Chereads / The Epitome of Us / Chapter 13 - Haunted House

Chapter 13 - Haunted House

Mallory couldn't help but sigh heavily. 'How could I be just a friend of him?' She counts out everything she did to him starting by being a good friend, a partner in crime, his handkerchief, housekeeper, cook, number one fan, and cheerleader. She massages the pinch of her nose like what the hell, she even becomes his assistant even though it's just one day!

Axel keeps glancing at her from the bedside. "Hey, are you okay?" Axel asks snapping her from reality.

"Yes!" Mallory didn't realize she is yelling until Axel cringe. "I need to go... I have an appointment." She lies.

Axel sends a suspicious glance. "Since when did my housekeeper got an appointment?" He teases but Mallory ignores him. She quickly gets her bag and walks out.

"What a weird girl." He shakes his head changing the channels again.

Mallory bit her lips. Lately, she wants to get away from Axel. It was her turn to feel confused about her feelings. "Why is it such a big deal about being just a friend?" She stomps her feet like a kid. The people passing by is suspiciously looking at her.

"What am I suppose to do now?" She asks herself aloud. When she feels someone tapping her shoulder, she looks behind. "What?" Her grumpy voice welcomes Seven.

It's been a while since she last saw her guardian angel. She quickly hugs the man, nuzzling her face in Seven's chest. "I miss you." She whispers.

Seven ruffle her hair and kiss the top of her head. "I miss you too, Mallory." He holds her hand as they take a walk together.

"Where have you been?"

Seven smirks. Mallory must have missed him a lot. "What do you mean? I've always been here beside you." His finger holds her chin. "What do you want to do today?"

Mallory smiles. "Oh, I just got a perfect idea." She tightly holds his hand and went to ride a taxi.

The house was welcoming from the open door to the wide hallway. Upon the walls were the photographs of children, who obviously are adorable. "What are we doing here again?" Seven asks.

Mallory shushes as they walk still hand and hand together. At the end of the hallway, they met an old woman who hugs Mallory dearly. "Oh, Mallory! It's been a long time."

"I missed you too, Kory." She hugs the woman back before wrapping her arms back to Seven. "This is my husband Seven." She said making the man's eye widen.

"This place is perfect for newlyweds. I remember when my husband bought this place." The old woman tours them until they reach the living room. "Our family loves throwing a party here. I will bake a cake in the kitchen while my husband cooks hamburger for the kids. I tell you what, this house is perfect for those who are starting a family."

She adds, "We used to make out a couple of times on this very floor." The woman stops, realizing she said too much information.

The couple clears their throat awkwardly. The floor was an old-fashioned parquet with a blend of deep homely browns and the walls were the greens of summer gardens meeting a bold white baseboard.

Mallory realizes that the place is indeed good especially in making out. 'Ops, why am I suddenly being weird today?' She thought to herself before examining the banister which has a twirl of a branch, tamed by the carpenter's hand, it's grain flowing as water might, in waves of comforting woodland hues.

At the young age, Mallory works hard to earn money. She likes the idea of saving up for her future family. So if she ever found the person destined to be with her, she will buy this house. She prefers calling Kory's house her dream house. Back when she was a kid, Sevy used to take her here and glance at the window. Seeing the happy family together gives her strength to get out of the orphanage and explore the world. To bad, she can't build her family anymore.

Seven wasn't really fond of checking out open houses. Maybe because he is a grim reaper so he doesn't see any reason to buy a house. The old woman moves closer to him. "Your very lucky young man. She is a keeper." She whispers before entertaining another family to buy the house.

"I believe this is just our second date. And I already wrap you in my fingers, Mallory." Seven smiles while placing a ring in her finger. The ring is just part of the act but the feeling of someone putting a ring on Mallory sends butterfly in her stomach.

"I thought you are going to propose."

Seven chuckles and playfully kisses her hand. "I already got your answer when you called me your husband."

As soon as they walk out of the house, Mallory looks at him. "Can we try to teleport on our next destination?"

Seven never thought of teleporting Mallory with him. It wasn't against the law so he guesses there is no harm doing it with humans. He holds her in bridal style before asking, "Where are we going, wife?" She whispers the answer and the next thing she knows they are already at the place.

The house is very different from the warm welcoming place a while ago. This place seems to be a haunted house. Mallory excitedly moves from Seven's grip. She knocks every door one by one, politely asking if she could come in before stepping in the place. Seven roll his eyes. Even if Mallory didn't knock the doors, the wandering souls can't touch her because she is with a grim reaper. "I don't remember you listed this in your bucket list."

"I wanted an adventure. So I thought maybe ghost hunting can be a perfect adventure for both of us." Mallory smacks her head. On the second thought, ghost hunting with a grim reaper is more like a job than an adventure.

"Do you know who this house belongs to?" She asks innocently. She hopes there is some juicy story about the place.

Seven smirks, planning a perfect evil plan on Mallory. 'If she insists going to adventure then she can have one here.' He thought as he starts to call wandering souls to come into the house. Even Damon, the king of Hell, decides to join the party.

"I didn't know much since this place is been built in ages." Soon, Mallory sees a shadow running behind. She quickly follows it and initiates Seven to do the same.

Seriously, Mallory is one of the most amusing people he met. Most girls are afraid of ghosts but Mallory isn't. Or even if she does, she is good at hiding it. Everyday guiding her feels like an adventure. It is like riding a rollercoaster. After years of being a grim reaper Seven never thought that for a brief moment, he feels alive.

The shadow turns out to be just a kid covered in blood. Mallory gasps seeing that there is still a knife attach at the side of the kid's stomach. The place is very different from the haunted house because everything looks real. Even the kid which Mallory is now holding feels cold. "Why am I holding you?" She asks the kid but she got no replies.

The kid tours her in the place. "My family is murdered here." Mallory gasps seeing a dozen souls in the living room. Based on their looks, the souls were either shot or beheaded by a cruel person.

The girl jumps in fear after hearing a creepy rugged doll talking in the corner. Wandering souls like to scare Mallory every now and then by possessing things. But rest assured, Seven strictly orders them not to scare her too much.

Seven loves to tease her, it seems that he finally recognizes his passion which is to annoy the hell out of Mallory. "Are you scared?" He asked with a little smirk in the corner of his lips. Mallory rolled her eyes. Even if the answer is yes, she wasn't going to admit it for he would enjoy it too much.

"You are shivering." The kid declared in a devious laugh.

Mallory suddenly felt something touching her and she literally screamed with fear. "What the heck was that Seven?" She yelled, knowing it was him.

Mallory curls in a ball. When Seven finally stops teasing her, she starts to cry. To be honest, she wasn't fond of this kind of thing. She just wanted to spend more time with her guardian angel so she did it.

Seven hugs her tightly. "Seven can I hold your hand?" She asked shyly. He was surprised and thanked the souls for doing a great job. Good thing, the dark prevents seeing each other's faces for they are both red.

"Don't worry I'll always be here beside you, wife." He starts to tease again. Mallory curse under her breath, regretting calling Axel her husband for he will surely tease her for a long time. "Hey, don't be frightened. This is all fake, Mallory." Axel reassured her. His voice made her calm down a little. He continued to reassure her by making silly jokes.

"To be honest, this house is just abandoned by the owner."

Mallory replies, "What?" Before laughing hysterically, thankfully that ease her mind. After hearing Seven's evil plan, Mallory made a mental note not to go on a ghost hunting with the grim reaper. She hopes to go on an adventure but instead, all she got is a heart attack from all those souls.

"Besides, this is so stupid." Seven growled, rolling his eyes. What was he even thinking? None of this could affray people. "Who would be afraid of a ghost poorly done?" He shakes his head, examing the soul's creation. Mallory could tell he was going to complain about this thing for a long time.

"Stop being such a kill-joy." She declared, pinching Axel's arm. "They made an effort to scare me."

"Mhm," He responded. Mallory took his hand and squeezed it. He smiled slightly. "Shall we go out now, wife?" Mallory eagerly nods her head in reply.