"Are you okay?" I suddenly hear behind me. I'm struck out of my orbit and look behind me at the sound of Phoenix's voice.
I exhale with an unsure smile and nod, and he comes up to me and takes the note.
"We're keeping these." He folds it semi-neatly and shoves it into his pocket with the first note.
"We need to get out of here, somehow."
"Don't be stupid," I tell him.
I walk past him to the stairs on the left that lead to the second floor. It wasn't until I started to walk up that I noticed the right staircase led to a hallway—a hallway that leads to a big room—a room that I can't see. I look away and continue up, but all I hear are my own footsteps.
"Come on, Phoenix," I call out as I roll my eyes. I hear a slightly frustrated yet quiet grunt escape his lips, and the sound of urgent footsteps follow it. Only a few moments later do I feel his presence behind me.
"This is bullshit," he says as we walk up the staircase.
I roll my eyes and come to a halt, turning around and grasping the railing as I look down to a confused Phoenix. He looks up to me from two steps down with wondering eyes. He wonders why I've stopped, and raises a brow.
"Can you just think? Would you rather risk it? Or waste your time? Cause we can always break open that window and jump to our freedom, but what then? I don't know about you, but I wanna know what's going on, and if you think I'm—"
I'm interrupted by a thump from said window the moment I look away from it. The large and tall window, now locked and lacking curtains, sits before the second flight of stairs to the second floor. Anyone looking through the window has a direct look of the second staircase—and the whole of Phoenix.
My gaze had settled behind me briefly as I ranted to Phoenix, and back to him again. And the moment that window was opened and then shut—it was locked. I shiver as I hear the lock click, and can't bring myself to look back. I'm frozen in place.
I choke on my breaths and they start to hitch, and Phoenix's frustration grows to anger. If only I hadn't been in the way, he could've seen the cause of the sound. But that isn't why he's angry.
I realize why when I look behind me at the note that blows onto the ground with the last gust of wind that was let inside.
He pulls himself up to the small area, standing on floor that separates the window and the staircase—where the note sits right side up. It sits on the polished onyx wood flooring that matches the rest, and I slowly look back, and take a quick glance. The words are blurred, and I look back ahead.
I hear the paper shuffle as I snap my eyes shut and scrunch my face. There's no noise, and his breaths are quiet and shaky. I turn around reluctantly, with the agonising feeling that I'm being watched. That whoever is leaving these notes is looking right through me, and looking straight into my eyes without my confirmed knowledge as I walk up the steps with my eyes super-glued to the large, clear window.
Out of the window shows the backyard, there's a large tree. An old tree—a tree that holds a treehouse the size of my own home. There's a playground, built with various woods, and obviously built from the ground up; by hand. There's a bench. A porch swing—and a well.
I let go of the rail as I reach Phoenix, and he jumps as I lightly put a hand on his shoulder.
I jump at his reaction, "Sorry."
He smiles at me shakily and hands me the note, turning to the side to face me. His anger is turned to a burning uneasiness.
"You're in the wrong place. Start from the beginning."
I read the note in a slight whisper, and shove it in my pocket. I nod slowly and tensely, and begin to walk back down the staircase. I hear him follow behind me. We walk quietly down the steps until we're back to square one.
Where another note has been placed—in the same place where we found note two. Phoenix seems calmer, and I look back at him to see his eyes peeled on the note. As we reach the first point in the map, he grabs both of my shoulders from behind me. His eyes are peeled to mine before I feel him brush my forearm.
I look down at his hands, and his eyes stay on mine. I can feel his gaze as I look back up.
"Look at the back."
"What?" I breathe out.
"You didn't read the whole thing."
I take the note back out of my pocket, and look down to the bottom. My breath is caught, and I can feel Phoenix's eyes move from the note back to me. I begin to read.
"I can't hear you, Lilith, but I see the way Phoenix is looking at you. I'll give you a hint: floor one."