Neighbours

I had been on the road for ages and much to my alarm, I had begun to feel myself nodding off slowly. Slapping myself was only going to help me for so long before sleepover took me and my coffee had become lukewarm and tasted disgusting. Even music did little to help.

Suddenly the navigation will cut through my self-pity party and the upbeat pop song that was blaring through the radio.

"Exit the motorway in 600 yards. You will reach your destination in 15 minutes"

That was enough to wake me up. I will probably get there sooner as this area was pretty much isolated which was strange.

Turning out from the motorway, I drove onto a side road which should lead me to Colston's. I glanced around quickly for any speed cameras - there obviously were none - and stepped on the pedal. Within minutes, I saw the sign announcing that the village was up ahead.

The sign, although not many people would see it, was well polished and proudly proclaimed "Welcome to Colston's". Driving past the sign, I immediately fell in love with the village. It was stunning. It gave off a feeling like it was stuck in time with cobbled streets, thatched cottages and a large town centre square with a clock tower. The only visible modern touches were the cables, some pylons in the distance and a few cars scattered around.

I drove over the stony road feeling every bump, but not minding at all whilst I took in the gorgeous scenery. KK, however, did and a couple of hisses escaped her mouth which I ignored. As I drove through the town square, I noticed a huge tanned figure emerge from the quaint inn located in the middle of the village. He was well, big and as he made his way to my car, I didn't know if I should have felt scared or if I should have laughed at the apron he wore announcing him as 'The World's Sexiest Cook'. But he had the nicest, bluest eyes I have ever seen in my life with prominent wrinkles indicating that he smiled frequently. He walked up to my window and rapped on it, indicating that I should roll the window down.

As I did so, a huge smile made its way across his face any thoughts I had about being scared instantly flew out of the window.

"Hello Ms, haven't seen a new face here in a while!"

I leaned out of my window and firmly shook his hands.

"John, John Meyer".

"Hi, my name is Arya, Arya Carlson. You must not get many people if you've noticed my arrival within minutes".

He laughed and scratched his head. "Yeah, I wonder what gave that away. We only get some deliveries once a month but apart from that we're pretty much an isolated, self-sufficient community", He leaned in and whispered "and then there's the institution not far from here".

I whispered back, "That's why I'm here".

"I knew it. Holston's is the only reason people will come over here to live in a secluded village like this. Well, in that case, welcome to Holston's village!"

"Holston's?" The village was called Colston's, maybe he got mixed up.

"Yes. The locals call the village Holston's as a joke since so many staff live in the village now. But we don't mind the extra people as we actually have proper medical staff now". He turned around and gestured towards the cosy flowered looking inn that he came from. "This is my place. Kept in the family for generations. If you want to get to know people, pop in sometime and I'll introduce you to everyone and to my sons - I'm definitely not trying to set you up with them though", He winked at me.

"Well, I won't hold you any longer, my missus is going to beat me up for taking so long. Come around and see her, we only have one daughter and she's off the rails so Jada needs the company"

I laughed, "Don't worry, I'll pop down as soon as I settle in. Tell Jada I said Hi, okay?"

"Okay". With that he patted my car as if it was a horse, waved and strolled back towards the inn, his big frame barely fitting through the door.

-

I had just pulled up in front of my house and it looked even better in real life. It was a bungalow style cottage with an open porch and white shuttered windows. The cottage was surrounded by greenery, vegetation and a well-kept lawn. The cottage was quite big, for a person and a cat, but my parents didn't need to know that.

It was beautiful and most importantly, it felt like home and I couldn't contain my excitement. As soon as I parked the car, I almost sprinted to the huge oak door along the pebbled path with my keys in my hand and I stopped in shock. This was the most complex system I had ever seen in my life. There, was a fingerprint scanner, 4 digit keypad and double locks. What. The. Flip. I knew I shouldn't have trusted my dad. On closer observation, I noticed CCTV cameras perched inconspicuously around the property. No way am I letting my family spy on me. So much for freedom and independence. I was going to figure out a way to remove their access.

A while later I managed to open my door and instantly received a notification on my phone. Opening it, it was a message from my dad.

"Nice to see you've arrived in one piece!" and underneath that was 2 pictures. One close up of me staring at the door and another of me looking for the CCTV with my hands on my hips.

A new message pops up

"lol"

If I was mad before, I was fuming now.

I responded with an angry face emoji and switched my phone off. I needed to unpack. I could deal with dad later.

-

I had barely gotten started and I was already exhausted. I was low-key wishing that I took up my parent's advice with a moving company.

I dragged my feet, dropping the box I was holding in front of my house door and started the 5-minute journey back to the car. Suddenly I realised there was a figure standing next to my car. Who the flip was that. A tall man was leaning into my car through the passenger window with his hands in my car. I slowly crept up behind him.

"What are you doing?"

He yelled and jumped up in shock

"Shit I'm so sorry. I probably look creepy don't I?"

"Yeah, a little bit". He was tall and muscular looking but I could probably take him down with a well-placed kick.

"Give me a sec to explain. My name is Karl and I'm your neighbour by the way - the house on the left." He grinned at me, deep dimples on display and his blue familiar looking eyes sparkled with excitement. "I was just playing with your cat. She's pretty cute - a Calico, right? - what's her name?"

I stared at him, good looks weren't enough to fool me into being comfortable with Karl, but cat knowledge sure as hell was.

"Yeah, my name is Arya by the way. Just moved in for my job at Holston's. The demon is called KK".

I shook his outstretched firm hand and tried not to blush under his scrutiny.

"I'm assuming you have met my dad, the guy who owns the inn?"

"Yeah, I have. He cornered me the moment I drove into the village. I thought your eyes looked familiar".

"That sounds exactly like him. Unfortunately, your arrival means I owe some money. My brother - Luka -, Dad and I made a bet on who the next person to come to the village would be. I thought it would be the delivery truck person and they both bet that it would be a Holston's staff. What job do you have at Holston's?"

"Oh, I'm a Clinical Psychologist, fresh from the university"

"Wow, you look younger?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, generally healthcare-related courses aren't short, so you must be in your mid-twenties or so, but you look like your 18".

"Please, there's no need to flatter me. And yes, I'm 25, you're spot on".

He winked at me. "I generally am, now guess how old I am"

I looked over him. He was definitely young and definitely had youthful handsome looks. His light brown hair was ruffled and swept to the side. He must be around the same age as me. "Hmmm, I think you're 26?"

He laughed, "No, I'm 25. The same as you. Seems like fate".

"No, more like a coincidence. Since you're here, want to help me take all this into the house?" I looked at him with hopeful eyes.

"Urgh, don't be cute. Now I have to help you".

"Good, I need a break. Just carry everything to the front door and I'll deal with it from there".

"Fine, fine but on the condition that after we are done with this, you let me take you around town and introduce you to everyone".

"Your dad already has the honour of introducing me to everyone, but you can show me around and we can get lunch. Deal?"

"Deal".

Throwing me a smirk, he picked up some boxes and walked off to my house.

My phone immediately went crazy in my pocket and without checking it, I knew it would be my dad. I knew he would be watching so I made Karl help me out. I should also 'accidentally fall' when I'm next to Karl so that he could catch me. I stuck my tongue out the camera that was facing me. Revenge was sweet.