My House is NOT Haunted

I couldn’t help myself. I burst into tears. Jason’s grip on me tightened, and I buried my head in his chest. He stroked my hair while I cried.

After a minute or so, he led me over to my bed, and I sunk down onto it, still clutching to him. I felt my hair getting wet; he was crying, too.

I thought about my sister. Why would anyone do that to her? Why would anyone do that to Amber? It didn’t make any sense. She was gone, and I might not ever see her again. First Jeff, now Whitney. I couldn’t lose another family member. I didn’t know if I’d be able to stand it.

I heard Jason start singing softly. “I’m so tired of being here…Suppressed by all my childish fears…and if you have to leave, I wish that you would just leave…”

I’ll admit, I let out a small chuckle at that. It’s not that he was a bad singer or anything, it just sounded weird to hear him singing that song.

I looked up at him. Like me, his eyes were puffy from crying. We both stared at each other for a moment, not knowing what to do.

Suddenly, his lips were on mine.

Jason’s kiss was so much gentler than Brandon’s, but it sent the wave of sparks throughout my body. He must have felt something along those lines, because he pulled back, with a confused look on his face.

“That was weird,” he said softly.

I laughed again. “No kidding.”

He leaned toward me to kiss me again, but I pulled back and put a finger to his lips. “Jason. We need to find her.”
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Whitney’s P.O.V

I was freaking pissed.

I was going to meet my friend Annabel at Starbucks before school, but when I got there, she was gone. I went outside, and around the building to look for her.

Before I knew what was happening, someone hit me over the head, and I went unconscious.

I woke up in a strange warehouse thing. There were about five or six men standing around me, talking to each other. I tried to move, but my hands were tied up, as were my feet.

“Hey!” I shouted. Big mistake. One of the men turned to me, glaring. He looked about 40.

“Shut up,” he snapped. He turned toward one of the other men and gestured to me. The other guy came up to me, brandishing a knife. Before I had a chance to say anything, his arm was around my neck, the blade at my throat. Now would be a good time to follow directions.

The first man smiled wickedly. “Good girl. Now, you listen to me. You’re really in no position to interrupt. Remember that.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, but stayed quiet.

The man walked over to me. By now, the man with the knife had pulled me into a standing position, and the other men stared at me blankly. When the man was in front of me, he reached up and held my jaw between his thumb and index finger. Not wanting to be murdered, I didn’t flinch at his touch, like my brain was telling me to. He tilted my head to the side, almost like he was examining a piece of jewelry, or something.

The man’s smirk returned. “Bring her into my office, Jack.”

Apparently Jack was the man with the knife. He didn’t look like a Jack. He led me into a room at the other end of the warehouse. As we walked, I took in my surroundings. Surprisingly, the walls were lined with blinking machines and steel rails. I wondered what they were for.

Jack led me into a room, apparently the other man’s office. He plopped me down into a chair, and walked away to stand guard at the door. I scoffed mentally. Yeah, I could do so much damage with my hands and feet tied together.

The other man was sitting behind a big desk facing me. His hands were folded in front of him, and he was staring at me intently. Now, if I hadn’t known a big man with a knife was standing just a few feet from me, I probably would’ve made some biting remark, but I kept silent in the interest of staying alive.

After a minute of silence, the man spoke. “You know, most girls would have said something by now.”

In spite of myself, I smiled at that.

He smirked. “Aha! At least that’s a reaction. Well, we know you can keep quiet. I suppose we can use you for something other than your original purpose…”

I desperately wanted to ask what he was talking about, but I still stayed quiet.

“You can speak, you know. As long as you don’t threaten anyone here, you won’t be in danger.”

I nodded. Choosing my words carefully, I asked, “What do you need me for?”

The man got up, and walked around his desk so that he was standing in front of me. He leaned against the desk and crossed his arms over his chest. “Ok, girlie. The way I see it, you’ve got three options. One: we kill you. Two: You become our own personal sex slave. My men haven’t had much action for a while. Three: You become an agent. Choose wisely.”

I didn’t have to think much about that. “I pick agent.”

The man brightened. “Good. Well, I haven’t officially introduced myself. I am Mitch Parkinson. You are strictly to refer to me as ‘Mitch’ or ‘Boss’. Your agent training will begin tomorrow; I suggest you get a good night’s sleep. You will bunk with our youngest agent, Taylor. Jack, summon Taylor, please.”

Jack nodded stiffly, and left the room. Mitch leaned toward me. “Taylor is a little cocky, if you know what I mean. I’m confident you’ll put him in his place. What is your name, again?”

“Whitney Queen,” I responded automatically.

Jack returned then with a boy, about eighteen or nineteen, behind him. Mitch said, “Taylor, meet your new roommate, Whitney. She is our newest agent-in-training. No fooling around, please.”

I snickered, and the boy narrowed his eyes at me. Mitch either didn’t hear me, or ignored that. “You will be brought clothing appropriate for training. Taylor will show you to your room. Jack, unbind her. You are dismissed.”

Mitch left, and Jack pulled out his knife and cut the ropes that had held my hands and feet together. I rubbed my wrists; they were pink and rubbed raw. I turned to Taylor expectantly. Wordlessly, he walked out of the office and into a long hallway next to it that I’d missed before. About halfway down, he stopped in front of a door, and walked in. Inside, there were two twin-size beds, a nightstand, and a door leading off to what I assumed was a bathroom.

Taylor finally acknowledged I was there when I sat on one of the beds. The neat one, assuming the messy one was his. He narrowed his eyes at me again. “Ok, let’s get a couple things straight. One: don’t talk to me unless absolutely necessary. Two: don’t bug me. Three: I’m just saying this now, I’m not interested.”

I rolled my eyes. “Like I’d be interested in you.”

He scoffed. “You’re new here; I’ll let you off easy. Don’t expect it again.”

Just then, an extremely skinny-looking woman came into the room, holding a bag of what I assumed was clothes. She handed them to me, and murmured, “Boss wishes that you change, and dispose of your old clothes. here are your new outfits.”

I took the bag and peered inside. All I could see were short shorts and crop tops. I noticed a belt of some kind, I supposed for gadgets. Typical.

I pulled off my shirt and pulled out a black top. Taylor’s eyes widened, seeing as how I was practically stripping in front of him, but I could care less. I’ve never been shy, around anybody. I pulled off my jeans and pulled out a pair of black shorts. My stomach was exposed, but in a warehouse full of guys, what else did I expect. I handed the woman my old clothes, and she took them. Curtseying, she left quickly, leaving the bag of clothes with me.

Taylor was still staring at me when I glanced at him. I wasn’t sure, but I could have sworn he was blushing.