Inside, Pt. 1 Read online

  I crept to the stairs.

  “Lily…”

  While being cold and terrifying, the voice was also alluring and seductive. I looked into the dark shadows at the top of the staircase, searching for any signs of my parents…or the owner of the mysterious voice.

  “Mom? Dad?”

  I walked up the stairs.

  His eyes were still on me…following me…

  “Little Lily…” the voice whispered. It was closer now, getting closer as I climbed the stairs. I could almost feel his breath on my neck, whispering the endearing name.

  I turned at the top of the stairs, starting toward my parents’ bedroom. I couldn’t help but glance at the pictures and family portraits on the wall. There were pictures from many generations of my family, breaking the boring tan color of the paint in our house. In the center of the pictures was one that my father had always been very fond of. It was a picture of him and his father when he was a young boy, fishing for the first time, holding his prized trout. My grandmother had taken the picture but when she had it developed she ended up squeezing it into the only frame she had at the time.

  My father teased about how she trimmed the picture down, slicing off one of my father’s ears, the tail of the trout, and the top of my grandfather’s head.

  But it was still one his favorite family photos.

  “Look, Lily…”

  The picture looked different.

  This time, it was the entire picture and there was a third person next to my father.

  “Lily.”

  “Lily! Look!”

  I snapped awake, my heart pounding. I was still sitting in the living room with my parents. My startled jump disturbed Dexter and he hissed, jumping from my lap and slinking off. I turned my attention to what was causing my parents to make a fuss.

  “The new Official Regulator for the Western Region is Thomas Sandover. The incumbent Official Regulator for the North-Midwest Region…” the reporter named off who had won methodically.

  “I’m so proud of you!” my mother beamed, kissing my father passionately. I felt my stomach turn and my spirit fall. If my dream was any indication, I was already lost in the dark shadow my father’s victory had cast over my life.

  Chapter Two

  It was the last day of school and the last day in my hometown. I was on the verge of tears the entire day. My close friends were in tears as we said our goodbyes. We hugged and tried to stay together as long as possible outside my house before they went home to prepare for the school trip to Europe.

  I kept asking my friends if one of their families would adopt me—they didn’t realize it was a legitimate question.

  We hugged once again before they departed. I felt a part of me leave with them.

  I walked into my house, barely recognizing it with the furniture missing. The moving men would get the beds and dining table the following morning for the final load to our house in Central.

  Everything I had ever known had been ripped away, taken with each packed box. I wanted to be excited and happy for my father, but the reality of our move hurt too much to ignore.

  Dex became agitated as the furniture was moved and clung to me the moment I walked into the house, desperate for reassurance.

  My mother poked her head out of the kitchen.

  “Good talk with the girls?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Don’t worry, you’ll still be in touch with them.”

  I couldn’t answer.

  “Dinner is just about ready. Can you help me?”

  I helped setting aside the glasses and plates for that night before pulling the rest of the dishes out of the cabinets to be packed.

  My father came downstairs and helped, trying to cheer me up by explaining that things were going to be great in Central. He said that I would be exposed to different kinds of people and I would grow even more as a young lady. I nodded, unable to force a smile, and told him “I know” quietly.

  As we ate dinner, my mother took my father’s hand.

  “This is so wonderful, Tom,” she said with a grin.

  “It’s not like we haven’t been to Central before,” I said slowly, thinking of the various trips we had taken to middle of the country for one reason or another.

  “I know,” my mom said. “But this is different. We’ll be a part of the people. We are going to be part of something so big…” She ran out of words, letting out a breath and smiling, giddy. “It’s going to be wonderful.”

  “I hope so,” my father said. “And Lily, I know you’ll enjoy it once we get settled.”

  I could only nod, not nearly as confident.

  I continued looking at the blank walls of my room late into the night, Dex curled beside me. I felt the tears overwhelm me like a wave and I cried heavily into my pillow.

  I was upset and saddened, but I was afraid most of all. I couldn’t understand my fear, but I felt that as soon as I was there, there would be no way for me to not be a politician. Once I was in the capital, it would be unavoidable.

  That terrified me.

  * *** *

  It was a three-day drive to Central. My parents had chosen a house they loved from a virtual tour. Most of our furniture was already there, along with several boxes. My mother was extremely excited. She was sure that everything would be a perfect dream in Central.

  Dex and I were quiet in the backseat as we drove across the land to our new life.

  I would start at a new school when the next semester began in three weeks—since the school in Central was on an intensive-track program—so I had less time than I hoped to settle in the new house and get to know the layout of the city.

  I had to admit, though, after three days in the car with my parents, I was very grateful to be in Central.

  The city was alive with activity and intense energy. The last time I had been in the capital, I had been fourteen. Central seemed so different from my memories. When I was fourteen, the city was steeped in history, filled with old museums and statues of the heroes of the Second Revolution. Looking around as we drove, I realized that it was far newer and electric with activity.

  “Is it like you remember, Lily?” my dad asked.

  “Not really…”

  “Let’s get to the house and then we can go out for dinner!” my mother said. “We’ll celebrate being here and your impressive achievement!”

  “Alright, stop,” my father chuckled, taking her hand. “You’re going to give me a big ego.”

  Our new neighborhood was so clean and spacious I could not help but stare. The houses were large and looked like estates. There were children running on front lawns and playing with pets as parents watched or watered flowerbeds. The neighborhood seemed so perfect it was creepy.

  “This is beautiful!” my mother gasped.

  We slowed as we turned on the street of our new house.

  “Here it is!” my mother gasped, pointing out her window. “Thirteen, forty-three. Right here! Right here!”

  “Yep, that’s it,” my father affirmed.

  I stared at the house, holding Dexter in my arms as I climbed out of the car. The house was huge. It stood proudly, surrounded by its perfect front lawn, garden, and fence, trees shading the area with big green leaves that contrasted the white stucco and clay-red tiled roof.

  “Come on,” my mom breathed, hurrying to the door and urging my father to follow with the keys.

  When my father opened the door, we saw that boxes we had shipped to the house were already stacked in the living room. The house smelled new. The drapes were open, allowing in beams of light that did not reveal a hint of dust in the air.

  “Oh, it’s perfect!” my mother gasped.

  “Take a look around,” my father urged. “You didn’t get to see the virtual tour.”

  I stepped out of the foyer. A large, sweeping staircase was in front of me leading to the second floor. To my right was the dining area, which had enough room to fit the immense table that my parents had to entertain colleag
ues. On the left was the living room, which had bay windows looking over the front lawn and a glass door leading to the biggest backyard I had ever seen in a city. The living room extended to another patio door that led to the huge hot tub set into the ground outside.

  The kitchen could be accessed by the living room or dining room and had a connected breakfast nook. The kitchen was fully equipped with state-of-the art appliances and thick, granite counter tops.

  Through the kitchen was another living area, also with access to the backyard. On the far left side of the second living room was a door that led to the three-car garage and next to the door was a smaller staircase. On the right side of the staircase was yet another door that led to an office.

  Dex looked around curiously but made no moves to leap out of my arms and explore.

  I climbed the stairs through the second living room and came to another door. There was a huge room that appeared to be the master bedroom, with large windows over the driveway, a sitting area by those windows and a large bathroom.

  “Well, if this isn’t the master bedroom, I’ll take it.”

  I followed the hallway at the top of the stairs to another door. It was another bedroom, smaller than the previous, but had big windows over the backyard. Stepping through the door across from the one I had entered, I found a very small hallway, one door directly in front of me and another one in the middle of the wall on my right. The one on my right led to a decent sized bathroom. The further door brought me to another large bedroom at the top of the main staircase. The third bedroom was not as big as the first, but larger than the second.

  I walked up the two stairs to the top of the main staircase. The hallway was dark due to lack of windows, light only coming from the gaping mouth of the main staircase arch. I went to the door on my far left.

  I was sure my jaw dropped to my chest.

  It was the largest bedroom I had ever seen, expanding to the front of the house with large windows looking over both the front and back yard. The two walk-in closets made me realize that it was the master bedroom.

  “I guess the other one is mine, Dex…”

  I walked through the expansive room, marveling at the space.

  “This house is huge,” I hissed. I turned at the end of the room, where an archway brought me into an octagonal room with floor-to-ceiling windows. The room was warm and comfortable and I could feel my body relax.

  The archway across the sun room led to the master bathroom. It had a huge roman bathtub, a large, double-headed shower with glass doors and a double vanity. The front window was sandblasted with a calming beach scene, obstructing the view from both sides.

  “We are going to get lost in this house…”

  I moved back downstairs, taking the main stairs to familiarize myself with the layout. Every room moved easily into another, and another, making the whole house accessible from many different areas, with the exception of the room I had chosen—admittedly, that was probably what I liked about it.

  I found my parents in the small living room by the office. They had been talking about how they were going to arrange everything when they saw me.

  “What do you think?” my mother asked with an expectant smile.

  “This has to be about twice the size of our last house…” I murmured.

  “I know, isn’t it beautiful?”

  “How did we ever manage to get it?” I pressed. “It seems to me like a house this nice should have been sold a long time ago. It doesn’t look like anyone’s ever lived here.”

  “The agent said that it had come on the market the day before we asked about the neighborhood,” my father explained. “Apparently this was an empty lot for a long time and the contractors just finished it last month.” He smiled and hugged me. “It was fate.”

  “Have you chosen your room?” my mom asked.

  “That one,” I pointed to the small staircase.

  “I thought that would be the one you picked,” she said knowingly.

  “Have you two seen the master bedroom?” I blinked. “It’s massive!”

  “No, let’s go look. I sort of remember what it looks like from the tour,” my father nodded. He turned to me. “You can go get your things out of the car and start thinking about how you want to set up your room. The truck should be here soon.”

  I went back to the car, leaning in to grab my bag of sketchbooks and Dexter’s bed. When I maneuvered the items out of the car with the cat still in my arms, I was startled by the bark of a dog behind our car. Dex jumped, his claws digging into my arms as he hissed at the large, black dog.

  “Jake, stop it!” the owner of the dog scolded. I looked at the other end of the leash and saw a woman in workout sweats, yanking the dog back. “So sorry,” she said gently. “He won’t hurt anything. He just wants to play.”

  I nodded, trying to soothe my still-agitated cat. The woman had light blonde hair and wrinkles around the corners of her mouth and eyes.

  “Is your family moving into this house?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Welcome to the neighborhood, and congratulations on your family’s appointment. I’m Susan Vance, your neighbor,” she introduced herself, pointing to the house left of ours. “And, you’ve met Jake,” she gently pat the now-calm dog.

  “Nice to meet you,” I greeted. “I’m Lily Sandover and this is Dexter.”

  “Very nice to meet you, Lily.”

  “How did you know my family had been appointed?” I asked curiously.

  “Because you’re in this neighborhood.” Susan smiled. “This area is specifically for people who have been appointed to Central. And…I’ll let you in on a little secret. Your family must have done something right.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because this area in particular is for people who Leader and the Commission think will go far and do well,” Susan explained with a wink.

  “Leader? And the Commission…you mean the Commission of the People?” When she nodded, I knew my eyes widened even further. “You mean to say that Leader and the Commission decided that my father could go far in Central and that’s why they led us to this neighborhood?”

  “Absolutely.” Susan grinned. “This is where they put the hopefuls.” She looked up at the house, thankfully. She couldn’t see how much the statement had disturbed me. I was already worried about how much politics would become ingrained in my life, now I knew there was no avoiding it. It seemed a little surreal to think that the leader of our country, and the illustrious Commission of the People, had looked over my father’s work and decided he could do well in Central.

  “Such a beautiful house,” Susan breathed, breaking me out of my trance. “Have you looked through it, yet?”

  “Yes. We’re just waiting for the truck with our furniture.”

  “It’s so nice to see someone move in,” she continued. “It’s been sitting empty for so long.”

  “…what do you mean?”

  “No one has lived in that house since they built it three years ago,” Susan explained.

  “Really?” I blinked. “Three years?”

  “Yeah…” Susan looked over the house again. “I didn’t think it was ready yet, because no one was ever seen in the house, but I guess they were just waiting for the next hopeful to show it to.” Susan smiled at me. “Well, I need to take Jake for a walk, but I’ll stop by later tonight to meet your parents.”

  “Okay, they’d love that.”

  “Have a great day and enjoy!” Susan called. “This is the best place to be.”

  She walked away, her dog padding along beside her. I watched her leave and then slowly turned to the house. I didn’t understand why the agent would lie to my father about the age of the house, but it made me more nervous.

  Chapter Three

  My room was unpacked in three days, so I spent the following two days helping my parents unpack the rest of the house. Some neighbors came to meet us and quickly set to helping. The extra help was appreciated, but I could not he
lp feeling uneasy about the smiling neighbors, particularly with what Susan had said about our home. In many ways, it was flattering that so many influential people believed my father could go further in the government. However, that also increased the weight on my shoulders. A world that I wanted no part of was rapidly developing into my entire life.

  Throughout the week neighbors came to greet us, inviting us to dinners and immediately enveloping us into the community as if we had been there for years. I had a chance to meet some kids in the neighborhood, but none were my age. The parents of my future classmates explained that the Third Tier Education students were on an end of term trip and would be back just before the beginning of the next term.

  After the first week, I ventured out to explore Central. I picked up maps for the bus and train routes, blending in with the tourists as I attempted to find my way into downtown.

  I explored the city center, noting restaurants, shops, and cafes I found interesting, trying to remember what bus stop they were near. I stumbled on an enormous bookstore and decided to look for my school books. When I walked in, one of the girls who worked there approached me.

  “May I help you find something?”

  “Um…” I said slowly, feeling awkward, as if I had been asked to answer in a foreign language. “No, I don’t know what classes I’m taking, yet. I’m supposed to get my schedule soon. I just wanted to see where the store was…”

  “Oh, that’s okay,” she smiled. “The school sends your required books here and pays for them. All you need to do is pick them up.”

  “…the school pays for the books?” I blinked.

  “They do,” she affirmed. “Follow me.” I walked to the customer service desk with her, stunned that the school in Central would pay for the books of all the students.

  “What’s your name?” she asked, typing into her computer.

  “Lily Sandover.”

  As she typed, a girl my age stepped up beside me. She had straight brown hair and dark brown eyes and was wearing a black tank top that left a sliver of her abdomen exposed above her dark green cargo pants. She was built with lean muscles and, while she looked tough, she had an air of warmth around her.