Winning My Ex-Crush

Fenella’s POV

Repeatedly, I asked Laird about our destination, but he refused to tell me. It seemed he wanted to surprise me, so I eventually just went along with him. As we drove further towards the edge of Astoria Heights, I could only imagine why he would bother to drive here.

He parked the car in front of what appeared to be an old house. The house was nestled among rows of other houses with red brick walls. The garage and front yard looked neglected, and I almost thought the house was vacant.

“We’re here,” he said as he got out of the car.

Confused, I could only follow suit and step out of the car. We walked up to the front door, and he rang the bell.

“Do you still have free time today?” he asked.

“Yes. I told Jessy, and we might have to reschedule for later,” I replied, shrugging.

“Well, this will only take a moment, I hope,” he said, pressing the bell once more.

We waited for quite some time, but there was still no answer. He frowned, and I waited for any movement or sound from inside the house. None came.

“Hm, I think she’s in the back. Wait here; I’ll go around and try knocking from there,” he said.

“Laird, I’ll come with you.” I quickly grabbed his suit from behind.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Just wait here; maybe she’ll come out through the front door.” He shook his head and quickly left me, taking out his phone and starting to call someone.

“Who is she? Laird?” I stared, bewildered, at his retreating back.

Goodness, what’s going on with him? He’s really leaving me alone here. I was asked to wait for someone I didn’t know without any explanation.

I turned back and looked at the deserted house. The rows of houses on either side also seemed empty. I wasn’t even sure if these houses were inhabited. Oh well, it’s a workday afternoon; maybe everyone’s out at work.

Finally, I gathered the courage to ring the bell again. After a few seconds of waiting, I strained my ears. Faintly, I heard a sound from inside the house.

I know curiosity killed the cat, but I couldn’t just stand in front of the house like a suspicious person. Besides, I clearly heard noises coming from inside. I leaned over to peek through the window but only saw an empty living room.

Suddenly, I heard a loud thud. It didn’t come from inside the house, but from a door on the left side of the garage. I furrowed my brow in confusion and slowly walked towards the door.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” I asked.

Behind that small door, I immediately saw a staircase leading downward. I knew Laird had told me to wait here, but my curiosity grew stronger upon hearing louder and louder noises. There were clanking and thuds coming from there.

Could someone be injured down there? Maybe trapped and in need of help?

“Hello?” I slowly descended the stairs into the basement.

I knew this was a bad idea. First, I entered without permission. Second, I entered an area that, for most people, is taboo because basements usually hide dirty secrets that others don’t want known. Literally, dirty laundry or old, discarded items.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” I asked once I reached the bottom of the stairs.

The room appeared dark, with a silhouette of someone shining a flashlight into the corner of the room. Suddenly something flew towards my head swiftly. I jumped in panic and instinctively dove.

“Oh my god! Jeez!” I exclaimed loudly, cursing whatever had just flown by.

“What is that?!” I exclaimed as something furry brushed past me.

“Ah!” The next moment, someone bumped into me so hard that I almost stumbled, but my body was caught by the dusty wall.

“Whoah!” the person also yelled as they collided with me.

Luckily, they managed to stop themselves from falling completely onto me. The person bent backwards until they ended up sitting on the floor.

“Oops! I’m so sorry!” she said in panic, apologizing profusely.

“Hey, it’s okay,” I reassured her, rubbing my racing heart.

Gradually, the panic subsided. After a closer look, I realized the person who bumped into me was actually a woman. She stood up quickly from the floor without giving me a chance to help her up.

The woman had short, bobbed, reddish-orange hair. As she stood up fully, I noticed she was shorter than me. Her eyes were round, her face dotted with freckles, and her body curved. She wore a worn-out white t-shirt with green leggings.

“Uh, sorry, I didn’t know there was someone here,” she said timidly, looking at me nervously.

“I should be the one apologizing for intruding without permission,” I said, shaking my head.

“Rowan?” suddenly Laird’s voice came from another door across the basement.

“Laird?” she called out, sounding confused.

“Laird,” I called out as well, simultaneously.

“So, you’re here. Where’s Dave?” he asked, walking closer towards us.

“He’s out buying cigarettes,” she said, scratching her head.

“I rang the bell multiple times with no answer. Your bad habit of leaving the back door unlocked is remarkably consistent. I wonder why you bother locking the front door.” Laird smiled wryly and shook his head.

“Uh, sorry about that. I was trying to catch Bravo. He ran in here, so I’ve been busy searching for him all day.” She scratched her head with a worried crease on her forehead.

“Is that Bravo?” I asked, pointing to the animal that had flown past me earlier.

A gray sugar glider was now perched on the top-step railing. The distance between the animal and the open door was just a few meters.

“Oh no. Bravo, come here.” Rowan slowly climbed the stairs.

The animal still appeared calm on the stair railing. We waited in suspense as a woman named Rowan tried to catch her pet. I myself am not a pet enthusiast, but this was my first time seeing such a large sugar glider.

“Come here, Bravo,” she called again.