It's All Downhill From Here

By Reemerarius .

Photini HoneyRing, a new up-and-coming singer/songwriter moves into a gated community nestled up the side of a hill. She's hoping for a fresh start on life within this quirky, new residence. As she settles in, however, the neighborhood becomes unsettling. The neighbors grow hostile and reclusive, leaving the community as little as possible, complaining when they have to, and not leaving Photini alone about how she won't even sit down to have a soda with them. With the few sane people she's met, Photini starts planning to move out of this place as soon as possible if the other residents let them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Reemerarius .
• Release date: Mar 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463489635

Reemerarius .

I wanted to get away from the every day 9-5 and finally start following one of my dreams. I wish I had started sooner. It took an unexpected bout of back pain and leaving my old job to finally do this. I've been writing on and off for years and have decided to chase after this wholeheartedly.

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It's All Down Hill From Here

Copyright 2020 Reemerarius

Published by Reemerarius at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Content

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Connect with Reemerarius

Chapter 1

The morning air was thick with winter. The sound of the heavy metal entrance gate rang behind her as the taxi driver brought her through. The street wounded its way up the hill standing fiercely before them. The driver slowed down, checking each mailbox for the right address, before finally coming to a complete stop. She sat with her nerves piled on her lap, Photini had never been this far out into the world on her own until now. The driver grunted something she didn't quite catch as she opened the taxi door. As he removed her luggage, Photini gathered up her wits and bravery, catching a glance of herself in the window. She saw how her hair survived the trip as a black, curly mass separated into two buns, the worry her indigo eyes carried and how sleeplessness ravaged her tan, freckled skin. She gave a heavy sigh and exited the vehicle.

The driver, whose name had escaped her, rolled her suitcases up onto the sidewalk. She looked back inside to see the fee display. She fumbled a bit, counted out her change, and paid the man. Without so much of a goodbye, he got back in his taxi, u-turned in the street, and disappeared back out into the world beyond the heavy metal entrance gate. Photini brought her gaze back to her new home.

To Photini's dismay, its walls were completely touching the neighbors' walls. Her poor home appeared to be squeezed into place. Photini noticed it was the same for all the other homes down the road. The whole street made her feel like she was about to be caught in a trap, as though the houses were closing in to keep her there. To make her feel even more uncomfortable, the gated community, as a whole, seemed unreal.

The grass was an uncanny green, so rich it looked like it might glow in the dark. The yards were decorated at random with unruly bushes, birdhouses, fountains, and an assortment of art pieces. Plastic flamingos and ceramic statues of wild animals lined walkways, lights of all different colors and shapes framed the sides of driveways, and with every home so close together, it made for an unattractive landscape. The colors clashing from bright pink to black, some homes were striped, others had dots, and a few were in the middle of being painted.

The community looked completely unfinished, seemingly left in a state of disarray. Photini turned back to her property and breathed easy. Her yard was empty, though still that blinding green. The walls of her two-bedroom house were bare, waiting to be painted. The brochure her manager Irenai gave her said the neighborhood was for creative types. Photini thought this must be what they meant, letting the residents paint their own homes and decorate their yards to their liking; an unruly, chaotic display.

Photini was too tired to continue caring, all she wanted to do was wash the four-hour fight anxiety off of her and sleep out the remaining stress from all the problems she left behind. She grabbed her bags, newly invigorated for the prospect of going to bed.

Looky, looky, what the gate let in. A new resident, how excitin', A woman's voice called out from across the fence.

Photini looked to see an older woman waving her over. Remembering how she promised Irenai she'd try and make friends with the neighbors, she rolled her things next to the mailbox and walked over. As she approached, she took in that the woman was noticeably older; wrinkled pink skin artificially pulled into place, grey thinning hair pulled up into a messy bun and dark grey eyes that seem to know a thing or two.

Well, hello, I'm Tanif Glittertwig, the one and only, the woman laugh as though something funny had been said and Photini forced a smile. So, what are you, a Normin?

No, I'm a spider-woman, the shape-shifting variant. My name's Photini, She let her gaze stare past Ms. Glittertwig, trying to avoid any unnecessary eye contact.

Photini... HoneyRing? Aren't you that new little singer all the stations have been playing. Aw, honey, how I do loathe your music, Ms. Glittertwig laughed again, this time Photini couldn't get a smile going. Oh, baby, I mean no ill will, I'm an old legend in the music world, Leading singer of some old girl group is all. Them radio heads playing your music nonstop reminded me of the good ol' days. A little green monster was born, is all. No worries, I'm a good mama. I'll keep him under control. Now, I bet you had one hell of a morning, you go inside before the other neighbors stop ya', with that, Ms. Glittertwig waved Photini away before turning to enter into her own golden home.

As Photini pulled her luggage through the threshold of her new home, she wondered what color she should paint her own house. Upon entry, Photini rolled her luggage through the house until she found the master bedroom. She dumped her things on the floor and went for a shower. Afterward, she felt refreshed, having cleaned off all the traveling turmoil that had laid waste to her body. Photini crawled into bed.

However, she didn't feel nearly as well-rested as she would have liked, being awoken by a continuous flow of loud thuds coming through the wall. She sat up and listened as the sound came closer, traveling up the side of the house. She figured her other neighbor was aggressively rummaging around for something. As the thuds grew closer, she started to make out a voice.

Hello? The voice was a young man's. Hello? New Neighbor? Hello? He was trying to get her attention and, annoyingly enough, succeeded.

Yes, hello? Photini tried her best not to sound as irritated as she truly was.

"Ah,