry. Yet I can tell you that he kept blurting out how he saw a man sized hairy creature dash into the woods on Miller road, which isn't but 10 miles from where we live. So make certain all the doors are locked up tight just in case sweetheart. I don't really think it's anything to worry about...since the boy has been known to smoke quite a bit of pot, so his credibility isn't too reliable. That's actually the reason I called. And I have to go now my dear, there's some frozen meals in the freezer downstairs if you want them. I love you gotta go im being paged, if you need me just call." She replied quickly.
"Love you too Shay...bye." I laid my phone down on the countertop wrapping my arms around my shoulders as an icy chill went from my head down to the tips of my toes causing me to shudder thinking about some feral beast on the loose as big as a man.
Of course that story was preposterous. The guy had probably smoked a big spliff with his pals after school and became paranoid when he got too high. Nearly all the high schoolers smoked weed just to have something to break the monotony of small town boredom.
When one of those bears stood on their hind legs you could seriously mistake them for something else.....especially if you were blistered. I snickered at the thoughts.
