CHAPTER 16- IS THE HOUSE HAUNTED
Kylie’s POV
Elijah called me in the evening to tell me that he had managed to find a house for me.
“Are you for real? This soon?” I was surprised. I sure was underestimating this man’s potential.
He asked me to be ready in the morning as he was going to pick me up to see the house together.
The next day when I went downstairs, Elijah pulled up in a fancy red Lamborghini. I was mind fucked, what was a broke guy like him doing with this car?
“Hey, beautiful.” He removed his sunglasses and reached out to open the door of the passenger seat for me.
I sometimes get mesmerized by how tall he is.
I asked, “What’s with the Lambo?”
“I thought my girl deserved a nice ride.” A wink followed his reply.
“Where did you get it from though?”
“You don’t have to worry about it.”
“Well, I have to. What if you stole this car? I am not in love with you to go to jail with you.” My reply made him burst out in chuckles.
“You sure have a wild imagination.” He said, “This car belongs to my friend. He is out of town so I am driving it around.”
“Ugh… freeloader.” I pulled out the car door and proceeded to sit in the passenger’s seat. Elijah’s reply was a cheeky smile and the sound of the engine roaring as we drove off.
The weather today was mellow, it was just the right amount of sunny and breezy. Elijah was taking me down Moore’s street, a place I had never visited. The more I looked into it, the more I regretted not coming here earlier. The place had a serene ambiance to it with not many residents or traffic.
I was watching the weeping willow sticking out of a walled compound at the end of the street when Elijah stopped the car. I broke out of my fantasies and looked at him unbuckling his seatbelt.
“Are we here?”
“Yes.”
Successfully unlocked!
The two of us got out of the car and Elijah walked towards the property with white wooden fences. He opened the latch of the white door which looked as if it had just been painted a few days ago, I could still get a whiff of the premium paint.
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CHAPTER 16 IS THE HOUSE HAUNTED
I was not expecting much but the house was a love at first sight.
It was a single, independent European–style villa with off–white walls and a brown roof. We walked up the porch and knocked on the door, it was opened by a very gentleman in a professional suit.
He grinned and went forward to shake hands with Elijah and me, “You must be Kylie. Pleasure to meet you, ma’am. Please come in.”
The realtor who was working with us today was Steven York but unlike his name, he looked far more dashing than any average American out there.
Steven was one of Elijah’s many friends. In fact, he was the one who found the apartment he was currently living in. According to Elijah, Steven was very efficient in his job of finding affordable rentals for students and very reliable.
He looked a little young to be a realtor and was still a rookie at his job. But… who cares? We are here for the house, not the one showing it.
He showed us around the house and I personally liked it very much.
The single storied house came with a spacious bedroom, a modern kitchen along with a spare room that could be used as a study. It was already furnished, the owner of this house must have had excellent taste as they had decorated it in the same way I would have. The backyard featured an intimate garden with a mango tree. I could even see squirrels running around.
This house felt like a breath of fresh air, it was very different from the concrete jungle I grew up in.
“What do you think?” Elijah asked me while we were still in the backyard.
“I like it but…” As much as I wanted to like this house, there was one thing bothering
- me.
The rent!
It must be outrageous.
I asked Mr. York, “What is the rent?”
He said, “The landlord is in a hurry so he is listing the house for $200 a month.”
“Are you serious? Along with the furniture?” I could not believe my ears. How can such. a house be so cheap?/
Steven said, “Yeah. The owner is rich and lives out of the States, he just wants a tenant who can take care of the house.”
I fell into deep thought and walked inside the house while the two men followed me silently.
I said, “Nobody is so rich that they don’t want a few extra bucks. Tell me the truth, what is wrong with this house?”
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CHAPTER 16–IS THE HOUSE HAUNTED
Elijah and Steven stared at me in confusion. The realtor asked, “What do you mean, ma‘ am?”
I crossed my arms and asked sternly, “There must be something wrong with this house for the landlord to rent it out so cheap. So tell me, is this house haunted?”
My question made Steven laugh, he said, “No. This house is perfectly fine. There is nothing wrong with it!”
“Then why?”
The realtor replied, “This owner set the rent so low so that he could accommodate students. If it were a working individual, the rent would have been hiked.”
“Why?”
“I don’t really know… Maybe he is sympathetic to students.” The realtor smiled. helplessly and looked over at Elijah.
The boy said, “How is that any of your concern? The house is in good condition, near the school, and fits in your budget. Do you want this house or not?”
“Hmmm…” I touched my chin and asked, “Can I get the house for $150?”
“What? That’s criminally low.” Steven could not hide the mask of shock on his face.
1 said, “Come on, Mr. York. You are a realtor, you know there is always room for negotiation.”
Steven and Elijah shared a brief eye–contact before the man excused himself outside to talk to the owner. Once the two of us were left alone, Elijah came to me and said, ” Seriously?”
I shrugged, “It is not mandatory. I am just trying to push my luck here.”
He smiled and ruffled my hair, “You are frugal. Will make a good wife.”
I pouted and did not say anything.
A few minutes later, Steven came back into the house. He said, “I just got off the call with the landlord. He agreed to rent out the house to you for 150 dollars.”
“Are you for real?” My jaw dropped to the floor. I was seriously just pushing my luck here, I did not know that it would turn out to be successful.
Steven got another call so he excused himself again to receive it. After he left, Elijah said to me, “Good job, Kylie”
“What good job? Does it not look suspicious to you at all?” I said, “The owner is agreeing to such a ridiculous price. I feel like something is wrong with the house.”
“You are still on it?” The man frowned.
I said, “I am still unable to accept this. Could this house be unlucky?”
“I found this house for you. I won’t put you in an unlucky house, will I?”
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CHAPTER 16–IS THE HOUSE HAUNTED
I shrugged but walked away.
I looked at the antique looking paintings decorating the walls before slowly making my way into the bedroom. Elijah silently followed me, maybe still waiting for an answer but I did not care:
I stood next to the bed and bent down on the floor to check what was underneath. The man furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and asked, “What are you doing?”
1 stood up and dusted my hands, “Nothing, I was just checking if there was a dead
body under the bed.”
“Dead body? Are you serious right now?” Elijah stood there and watched me inspect the house in silence. I checked the bed, the cupboards and even the closet, thankfully there was nothing there.
He asked, “Did you find anything?”
“No. But I am still suspicious.” I scratched my chin, pretending to be Holmes in my head.
Elijah asked, “So, you don’t want to rent this house anymore?”
“Who said that?” I snapped my head up.
The boy was confused again, “But you said you have your doubts…”
“I do but let’s be practical here. I am not finding another house cheaper than this. I might not even find one that fits in my ridiculous budget.”
“What if the house is actually haunted? You are not scared?”
“No.” I shook my head negatively, “I am not scared. Scaring is not going to pay my bills or push me through college.”
Elijah’s expressions were taken over by amusement. I was about to leave but he grabbed my hand and pulled me closer.
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