Chapter Five

I shall not spoil the chapter.

The funeral director's chairs in her office is less comfortable than the look. I twist and turn in the seat, trying to find a comfort spot. Failing, I just cross my legs and sit up straight. I place my arms on the armrests and tap lightly. I am in a far corner of the office, trying to be invisible. But Ronnette keeps looking back at me, as if to make sure I'm still in the room. I am barely paying attention to the reading.

To me this is irrational. Every is just here to see what they get from the will. The only people who is not looking for a 'reward ' are the girls. Exodia doesn't even know why we're even in this room. She's just looking around, trying to find something to do. Zechariah doesn't even want to be in the room. She's not paying attention either, she's texting. I don't blame her. I would text in a situation like this, but there is no one to text. I changed my number and I don't remember anyone's number by heart.

Well..., I do know one number by heart. But I refuse to even say his name. Funny, he actually tried to call me before I for the number changed. Of course, I didn't answer it.

"To my oldest daughter, Mavis", Mrs. Carter reads slowly.

Once she said my name, everyone looked back at never with a surprised expression. I am as surprised as them my father and didn't have the best relationship, we acted like we were complete strangers when at family functions. It was just a 'Hi' and 'Bye' thing with my Dab. We never had a casual conversation.

As for him and Jeremiah, my younger 'brother ', they had conversations all the time about random topics. For example, Jeremiah would ask Dad if he watched the latest football game with the New York Giants. Dad will begin a whole conversation about how the quarterback has butterfingers. Jeremiah would laugh and being up they're level of defense. Dad would roll his eyes and say "don't remind me".

I tried to talk to me father to the sport I knew we both loved, Kickboxing. The conversation didn't even last five minutes before he corrected me on my sport lingo. Livid, I walk to the darkest corner of the room and started texting Liz. The best thing for the both of us is pretending to be strangers, that way No ones feelings got hurt. By no one's feelings, I mean mine. I tried not to take his sly remarks too seriously, but I do anyway.

"I leave my estate, my black 2013 Mustang Ford Convertible and 100,000 dollars", Mrs. Carter says breaking out of reverie.

The oxygen in my airways is replaced with thick black smoke. Soon, it is impossible to breathe. I grip the armrests tightly and press my nails in the hard plastic. My nails glide against the plastic, collecting thin shards of plastic underneath the nail itself.

He couldn't have left all those items for me. There must be some type of mistake. I'm too young to own my own house, I don't know the first thing about living on my own. I don't know the neighborhood very well, I might get lost on my way there. What am I supposed to do with a hundred 100,000 dollars? I don't know what to do with that kind of money. I might spend the whole thing in one day. No, I think that us highly unlikely. I don't like spending a lot of money in one day. A car would be useful to travel around the city.

"Mavis?", I hear a voice say in front of me. "Are you all right?".

I open my eyes and see Zechariah standing in front of me. I hadn't even noticed my eyes were closed. "Yeah", I say soberly. "I'm fine".

"Good, because we're about to leave ", she says with relief.

I stand up slowly and pull down my skirt. I crack my knuckles and loosen my wrists by rolling them. I grab my purse and coat from behind my chair. I walk out the door of the office and into the main hall of the funeral home. Pulling my arm through my jacket, I here my name being yelled from inside the room. I turn around and see Ronnette standing in the doorway.

"You forgot the car keys", she says waving the keys in the air.

"Oh, thanks", I say grabbing the keys from her hand. I Dee there is more than just the car keys. I see what looks like house keys.

"You're welcome ", she replies with a smile.

There is an awkward silence. I pull my other arm in my jacket and place the keys in my pocket.

"Can you show me the way to the house? ", I blurt out suddenly. "I forgot how to get there ".

"Of course ", she says sincerely. "You'd probably get list if I hadn't ".

I smile and nod.

♛

My hands shake as I manage to put the key in the lock. I push the door open and step into complete darkness. I grope the wall for a light switch. I find it and turn it on. The light shines a small space by the front door. To the right of the space, there is a table with a plant on top of it. I place the keys there. To my left, there is an array of hooks against the wall. Under the hook there is a pillow top bench. I place my coat on the hook and drag my suitcase down the hallway.

I grope the wall for another light switch, finding the switch I continue to walk. The first door I come across is obviously a closet door. I open the door and see nothing but deep sea fishing poles. Closing the door, I see an opening about a yard away.

The opening is the living room. The lighting from the hallway glares inside the room. I turn on a nearby lamp and observe the room. The lamp is on a side table to a large sectional couch. The couch is chocolate brown and takes up most of the living room. I look to the left of the room. There is a large window in the middle of two smaller windows. They make up a half hexagon in the front of the house. I see a large fireplace in the middle of the room. Above the fireplace, there is a huge TV mounted on the wall.

Aside from that the living room is pretty empty. So, I move on down the hall. I can see a dim light shine at the end of the hall. I walk to light. The light comes from the window of the back door. To my left there is a staircase and to my right there is an opening. I walk into the opening, and turn on a light switch on the wall. By taking one look at the room, I can tell this is the kitchen. The island in the middle of the room is bare, except for a bowl of fresh apples. The countries to the right if the kitchen, near the sink, has three appliances lined up against the wall. The counter in the far back of the kitchen has cabinets above it. And cut in the middle of that counter is a black and silver electric stove. To left of the room, is another row of counter and a large window above it.

I walk out the kitchen and drag my suitcase you the stairs. At the top of the stares, I see a door a few yards away. I open the door and moonlight shines in my face. I close the shade and look around. It doesn't take long for me time realize that this is Zoey's room. Just by looking at the stuffed animals scattered everywhere. I walk out the room and close the door. There is another door to the right a yard away. I open the door and see books scattered around the room. This is Zechariah's room. I can tell because of all the books. She loves to read, just like me. I close the door and walk out the door.

There is another door to the far left. I open it and realize it's just the bathroom. Across the hall from the bathroom is another room. I open the door and just stare into the white paint on the wall. This was the room I used to sleep in when I came over. I remember because it was right across the hall from the bathroom. I leave this door open and go to the last room in the hall.

Opening this door, I feel a chill side down my spine. There is a enormous bed in the middle of the room. This was my father's room. To the right there is a dresser with a mirror, next to a window. To the right there is a long dresser stand next to a door. I open the door and find that that is only a closet. The closet is surprisingly bare.

Ronnette did say that she donated his clothes to Salvation Army yesterday. So, I just load my clothes in the drawers and closet. Then, I flop on the bed and look out the window.