Carlton House

by B. Groves

  Lily blinked trying to comprehend what Mr. Carlton was telling her. The interview took another turn into strange town.

  He didn’t want her to enter certain rooms, and that was fine, but by the tone of his voice and the intense look on his face, Lily didn’t know how to handle that.

  Lily tried keeping Mr. Carlton’s intense gaze, but she turned away and stared out of the window. This guy really wanted his privacy. It wasn’t anything new to her. She’d dealt with guests who didn’t want her to enter their rooms for days to clean up, but something about his rules seemed like an ominous warning than a privacy request.

  “At night, keep your doors locked and your curtains closed. You may hear strange noises,” Mr. Carlton said.

  “What?” That freaked her out. She turned sharply back to Mr. Carlton. What did that even mean?

  The face in the window flashed through her mind. She thought she’d seen a woman in the window. She blew it off as her imagination, but now she wasn’t so sure.

  This was getting more bizarre by the minute and Lily didn’t like it. This house and its owner made her uncomfortable from the start. Lily sat back and reached down to grasp her handbag. She couldn’t work here. This pale but handsome man standing before her, giving her ominous warnings about working in his house was too much. It was those moments that Lily would stay far away from and not touch. She would find a job somewhere else.

  “There might be a wall around the land, but I’ve found animals prowling around at night from a damaged part in the forest,” Mr. Carlton explained ignoring Lily’s movement.

  Lily’s felt so dumb. That made sense. That made a lot of sense.

  She lifted her grip from her handbag and relaxed in the chair. So, the owner was warning her about wild animals and he wanted his privacy. Why was that a big deal?

  “I understand, sir. Is there anything else?”

  Mr. Carlton tilted his head to the side. She noticed a smirk formed on his mouth as if he knew she would relax once he explained about the wild animals.

  “How much do you owe on your rent?”

  Lily furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion. Another unusual question. How was she supposed to answer that?

  Mr. Carlton raised an eyebrow waiting for Lily to answer.

  Was this an invasion of her privacy? She scratched the side of her head. Just when she thought her interview was returning to normal he throws another curve ball at her.

  “I’m not sure how to respond,” Lily said.

  “Why not? If you accept this position, you certainly cannot leave your landlord hanging.” Mr. Carlton said.

  Lily raised her eyebrows. Was he saying he would pay off her part of the rent? God… part of her wanted to stand up and hug him and the other part wanted to run away and fast.

  “Um, I’m not sure of the exact amount. I… live with a roommate and…”

  Jordan had always taken care of the lease although she co-signed. She didn’t know the exact amount to buy out her share of the rent.

  “Besides, I couldn’t accept such a generous offer,” Lily said.

  “I understand, but the offer stands,” Mr. Carlton said. “This is an offer for the position, but I would suggest going home and thinking it over before deciding. Do you have any questions?”

  A question popped up in her mind. “You mentioned I came highly recommended? May I ask by whom?”

  “Great question. I called around to employment agencies in the area. One place provided me with several names and resumes, but the agent knew you personally. I recall her name as—”

  “Kelly McBride?” Lily asked with a grin. “She’s a high school friend.”

  “That’s her. She boasted about your incredible work ethic and gave you glowing recommendations,” Mr. Carlton said.

  Lily grinned for the first time in the interview. She would have to text Kelly to thank her for the interview.

  Lily lost her grin and asked, “Is there a time frame you need?”

  She still felt uncomfortable in this house. While they talked about her friend, Lily thought about the face she thought she saw in the window when she arrived. Had it been due to stress or something more? Her gut kept telling her one thing while her mind was trying to convince her of another.

  Why did this old house have such an effect on her?

  What was it about the man who never moved away from the fireplace that made her skin crawl?

  Lily’s instincts were on high alert, but the opportunity for some financial relief kept her in the seat while Mr. Carlton read off his so-called rules. She tried to reason the rules weren’t outlandish requests but coming from the pale man, they sounded so suspicious.

  Lily jumped when the binder appeared beside her on the table.

  “My cell phone number is written on your resume. I will need an answer by tonight because I will have to search again for another person to interview and I’d like to get to work as soon as possible.”

  When the hell did he place her binder back on the table? How did he do that? His silent movements unnerved Lily to where she decided she would not take this job no matter how desperate she was for the money.

  If he could move like that within just one room who knew what else he was capable of and Lily would not take that chance.

  Lily stood, collected her binder, and said, “Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Carlton. I’ll answer you tonight.”

  “It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Evans. If you don’t mind, please show yourself out. The gate will be open for you,” he said.

  Lily nodded and turned to leave.

  Her heels clicked on the wood floor sending eerie echoes throughout the silent house.

  She never turned around to see if Mr. Carlton was following her. She only wanted to get out of that house and into the safety of her car.

  Lily reached the door within seconds and placed her hand on the handle. She looked up when she thought she heard a thumping noise. She turned her head and noticed fragments of dust drifting down from the ceiling in the far corner of the foyer.

  Lily turned back to the door knowing she made the right decision. Nope. Not going to touch this one, and when she arrived home, she wouldn’t even bother calling Mr. Carlton back. Something strange was going on in this house and Lily was too unnerved by the sense of dread that kept swirling around in her gut.

  She breathed in the brisk air when she stepped outside and shut the door behind her.

  There was enough daylight left to guide her out of this place. She didn’t hesitate as she rushed towards her car.

  She directed her gaze to the far end of the property and saw the gate wide open for her exit.

  Lily shuffled through her handbag, grabbed her keys, and threw her stuff onto the passenger seat when she unlocked the car door. She entered the car and didn’t even look back at the house when she started the engine and placed it in gear.

  She would have slammed down on the pedal, but she didn’t want to cause an accident and she tried to drive as normal as possible.

  Her palms began to sweat when she approached the gate. She half-expected the gate to close as she tried to leave Carlton House.

  That didn’t happen, and Lily breathed a sigh of relief when she crossed the threshold and reached the entrance. She hadn’t realized how tense she’d been until her neck started to ache.

  Lily realized her headlights were off and hit the button to turn them on. Her mind finally stopped with the crazy thoughts. She was free of that house and never had to step foot in it again. She planned to regroup and apply to everything and anything. She didn’t have much experience outside of cleaning, but she would try.

  Yet, as Lily drove home, the regrets invaded her thoughts. She knew what she was going home to, and she knew her life was still the same and she was still trapped in the same situation.

  As the thoughts churned through her head, Lily pulled into a parking space in her apartment complex a half hour later still thinking she made a mistake.

  She pl
aced the car in park and leaned back against the seat trying to repress the regret she had been experiencing ever since she left the house.

  Lily grabbed her binder and realized a small piece of paper fell out of the binder.

  Lily frowned and turned on her overhead light. She picked up the paper and turned it over.

  A blank check had been attached to her resume with a paperclip, along with a small note.

  Lily removed the paper clip and opened the note.

  “For your share of the rent.”

  -Michael Carlton

  Chapter 4

  I’ll Take It

  Lily crumpled the note and flung it onto the front seat. She thought about burning the check but decided when she had the time she would mail it back to Mr. Carlton and thank him for his generosity at a later date.

  Lily got out of the car trying to mask her disappointment. Jordan’s car sat near the entrance to their apartment. She would inform him she had a last-minute interview, but it didn’t pan out.

  Lily grabbed her handbag and binder and locked the door. Only a purple and orange sky remained of the day and Lily shivered from the chill in the air as she climbed the uneven steps to her apartment.

  Below her, a baby cried, and at the other end of the complex she heard a television blaring and she started to regret her decision.

  She saw the light on in her apartment and heard the usual noises coming from the TV. Jordan was again immersed in his game. She couldn’t stand it. That’s all he ever cared about even when they had money.

  Lily went to place the key in the lock when she heard a curse and another person’s laugh. She felt the anger boiling inside her because she recognized that laugh. Stephen.

  What was he doing here? Had Jordan allowed him to move in already? Without Lily knowing about it? She hoped Jordan didn’t let him because she did not want Stephen staying with them this soon.

  Lily placed the key in the lock and opened the door. Immediately, she was bombarded with the potent smell of pot and alcohol. She hated those smells. They reminded her of her shitty childhood and she didn’t need more stress tonight.

  “Hey, babe,” Jordan said. His eyes were glazed over, and his face was red and splotchy from drinking and smoking. “You look pretty.”

  Lily closed the door behind her. She turned to see Stephen sitting on the couch beside Jordan. She spotted suitcases stacked in the corner of the living room.

  She’d been right. Stephen was moving in quicker than she wanted and he hadn’t given her a chance to talk about it. Jordan never listened to her. He never took her opinion seriously, and this time was no exception.

  Stephen wasn’t as wasted as his friend and he turned to give Lily a broad grin while his eyes raked over her.

  A chill raced down her spine. She didn’t appreciate that one bit.

  Lily glared at Stephen. Her anger boiled inside of her. She remained by the door and clenched her fists. “What are you doing here?”

  Stephen blinked, confused by her reaction. “Jordan said he told you that my old lady was kicking me out. I had nowhere else to go. You guys need help, don’t you?”

  “Stephen needed someplace to go, babe,” Jordan explained. “He said the couch is fine. He’ll be a huge help for us.”

  Both men looked at Lily expectantly. Stephen with a smirk on his face and Jordan trying to stay sober enough for her reaction.

  Lily clutched the binder. Her mind reeled when she saw Stephen lick his lips as his eyes went from her face down to her feet. She would never feel safe here with him. He would try something even if she stayed in her room with the door locked. Two years ago, when she and Jordan were at a party, Stephen tried putting his hand under her skirt. Lily ended up pushing him out of the chair and kicking him in the balls.

  Lily didn’t know what to do. She could leave and go stay with her foster parents for a while. She knew they would welcome her until she got on her feet. They offered several times, but she turned them down, not wanting to be a burden.

  Lily thought of the enormous house with the cozy little cottage in the back. She thought of the mysterious owner who would pay off her share of the rent for this place.

  Lily remembered him standing in the shadows near the fireplace looking awfully pale.

  Goosebumps popped up on her arms when she remembered the face staring down at her from the upper floors but tried to blow that off as stress.

  Was it the ideal situation? No, but it was better than this.

  Lily gripped the binder even tighter. She wouldn’t live like this. She had a second chance fall into her lap. She would not live with these two drunk and high men. Especially, Stephen.

  Lily closed her eyes. The decision had been made for her the moment she walked through the door.

  She opened her eyes again and said, “That’s great, Stephen. You can move into my room. You’ll be happy here.”

  Stephen and Jordan stopped punching the buttons on their game controllers and stared at Lily.

  Jordan was the first to speak. “What did you say?”

  Lily walked over and placed the binder on the kitchen countertop. “I’ll only need an hour. I can come back for the rest of my stuff later.”

  Jordan waved his hand through the air and then rubbed his face. Stephen looked over at him in confusion.

  “Wait… hold on a sec… What is going on?”

  “That letter wasn’t an ad. I was offered a good position and free room and board. I’m leaving. I can pay my share of the rent, just tell me how much.”

  “Whoa… Whoa… hang on, Lily,” Jordan shook his head trying to sober up. “Are you telling me you’re moving out? Tonight? Now?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where did this come from?”

  Lily looked around and brought her gaze back to Jordan. “My interview today.”

  Jordan pushed himself into a standing position. He waved his hands around in the air and stroked his head in exasperation as he struggled with Lily’s words. “Are you fucking serious? You’re just going to leave?”

  “How much for the rest of the rent Jordan?” Lily asked.

  “What?”

  “You have the lease. How much for my share?”

  “How am I supposed to fucking know? We still have five months left.”

  “You can look it up while I’m packing,” Lily said.

  Lily turned to go into her bedroom. The more she reflected on it, the more she realized she needed to move.

  She would call him while she was packing and ask him if she could come back right away.

  Lily was about to step into her bedroom when a body stepped in front of her. Jordan’s breath reeked of weed and alcohol.

  “Why are you doing this?”

  Lily’s anger rose as Jordan blocked her way into her bedroom. “I will not live here with that…” She pointed to Stephen. “That pervert. Remember what he did to me?”

  Stephen stood up looking flabbergasted. “Whoa… Lily. Come on, girl. I said I was sorry.”

  “Right. Then why did Brittany kick you out?”

  Stephen didn’t answer but stayed standing by the sofa.

  “Lily, I need three people here. I can’t make it with just Stephen or me either,” Jordan said. “I don’t want you to move.”

  “Get out of my way,” Lily ordered.

  The tension in the room heightened as they argued.

  “No. I’m not letting you leave. Think about it, Lily. We’re having a rough patch but—”

  Lily burst out laughing despite the tense atmosphere. “A rough patch? Didn’t we agree to go our separate ways when we could?”

  “Yes, but…”

  Lily gave Jordan a small push to make him back off. “No. We’re done. I’m leaving and that’s that.”

  Jordan shook his head furiously. He reached out and gripped Lily’s upper arm. She tried to back away, but he was too fast. She tried wiggling out of his grip, but he was too strong.

  “Let go of me,” Lily said in a low voic
e. She wasn’t fearful. Jordan had never laid a hand on her before today.

  “No, because I will shake some sense into you,” Jordan said.

  Lily tried to struggle out of his grip. “I said let go of me.”

  “Let her go, man,” Stephen said. “We’ll figure something out.”

  “Stay out of this,” Jordan said turning to his friend. His face turned a deep red color. “I’m going shake some sense into you. You can’t leave.”