12 CHAPTER 12: Noah The Caretaker

As I was walking on the eerie hallway, pointing the flashlight to where I landed my eyes, I walked into a room. The door's creaking noise only made this house more spooky. Just how old is this place? The room was dark but I could still see something thanks to the light coming from the window just ahead of me. It must be the master bedroom due to the size of the room. The other room I checked earlier was much smaller than this, it must have been their child's room. I then walked in the door while examining the inside.

I observed that some of the things here are broken. The wardrobe door was almost falling off, the missing leg of a chair and the broken mirror on the vanity table. Was it due to old age? Strange...Most furniture in the other rooms was in a good condition though.

I then opened the drawer of the vanity table and I saw that there are some things inside: a hairbrush, a key, and a silver pendant. It must have been here for a long time -there are even cobwebs here. Curious, I picked up the pendant.

'It's a locket'

Tried to open it and fortunately, it did open. Inside was a faded picture of a woman in her 20's.

'Is this Mr. Mulligan's wife? She's gorgeous'

As I was admiring the woman in the picture, I felt something at the back of the locket. When I turned it around, I saw that it had an engraving carved on it.

'To my beloved wife and friend, Lillian'

So it is his wife. But why is such a precious thing here instead of being kept somewhere? Did she forget it was here? Nah, I don't think so. I decided to put it back in its place and turned my attention to the old silver key next to it. What key is this for? Anyway, it might be useful so it's better to bring it with me.

After I checked the room once again, I left and proceeded to the next area. On the other hand, Draco was in the backyard when he suddenly heard the chain of the gate rustling. He immediately went and hid, with his back to the wall. With his heart racing, he slightly peeked his head at the corner as he tried to glimpse at the cause of the noise. It was a man wearing a red plaid shirt and a black hat.

After seeing this person unlock the gate, panicked rushed over to his body as he immediately ran inside.

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As I rummaged through the drawer of the desk in what seemed like an office before, I suddenly heard some footsteps outside which made me look back. Was that Draco? I returned my attention to the drawer, dismissing the sound I just heard. But then minutes later a loud stomp followed by something breaking was heard outside. And this time, it frightened me.

What the heck was he doing? We're supposed to be discreet with this. I was ready to scold him for his carelessness but when I stepped out of the room and noticed that there was no one outside. Not even a shadow.

"Draco?" I asked as my voice echoed through the halls. The sun is setting, that's why the house is getting darker any second. I stared at the darkness just ahead of me where the loud noises were coming from. Is he messing with me because I teased him earlier?

"Stop messing with Draco me. Didn't you say that we have to hurry for its getti—" before I could even finish talking, a sweaty and cold hand suddenly grabbed my arm tightly.

"HOLYS—"

"Lower your goddamn voice!" Draco whispered in my ear as he shushed me. I grabbed his hand and took it off from my mouth as I faced him with a pissed expression.

"What the hell Draco!?" I exclaimed as I looked at him with furrowed brows, ticked off by his sudden actions.

"I said lower your voice! Someone's here" he whispered again with an alarmed tone.

"Who are you?" All of the sudden, a deep voice then called out to us as we both got startled and shrieked in horror.

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After a while of explaining and clearing the misunderstanding, we finally reached a conclusion

"I see...You're one of those people who came looking for that thing" The man said with his fingers on his chin as he closed his eyes and slightly nodded his head.

"Well too bad, that thing is not here." He then added as he stared at us with a serious look

Upon hearing this I frowned, puzzled by his statement "Wait what?" I reacted with a dazed expression. What did he mean it's not here?

"Yes, it was true that it was in Mr. Mulligan's possession before. But after he died, no one knows where it is. I don't even know if it's real" he explained as he crossed his arms, explaining wearily as if he repeated these lines over and over again.

"Then what are we supposed to do dammit?" Draco's face twisted into a scowl, but since he didn't yell, I assumed he was just confused by the situation.

I then turned my body to Draco as I reassured him, "There's still a chance that it's real. Damien wouldn't let us go through much trouble if it wasn't the case" I convinced him as I stared with a serious look. To be honest, I also don't trust Damien. But I want to believe that he would not let us down.

"By the way I'm Noah, I'm the caretaker of this house. I usually come here once a month to carry out my duties" The stranger introduced himself as he took off his hat and held out his hat.

I then beamed a smile and shook his hand, "I'm Draco and this is Emma. I apologize if we trespassed in the area but we are here for a great reason." I think it's better to exchange our names, for now, to not add further confusion.

"May we please continue exploring the place? We still want to see for ourselves if it's real or not" I pleaded to him as I clasped my hands under my chin and made a puppy face. He then made an unexplainable expression as he stared at me with wide eyes. At the same time, Draco slapped his forehead as he lowered his head in shame. What did I do? An awkward silence came in as I stayed in my position

…

Oh right! I forgot that I'm in Draco's built and manly body. It must have looked weird that I'm acting cutely like a girl in front of him. I just laughed in embarrassment as I slowly turned away from Noah, who was still in a surprised expression, as I dropped my head and cupped my face. Draco just turned his head sideways as he cleared his throat.

"Uhm okay… But I will be watching you" He then replied with a shy tone as he also looked away with reddened cheeks.

….

WAIT, WHY IS HE BLUSHING!?