"Naw!" Melissa said in the back. She pouted and looked between the two.
Lola rolled her eyes and pressed Melissa back into her seat, all the while laughing at her best friend's hopelessly romantic side shining through.
"Hey, Jax," Melissa said. "Do you have a friend you can fix me up with?" She placed her chin on the top of his seat.
Jax laughed and shook his head.
"None that I would feel good fixing you up with," he said and looked at her through the rearview mirror.
Melissa shrugged her shoulders and fell back in the seat. Jax had no human friends and Melissa didn't need a werewolf boyfriend to complicate things further.
"Where are we going exactly?" Lola asked, looking at the streets they passed.
"Ash and I managed to find a living relative to the book's author. We're going to visit her." Jax clenched his jaw, his eyes narrowed on the road, and darkness engulfed them.
"I just don't know what to expect. Whoever wrote the book has a connection to the Doe. Her relative may know the answer to our questions, or it's a dead end where the truth died with the author."
Lola and Melissa shared a worried gaze.
"We'll find out soon," Lola said and squeezed Jax's hand.
She gave him a comforting smile, and they knew they were in this together at that moment. Jax promised her an adventure, and they were getting one.
* * *
The car drove up to a small town, not unlike their own. Maybe slightly larger with more houses, but Lola thought it was darling. Jax followed the GPS up on the road past the suburban houses and stopped the car in front of a bright pink house.
"This is it?" Melissa asked in surprise.
They looked at the two-story house with a smaller tower-looking portion that had a metal rooster on top. The front garden was full of flowers in all different colors and much better maintained than the other gardens. Whoever lived in this pink house surely liked nature.
Jax turned off the car. They stepped out carefully, eyeing the house and all the windows. The white color around the window panels was worn, and the stairs up to the front door were a darker shade of pink than the rest of the house. The door frame was painted green, and the mailbox was sky blue.
"Yeah, I'm not sure about this," Melissa said warily.
"Then maybe you should stay in the car," Lola said, sincerely concerned and not wanting to drag Melissa into anything dangerous.
"Not gonna happen." Melissa winked and walked up the short path.
She waited by the door and turned around. Lola and Jax stood by the mailbox and read the name on the plaque.
Elwina St. Cloud.
Melissa raised her arms and wondered what took them so long.
"Guys, come on!" she whisper-shouted and waved them over.
Lola whined as they started walking down the fixed path. It seemed like the pavement under their feet was the only normal thing about this house they had willingly decided to visit. Jax and Lola reached the bottom of the three steps when they stopped. The whistling sound of windchimes started playing, and Melissa froze as someone opened the door behind her. A shadow cast on the ground, covering Melissa and leaving Jax and Lola in utter confusion.
She turned around to face the home's owner. Although ready for the worst, Melissa was not prepared for what she saw. The woman in front of her had a big clump of red curly hair. Her long purple sweater covered her knees, and her jewelry looked tacky with giant rings and pearls.
Melissa fell back one step in fear.
"Hi," she squealed.
Jax went around the girls and walked up to the woman. Her piercing blue eyes looked anything but dangerous, and her soft pink lips turned up in a smile. She was thin, thinner than one might deem healthy, and the bones in her face were prominent. She had freckles and a slightly larger nose, but her face was truly beautiful.
"Hello. I hope your travels were good," she said in a squeaky voice.
"They were. I'm-"
She grabbed his hand and shook it with a smile. "Jax Blackwood, I know. I've been expecting you," she said and stepped aside. "Please, come in."
The girls stood still for a moment. Lola suddenly remembered the children's story of two kids in the forest who stumbled upon a witch's house. She probably seemed nice too.
Jax waited for the girls, and they walked in together. Just before they crossed the threshold, the woman grabbed hold of Lola's arm.
She gazed deeply into Lola's eyes with a hold that grew tighter with each passing second.
"Please, come," the woman finally said and let Lola go. They walked into the house, and immediately, their heads turned in circles to see everything there.
The walls had hundreds of pictures hung up to the ceiling and dream catchers in different shapes and colors that mimicked the rainbow. In the center of the ceiling was a carved-out piece of metal that had been painted- it resembled the moon.
"You made all this?" Lola asked in an exhale.
They all felt the house's warmth and calmness the second they walked in. There were no carpets. The wooden floors looked old and made sounds, but it was part of the house's charm.
A big three-seat couch was pressed against the wall, facing nothing. There was no TV. Instead, opposite the couch, was a piano. A guitar stood in the corner, and a velvet throw hung over a rocking chair.
"The house has been passed down for generations. We have all put our personal touch into it," she said and giggled.
Lola watched Elwina, and it seemed that she enjoyed having people admire her home. Many must've driven past with the same judgment they also had when they first drove up.
"It's amazing," Lola said and smiled.
The woman nodded, and her shoulders pulled up.
"Please sit. Can I bring out anything?" Elwina asked, and her eyes lit up.
"No, we're good. We just wanted to have a word with you if you don't mind," Jax said.
Elwina nodded and walked over to the couch. She took a seat on a padded cushion on the floor.
They all sat down one after the other, and the couch was big, so they didn't have to push together.
Elwina watched them with glittering eyes and a strange fascination.
"You two make a lovely couple," she said and pointed between Melissa and Jax.
"Oh no, we're not... He's with Lola. I'm her best friend," Melissa explained, her cheeks flushed under the moment's awkwardness.
"Huh," Elwina said and furrowed her brows, but her smile never faltered.