Dead Drunk

by Alice J Black

  “Yes, but—”

  “You’ve got a second chance at life because you gave up drinking. Maybe he deserves one, too.”

  “I’m sure he does, but he doesn’t need to be in my life to do it.” I crossed my arms.

  “Perhaps it’s time to forgive.”

  “Are you seriously suggesting that I can just simply forget about the way he treated me? The fact that he took advantage of me when I was low?”

  “I’m suggesting that maybe you need to rethink the way you look at him. You’ve been forgiven by a lot of people for what you put them through. People have forgotten and moved on. He’s trying to turn his life around.”

  I stared at my best friend. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I knew she was right. Everyone deserved a second chance, and if he was willing to make a go at changing his life, who was I to put a block in the way.

  Yes, he’d treated me horribly, but I hadn’t exactly been an angel either. We’d known each other for a lot of years, John and I, without really knowing each other. We tended to drink in the same circles when we were out, and he always said hello. I guess it was inevitable that we’d fall in to bed together, despite the fact that it was the worst thing that could’ve possibly happened.

  I’d used him as much as he’d used me, and maybe Olivia was right. I needed to rethink the way I’d mentally framed our weird relationship and accept some responsibility.

  “Maybe.” I regarded my best friend, who’d just provided me with some sage advice. “But it doesn’t mean I need to let him back into my life. You know something, Olive?”

  “What’s that?”

  “I hate when you’re brutally honest, because it’s mostly true.”

  “I know.” She smiled.

  Our meal arrived shortly after our drinks, and it was just as delicious as I remembered. The pizza went down a treat, and I swallowed every last bite, along with my garlic bread. Olivia was a little more dainty with her eating. She’d always been a little prissy. But by the time we were both finished and had sat back, stuffed and fit to burst, I was happy. Everything had been pushed from my mind, and I was just enjoying good food and great company.

  “What are your plans this weekend?” I asked as I drained the last of my cola.

  “I’m going to see my brother. Can you believe their one-year anniversary is coming up in a few months? Jessica’s been planning a holiday for them both.”

  “No!” I leaned forward, gripping the table.

  She nodded. “Crazy, right?”

  I remembered attending their wedding at the old Manor House. I remembered the darkness that crushed me as soon as I stepped foot in the building and the barman, Jake, who gave me a glimpse of normality. Without him and his non-judgemental listening, I wouldn’t be where I was now. He showed me that I should accept myself for who I was, no matter what that was.

  I thought back to the strip of paper still clinging to my mirror. Things had changed dramatically, but I wasn’t sure if I had the guts to try and ring that number now. So much time had passed. Maybe Jake was safer left in my memory.

  Monday morning came after a slow weekend. I wish I was able to say I was ready to get back to the office, but the potential for another week of no phone calls left me none too eager to actually go in. I even dallied with the thought of phoning in sick. Could you even phone in sick when it was your own company?

  Just as I picked up my phone to send Olivia an I’m-really-ill text message, there was a knock on my door.

  Slamming the device down on the sofa in annoyance, I hurried to the front door and opened it to find the woman herself standing there. She looked fresh as the morning and wore a smile on her face. Then her eyes travelled down my figure, and the smile disappeared.

  “Why aren’t you dressed?”

  “I’m not feeling so—”

  “Shut up and get in the shower, or we’ll be late.” She barged into the passageway and shoved me towards the kitchen.

  “Hey!” I protested. “I’m really not feeling—”

  “Peyton, I know you.” She stood with her hands on her hips and a stern look that any mother would be proud of. “Go get showered and get some clothes on. Burying your head in the sand won’t help anything.”

  “Fine,” I grumbled and did as she said.

  Ten minutes later, I was washed, dried, and ready. As I glanced at myself in the mirror and realised I looked vaguely human, I was actually feeling fine. Olivia was right. Burying my head wouldn’t do any good. I had to go out there and face this. If it was another slow day at the office, I would simply go out and do some advertising. We still had stacks of leaflets in the kit room which I could hand out on the high street. And I’m sure Olivia wouldn’t mind using her phone to search the news for anything that sounded suspicious.

  When we got to the office, following a near miss, we made our way upstairs to the office. I was already preparing myself for a particularly dull day, but as it turned out, the day was going to be anything but quiet.

  “The light on the machine is blinking,” Olivia told me as I moved towards the kettle.

  “Probably a wrong number. Or one of those automated calls.”

  I lifted the kettle and left the office again, heading towards the shower room, which also had a toilet and a small sink. Not very practical, but it was manageable. Especially now, when I was in dire need of a coffee.

  “Shh!” Olivia’s shushed me as I entered the room.

  Frowning, I set the kettle down and headed towards the machine.

  Olivia was already hovering over it, and when she looked at me, wrinkles marred her brow. “There are five new messages.”

  “Five?” My eyes widened as I stared down at the red number. Surely that was wrong. Who would ring and leave five messages? They couldn’t all be wrong numbers.

  “Yeah.”

  “Play them.”

  Olivia clicked play.

  “Hello? This is Janice. You came to see my mother’s house earlier in the week. I was wondering if you could give me a call? Thanks.”

  Olivia shrugged. “Sounds normal enough.”

  The messages continued to play. “Hi, Peyton. It’s Janice again. I’m sorry to call you. I’m just not sure what else to do. Can you ring me please?”

  The third message began. “You must think I’m a lunatic, but I really need you to call me. Something has changed.”

  This time, Olivia frowned. “She sounds worried.”

  “And there are two more messages to go,” I uttered.

  “I’m getting desperate now. Please call me. I don’t know what else to do.”

  The fifth message started straight after. “I’ve had to take my mum out of the house. My dad is on a drunken rampage. Please call me.”

  “Shit,” Olivia cursed.

  I reached for the phone and dialled the number.

  Five calls over the weekend. Five times she’d sought help and was alone. Shit. What sort of service was that?

  The phone rang, and it was answered on the second ring, by a man. “Hello?”

  “Hello, could I speak to Janice, please?”

  “So you thought you’d finally call back, did you? This house has been in turmoil all weekend because you couldn’t be bothered to—”

  “Sorry about that,” Janice apologised as she came on the phone. “Go away, Ken. Stop it. Okay, I’m here. You must’ve gotten my messages?”

  “Yes. We don’t normally operate on a weekend.” My eyes flicked to Olivia. Maybe that would have to change. “What’s happened?”

  “After my mum said she didn’t want to do anything about the spirit, things started getting worse. It wasn’t just the smell of the smoke anymore. It was like my actual dad was back. Storming through the house, looking for drink. It was just like it used to be when we were little and there was no alcohol in the house. He went mad.”

  “What happened?”

  “It was like he went on a rampage, Peyton. Banging cupboard doors, breaking glasses, flying up the
stairs. He was shouting about us hiding the alcohol, and my mum was terrified. Hell, I was terrified. She’s been at my house all weekend. I couldn’t leave her there.”

  “I’m so sorry to hear that. Would you like me to go over?”

  “Please. I have the key at my house if you can pick it up. We’ll pay anything. Just get rid of him. When my dad is on a bender, he’s a nasty person, and I can’t bear to see my mum so upset.”

  “No problem. Just give me the address, and we’ll be right over.” As she rattled off the street name, I wrote it down on a pad of paper thrust in front of me by Olivia. “Okay. We’ll see you soon. Bye.” I set the phone down.

  “So now they want rid of the ghost?” Olivia asked.

  “Yeah. It looks like he’s caused hell all weekend, looking for alcohol.”

  “Great.”

  I looked longingly at the kettle but decided it could wait. This ghost needed dealt with.

  “I’ll get the kit, and we’ll go.”

  Olivia nodded and pulled her bag back over her shoulder.

  A few minutes later, we were prepped and ready to go. I fought with a wave of guilt as I thought about how long they’d been alone in their plight. But there was nothing I could do now except deal with it.

  I locked the door as we left the office, walking into the morning sun, and strode around the corner to Thumper. I dropped the bag in the back and jumped in the front just as Olivia was clicking on her seatbelt.

  “Where does Janice live?” she asked as I started the engine.

  “It’s not far from here. I’ll run in for the key. Then we’ll get to Eileen’s.”

  We made good headway since the morning rush hour was over—another good reason for opening up shop just that little bit later—and got to Janice’s house within a few minutes. I knew the town like the back of my hand, and although it meant I’d frequented all the wrong places in the past, now I headed towards the exact place I needed to be.

  I put the handbrake on as we pulled to a stop outside Janice’s house. “I’ll just be a few minutes.”

  I half-jogged up the driveway and knocked on the door, standing back as I waited for an answer. It didn’t take long. Within seconds, the door flung open. I expected to see Janice standing there with a key already extended. Instead, there was a gruff man with deep wrinkles set in his forehead which suggested he wore a permanent frown.

  “Who are you?” He looked me up and down, clearly unimpressed with the stranger who’d turned up at his door.

  “I’m Peyton from—”

  “Not today.” He made to shut the door.

  I didn’t have time to react, however, as Janice rushed towards me, blocking the door from shutting and cursing as he mumbled and loped away.

  “Sorry about him.” She shook her head and rolled her eyes.

  He disappeared around the doorway, still muttering to himself.

  “He’s always in a grump. And I think this thing has him even more wound up. He doesn’t want to have to fork out money to deal with something he doesn’t believe in.”

  “I get it. He’s not the only one who doesn’t believe. How’s your mum?”

  “She’s spent most of the weekend here. I don’t think Ken likes that too much either. Never mind he would do the same for his mum. She fell asleep in the early hours, so I haven’t woken her. I hope that’s okay.”

  “Of course. As long as she definitely wants to go ahead with this?”

  Eileen had won the first-round argument over whether not to rid her house of the spirit. But if this was to be believed, it looked like Janice was going to get her way, after all.

  “Just wait until you see her house, Peyton. It’s a mess. It was getting dangerous to be there.”

  I nodded and held out my hand to receive the key. It dropped into my palm with a cold thud, and I closed my fingers around it.

  “I’ll do what I can and keep you updated.”

  “And money, anything we owe, will be paid promptly,” Janice added. “My mum is getting on, Peyton. She just wants to enjoy her last years in peace. She had enough of this from my dad when he was alive. She shouldn’t have to deal with it now that he’s gone.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll sort everything out.”

  “Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.” Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

  I wondered whether it was fear or exhaustion. Probably both. I’d been in that predicament way too many times to know.

  “Try not to worry, Janice. It’ll be okay.” I squeezed her arm and felt the heat rising from her skin.

  She nodded and sniffed before stepping back and pushing the door shut as if eager to leave the whole mess in someone else’s hands.

  “What did she say?” Olivia asked as I jumped back into the car.

  I dropped the key into her hand, and she stared at it for a minute as if she couldn’t believe what we were going to do.

  “Just the same as she said on the phone. Apparently, the house has been trashed. Her mum just wants him gone. She’s scared to be there.”

  “Who was the guy who tried to slam the door on your face?”

  “Her husband, Ken.” I rolled my eyes. “Wonderful, isn’t he? I’ve had the cold shoulder from him since the beginning of this whole thing.

  “A non-believer, I’m guessing.”

  “Or he just doesn’t want to have to put his hand in his pocket.”

  “Ah. Yeah, now that you mention it, he does look tight.”

  I started the engine and pulled my belt into place, cursing as it took a couple of attempts to stick.

  “Are you ready for this?” I looked at Olivia.

  She stared back at me with determination in her eyes. “Ready as I’ll ever be to deal with another raging alcoholic.”

  “Hey. You handled it fine the first time.” I slapped her leg playfully. “I have complete faith in you.”

  We made it to Janice’s mum’s around ten minutes later. This would be our third trip into the house, and as I stepped out of the car and grabbed the bag from the backseat, I wondered what we’d find in there. Judging by what Janice told us, it wasn’t going to be pretty.

  As I strode up the path, I noticed the windows looked darker. The house was just a little bit more rundown, as if it was being eaten from the inside, all the life being sucked from its walls. It’s exactly what happened to an alcoholic as the organs were saturated with alcohol and their organs started to rot. On the outside, the constant abuse would show in pallid skin, broken capillaries, and an increase in the aging process. Eric was in there all right, and he was sucking the life out of that house.

  “Here, you should go first.” Olivia shoved the key back into my hand as we stepped up to the front door. “After all, you can actually feel these things.”

  I turned to look at her. “Don’t tell me you’re scared.”

  Her chin tilted just a little bit higher as she stared me down. “Don’t be stupid, Peyton. I signed on for this, remember? But you are the ghost hunter.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I muttered as I slid the key into the lock and pushed the door.

  At first, it wouldn’t give, and it felt like the wood was engorged with water. Or like something was trying to keep us out. But I finally managed to shove it in, almost falling into the small square passageway. The letterbox clattered, announcing our arrival to Eric.

  “Let’s stick together and tour the house. Ground floor first.”

  Olivia nodded as she gently pushed the door shut.

  I took a deep breath and prepared for the worst. Then I reached for the handle to the living room. It was time.

  I pushed the door. Inside, the room was dark. Darker than it should’ve been. I could make out the shapes of the recliner chairs in the corner. Minus Eileen, it looked empty. In the corner, I saw the shape of the TV.

  “Why is everything so dark?” Olivia asked. Her hand clinched the back of my jacket.

  “The curtains are all shut,” I whispered back.

  My first instinct
was to step forward and reach for the curtains, but something stopped me. I couldn’t bring myself to cross the threshold. I felt like there was something waiting for me. Something crawling in the dark.

  “Hello?” I called. My voice was small, and I felt Olivia’s grip tighten. Both her hands now rested on my back. Normally I would’ve shrugged her off, but having her this close was a comfort today.

  Silence met me. Silence and darkness.

  I swallowed hard. I had two options. I could go in there and hope I got to the curtains before the darkness swallowed me. Or I could reach in and hope to find the light. I bit my lip.

  Steeling my body, I leaned forward into the darkness. My right hand moved up to the wall across the frame of the door and disappeared around the other side. My stomach clenched as my fingers searched for the light switch. I heard the sound of my hand brushing up and down the wall and imagined my fingers against the dull yellow of the wallpaper. Then my fingers hit something solid and plastic. I’d found the light. With a sigh of relief, I flicked the switch and felt my whole body relax as the light flooded the living room.

  Olivia’s grip loosened as I took a step forward over the threshold and moved into the living room. Then she finally let go.

  “Did you feel that?” she asked as she followed me into the room. Head swiveling left and right as if expecting someone to be sitting there.

  “You felt it, too?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. It was like someone was in here. I just couldn’t see them, but I felt it.”

  “It must’ve been bad if you could feel it.”

  “Do you think it’s Eric?”

  “I think so. Initially, I told them I couldn’t be sure if it was Eric or not. But Eileen knew her husband, and I’m inclined to go with what she thinks. Let’s check out the rest of the house.”

  “Well, apart from the terrible décor in here, it doesn’t look like there’s anything out of place.” She wrinkled her nose.

  “So let’s try the kitchen.” The adjoining door to the kitchen was closed. “But first I’m going to open the curtains in here.” Striding across to the window, I slid the curtains back, letting the light from outside flood the room, and another layer of calm passed over me.