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I grabbed the hand holding me and twisted it over firmly whilst kicking the legs out from under my assailant. He fell to the floor with a muffled sound. I switched on my phone torch and peered at his face cautiously. The man on the floor looked like Karl - but an older and taller version.

"Wait, don't beat me up yet", he exclaimed holding his hands up to surrender. I watched him stand up quickly and dust the non-existent dirt off his jeans.

"Nice moves by the way, did you do Muay Thai?" He said appreciably.

I nodded, not many people could tell what martial art you knew from your moves so that was straight-up impressive.

"I'm Karl's brother- ".

"Luka?" I interrupted.

"Yes", he grinned. "Sorry about that by the way. I was trying to talk to you secretly. You're Arya right? My brother doesn't shut up about you".

"Yeah I am Arya, but come one, anyone would get freaked out by someone pulling them into an alley".

"Yeah", he winced. "I am sorry about that. I didn't think it through".

I nodded silently and scanned him head to toe. He was a carbon copy of Karl but better somehow - more muscular and mature. He seemed to be listening out for something. 

"Quick", he hissed. "Switch your torch off, someone is coming".

I switched it off and pulled myself flat against the wall. The people drew closer and I waited with bated breath until they entered the inn and the door slammed shut behind them.

"So, what did you pull me here for?" I whispered to Luka.

"I heard you asked about Caleb, that's the family that moved out four years back. Everyone in the village hates that family".

"Why, what did they do?"

"Everyone here idolises Holston's as it bought so much business as well as medical professionals. No one actually knows why but one day Mrs Laron - Caleb's mum - started saying bad things about Holston's and everyone started to get defensive and a spokesperson from Holston's said if the villagers were having problems with the institution, Holston's would relocate. But the village is heavily dependent on Holston's now so they shunned the Laron family instead and the whole family eventually moved out".

"Wow, that's messed up", I breathed out. "And that's why your dad acted funny when I bought up that name. Why are you telling me this? Don't get me wrong, I appreciate it but why don't you hate them as everyone else does?"

"When I was younger, I used to some babysitting and I looked after Caleb for quite a long time. They were a normal family, nothing crazy. When I heard something happened to Caleb, I tried to go see him - they used to live in your house - and there were people from Holston's watching over the house. They asked me why I came to visit and I said it was to get some stuff that I left in the house so they let me through. I quickly checked up on Caleb and he was messed up. He couldn't stop crying and was shaking like a leaf. I can never forget how he looked that day".

I stood there silently, absorbing all that information. Things were starting to make sense but at the same time, it was getting more confusing. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that they used to live in my house.

"I always did wonder what happened to him", Luka said quietly.

"Wait let me show you this", I quickly pulled out my phone and showed the post I saw from before. After he finished reading it, he swore quietly and leaned back against the wall in frustration.

"I always knew there was something dodgy going on in Holston's. The people there are just weird", he shuddered. He saw my facial expression and laughed. "No offence by the way".

"None took", I laughed. "It is true though. There is so much weird stuff happening right now and I don't know how to deal with it".

"What kind of things?"

"I can't say, I signed a contract and a confidentiality agreement", I said as I rolled my eyes. "Do you know any way I can contact the Laron family?"

He scratched the back of his head, deep in thought.

"Not really, I mean you can try seeing if any of them has social media and track them down like that?"

"Good idea, I'll do that when I get home".

Silence fell upon us and I stood there unsure of what to say next.

"Hey, can I get your number?" He asked suddenly.

I took a step back. "I mean, well-"

"Oh no, I'm not hitting on you, my brother likes you for God's sake. I think you're a cool person".

"In that case, why not?" I responded relieved. Honestly, I didn't want to come in between family and cause problems so at least he had good intentions. I recited my number to him and he saved me on his phone. For the contact photo, he quickly took a picture of my face with the flash on and the sudden light temporarily blinded me.

"Sorry, I need a face for every number, else I'll forget who's who", he said grinning.

"You could have given me a little warning though, a girl needs time to prepare", I joked.

He smiled. "It wouldn't be a funny picture if you looked all glamorous and made up. I think it's nicer seeing people naturally".

"I actually agree with you on that", I said surprised.

"Can I ask you a question, it's a little personal".

"Yes, why not. Don't expect an answer though".

"Do you actually like Karl?" He asked curiously. "If I'm going to be honest, I don't know what you see in him".

"I- I don't actually know", I stuttered. I mean, Karl was cute and fun to be around but did I actually like like him or was he just the first guy I met here.

Luka slapped me lightly on the back, breaking my train of thought. "Well, I got to get going because I said I was going for a toilet break and Dad's going to tell everyone that I'm doing a large shit or something. Nice to meet you, Arya. If you need anything or want to hang out, give me a call".

He waved at me one last time and jogged back into the inn via the side door. Not wanting to wait around, I quietly made my way to my car and headed straight home feeling quite satisfied. It felt nice to have someone like Luka around. He seemed like a fun person to be around or just to hang with.

As soon as I got home, I fed KK, changed and headed for my laptop with my notebook in hand. I scribbled down all the things I learned today and then it hit me, I didn't ask Luka their names. Pulling out my phone I sent a quick text to Luka and waited for his response.

Missing me already? - (L)

Yes, I am, now tell me their names, please. - (A)

Yes, boss. I can't remember the mum's name but the dad's name is Jeff. Like the meme. Do you know that meme where the guy is like 'my names Jeff'? - (L)

Of course, I do lol. I'm going to do see if I can find out anything about them. - (A)

Let me know if you find anything interesting ;) - (L)

I placed my phone to the side and opened my laptop. I tried searching up for 'Caleb Laron' first but nothing useful came up. Then I tried 'Jeff Laron' and I got a few hits. I wasn't sure which one was the right 'Jeff Laron' was the right one though so I decided to ask Luka again.

Hey, what does Jeff Laron look like? - (A)

Tall, tanned and black hair. Had a bit of beard and a lot of smile wrinkles. I think he used to work as a programmer. - (L)

Thanks :) - (A)

At least I had something now. I looked at the Google images for that name and found two potential people. Searching about the first one, I knew it wasn't him as he didn't have a wife or a kid but the second was a success. Looking at his LinkedIn profile, I saw he works at some fancy company in London now, but one of his jobs had been setting up some advanced networking system Colston's. This had to be him. I sent him a message pretending I needed his services and asked for his contact details.

(Authors note: For people who don't know, LinkedIn is a type of social media but for jobs. So you show what qualifications you got, where you worked/are working and people can contact you etc.)

Moving away from my laptop, I fell back on to the sofa softly. My head was swarming with all the ideas running in circles inside my brain. I didn't know what I had got myself into but I was too late to get out of it. And a small, small part of me wished that if something bad was happening behind the closed doors of Holston's, then Malik wouldn't be a part of it. I was knees deep in this mystery and the worst part of it all was that I was still expected to go to work as usual and try to act normal no matter what I found out.

It was past twelve and I had to get up early but I just couldn't drift off. I sat up straight and sighed. I was still on the sofa for God's sake and I hadn't even realised. I was definitely losing it. I headed upstairs and saw KK curled up in my bed. She rose her head as I came in and watched me while I settled in bed too, then climbed up on my chest, curled up and went back to sleep.

I laughed quietly to myself. At least I wasn't alone in this big house- and then it hit me that I forgot something important. This used to be their house. There would be nothing of theirs left as the house was renovated but the forest was right behind my house. It both, scared and intrigued me that the forest was right there. If KK wasn't on top of me, I would have had a look outside. But I couldn't go by myself. Not after what happened to Caleb. I could ask Luka maybe. I didn't know what Karl thought about what happened and I didn't want to risk him becoming suspicious of me.

Finally, I had actually made some discoveries and with it, I should be able to dig through the thick shroud of mystery that surrounds Holstons.

Hello.

I updated early due to pestering of my sister. She bribed me. Having sisters sucks.

What do you think about Luka?

How do you feel about all the weird stuff that's going on?

Don't worry, Malik is making a comeback in the next chapter, I just need to build the plot.

Random Question:

Who is your favourite fictional person?

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