by S. Graham
I hear the front door slam shut and I head out of the master to see Mitch walking into the kitchen.
"Who's over?" he asks.
"What do you mean?" I say.
"Who is over with the boys?"
"No one is, Mitch, they are in my room finishing up the movie."
"No. I just saw a kid upstairs looking over the banister when I came in. Blonde hair, blue jeans. He is this tall." He puts his hand out, showing the height a little above his waist.
"Mitch," I say, looking at him.
He stares at me, and it all starts clicking for him. He has finally seen the child. He has finally seen the boy who has been haunting me for a year. This is the moment he realizes this is all true, and this is the proof he needs. He saw Ryan.
"Grab the kids, get in the car!"
I turned around to head to the master, and thankfully the boys were already standing there. "Mom is it time to go now?"
"Yes, Connor, let's grab your shoes and head out."
Logan points up. "Balloon!"
"No, Logan, no balloon. We are heading to a hotel for some fun."
"Yay!" he says and thankfully drops the request for the balloon.
Mitch is dragging the two bags, and Connor is carrying poor little Mats out. Suddenly, we are all running for the car.
"We get to have a sleepover at a hotel, Connor," Logan says, all proud as Connor buckles his seatbelt.
"I know, I can't wait!"
Looking back, I see Mitch locking the front door, and a sigh of relief escapes my body. He's out. We are all safe and out of this horrible house.
"We have to come back tomorrow to let the movers in and to get the carpets clean. That's it, Becca. No more after that."
"Mitch, you saw him!"
"Stop, Becca. I can't talk about this right now. It freaked the F… out of me. I'm sorry I ever gave you a hard time. We can put this house behind us tomorrow and never ever talk about it again."
We both get in and Mitch starts the car. We pull out of the driveway and see the upstairs lights starting to flicker on and off. Looking directly at each other, we say nothing. We don't need to.
Chapter 21
This is the last day. We pull in the driveway at 7 am and sit there staring at the front of the house. I don't want to go in but know we have to. It feels like it was just yesterday walking around this house to see if it was a good fit for our family. To see if it could offer a safe and happy place to raise my boys. I should have gone with my gut and walked away from this house the second I stepped into it.
The large moving truck pulls in and the guys start laying down the blankets at the entrance of the house. Mitch walks in first, and he doesn't come out in a panic, so I know everything looks alright.
"Becca?" I hear to my left. It's Carol. "I made you up a little basket for the kids to keep busy, and a bottle of wine for you tonight. I'm going to miss you so very much. I'm so sorry about everything." She hands the basket to me, and I can see she has put a lot of thought into the gifts for the kids. It is full of crayons and books.
"It's okay. I will miss you too. This is something I will remember for a long time." I chuckle.
She lets out a smile. "Listen, while the movers load the truck, let the boys come over for one last play with the kids."
"Mom, can we, please?" both say, looking up at me, waiting on my next word.
"Yes, sure. Go right ahead!"
"Yayyyy!" they scream and run towards Carol's house. She turns, smiles, and chases after them.
This isn't a good place for kids right now anyways, with the movers lifting and carrying things out of the house. Hell, this wasn't even a good place for the kids a year ago. I should have gotten out sooner. Oh well, I'm done now, and that's all that matters. Walking into the house, I can see it's starting to empty fast. Some rooms are bare already, just in time for the carpet cleaners to get started upstairs.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry to bug you. One of your kids is in the room on the right, and he's crying, we can't get into the room to clean the carpets."
I stand there just staring at her. "Thanks, I'll go up." Obviously it wasn't my child. I made my way up the staircase, each step bringing me closer to a small whimper coming from above. At the top of the stairs, I look to the right, towards Logan's room. The door opens for me right away, slowly creaking open to see nothing. It's empty, vacant. Standing there for a minute, I don't hear anything else, no cry or whimper. I know what I need to do.
"Listen. I'm so sorry that you're stuck here and all you have gone through. We are leaving and I want you to do the same. You can't stay here haunting everyone. You need to move on. I'm so sorry, Ryan. I know you are mad and sad and probably lost. My family needs to leave this horrible house and you should too, it's time."
I wait; there's nothing after.
"Excuse me? Can I get in here and clean this carpet?" Glancing at the door, I see a large lady with a handful of cleaning equipment.
"Yes, sorry, go right ahead." Walking out of the room, I'm left with this unsettled energy, not feeling closure at all.
"Becca, it's all done. Everything is loaded and the truck was just picked up. Once they are done upstairs, we are good to go."
"Great. I'll go get the kids." I walk over to Carol's and knock on the door. She answers just soon after.
"Boys, your mom is here, time to go." A bit of sadness is in the air, and I hate goodbyes. "Boys, you be good for your mom now and I will talk to you soon, I'm sure!"
"Of course." They smile and lean in for a hug.
"Take care, Becca, and please keep in touch!"
"I will. Come on boys, off we go!" They head to the car, and I watch the cleaning crew lug their equipment out. This is it; this is goodbye. I wave one last time to Carol and walk to the boys who are already putting on the seatbelts, eager to start a new adventure. Tonight, it's an unusual cool Texas night with some storm clouds rolling in from the west. Walking around the car, I can see the front door wide open. I can see through the doorway to the back of the house where Mitch is standing there, frozen in one spot, just looking in my direction. Taking a couple of more steps towards the door, it's clear Mitch's face is pale and sweaty, as he's struggling to say something. He gets out the word, "B-B-Becca…" and the front door slams shut with extreme force. It shakes the windows on every level.
"Mitch!" Running up to the door, I fumble for the handle, and it won't budge. It's locked. "Mitch!" I bang on the front door, screaming.
Carol is coming over to see what the commotion is. "Becca, is everything alright?"
"Carol! Watch the kids!" I run along the side of the house and start looking in all the windows. The second I get to each window, the blinds close shut.
"Mitch!" I scream, banging on the glass with my fist. As I’m running to the next window, and for just a split second, I see Mitch still standing in the same spot with the look of terror on his face; what is he looking at? Then the blinds close.
"What the hell is going on?", I say, as I’m opening the back gate and running into the backyard around the outdoor counter. I turn the knob of the back door, but it's locked. I am banging so hard on the door, my hand starts to sting. Not sure what else to do, I sprint back to the front of the house to check on the kids.
"Becca, what's going on?"
"I don't know," I say, flustered and breathing heavily.
"Should I call for help?"
"No, not yet!" My heart is beating out of my chest when I hear Mitch yelling my name, banging on the other side of the door. The hair on the back of my neck sticks up, realizing he can't get out of the house. The house won't let him. Finally, for whatever reason, the door opens, and I am face to face with Mitch. He has lost all the color in his face as blood is gushing from his nose and down his chin.
"Oh, my God, are you okay? What happened?"
Glancing over Mitch's body, there are no physical injuries, just his nose; he's okay.
"He… He…. I couldn't move. He wouldn't let me!" Mitch was stutter
ing and shaking so much, that he handed me the keys. "Get in the car now! You drive, get us the hell out of here!"
Without questioning him another second, we run to the car. I give Carol a quick hug and get behind the wheel, leaving her questioning everything going on.
"Mom, Mom…what happened?" concerned Connor asks with wide eyes while staring at his dad.
"Nothing, baby, we are outta here!"
Mitch wipes the blood from his nose. "Go, Becca! Drive!"
Giving one last look towards Carol, popping the car in reverse and back out fast enough to lurch us to an abrupt stop. I accelerate forward past the house, with the tires letting out a squeal. Looking at the house as we speed off, there is no one watching us from the window. The lights aren't going on and off either. Letting out all of the air I was unknowingly holding in my lungs, I take a breath of relief. It's over; it's all over.
"Mitch, are you o—"
"Stop! I don't want to ever talk about this. Drop it!" Looking at him, I know he has realized how tormented I was by the child's lost soul. The boys giggle in the back seat, and it breaks my attention off of Mitch. They giggle again and again.
I look in the rearview mirror and I see those sweet faces of my boys, putting a smile on my face. They are safe; we all are.
"Shhhhhhhhh… Mom!" Connor points at my eyes in the mirror, forcing whatever conversation in the back seat to stop.
Frowning, I say, "Shhh?"
Connor grins, "Yes, Mom, it's a surprise!"
We now pull out of the community and head to the main highway. "What's my surprise?" I say with curiosity as I’m looking at the traffic light and then glancing back in my rearview mirror.
Connor says, "Forever, Mommy. Forever. He will love you forever!"
Something grabs my attention in the very back row of seats behind Connor and Logan.
The color red bobs and bobs, and all the air escapes my body; it feels like I'm having an out-of-body experience when I realize what it is I'm watching. It's the balloon; the ruby red balloon left back at the house high up on the window sill. The balloon is bobbing in the back as if someone is yanking on the string. Bob after bob, up and down. It was just bouncing and bouncing. The familiar and terrifying giggle erupts from the very back seat.
"He will love you forever, Mom, just like me!"
Acknowledgments
I want to take a minute and thank so many people for playing such a vital role in writing Vacant.
First, I would like to thank my husband for not only encouraging me to follow a dream on my bucket list, but for living through this surreal event with me. There is no one on the face of the earth that I would rather go through something like this with than you. I’m truly blessed to have you by my side.
Too my two boys, Mommy is so darn grateful for your endless hugs and support during my many days and nights of writing. Everything I do is for the two of you.
To my parents, thanks so much for supporting me in this dream. Being a part of it, living through it with me step by step as it morphed into a completed novel. Your capacity
to give such love and support made this possible.
For the rest of my family and friends, thanks for your encouragement. It was a dream I picked up and ran with the support of everyone close to me. Having the blessing of living in so many different places has given me the gift of endless friendships all over the globe. I hold them all near and dear to my heart.
Big thanks to The Paper House for doing such an amazing job with my cover, editing and everything else in between. You made this experience less stressful and more enjoyable for this
first-time author. Every single one of you are truly exceptional at what you do. I look forward to working with you all again in the future.
To anyone out there that has a dream, follow it. Do it for yourself, let it complete you.
I’m a mom who had a dream to write a book and as my husband once said to me, “What are you waiting for, chase your dream.”
About The Author
S. Graham was born in Kelowna BC, Canada. She is a wife and very proud mother of two children, currently putting down some roots in The Woodlands, Texas. If she isn’t writing you can find her with either a paint brush in her hand re doing antique furniture, or reading a good page turner. Vacant is S. Graham’s very first book of many more to come.