by Quell T Fox
“You fell asleep babe. You okay?” Andrew is sitting beside me on the couch, looking down at me, his hand resting on my stomach.
“Yeah, I’m okay. I guess I was just tired.”
I rub my hands over my face to try to erase the sleep from it. I feel so groggy. I know I had another weird dream, but I can’t remember any of it this time.
“Hey, I was thinking we could go out for dinner tonight. What do you think? We haven’t spent much time together since this move.” He makes small circles on my stomach with his finger and he speaks in the softest of tones, always. There is never any harshness to him.
“I think that sounds great. I was going to ask you the same. Mexican?”
“Sounds good. Go get ready.” He slaps my leg a few times and stands up, allowing me room to get up.
I stretch and then stand. Andrew smacks my butt as I start to walk away. I raise an eyebrow and look at him over my shoulder. He winks at me and then laughs. This poor guy. Maybe I should leave sooner. Maybe I should wait it out. I don’t even know what I am doing with my life. Why can’t this just be simple? Why can’t I just be normal? Like everyone else.
Once I’m upstairs I pull out a pair of light, straight-leg jeans, a black long-sleeved loose top and my knee-high black boots. I get dressed quickly and head into the bathroom to check my hair. It’s not looking too crazy, thankfully. I wet my hands a little and run it through my hair to tame the bit of frizziness that happened. I’ve always liked the color of my hair, it’s a dark brown but it has a red sheen to it when in the light. I think about putting on some eye liner but decide against it. My green eyes stand out enough, and I don’t want to deal with removing the make up later. That’s usually what turns me off about make-up, and the fact that it’s just too much work, and expensive. Oh, and completely superficial.
I leave the bathroom and Andrew is putting on a dark blue plaid button-up. I think he looks the best in blue. I grab my jacket and head downstairs with him right behind me. We head outside together, hand in hand. He walks around to the passenger side and opens the door for me. What a gentleman. Once I’m in, he shuts the door and heads around to his side.
***
We pull up to the restaurant and there aren’t many cars in the lot. Good, because as usual, I’m starving, and I don’t want to wait. I haven’t had Mexican food in a while, and I am really looking forward to this and to the margaritas that I am about to enjoy.
I step out of the car while Andrew comes around the front to meet me. He takes my hand and leads me up the walkway, he holds the door open for me. It smells divine in here. The smell of fresh tortilla chips invades my nose and my mouth waters. The inside is small, all the décor is very colorful. Lots of yellows, reds and greens. The area above the bar looks like it may be hand painted, it shows people sitting around tables, laughing and eating, all wearing sombreros that are too big for their heads.
“Good evening. Table for two?” The host speaks with a heavy Spanish accent. He’s about as tall as I am, beautiful dark skin and rather large around the mid-section. I check out his name tag. Manuel.
“Si, por favor.” Andrew is always so polite. Did I mention that one of the best things about him is that he speaks multiple languages? Not fluently, but he knows enough to get by.
“Ah! Sígueme.” Manuel seems pleased that a customer would speak to him in his native tongue.
Andrew sweeps his arm out in front of him, motioning for me to go first. We follow Manuel towards the back of the restaurant. He sits us in a booth that isn’t too far from the bar. Perfect. There are only a few other people on this side of the restaurant.
“Anastacia will be over momentarily. Here are your menus. Enjoy.” He turns on his heel and heads back in the direction that he came from.
I move the menu to the side and reach right for the drink menu. As much as I want food right now, I would love a drink more. Besides, I already know what I want to eat. I always get the same thing when I indulge in Mexican cuisine. Oh, they have pineapple margaritas. That’s dangerous.
Peeking over my menu, I watch Andrew as he looks through his trying to decide on what he wants for a meal. I enjoy the little date nights that we have. It’s sweet of him to always try to make time for us. No matter how busy we are, he always plans for us to do something or acknowledges that it’s been a while since we have. He is going to make someone so very happy one day. I truly hope he finds what he is looking for. I decide on my drink and pick up the food menu, just to browse
“Why do you bother looking if you already know what you want?” Andrew asks, clearly teasing me.
“Maybe I want to change it up this time. “I say lightheartedly.
“Doubt it.” He retorts.
I narrow my eyes at him, then I blow him a kiss. Cause, why not?
“Bienvenido! Me llama es Anastacia. I’ll be serving you this evening. Can I start you off with some drinks?” She is so cheery that it’s fake. Just as fake as her boobs and the eyelashes she did a horrible job at gluing on. She places a small basket of fresh tortilla chips in the middle of the table, along with a small bowl of salsa. Okay, maybe she’s not that bad.
I order my pineapple margarita. Andrew gets some sort of house ale; I didn’t catch the name. I start munching on the chips, scooping up way too much salsa. A few moments later she returns carrying our drinks. I take a large sip and wow, this is good. We order our food. Andrew gets a chicken and cheese quesadilla. He’s not a huge fan of Mexican food but he agrees to come because he knows how much I enjoy it. Plus, he enjoys me when I’ve had too much tequila. I order my usual, beef tacos with extra sour cream and extra guacamole. And I ask for more chips and salsa since the basket is almost empty.
Three margaritas later and I am feeling fan-flipping-tastic. We pay the bill and head out the door. Of course, Andrew drives, though he usually drives anyway. I must have fallen asleep in the car because the next thing I know I’m being carried through the doorway of the house and up the stairs. Andrew lays me on the bed, takes off my boots, jeans and shirt and then tucks me in. He brushes my hair out of my face while I snuggle up to the pillow. He kisses my forehead and leaves me.
Suddenly, I’m being dragged through the door by 2 large men. I walk with them without issue. Why am I not fighting back? The two large guys here, that resemble pro wrestlers pick me up and throw me into the back of a wagon…a wagon? One guy gets in and takes the seat across from me. The other goes around and sits in the high bench located towards the top of the wagon. It’s being pulled by horses. Okay…
“You are going to pay for what you did, you know?”
I say nothing. I just look at him. I feel calm. The fact that I’m calm bothers me more than anything. I should be angry; I should be fighting!
It’s a bumpy ride to wherever it is we are going, but it doesn’t take long to get there. Pro wrestler number 1, gets out of the wagon and pulls me out by my hair. Damn man, can you at least buy me dinner first? I think it, but the words don’t come out. Too bad, I’ve always wanted a good reason to actually say that to someone. He stops at the front of the wagon and wrestler number 2 hops down from his seat and whispers something in his ear. Next thing I know I feel a horrible pain in my head, and I feel warmth dripping down the left side of my face. Then it’s darkness.
I[RD2] wake up feeling better than I should. I check my phone, 11:17am. Seems about right. I stretch and roll over onto my back and just stare at the ceiling for a few moments, listening, for anything. It’s so quiet that I swear I can hear the blood rushing through my veins. It doesn’t seem like Andrew is here. He probably went to the store again. Taking in a deep breath, I let it out slowly through my nose. What is up with this place?
Since I’ve been here, a lot of strange things have happened. The realistic dreams that I keep having, that amazing, yet disturbing smell that keeps popping up. And let’s not forget my zombie moment at the ice cream place. I know it was another dream that woke me up just now. It seemed so real. Not that I can rem
ember much of it anymore. The more I think about it the more I can’t recall a thing. I head to the bathroom to wash up and brush my teeth. I run my fingers through my hair because I don’t like using a brush. It makes my hair poofy. I pause when I feel the small scar on the left side of my head, right above my ear. It’s never bothered me much and it isn’t very noticeable, about an inch long. My hair is thick enough to cover the fact that hair doesn’t grow there. I’ve never given it much thought, until now. Mom told me I fell when I was little and had to get stitches. But why, now, does that seem like it may not be the truth?
CHAPTER 6
It’s Saturday afternoon, the rest of the week was a lot of the same. Andrew has been giving all his attention to the remodel. His plan is to have it finished by the time Abe moves in, which will be Monday. They were able to work everything out with the nursing home last week. Abe was overjoyed about leaving which is why this move is happening so soon. Andrew is going to make the hour drive Monday morning to pick him up.
We decided that the bedroom downstairs would be the best choice for him. I hope he’s going to be okay with not having his old bedroom back, but he’s not able to make it up and down the stairs safely. The downstairs room has a bed in it already, it was there when we moved in. It wasn’t taken out because we didn’t have anywhere else to put it. Most of Abe’s furniture was given to Andrew’s family when he initially went to live at the nursing home. The few pieces that were left behind we set up in the spare rooms.
While I was out on Thursday to get a few more things from the grocery store, I came across a home décor store that was tucked away in the corner of the lot. I stopped in to browse and realized the prices were decent. So, I did what any normal girl would do and went shopping. I found enough curtains for the twenty-eight windows that this house has. I only recalled that number because Andrew mentioned it recently, don’t ask me why because I couldn’t tell you.
They didn’t have anything that would work for the window in the dining room, the woman working at the store told me that the only option is to have a set custom made. I wasn’t sure of the exact measurements, I told her I would get them and then come back to the store to place the order.
The small family-owned store (shocker, right?) had a great selection of odd shower curtains. I found one of a Tyrannosaurus rex wearing a pink shower cap and holding a loofa on a stick, trying to wash its back. There is no way I could pass that up, I already hung it in the main bathroom upstairs. For the first-floor shower, I picked out one that is more bathroom appropriate; yellow cartoon ducks wearing rainboots and carrying umbrellas. Did not waste anytime hanging that one up, either.
I picked out pale blue curtains for Abrahams room. Blue tends to be a calming color, so I thought it might help him to settle in. I bought a matching bed set for his full-sized bed, since I couldn’t find any sheets for it in the house. I found a few paintings in the basement that I thought would look nice in his room. After a good cleaning I hung them on the walls. There was also a portrait of his wife that I found down there. I perched it on his bed side table, hoping it will be a positive thing and not make him too sad. I also found an old blanket that looks to have been crocheted. It smelled like basement and I had to wash it twice to get the smell out. Once it was clean, I spread it out on his bed.
Andrew’s family was happy to hear that Abe was going to be staying with us. A few are making plans to come by and visit. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to grow up with six siblings, or any siblings. Being an only child had its benefits, but it also had its downfalls. Neither of my parents have any siblings, so I didn’t have any cousins either. I never had anyone to play with, I guess that’s what helped with my imagination. My parents probably went overboard with spoiling me. Every birthday and Christmas were filled with too many gifts to count. They spoiled me because they could and because they were grateful to have me. They called me their miracle baby. They tried getting pregnant for years and were finally told that it wouldn’t happen for them. Then suddenly, there I was.
Mom was forty-one and dad was forty-three when I was born. I’ve never been really close with my parents, but we are on good terms. A normal parent to child relationship. They did everything right in raising me and I think I turned out all right. Of course, they wanted more for me. Like college, but that’s not something that I wanted. They’ve always supported my choices, which has made my life easier. I haven’t spoken to them in a while, I should try calling them later.
Andrew has two siblings. Twin brothers, Allen and Alex. Not sure if you’ve noticed the theme here, but all the men in his family have names that start with the letter A. His grandparents started that with their children, and shockingly enough all their children followed suit. All the boys have A names, after Abraham, and their daughter is Beatrice, because mom’s name was Blanche. So yeah, that’s their thing. Another reason I don’t want to have children. I can’t deal with all the cheesy stuff that goes along with it, like everyone having matching names. It’s just weird.
I hear my phone ringing from the kitchen. The sound of an old-school phone ringing gets louder as I walk to it. The screen is lit up with a picture of Andrew sitting in the sand at a beach. He ran out to the hardware store again because he needed a special type of screw for these walls.
I swipe the green circle to answer.
“Hello?”
“Hey babe. One of my uncles asked if I could head up there to help with some plumbing issues that he’s having. I’ll probably be home late. You going to be okay in the house by yourself?” He asks, ending the sentence on a sigh.
“I’ll be fine Andrew, I’m a big girl. Take your time, I’ll see you when you get here.” He has no reason to worry about me, but he always does. He thinks that every little thing he does affects me, but it doesn’t.
“Okay babe. I’ll see you later. Give Raven a kiss for me.” He makes a kissing sound.
An unexpected laugh bubbles from my throat. I roll my eyes and shake my head.
“I’m sure she will love that. Bye.” And I end the call.
She will absolutely not love that. She’s a cats cat. Meaning, she only wants attention when she wants attention. I am not going to risk getting my eyeballs scratched out because Andrew wants me to kiss the cat for him. He can do it himself when he gets back. Pain in the ass…both of them, really.
I’m looking forward to having the house to myself for a while. Not that Andrew is a bother, he keeps himself busy and he’s been occupied lately. Sometimes it’s nice to have time to yourself, to just be alone and think, or not think. It’s starting to get dark; he may not be home until after I’m asleep.
Heading back into Abe’s room everything looks good. There isn’t anything that I’ve forgotten to do. The bathroom is fully stocked with toilet paper, soap and hand towels. Nancy, the head nurse from the home explained to us that over the past month Abe has needed full assistance with his hygiene. Thankfully, there will be a nurse here every day and they will be assisting with that stuff. Not sure how Andrew would feel about washing his grandfather’s balls, but I’m definitely not doing it.
Upstairs is always quieter than the downstairs. I’m not sure why, but up here it’s so quiet that I’ve thought about leaving a radio on. After grabbing a few spare towels, I’m about to close the door to the closet when I get the feeling that someone is here. Crazy how sometimes you just know things and you can’t explain why. It is literally an instinct. I am positive that someone is here. I turn around and peek my head out of the bathroom door. No one. Cautious to stay quiet, I step into the bedroom slowly, holding my breath to alleviate the sound of air going in and out of my nose.
Silence.
The only thing I can hear is that faint ringing you get in your ears when things are quiet…too quiet.
“Andrew, is that you?” I call out, loud enough that he would hear even if he were downstairs. I hold my breath again, closing my eyes to focus only on sound right now.
No answer.
My instincts are something that I have always paid attention to; they usually aren’t wrong. Except that one time with Jackson. I never had a bad feeling about him, but he turned out to be a raging alcoholic who was violent every time he drank. That was the first time that I left someone in the middle of the night, but it wasn’t my last.
There was someone in this house.
Maybe that delicious smelling ghost is following me around, explains how he was in my car. Is that possible? A smile spreads across my face and I shake my head. Listen to me, talking about a ghost like it’s a normal thing. Sometimes I feel like I’ve lost my mind. To be honest, I probably have.
I put my hands on my hips. “I don’t know what’s up with me lately, Raven. How are you doing? You like the new house?”
She’s curled up into a ball on my pillow, her favorite place to sleep all of a sudden. This started when we moved here, maybe my smell makes her feel comfortable. She doesn’t wake up, or even move. My question was rhetorical anyway, obviously the cat isn’t going to answer me.
Soon after, I’m nestled up on the oversized couch, covered by my favorite blanket with a taco pizza and a beer. I scroll through the channels trying to find something to watch. TV isn’t something I tend to spend time on, but it’s October and this is when all the good movies air. One of the newest horror movies is playing in about fifteen minutes and that’s what I decide on.