Chapter 2- The Move

Wednesday came by in a flash.

For Natalie Sanders, there was this pit in her stomach that she just couldn’t seem to comprehend. She couldn’t shake off the idea that the move was someway somehow a bad idea.

Well, don’t get me wrong, a part of her was inwardly pleased at the move, there was nothing really tying her down to this place after all but something still felt off.

Natalie had many questions for one.

Questions like who the hell was great-aunt Martha, and why was she now hearing about the woman? Questions like why would someone leave something as grand as a five bedroom fully furnished house to a relative they barely knew nothing about in their will? Questions like why was the move so sudden? Why couldn’t they just sell the house and stay here instead?

A whole lot of questions.

Of course she’d know the answer to these many questions if only she asked her parents, but the problem here was that she wasn’t speaking to them. No, not since they dropped that bombshell on her. She had evaded their every effort to strike a conversation, and so far she had been successful but that was partly because they were so overwhelmed with the many things they had to do during the whole hectic period of packing.

Natalie knew she couldn’t carry on with her sulking for long, but for now she was fine with the way things were.

Three long hours of driving later, and Natalie and her family were staring at the massive, white, pristine house that was going to be their new home.

“It’s even more beautiful in person.” Lynn whispered in awe, shooting her husband a pleased grin. Even Natalie couldn’t lie, the place was amazing… it was no wonder that her parents didn’t want to sell it.

She had gotten an eyeful of the neighborhood on their way over and it was pretty obvious from the way people kept pointing at them and talking excitedly in hushed whispers that everyone knew they were new here.

It seemed like it was one of those annoying communities where everyone knew who everyone was and everyone was thy neighbor’s keeper and all that shit. Natalie was already regretting not fighting harder, for she could tell that if she had a hard time fitting in in Clarksville, then she was going to have an even harder time fitting in here.

The movers pretty much got to work immediately, and the next couple of hours were spent getting stuff in. The Sanders family didn't have to bring much, seeing as it was a fully furnished house after all. They had already sold most of their stuff, since it was a permanent move, so keeping that many belonging was not really necessary.

Lynn and Phil directed the movers, showing them where to put stuff, and cleaning places that needed to be cleaned and all of that.

“Should I try talking to her again?” Phillip asked his wife worriedly as they both glanced through the window at their daughter who seemed so sad and deep in thought. “She hasn’t spoken to us for almost three days, Lynn, I’m starting to get worried.” He didn’t like seeing his only child, his precious daughter distraught, so you could imagine how he was feeling.

“Let’s give her a little more space, Phil… she’ll come around eventually, you’ll see.” Lynn told her husband confidently. She was also worried about the young teen, but she had to put on a brave front for both their sakes. Planting a quick kiss on her husband’s cheek, she whispered, “Come on, let’s get back to work.”

Natalie sat on the hood of her car, still sulking. One of the movers had driven it over for her, just so she could make the trip with her parents, seeing as she wasn’t quite familiar with the road and all.

Thankfully, Phil and Lynn Sanders had thought it wise not to question her lack of involvement in the whole process, so she was pretty much lounging.

Natalie took in the whole view of the house, fully appreciating its striking beauty. You could tell that whoever great aunt Martha was, she was a woman who liked to keep her things in an orderly manner.

The house was constructed in Victorian style, painted a stunning white, with many windows to give the whole ensemble a less intimidating look. The garden was well trimmed, with a neatly mowed lawn and a colorful variety of flowers.

Natalie took a deep breath.

Maybe living here wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.

With that thought in mind, the young teen hopped off the car and adjusted her sweater around her shoulders. It was only September, but the weather was quite chilly and the cloudy skies hinted at a high chance of rain. Sighing deeply, Natalie joined the movers and her parents in packing.

She hadn’t entered the building since she arrived, but when she did, the young woman with silver hair found her jaw dropping open in shock. The house was even more breathtaking inside, but it had this hint of gloom in it that Natalie couldn’t quite place.

A quick trip to the rooms upstairs, and Natalie already knew which of them she wanted to be hers. She got right to work, cleaning and directing the movers on where to place her stuff, showing them where to move dressers and other stuff that had already been in the room.

Natalie didn’t come out of the room until the rumbling in her belly became too much to bear. By then the movers had finished getting everything in and had already left.

Dusk was fast approaching, the young teen noticed as she trudged down the stairs.

Her parents were in the kitchen when she got there, her mum stirring something in a pot, her dad cutting vegetables. Natalie stood there silently, taking in her parents’ interaction with each other. Her mum said something, and her dad laughed, smacking her ass in the process, the action causing the beautiful middle aged woman to let out a loud gasp that only worsened her husband’s laughter.

Natalie smiled.

Her parents were such goals. They had started out as middle school sweethearts, and almost twenty years of marriage later, they were still going strong. Natalie wanted a love like that; that soul mate kind of love that was only granted to a select few.

The blue-eyed girl cleared her throat softly, the action alerting her parents of her presence. “Natalie! We were just about to come get you.” Her mum exclaimed, uneasiness erasing the excitement that had graced her features not too long ago.

“Are you done cleaning up and settling into your room?” Her father asked.

“Just a few things left to do, but I was too hungry to continue. What are we having for dinner?” Natalie inquired, brushing past them to go set up the dining table.

Lynn and Phil Sanders shared a silent look. It wasn’t a full on conversation, but hey, at least she was talking to them now. “We’re having spaghetti carbonara with vegetables, Nat… it’s almost done.” Lynn told her daughter.

“Yeah, I should—” Whatever the young girl was going to say was cut off by the sudden bright lightning that lit up the entire kitchen and the loud boom of thunder that quickly followed it.

“What the hell was that?” Lynn asked shakily as she held on tight to her daughter. The unexpected, undoubtedly weird phenomena had had Natalie jumping into her mother’s arms in fear, forgetting for a moment that she was angry with the older woman.

Phil Sanders laughed at the two women in his lives. “Come on guys, it was just some thunder and lightning, no need to look so scared.”

No sooner had he finished his sentence than there was an abrupt whoosh of wind that swung all the kitchen windows open. The lights in there began to flicker violently and spontaneously go off, the force shattering each and every one of them in the process. At first, the Sanders family thought the problem had affected just the kitchen, but it didn’t take long for them to realise that the entire house had been cast in darkness.

“Oh, just great, dad,” Natalie quipped sarcastically as they fumbled in the shadows. “You just had to move us into a haunted house.”

“No need to get so smart-mouthed honey, I’m pretty sure it’s a general issue.” Phil muttered annoyedly, reaching into his pocket for his phone and turning on the flashlight. His wife did the same thing, and the room was quickly flooded with luminescence.

“You two should stay here, I’m going to take a look at the main switch. I’ll be right back.”

Lynn clutched her husband’s arm, seemingly not okay with the idea of him going out there all alone. What had started as a slight drizzle had now turned into a full blown storm— one she didn’t want her husband to be in. “You don’t know the slightest thing about electricity, Phil. Let’s just stay here and have dinner, I’m pretty sure it’ll be restored before we turn in for the night.”

“We still have to confirm if it’s a general issue Lynn, and we can’t do that from here. I’ll just dash over to the front porch real quick to see if the neighbors have power.” Phil assured his wife.

“Be careful.” She advised as she and their daughter watched him disappear into the darkness.

“I will.” Came his reply.