Welcome to Shadow Vile
1027 Words
Chapter 3
Charlotte's POV
Xander Vaughn.…..That was his name. It was now embedded in my mind and will be forever.
I hated him.
He was so cruel to treat me like that. Who would treat their mate like that?
The driver peeked at me through the rearview mirror. "He didn't hit you or anything, right?"
I shook my head. "No," I croaked.
I'd have preferred it if he did.
"That's good." He sounded satisfied. "He's a pretty cool guy. He's not a big fan of visitors, but he'd never hurt anyone who's peaceful."
I said nothing, my eyes trying to make up what the night looked like, a single tear dropping down my eye.
The deeper we went, the more liveliness I saw. A lot of bars, clubs open. It was just like a regular place. At some point.
He kept on talking till we reached our destination.
"Thank you," I said to him after he helped me with my bags.
The house was located in the suburbs. A place where different houses surrounded, but it ended up being the biggest. It was almost like a mansion. Or was it?
In the night, it appeared dark and gloomy, an odd one out of other lightened houses.
"I didn't know you were rich. If I knew, I would've charged plenty," the older man laughed.
I simply smiled, and made to leave. But not before giving him extra cash.
"Thanks, lady."
"Wait." I turned. "What's your name?"
"Jimmy." He waved, getting into his car. "And you're that researcher's daughter. If you're looking for him or clues about him, you should probably go down the cave."
"Huh?!" I was confused and called for him when he drove away. "Wait!"
I really wanted to collapse in tears when I saw how alone I was, but I didn't. I helped myself inside and I didn't even bother trying to look around, uninterested in scaring myself tonight.
I just made sure the lights were good and grabbed the pillows and blanket that were conveniently on the couch, cleaned them and fell asleep.
At least, I wished it were that easy.
I wished my father was here. And I wished I had someone to talk to and hold. Tears pooled around my eyes as my thoughts overwhelmed me, my heart constricting. Then I returned back to the one thing... the one person that ruined my day.
"f**k you, Xander Vaughn," I whispered into the night, hugging my pillow.
***
I woke up on edge.
I had a nightmare, and I was so uncomfortable in this house. I needed to know where my father was and fast.
It was 6 a.m. when I woke up, so I used from there till about 9 a.m. to clean as much as I could, and then bathe. It was so difficult and stressful, but it looked like such a beautiful house after I was done.
I took a shower and got out, hearing some car sounds and slight chatter.
I peeped out the window, noticing people glancing at the house. It took a few minutes of pep talk before I stepped out to see a dark blonde woman with oversized clothes greet me by my doorstep.
"Hi," I started slowly, unsure of what she wanted.
"Hello, new neighbor. I'm Amy," she introduced, leading me down the road and offered her hand.
I wasn't good at making friends, so I stood in surprise for a bit before I recovered and shook her hand.
"Charlotte."
"Ah, Charlotte. Can I call you Lottie?"
I smiled. "Sure. You can call me anything you want."
I was always too excited when someone wanted to be informal with me. Seriously, this is why I always got bullied.
"So, you were talking about the guy that used to live here," I probed.
She took a look at my house and back to me.
"Oh, I don't know the guy that used to live here. But my grandpa was friends with him. He died last year, so unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to ask him. 'Said he was cool. Kinda a nerd, too. He always talked about this guy he lived next to. I never knew he had a daughter."
I took it all in. "You said your grandpa died last year, did he ever-"
"Charlotte, watch out!"
She pushed me to the ground. I screamed in pain, but my pain on hitting the floor didn't last long when I heard gunshots.
"Go back to where you're coming from, b***h!" the shooter yelled as he drove past us.
I remained on the ground, panicked as my body shook.
"Leave her alone! That's no way to talk to a lady, Gerard!" Amy yelled back.
Then she turned to me with a gentle expression on her face. "I'm so sorry, Charlotte."
She helped me up and I smiled slightly at her, trying to calm my heart rate.
"I guess I'm not welcome here," I noted as she led me inside.
She offered me a sympathetic smile. "You're just... Obviously different from the rest of us."
My brows furrowed. This wasn't the first time I'd been told that. "I don't understand."
She shrugged. "You'll get it after a while living here."
I was still shaky, but the conversation was good in distracting me. "Is the neighborhood always so... Violent?"
She smiled, offering me a cup of coffee that I didn't even notice her brewing. That was when I realized I wasn't just in her house, I was in the kitchen.
I blinked, gratefully taking it into my palms.
"It's still early in the morning, don't worry. Everywhere will be warm and we can go outdoors. And I could show you around. It's actually beautiful. The city isn't just one part, you know."
I nodded, surprised at her lack of fear for what just happened. Guess she wasn't immune to gunshots.
"I'd never heard a gunshot before," I said.
She sat beside me. "Well, you either learn how to use one or be in tune with your wolf if you want to survive this city. It's pretty brutal here."
"I can see that."
She grinned. "Welcome to Shadow Vile, Lottie."
- Writer
