Chereads / The Painted / Chapter 21 - An Uncomfortable Felling

Chapter 21 - An Uncomfortable Felling

The first thing I saw opening my eyes were the blinding rays of sunlight as they pierced through my eyelids almost blinding me.

"Really?" I groaned stretching my arms as I sat up "well at least I feel well rested".

As I looked up at the sky exposed through a large hole in the curtains, I realized it had to be at least 10 am now.

"There has to be a clock somewhere around here" I slowly raised to a standing position, looking around, searching on the walls.

"The owners really liked taking pictures, didn't they?" I tilted my head,

as I stood in front of a cluster of framed photos, all varying in size and shape.

Some photographs seemed to have captured important moments in their lives while others seemed like family photographs.

"Wow some of these are really old" I touched a photo that particularly caught my attention as I tilted my head to the right to get a better view.

The photo also seemed to be a family photograph, yet it seemed more formal than the rest,

with a man sitting on a throne like chair and a woman standing on his left.

Upon closer inspection I could now see two other male figures in the frame as well.

"Are they royals?"

I voiced my question as I looked at their attire "they must be".

"Which era is this photo even from?"

it had almost faded completely and the faces of the people no longer distinguishable.

Shrugging my shoulders, I continued on, now that it was morning,

I could better see my surroundings

"I meant afternoon"

I expressed annoyed when my eyes landed on the large grandfather clock.

"Unbelievable! Its already past 12pm?" this was something new.

I couldn't remember the last time I slept this long.

"I should probably get my stuff from the car"

I decided as I opened the front door.

Looking back over my shoulder I smiled,

feeling satisfied with how everything had turned out but was quickly distracted as I stared at the large staircase that led to the second floor

"well I guess I still have a lot more to explore".

There was feeling again that I couldn't ignore no matter how much I tried to.

This unnerving feeling of being watched,

it had started ever since I had entered the forest and it seemed to only grow stronger as the time passed.

Rubbing my arms again to get rid of the goosebumps I faced the front and took a deep breath before I stepped outside into the crisp and cool winter air.

"Oh god it's cold"

shivering I pulled the jacket closer to my body as I headed into the forest again.

Following the now visible path,

I was quickly led to a giant metal gate that I could've sworn did not exist last night but then again,

I was half blind in daylight, so my eyes weren't very reliable.

Finally sighting my car at the front of the gate I felt relieved.

"Everything semes intact"

I checked the rear and the front of the car for any signs of damage and was relieved to have found none.

Opening the gate,

I drove into the property and parked the car in the front.

I was now officially home!

As I plugged my phone to charge in the car, I exited the car to unload my belongings.

"I'm definitely not going to make a second trip"

I challenged myself confidently as I held a bag under my arms.

"Oh shit, I think I broke my back"

I huffed out wobbling forward unable to see anything in front of me

"okay three steps to the front should be the stairs".

All of a sudden in the corner of my eyes I noticed a movement which made me lose my balance as I dropped a suitcase and stumbled forward landing on a pile of my now very muddy clothes.

"Ow!"

I rubbed at my scratched knees and looked back up curious but was quickly left very uncomfortable when I realized that the movement I detected was from an upstairs window.