A couple of hours in, we are almost done organizing and cleaning around the house, with little unpacking left to do and a dinner to prepare.

"I believe we are all set down here," I tell Ruth from the bottom of the stairs as she made her way down.
"We only have dinner left to prepare."

Ruth stopped midway at the stairs and checked her phone for the time before looking back at me. "We still have to unpack, however, we can't push dinner late and I still didn't shop for  groceries." She stated.

For a moment I considered ordering food instead of cooking but I remember we are no longer in New York and they probably don't do deliveries outside town. I was going to suggest maybe I can do the unpacking while she make a trip back to town when Billy; who stayed to help us clean around and Through the little time we spent together I have learned a couple of things about, jumped into the conversation.

"I can go and pick anything you need, you can make me a list and I'll get 'em for you." He offered. I turned to him with a smile.

"There, this will save us a lot of time!" I said.

"Well, I suppose...." Ruth considered.
"Very well, let me go write them down for you." She said and made her way back upstairs.

As we waited for Ruth, I walked into the spacious kitchen and took a look around for a second but the bright lights coming from the neighboring house caught my attention. I made my way to the sliding doors and stared outside into the darkness, taking in the neighbor's property.
Unlike us, their estate looked alive. Surly, ours were well taken care of but not like our neighbor's, it looked well taken care of and very lively, which was a sign that people lived there, it was almost all lit, unlike ours which only had a couple of lights on.

"Billy," I crossed my arms and called for him as I kept gazing at our neighbor's lit house. "Can you come here for a minute?"

"Yes?" Billy answered as he walked in.
"The neighbors..." I glanced at him before looking back out.

"The Callans? What about them?"

"Hm, nothing I was just wondering....how long have they been around?" I asked.

"Oh they own that land, they've been there for a long time...as long as Mr.Beckett's own family has been around." He answered.

I hummed in response, then this confirms it. They must be the same neighbors my father grew around.
"So...do you know if a John still lives there?" I turned to look at him.

"John? You mean Mr. John Callan? Yeah, he lives there with his wife and son. His mother Mrs. Eleanor Callan lives there as well." He responded.

I nod and look back outside.
"so you're familiar with them? Did you meet them before?"

He laughed a bit and gave me a little grin. "Well it is a small town, everyone knows everyone around here and they're good-nice people!"

"Really? How so?"

"Well, I work with them sometimes, help around their land and stuff, I mostly work with Jamie." He explained,

"Jamie?" I tilt my head.

"James Callan, he's the son of Mr. and Mrs. Callan, he helps around here sometimes too, with the land work and everything."

"Huh, interesting." I nod and turn back to him.
"By the way, you said your father isn't around? I thought he's the one my father hired?" I ask him, and this seemed to startle him a bit.

"Uhh yeah, he does work here it's just..." he glanced down for a minute before looking back at me. "He's been working on this land for years now, and he's gotten old...I started working here instead of Him— I'm so sorry if it's any problem! I promise you I'll—-"

"Hey hey, it's good!" I smiled and patted his shoulder. "It's all Good, don't worry about it. As long as the land is taken care of we are good. Besides...I won't be here long."

This is where our little conversation came to an end after Ruth came walking in with a long list of the things we'd need around here, and the funny thing is that we both know she will be going herself the first chance she gets to go shop for more "necessities" since she only trusts her own shopping.

A short while later, Billy was gone with the list, Ruth went back upstairs to do more organizing and unpack, and I'm left alone on the first floor. Since I didn't have anything to do, and I couldn't bother to unpack my own stuff because Ruth is probably gonna redo everything I do, I decided to go on a little stroll around the house.

I pushed one of the sliding doors inside the kitchen and walked outside, I took a quick look behind the house and decided it was better to explore that area in the morning since the darkness of the night didn't look too welcoming, and I wasn't going to explore a far away old shed in the middle of the night, that can wait till the morning for sure.

"Well then, guess there's nothing much to do now....oh well." I shrugged and a sigh escaped my lips. I was moments ago from walking back inside when, from the corner of my eyes I spotted something moving, and it was enough to have me jump in my place. I was ready to scream and bolt out of there when the dots in my head connected and I realized what I was looking at.

"W-what the-.....oh my god." my eyes widened as my mouth fell wide open.
Standing a couple of feet away from me is the cutest little creature I've ever seen, a cat.
"Cat? Oh my god, it's a cat!" I bounced with a laugh. It was a cat, a nice little...well it was a big one, a big fluffy cat. I couldn't tell its color or see it clearly, and I for sure can't tell its breed.

"Oh my—RUTH! RUTH THERE IS A CAT OUTSIDE!" I started shouting as I bounced in my place, which apparently was a mistake because the moment I started shouting, the cat turned away and started running into the grass, I scared it away.

"RUTH! YOU NEED TO— oh no! Oh, no wait! Come back!!" The smile on my face dropped and I immediately regretted opening my mouth, maybe I should've gone to grab my phone for a picture instead.

From outside, I can hear Ruth shouting back but I couldn't tell what she was saying, and her voice only started fading as I got further away because I decided rather than going back inside; maybe I can get to befriend this cat instead, if only I can catch it first.
"Here kitty, kitty cat!! Come back here!"
I tried calling after the cat as I chased it through the grass and away from the house.

This is fun, I tell myself.
Who gets to chase a wild- is it a wild cat? I have no idea, but when will I get a second chance to chase a cat through a dark grass field, in the middle of the night, somewhere in a town in Tennessee? I felt like a kid, and in my defense, I didn't get to have any pets growing up.

"Oh don't you want to be FRIENDS! I can buy you treats!! Hahah!" I laughed as I raced after the furry thing, and I can feel my legs starting to give up. However, what I failed to feel is that I was no longer on my own property. since my eyes were focused on the cat, I failed to see that I was now on my neighbor's land until it was too late, and I probably wouldn't have noticed if the cat didn't slip through a small opening in what looked like a barn.

"Oh- Ah NO! Oh no...I was so close...aw."
that was a lie.
I was nowhere near catching that cat but it was worth a try. As it finally hit me, I stopped running to catch my breath and looked around me to see that I was not only far away from the house but on someone else's property, my neighbor's.

"Ahh...damn it.." I took a deep breath and turned back, ready to head back and god help me because I don't think I have enough energy, I guess it wasn't as fun now that I'm out of breath.

As I started walking back, something I never thought I would experience happened...
I got fucking shot.