Never Dead (Welcome To Dead House Book 1)

by M. L. Bullock

  Standing in front of the vanity mirror, I did as he suggested and tugged the zipper up. To my shock, it zipped up like a breeze. Yesterday I had thought I looked okay, but I wasn’t feeling very confident now. Maybe this was a bad idea.

  “Wow! That’s great. Thanks, Joey. You think this is a bit much?”

  “Oh, you’re so welcome. Look at you, wow! You look amazing!”

  “You think so?” I asked as I stared at myself in the mirror. “Really?”

  “Really. For realz. Now, fix your hair and find some dangly earrings.”

  “I don’t have any dangly earrings. Except these,” I said as I slid open the vanity drawer and showed him my silver skulls.

  “Why not? I love them! You can go as a dead beauty queen.”

  My face must have conveyed my many emotions. Mom hadn’t been a beauty queen, not in a legitimate way, but she had been beautiful. And she was dead. “Forget what I said. You look beautiful. If you do a messy bun, and maybe use some of that pink hair spray to highlight a few strands, that will make your eyes really pop. Let’s do it!”

  “Great! I agree! But I can do a messy bun. Back off, handsy. You’re welcome to hang out, but I’ve got this. Are you sure I look okay?”

  “Fantastic! Trey is going to be floored! But hands off the deputy. Tamara wants him, she made that clear,” he said as he rolled his eyes. “As if I’d be interested in that small-town wannabe sheriff. But Quinton? He’s beautiful!”

  “Is he here to help us with the Screamer or the Reaper or whatever?” I asked as I slung my head over and began teasing my dark brown hair. It was the only way to get body into it.

  “Chloe, stop that. You need to backcomb it, not tease the hell out of it. You’ll damage your beautiful hair. Sit up and I’ll show you. I won’t touch you. I promise. I know I can be a bit chilly. Pick up a section at the crown. Place the comb about two inches from the scalp and very gently backcomb it. Good! Spray and do it again. It’s the best way to get the lift you want. On second thought, not a messy bun, but a sexy ponytail. That’s what you need.”

  “Sure, I’ll try anything. Quinton is a paranormal investigator, huh? Good. Maybe he can help us get rid of the lights in the backyard.”

  He suddenly got very serious. "Chloe, I see all kinds of things. I don't know what's going on here anymore than you do, but something unusual is happening, and you're a part of it. I think it’s in your blood. That’s what the maid said,” he said matter-of-factly as he began to file his nails.

  I sat at the vanity and stared at his luminous face in the mirror. “What maid? Another ghost?”

  “One of the nice ones. I tried talking to Annie Hensley, but she’s terrified of me. She thinks I’m a ghost and I want to hurt her. She’s a ghost too! She doesn’t know she’s dead. Kind of ignorant if you ask me. Not like your mother. She’s so smart.”

  He kept filing away, not even noticing he was breaking my heart. He knew my mother, and I couldn’t see her. I decided not to cry about it. Tonight, I was going to live my life. I stared at myself in the mirror. I wasn’t big into makeup, but I put a little on and then my jewelry. Joey had been right about the pink hair color. I looked great. I took a selfie, with Joey photo bombing me. You could barely see him, but it was a good picture of the two of us.

  “Thanks for the help, Joey. It means a lot.”

  “Will you stop calling me ‘the ghost’ now?”

  I smiled at him and offered to shake his hand. It froze my fingers, but I did it anyway. “Yes, I will. Thank you for tonight. I guess I better go make my entrance.” Those were my words, but my feet would not obey. I didn’t want to go down those steps. This had been my idea—wearing this dress, paying homage to the memory of my mom—but now I wasn’t so sure.

  “Go ahead, Chloe. Make your mom proud. I am sure she will be watching.” With Joey’s encouragement in my ears, I stepped out of my room and into the hallway. I could hear the party well underway downstairs. The music was pumping, and my school friends were laughing and having a good time. I slowly began to walk down the steps to join the fun. I saw Joey snap his fingers and the music changed to an old nineties song, I Swear, I think was the name of it. One of those boy band songs. I was pretty sure my mom had liked this song when she’d been alive. I remembered listening to it.

  Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched me make the walk down the stairs. I couldn’t help but smile like a crazy person. Trey was in the crowd, and he looked just as shocked as the rest of my school friends. Joey had been right. I looked beautiful in this dress, and I had just the perfect amount of curvaceousness. For the first time in my life, I felt pretty.

  Really pretty.

  Mom, I wish you were here.

  But she wasn’t, not really. Those were just words Joey had said to make me feel better.

  Tamara was there, though, and even from ten feet away, I could see tears in her eyes. She smiled up at me, her white teeth perfect. Her fuzzy headband shook. She was a cute cat. I think she was trying to tell me something, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying because the crowd behind her began cheering and whistling. It was a great feeling. I’d never enjoyed this kind of adulation before. For some reason, I thought of Mom. She must have enjoyed feeling all this love. I could see how it was addictive.

  Is that why you did it, Mom?

  I didn’t know if she heard me. The music screamed now, some Halloween song I’d forgotten the name of. The onlookers, my classmates and neighbors I barely knew, were cheering for me. It wasn’t like I was an actual beauty queen. There shouldn’t be this much excitement about an odd teenager wearing a dress.

  Then I looked behind me.

  I wasn’t alone walking down the steps.

  Joey had appeared now that the Screamer was gone. He was walking behind me, looking totally like a living guy. He wasn’t dressed like a slinky, gay sailor but a dead prom date. He wore a black suit, black bow tie, and a sleek black cummerbund, like a model out of a magazine. What was he doing?

  “Your feet, Joey,” I warned him quietly.

  “Oh, shoot,” he whispered back. He closed his eyes, and his legs appeared. “This is fun!”

  “Be quiet, Joey. Don’t talk to anyone. Okay? And don’t glow!”

  We made it to the bottom step, and the ghost kissed my cheek and disappeared into the crowd as best as he could. He glowed ever so slightly, but not enough for anyone to notice, I hoped.

  I saw Trey leave the party. He must have thought Joey was real and I was interested in him. I pushed through the crowd to go to him, but he didn’t wait, and he didn’t look back.

  I was the most beautiful girl at my school, and now I was the loneliest. I sat on the steps and watched the dance. People were everywhere, dancing, laughing, and having a great time. The party was a hit for everyone but me. Even Tamara was on the dance floor, shaking her booty with Quinton. She hadn’t even noticed Kevin Patrick had snuck in. He was watching her every move.

  The partiers believed Joey, my pretend date, was a real guy, even with his too bright smile and occasionally no legs.

  As I sat there feeling sorry for myself, I heard a familiar voice in my head. It only lasted a minute, and then she was gone.

  Happy Halloween, Chloe. You look beautiful!

  “Mom? Is that you?” I whispered as I wiped tears from my eyes. It had to have been her.

  She’d finally come through to let me know she saw me and that she loved me. I wasn’t going to sit here and be the most boring person at the party. I decided I would dance with someone, even if it wasn’t Trey.

  Before I could think, Deputy Patrick was in front of me. “Good evening, young lady. Save me a dance later. I’ve never danced with a belle before. Or a beauty queen. Dead beauty queen, I’m guessing? I’m a cowboy. Or trying to be.”

  “Why would you want to dance with me? Trying to make Tamara jealous?” My school friends were whispering around me. They knew Deputy Patrick was a cop, and nobody wanted to hang out with anyone who was connec
ted to the cops. “Where did she go? She was just here.”

  Did I really want to be seen dancing with a cop? Should I attempt to save any level of coolness I may have left?

  “She went back to her office with that ghost hunter movie star. Do they have a history or something? Is that why she brought him here?”

  “Better question is, why are you here? No idea about who she knows. She was here a minute ago.”

  Tamara was an idiot. Even though Deputy Patrick was a cop, he was a handsome guy. Way cuter than that any washed-up D-level celebrity. He looked like an old-fashioned cowboy with, of course, a white cowboy hat, just to make it clear that he was a good guy.

  “You’ll have to teach me, Deputy. I don’t know how.”

  “Your father never taught you how to dance? And please call me Kevin or Mr. Patrick. I’m not on duty.”

  “Uh, okay. I don’t know my dad. Can we just dance?” I asked with my arms crossed. I was aggravated by his questioning.

  “No time like the present. The DJ is playing a decent song. Sure, sure. Just hold on to me and follow my lead. It’s easy-peasy. I might step on a foot once in a while, but you’ll live.”

  “Ditto. Let’s dance, Kevin.”

  We twirled into the candlelit party.

  19

  Tamara

  I paced my tiny office and shook my head at Quinton's confused expression. "What were you thinking, coming here? I just wanted your opinion. I didn't know you were going to come down."

  "We’ve been over this. Can’t we just enjoy your party? It seems like quite a crowd. Hey, would you mind if I sold a few books? I’ve got a whole damn box in my van.”

  I rubbed my itchy nose, forgetting for a second that I had eyeliner all over it. “Are you joking?”

  “I’ll be friendly and pretend we’re the best of friends. If I sell enough of them, I’ll be glad to slip you some cash under the table. Why are you so shocked I’m here? You sent me the address." He spoke with his usual attitude. Nothing had changed in the humility department, I thought.

  “I sent my address because I thought you needed it for research, not because I wanted you to come down here. Not that I'm not grateful, but…” The music was bumping in the other room. This isn’t how I had expected to spend my Halloween. I really needed to get it together.

  "Oh, you're not grateful. You don't want me here. It was a huge cock-up. A big misunderstanding. I can see that now, but I'm here and I have three days off, so you might as well tell me what's up."

  Why was I struggling with my emotions? I was moved Quinton would come all the way here from Atlanta to check things out, but it was also unlike him. He wasn't usually the kind of guy who jumped and ran when you called. And we had ended on a bad note.

  "Well, I've got a party tonight as you may have gathered from the noise and the dancing, and there's a lot going on, so we’ll have to revisit this later. I mean, I know you came a long way, and I appreciate it, but this is kind of a bad time.”

  He laughed, but it didn't sound happy at all. “You are having a party in a place where you know there's paranormal activity? Are you a genius or what? Just the vibes from this place give me the creeps. So, I'll just blend in with the crowd while you're having a Halloween party, right? Pretend I'm a bonus gift. I won’t sell my books or anything. I swear.”

  I walked to the office door and shook my head. “You always believed you were the bonus gift; that was the problem. Party should be over around midnight or so, and then we can talk. In the meanwhile, you can camp out on the second floor. As you say, keep your eyes peeled. See what you can see. Enjoy the party, but behave. There are a ton of teenage girls here. Hands off. I know you aren’t the best at checking IDs.”

  “Will do, Mom,” he said sarcastically. “And that’s bullcrap. I never dated an underage chick. Not on purpose.”

  “Whatever. Chloe’s room is off-limits. Her bedroom is on the second floor. Chloe doesn’t take kindly to strangers, nor does she let anyone in her room. Believe me when I tell you, there’s no wrath like the fury of a cantankerous teenager.”

  "I still can't believe Tina Louise had a kid. Did you know she had a kid? And when did we all get so old that she could be the mother of a teenager?”

  "I have no answers for you. Come on, grab your bag. I have just the room for you." Asking him to stay in a hotel would be wrong. There were no hotels close by, and if he’d come all this way to do me a favor, the least I could do was put him up for a night or two. That didn't mean anything was going to happen.

  Who was I kidding? It had been a very long time since the two of us were intimate, and I was sure Quinton had moved on to bigger and blonder things since. He’d always had a weak spot for blondes—dumb ones who believed everything he said.

  “This is kind of a catch-all room, but there is a bed in here, and I know for a fact the sheets are clean. As far as I know, nothing ever happened here, paranormally speaking. Make yourself at home,” I said as the music stopped and somebody screamed. I knew that scream. Quinton dropped his bag on the bed, and the two of us ran into the parlor. The DJ, a young guy not much older than Chloe—a friend of Lynn’s she suggested for this gig—stepped out to greet me. He had a big grin on his face.

  “Hey! Look who it is! Our hostess with the mostest, and if I’m not mistaken, this is Quinton Lowell of Ghost Travelers. Let the screaming begin!” He tapped his computer keyboard and another scream permeated the room, then the music began again.

  A bevy of fans encircled Quinton, and I was quickly forgotten about. I didn't have any shoes on, but the doorbell was ringing. I opened the front door and was amazed. Linda Blabbermouth the neighbor was at the door with a mannequin’s head under her arm. She was dressed as Marie Antoinette, a bloody line around her neck. If she was Marie Antoinette with her head chopped off, why was she carrying an extra head around?

  "Do you get it? Tell me you get it," she said through bright pink lips.

  "Hi, Linda. I'm thinking Marie Antoinette, but the extra head is throwing me off," I told her cheerfully.

  "Almost right. I am Marie Antoinette’s twin sister." She screamed with delight and hugged my neck as if we were the best of friends.

  "Great costume. Come on in. We’ve got quite the party going. Quinton Lowell is here from Ghost Travelers, too,” I added, hoping that would distract her.

  "Who is that? I’ve never heard of Ghost Travelers. Is that one of them paranormal folks? Maybe I should talk to him about my abilities. They’ve been getting out of control recently. Oh, dear, I think I’m picking up something now.” She squinted and contorted her face as if she were getting some sort of message.

  “Oh, really?” I asked as the crazy neighbor took a few steps inside. “There are many ghosts here at the Ridaught Plantation. I think we’ll see some tonight.”

  I barely noticed her miniature husband behind her. He couldn't have been more than five foot two. The diminutive fellow was dressed in a matching costume. I assumed he was dressed as King Louis, the guy who also got his head chopped off. I noticed he didn't have a head under his arm, but his cheeks were bright red as if he'd had a little nip already. I didn't blame him if he had. If I lived with Linda Blabbermouth, I would need a drink too.

  I couldn’t remember his name. “Hey, sir. Your costume is great. I think the party will get a hoot out of seeing you. Would you mind playing host for me for a few seconds? I left my shoes in the other room.”

  “Oh, no, I don't mind at all. Come on, King Louis. We will be a welcoming party. Straighten up, honey. Throw those shoulders back. You know, Robbie used to play football for USL? It’s been a while, but he was so buff back in those days. I swear, you look positively short, and you've got heels on." She was right, he did have heels on, vintage retro French shoes. Poor Louie, I mean Robbie, had little choice about what he was wearing, and he didn't seem happy about it.

  “Hi, I am Tamara. I don't think we've been introduced. Robbie, is it? Would you prefer I call you King Louis tonight?"

>   "Robert. Linda calls me Robbie, but my name is Robert," he said in a flat voice as if he were some sort of robot. He barely moved his neck, and it was kind of stiff-looking, but it could've been all the ruffles he was wearing.

  "Thank you, Robert. You and Linda look fabulous. Feel free to grab some snacks, and there's a bar right over there…"

  Before I could get the words out of my mouth, Robert was gone leaving Linda to hold her own head. The doorbell rang, and I thanked Linda again as I hurried off to find my shoes and head to the kitchen to answer the caterer’s questions.

  Everything looked great. Heather wasn’t having any major issues, just spiked punch, which she quickly replaced. Things were going great on the food front.

  I hoped the Screamer stayed away. What was that DJ thinking? Come to think of it, the scream didn't sound very much like the scream we'd heard; it was more Hollywood. The real scream had been straight out of another dimension. I slid my feet into the cute leopard print shoes I’d purchased for this outfit.

  Time to really get this party started. In a quiet voice, I asked Joey if he was around, but he didn't answer. I assumed he was hanging back somewhere, watching everything with amusement. He’d already made his grand entrance and was probably hiding out now to re-up his energy. I didn’t worry about him scaring people on purpose. Joey wasn't that kind of ghost. I was kind of surprised he hadn’t sported his sailor costume when he came down the stairs. It was really sweet of him to escort Chloe. Maybe they'd finally decided to be friends. Tina Louise would have been very proud to see Chloe’s arrival.

  "Okay, Tamara. You can't hide in your room. This was your idea, remember?" With one last look in the mirror, I smiled at myself to make sure there was no lipstick on my teeth. Time to go see Deputy Patrick. The dress was a little short and the headband was probably not very cool, but I felt cute, and that was all that mattered. I've never been one to go in for scary costumes.

  “Tina Louise, you would have been proud of your baby tonight. Chloe looked like a true starlet.”