Yesterday, 10:06 PM
Jay lingered in the service yards just long enough to watch the technicians pack up their gear and trade a few mandatory pleasantries before the wind chased them all away. He slipped inside just as a few random flakes of snow fluttered by.
The gate was the only urgent thing that needed attending on the exterior. The remainder of the grounds were still massively overgrown but the heart of winter prevented crews from doing much more for now. There were still projects in the manor’s interior, though. But while Jay prided himself on putting up new wallpaper in his mom’s living room back in the day, lining up all the little flowers perfectly to hide the seams, he wasn’t going to be of any help as a decorator here. Cleaning he could do, and there were still plenty of places that needed attention. Even cleaning was preferable to nothing. Gave him something to do besides think.
He attempted to enter the building from the service door, but finding it locked, he had to reroute to the main entrance, which he never used unless he had to. Walking through it felt like he was being swallowed.
Crews recently replaced the antique door with a higher tech replica, built to mimic the look of the antique manor but housed all the security and safety to satisfy even him. Which was why he was surprised to find that pushing on the handle didn’t result in a smooth swing inward.
He frowned and leaned his weight into it. Instead, the whole panel scraped hard in its frame with a dull, jarring thud, catching dead against the polished stone threshold like the frame and floor had shifted an inch overnight. Must need recalibrated, he thought, and sent off a text for someone to get it checked.
Inside, he let out a short breath, rubbed the back of his neck and turned toward the grand staircase to head up to the mezzanine.
A massive hall stretched out below him. Talk about feeling swallowed. It was all soaring limestone and checkerboard marble. Like the world's nicest mausoleum. Suppose it would be an epic place to be buried for all eternity, he mused with a smirk. As he reached the landing and reached out to steady himself on the rail, his palm brushed the carved stone balustrade. A fine dusting of dry, powdery mortar and gray grit flaked off under his fingers, smearing like chalk.
He wiped his hand against his coat with a frown, scanning the open expanse of the upper gallery. Nothing was amiss. But construction sites were known for endless blankets of dust. Another note to himself to come back and wipe it down.
Across the wide floor, movement caught his eye. A guy in his twenties, slender with a shock of bright blonde hair, was slipping quietly into one of the side halls. He definitely wasn't one of the construction crew in their high-vis gear. He was wearing decent clothes. Jay squinted, a vague sense of recognition scraping at the back of his brain, but the guy vanished around a corner before he could get a real look. Maybe another investor., Jay figured, filing it away to ask her about later.
She doesn’t need you bugging her with questions.
Okay, maybe he wouldn’t ask later.
The gate was the only urgent thing that needed attending on the exterior. The remainder of the grounds were still massively overgrown but the heart of winter prevented crews from doing much more for now. There were still projects in the manor’s interior, though. But while Jay prided himself on putting up new wallpaper in his mom’s living room back in the day, lining up all the little flowers perfectly to hide the seams, he wasn’t going to be of any help as a decorator here. Cleaning he could do, and there were still plenty of places that needed attention. Even cleaning was preferable to nothing. Gave him something to do besides think.
He attempted to enter the building from the service door, but finding it locked, he had to reroute to the main entrance, which he never used unless he had to. Walking through it felt like he was being swallowed.
Crews recently replaced the antique door with a higher tech replica, built to mimic the look of the antique manor but housed all the security and safety to satisfy even him. Which was why he was surprised to find that pushing on the handle didn’t result in a smooth swing inward.
He frowned and leaned his weight into it. Instead, the whole panel scraped hard in its frame with a dull, jarring thud, catching dead against the polished stone threshold like the frame and floor had shifted an inch overnight. Must need recalibrated, he thought, and sent off a text for someone to get it checked.
Inside, he let out a short breath, rubbed the back of his neck and turned toward the grand staircase to head up to the mezzanine.
A massive hall stretched out below him. Talk about feeling swallowed. It was all soaring limestone and checkerboard marble. Like the world's nicest mausoleum. Suppose it would be an epic place to be buried for all eternity, he mused with a smirk. As he reached the landing and reached out to steady himself on the rail, his palm brushed the carved stone balustrade. A fine dusting of dry, powdery mortar and gray grit flaked off under his fingers, smearing like chalk.
He wiped his hand against his coat with a frown, scanning the open expanse of the upper gallery. Nothing was amiss. But construction sites were known for endless blankets of dust. Another note to himself to come back and wipe it down.
Across the wide floor, movement caught his eye. A guy in his twenties, slender with a shock of bright blonde hair, was slipping quietly into one of the side halls. He definitely wasn't one of the construction crew in their high-vis gear. He was wearing decent clothes. Jay squinted, a vague sense of recognition scraping at the back of his brain, but the guy vanished around a corner before he could get a real look. Maybe another investor., Jay figured, filing it away to ask her about later.
She doesn’t need you bugging her with questions.
Okay, maybe he wouldn’t ask later.
Only darkness shows you the light.