Chapter 1

  ERIN DEXTER TOOK A DEEP BREATH AS THE HOT, TOXIC AIR OF NEW YORK BREEEZED THROUGH HER, MAKING HER SMILE WITH BUBBLING EXCITEMENT.

  Finally here. This was a new beginning. A new apartment, new surroundings, new life. Time to put the past in the past. No point in dwelling there. Nothing could be done to save her parents who were long gone. To a better place, she hoped.

She turned to her younger brother and smiled as she noted the expression of awe on his adorably cute face.

Jake was a 14 year old boy who at that stage of his life, did and knew more things than some people twice his age would. That was the effect of losing your parent at the young age of eleven.

  "Where are we gonna be staying, Erin?" Jake asked as he turned to his sister, he appeared to be in doubt.

Erin and Jake, since the loss of their parents 3 years ago, had been moving from town to town, state to state. Relatives asked to take them in, but when they got there, it was always one issue or another that caused problems.

  Back in California, where her parents had lived, Erin had had few friends who had offered to move in with them, but she had refused. She didn't want to be a burden on anyone even if they were ready to accept her and the handful of a brother.

So Erin had sold her parent's house and workshop then she'd piled up the money, which she used in renting a small apartment.

"We'll get there soon, Jake. Just some more time." She replied.

After ten minutes, the bus reached its destination and the passengers alighted. Their new home was just a small walk from the bus top.

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"Hello, good afternoon. I'm Erin Dexter and I was told by the agent of the building that I'm supposed to collect a key to our, um.. Apartment" Erin stated to the desk woman the moment they entered the building.

The building was a very big one, even though it didn't look too pleasant, there were large dents in the wall, making it look like a building that might want to collapse. Erin couldn't complain though, it was still something. And it was affordable.

  The young woman smiled pleasantly and removed her fancy eyeglass. "Oh... Yeah.. Erin Dexter, wonderful to finally meet you. Mr Peter told me of your impending arrival."

  "Oh.." Erin nodded uncomfortably. She just wanted to get inside her new home and settle with her brother. Plus, the luggage was getting too heavy to hold on to.

"Oh! Sorry for my manners! My name is Mandy and I work for Mr Peter. Um... Wait here, while I go get the keys to your apartment."

Erin exhaled as she walked away. She turned to Jake, who looking bored as hell. She smiled. Jake was a tough kid to impress.

The woman walked back in, the keys dangling on her finger.

"Here. I'm sure you know how to find your way" She said, handing the key to Erin.

Erin and Jake both walked into the building with their bags on their hands. Jake smiled faintly as if something had finally piqued his interest.

  THE DOOR TO THEIR NEW APARTMENT WAS PUSHED OPEN. Erin exhaled happily as they began to move in.

  "This is it, Jake. We're here. We're finally home." before she could continue, her talk stubborn brother moved and jumped into her arms, squealing with happiness.

Erin let out a small laugh as she tried to hold on to his weight but he was too heavy. They fell to the ground, hollering with laughter.

"That was fun." Getting up, he said "I have to use the toilet, Erin. I'll be right back."

"Uh-uh. No Mister. Come back here." Erin dragged him backwards "You're not leaving me here. We're setting up the place together. Right now."

"Uhhhh, but I'm tired! I just want to rest!" Jake whined.

"And you'll do that. When you're done with this first task. We need to arrange the house quickly because first thing tomorrow morning, I have to resume work at the company I'm interning."

"6pm. I don't do much work, except to just be there when my boss needs me. She's a pretty pleasant woman from what I heard about her online. Besides.. It's a very big corporation and I'm just lucky Mrs Shelby helped me with her connections."

  "I know, I know. I'm not complaining. I just... I just want you to be careful, Sis. You are an innocent." Jake gazed into Erin's eyes affectionately.

  Erin giggled at her brother's protective behavior towards her. Sometimes you'd think Jake was the 22 year old, while she was the 14 year old. Jake took that trait from their father.

"Thank you, Jake. You know I've always been careful. And... And stop calling me innocent! You're the innocent one. You're just a child, Jake."

"Okay. How many times have you seen and touched a dick?"

Erin's face heated up as she stared at Jake with her mouth hanging open in shock.

Erin smiled slyly at him and shoved him playfully. "Okay, enough of that. We have so much work to do. Let's start."

                            *************

Jake was sound asleep in the other room. His room was a bit smaller than hers, but it was cozy and presentable. The whole of the apartment wasn't much, but it was acceptable. Even more better, this part of the building was deeper, making the whole place quiet.

Erin liked the quiet.

She turned her head to the table, where a picture of her parents sat. They had all gone out for a picnic at the time. The photographer had taken the picture without their awareness. Erin smiled as she remembered how her mom had liked pictures.

  She missed her parents. She missed them so much. They'd been cruelly snatched from her without any warning. They'd been murdered. And till now, the murderer wasn't found. The detectives had abruptly closed the case, saying the crime was bigger than their hands could carry.

Erin didn't understand what that meant but Erin had hired a private detective to take on the case of her dead parents. Every time there was a new lead, he would contact her and they would work on whatever evidence they could bring up, until it lead to a dead end again. This had been going on without the knowledge of Jake for almost a year. She knew that if he found out, apart from feeling betrayed and left out, he would start worrying for Erin. And she didn't want that.

  A loud crashing sound yanked Erin from her thoughts. She turned to the windows on the not-so-far end of her room. It sounded someone had been carrying something glassy which had unfortunately fallen off—

A high pitched scream filled the night, making Erin gasp as she bolted up right.

Slowly, she looked through the window and down to the compound of the house. Empty. It was empty. There was no one standing there.

Erin sighed. She must have been hearing things. Or probably the sound was from another house. Maybe the next one.

  She peered through again, the place was so quiet. Deathly quiet. It was impossible that someone could have even been there. The gate was sealed shut.

As she was about to turn back in relief, Erin gasped in horror. Someone had just fallen from the rooftop of the house across the street. The house was a 3 storey building, like hers. But the person didn't appear injured. It was impossible.

It was dark, but Erin could make out the form of the person. It was a guy. A young boy by the looks of it.

  "Jesus.." Erin trembled.

Regaining her senses, she quickly darted away from her window as the fear of being caught overcame her. Her window was tinted dark from outside, but with eyes like that, Erin could bet he could see her from inside.

Her curiosity piqued again and she found herself moving slowly back to the window, her breaths coming in short, trembling pants. She peeped through the window again.

   A cold hand grabbed Erin's shoulder. She immediately turned and screamed out in terror.

"What the fuck, Sis? I just wanted to come check on you. I heard screaming from the other house." Jake exclaimed. He was on the ground. Erin hadn't realized that she had pushed him with so much thinking he was going to attack her.

  "Oh.. Oh.. Sorry, Jake. I was just.. I thought you were.."

"A burglar? Trust me, if I was, you wouldn't even notice I was in your house until I stole all your belongings." He chuckled. Erin gave a tense chuckle.

  "Are you alright?" Jake asked in a serious tone.

"Uh.. Yeah...yeah.. Was just going to sleep."

"What were you doing by the window, then?"

Erin sighed impatiently. "Okay, Mr protective. Time to go to bed. You have a first day at school tomorrow. Goodnight now."

  "I hate that school already." Jake complained, walking out of the room.

"Yeah, well.. You have to learn to start liking it because that's your school from now on. You don't wanna waste Mrs Shelby's scholarship expenses do you?"

  "I could care less about Mrs Shelby." Jake replied before shutting the door. Erin sighed tiredly. Mrs Shelby was a close friend of Erin's mother. The woman had helped her and Jake a lot after the demise of their parents. Erin really owed her a lot.

  With another tired sigh, Erin went back to her bed and pulled the cover over her head. Before drifting off to sleep, she thought about the weird guy with the red eyes.

That was weird.

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