And that’s precisely why I had to up my game. I needed to act as soon as fucking possible. So I set the wheels in motion. I felt calmer now after what happened Friday night. I wanted to murder someone, preferably Brad…the fucking numpty. Funny, really, because I was going to use Brad in my little game on Saturday. After all this, he was going to end up being my little pawn. It made me laugh a little thinking about how much he was going to look forward to this. Anybody who gets an invite looks forward to my parties.
And I was planning on making it the most memorable night of Tyler’s life.
Chapter 7
Tyler
Buckinghamshire, 1994
“Dean, that’s so funny,” I giggled.
Running into the field, we were all panting after Dean’s dare. He had just buzzed on Mrs. Baxter’s door—something we seemed to do on a regular basis lately. It was her screaming after us that did it. She sounded like a cat.
Calming down, Ian turned to me when he saw I was staring at Dean. “Okay,” he said, trying to break our trance. “What you got for me?”
Pulling away from our gaze, Dean looked up to his other best friend. “I dare you to put on a blindfold for five minutes without moving.”
That was a strange one. Even Ian was looking perplexed. “Okay, easy peasy. What can I use?”
“Use this.” Dean pulled out a bandana from his pocket and handed it to Ian. Once he had it firmly in place, Dean motioned for me to come with him.
Holding out his hand, he tugged me up and off we went, running towards some trees. Crouching low, we giggled for a few seconds before calming.
“Why did you do that, Dean?”
Dean looked at me with his bright blue eyes. He was eleven now and I was only nine. I loved him, though. I loved him with all my heart.
“I just wanted to be alone with you for a few minutes.” Dean smiled, making my heart thump loudly in my ears.
Picking my hand up, he stroked it with his fingers. “You always have soft hands. I love touching them.”
Blushing, I turned my face away, but it was hard ignoring his touch. It felt really good.
“That’s what I wanted to see,” Dean said, startling me.
“What?” I asked, turning back around to face him.
Raising his hand to my cheek, he smiled. “My Rosey.”
*****
I couldn’t believe Louisa managed to rope me into this dinner function tonight. I was about to sleep in some stranger’s house, but it seemed everyone was vying for this invite. I didn’t know what went on behind closed doors, but the journalist in me was intrigued. I was also vaguely aware that I had yet to dust the cobwebs off a certain part of my anatomy. Maybe this night would be my night. Now that I wasn’t at home, my stranger couldn’t get in the way of any nookie I may feel needs to take place. My goodness, I needed the nookie.
Driving into what I can only describe as an entrance to a mansion, Louisa and I parked and couldn’t help but gawk at the place.
“Fucking hell, Louisa. What on earth kind of place is this? Who owns it?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. It’s a total mystery. I’ve been trying for months to get an invite to this place. Then, all of a sudden, one turns up saying I could bring a friend. Of course, I had to choose you.” She smiled brightly, winking at me.
“Does anybody know who owns the place?”
She shook her head again. “I’ve been trying to find out. No one knows whether the owner is actually here when people show up. They say he is a recluse who only comes out at night.”
I frowned. “Is he related to the Great Gatsby or something?”
Louisa chuckled. “I suppose anything’s possible. I just can’t wait to get in there and have a snoop. I’m sure the journalist in you can’t wait, either.”
I was a little apprehensive about this, but smiled nonetheless. I was intrigued. Very intrigued. “Okay, then. Now that we are here, let’s go and snoop.”
Opening the car door, Louisa smiled. “Oh hell, yeah!”
Once outside the car, Louisa and I retrieved our bags from the boot, then walked up the grand staircase to the house. I wasn’t sure what it was, but this house was rather opposing. The weather was dull, which only made the house look even freakier. It looked old and grey, but grand at the same time. I was starting to wonder whether the Addams family might answer the door.
I certainly wasn’t prepared for what it looked like on the inside. After we rang the bell, we were met by a rather attractive older man sporting a rather interesting-looking moustache. He had greying hair and wore a black suit and bow tie. He smiled politely and asked if he could see our invitation and I.D. Once that was all over, we walked into the most modern hall I had ever seen. This was far from anything I expected. I thought it would look as old and imposing on the inside as it did on the outside.