“The house that time forgot?” Marc asked.
She nodded and sat up, tucking her legs beneath her. “Yeah, that one. I went to visit her and her housekeeper, Edith, told me she’d passed.”
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry,” he said and took her in his arms, patting her back gently. “I know you really liked her.”
“I feel so bad,” she said. “And, here is some odd news. She left me her house.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, pulling back to study her.
“After we met, she changed her will and left me her house.”
Marc was beside himself. “Are you fucking kidding me?” he asked. “How does something like this happen? So, we now own that Spanish Revival mess down the street?”
Harmony shrugged. “I don’t know but I feel bad. And I have a feeling that her nephews will contest the will.”
He shrugged. “They might not.” He nodded and seemed to get lost in thought for a moment, then said, “The day after you met her, I did some research on that family. They’ve all got plenty of money. Her husband was loaded and I mean loaded.”
Harmony nodded.
“This is crazy, though,” he said. “This is truly crazy.”
“We can’t keep it though, can we?” Harmony asked. “The house, I mean?”
“Why can’t we?”
“It doesn’t seem right,” Harmony said.
“What’s not right about it?” Marc asked. “Besides, that house was the least expensive thing that woman owned. Do you know she owned an airport? And a strip mall.”
“Wow,” Harmony said.
“Well, we’ll just wait and see if anything happens with it, you know, whether or not her family contests the will or whatever,” Marc said. “And, if not, it’s ours. Or rather, it’s yours, and we’ll sell it.”
“I don’t want to sell it!” Harmony exclaimed.
“What did you want to do with it, then?” Marc asked.
“I want to live in it!”
“Are you crazy? Do you know how much renovation a place like that would take?” he asked. “We would have to take out a loan on it. A big one.”
“But she gave it to me,” she told him. “And, you’re probably not going to like this reason, but she said that she was doing it because I needed to get out of my house.”
He eyed her. “What?”
She nodded. “She knew a lot of stuff about this house. I told you that and she felt like it wasn’t safe for me.”
He rolled his eyes. “She sounded like a nutty old woman, Harmony. Old women are usually nervous about things.”
Harmony just stared at him.
“There is nothing wrong with this house,” he said, groaning. “You know that and I know that. We’ve moved past that. Or so I thought.”
Harmony didn’t say anything but she disagreed. She also knew Josephine was right. She needed to get out of this house. And maybe she would never live in the house down the road, but she knew she was moving out of this one and soon. With or without Marc. He could hem and haw all he wanted but her mind was made up. She wasn’t raising her baby in this house no matter what he said.
“But you said we could sell this house and maybe we could take the profits from it to fix that one up,” Harmony said. “And Edith said there were two old cars in the garage that someone would pay a lot of money for.”
“You got all this figured out, don’t you?” he asked and smiled at her. “But you better not forget that if you start a renovation like that, you’re in it for the long haul and that could take years.”
“Not if I’m doing a lot of the work myself,” Harmony said. “And I could blog about it, you know, give a history of the house, talk about Josephine, all that. People would love it.”
He nodded. ‘They would. Lots of people like old houses. But need I remind you that you are pregnant and once you give birth, you’ll probably want to spend all your time with the baby. I know I want to.”
She smiled at him. “Well, it’s getting late and let’s stop talking about it. We can figure all this stuff out later.”
“We can and we will,” he said and kissed her cheek. “Are you hungry? Want me to fix you something?”
“I have not been hungry all day,” she said. “I thought when you got pregnant you wanted to eat all the time.”
“That might be later on,” he said.
“It must be,” she said. “But hungry or not, I need to eat something.”
“Are you feeling nauseous or anything?”
She shook her head. “No, not really. But my sense of smell is off the charts. I can smell everything.”
“Like what?”
She stared at him. “I can smell your hair.”
He touched his hair. “My hair?”
“I can smell it,” she said. “Even through all that product you’re using.”
“Don’t rag on my product,” he said and grinned at her.
“I’m not,” she said.
“I am really sorry about your friend,” he said.
“Me, too,” she replied and turned her cheek as he leaned in for a kiss.
“Uh uh,” he said. “One on the lips.”
She smiled and turned and he gave her quick kiss on the lips.
“How’s the baby today?”
“Well, she or he hasn’t said much, but I believe they are doing just fine,” she said and smiled at him. “We’re so blessed, aren’t we?”
“Apparently you are,” he said. “Getting massive houses willed to you. That’s just crazy.”
She nodded as he got up off the couch. “Marc,” she said and grabbed his hand to keep him from leaving. “We are going to sell this house and move though, aren’t we? Even if the other house doesn’t work out?”
“Yes, Harmony,” he said wearily. “We are.”
“Thank you,” she said.
He nodded. “You’re welcome.”
She watched as he headed towards the kitchen and then she lay back down and closed her eyes. She was exhausted and she hadn’t even really done anything all day. Besides growing a human inside of her. And that took a lot of effort.
* * * * *
Harmony’s doctor’s appointment had gone well and she was pleased that he’d told her everything “looked good.” He had joked she could continued doing most what she did before she was pregnant but not to operate heavy machinery or lift any heavy objects. She liked her OBGYN and was glad she’d have him for her pregnancy. He always made her feel at ease and joked just enough to take the edge of any doctor’s visit. He gave her a prescription for prenatal vitamins and told her to get plenty of rest.
After a quick stop at the pharmacy, Harmony returned home and was on her way to the kitchen when she glanced out the accordion doors and spotted Darcy, who was sunbathing by the pool. She hadn’t seen her in a while and wanted to talk to her. She tossed her bag of vitamins on the kitchen counter and headed outside.
Darcy sat up and smiled at Harmony as she entered. “Hey, girl,” she said.
“Hey,” Harmony said and sat on the lounge chair beside Darcy. “It’s hot out here today.”
“It is,” Darcy replied. “But it feels so good.”
“It does feel good,” Harmony said and closed her eyes.
“Why don’t you get in the pool?” Darcy asked.
“Uh, no, I’m not in the mood,” Harmony said and turned to her. “Anyway, you were right. I’m pregnant.”
Darcy’s mouth dropped. “Wow, seriously? I’m never right about anything!”
Harmony laughed. “Yup, just a little over a month. I just got back from my OBGYN. He said everything looked good.”
“Do you know what you’re having? Boy, girl… Animal, vegetable, mineral?”
Harmony laughed again. “No. It’s too early to tell. Hopefully human.”
Darcy laughed with her. “Hopefully.”
“Anyway, I have some news,” she said. “I need to t
ell you that we’re selling the house. Of course, we’ll make sure that you have the option to rent from the new owners. I’ll make sure of that so you don’t have to move.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Harmony noticed that Darcy’s demeanor immediately changed. She just stared at Harmony without saying anything. It was a little unnerving, to say the least.
“You’re moving?” Darcy asked.
Harmony bit her bottom lip and nodded. “Yeah, we will be. Here soon. Funny thing, I don’t know if I told you but I met our neighbor down the road, an old lady named Josephine? Anyway, in an odd turn of events, she left me her house.”
“I’m confused,” Darcy said. “Why would some random stranger leave you her house? Is she dead?”
Harmony nodded. “Yeah, she died and she willed me her house,” she said.
“Why?”
“I don’t know,” Harmony said. “She said… God, I feel so silly. But she got it into her head that I wasn’t safe here.”
“That is certainly not true,” Darcy said angrily. “Why wouldn’t you be safe here? You don’t have to listen to some old woman filling your head full of crap, Harmony, and you don’t have to leave. All that stuff that happened here was a long time ago. You should stay. This is your home.”
Harmony stared at her, wondering why she was overreacting to her news. It wasn’t like she was abandoning her, but Darcy certainly seemed to be taking it that way. She wanted to reassure her and let her know everything would be fine, but she just didn’t know if it would be. Too much crazy stuff had happened since she moved in and she just wanted to be done with it. And if that meant living in a rundown house and working through renovation after renovation that could take years, then that’s what it meant. This house was not right for her and she was sick of no one understanding that. No one, that was, besides Josephine.
“You can stay,” Darcy said adamantly “You should stay.”
Harmony sighed, getting a little more than frustrated. She told her, “Honestly, I don’t want to stay. This is a great house, but a little… It’s weird, you know? I think I hear things all the time and… No. I know it’s nothing. It was just the pregnancy hormones. That’s all it was, that’s all the dream was, just hormones. But the house… Well, it still freaks me out.”
“You’re really not going to leave, are you?” Darcy said, barely audible.
Harmony didn’t catch what she said and asked, “What?”
“Nothing,” Darcy muttered.
Harmony stared at her and started to say something, then changed her mind. She just couldn’t deal with this right now. She didn’t feel like it and she was suddenly hungry. She wanted to go into the kitchen and make herself a big turkey sandwich and not deal with Darcy. And that’s what she was going to do. She stood and said, “Well, anyway, I have a few things to get done.”
Darcy pursed her lips, then said curtly, “Yeah, go get them done.”
“What is your problem? We can still be friends, Darcy.”
“No, you’re leaving me,” Darcy said.
Harmony gasped a little at her words. What was wrong with her? Where was this coming from? They didn’t even really know each other that well, not enough to warrant this type of reaction. “I’m not leaving you!” Harmony exclaimed. “Why would you say such a thing?”
Darcy stood and pulled on her cover-up over her bikini. She shot Harmony a hurt, angry look. “Yeah, you are and you know it,” she said and started to back away. “Congrats on the baby and all that. Good luck, Harmony.”
Harmony was confused at her behavior but even so, called, “Darcy, come on! Don’t be like that!”
“I just thought we could stick together, that’s all.”
“What are you talking about?!” Harmony yelled.
Darcy shook her head and turned on her heel and headed to the guesthouse. Harmony watched her go then sighed and started towards the house. Just then, she turned to see Darcy pause at the door and stare at her and shake her head slightly. Harmony stared back, started to say something, then changed her mind and entered the house.
And then everything went to hell. Quite literally.
CUT TO BLACK
When Harmony went back into the house, she found out beyond a shadow of doubt that she hadn’t imagined anything. And all of her fears were soon realized.
Harmony hadn’t been crazy, after all. She had seen the woman beside the bed and the man at the party and the party itself. She’d seen the people on her computer screen and she’d heard the voices. Something—or someone—had snapped her bra closed for her right after she moved in. And, yes, her face had fallen off that day after she got out of the shower. All these things had happened in a swirl of paranormal activity that permeated the house.
Harmony had been right. There was something wrong with the house all along.
Just after Harmony talked to Darcy, she entered the house with no intention other than going into the kitchen and preparing lunch but then things started happening. First of all, the lights all flicked off and the curtains on the windows closed themselves. Harmony stood looking around and, for a split second, she wondered if all of this was really happening or if it was just in her mind. It wasn’t just in her mind. It was really happening.
She looked around in confusion, still unable to contend with the facts that were presenting themselves at that moment and turned to the glass doors. The door was slightly ajar as she’d forgotten to close it all the way and she almost started towards it when it slammed shut. She jumped at the sound and was startled to see Darcy, in a state of frenzy, running up against the door and banging her hands on the glass.
Darcy screamed, “Get out! Get out!”
Harmony stared at her in confusion, then turned around. While her mind was swimming with all this confusion that surrounded her, the air was quiet and still. The room was now calm.
“Get out!” Darcy screamed hollowly, as if she were screaming from inside of a bottle. “Get out!”
Something told Harmony to listen to her and without thinking, she started to the front door but before she got there, the locks on it turned and sealed her in.
“Watch out!” Darcy screamed.
Harmony raced to the front door and tried to open it. It wouldn’t give. She turned around and stared at Darcy, who was still trying to get the door open. Harmony and Darcy stared at each other in sheer panic and then, all of a sudden, Darcy was pulled backwards and into the air by an invisible force and then dropped into the pool. Harmony ran over to the doors and stared out at the pool, looking for Darcy, who was just then coming to the top and swimming to the edge.
“She’ll be fine, Harmony,” a deep, masculine voice said behind her. “Darcy will be fine.”
Harmony slowly turned around to face the handsome man from the party. When she did so, she drew in a deep breath and her face took on a petrified look. She breathed, “Balthazar?”
He smiled as if he liked that she knew his name, but he said nothing.
Harmony started to say something else but he shook his head as if he didn’t have time for this.
“No,” he said. “I’m not the one you should worry about. Take care, young lady.”
He snapped his fingers and Harmony lost consciousness.
* * * * *
Harmony found herself in the walk-in closet in her bedroom. She was lying on the floor when she came to. She didn’t know how long she’d been in there or how long she’d been out, but it seemed like it had been quite some time. She was sweating profusely and she was panicked. Suddenly she felt a drift of cold surround her and she shivered.
She got up and went to the door and tried to open it. But to no avail. It was locked and she was really starting to lose it. She was about to start banging on the door for help when she heard Marc’s voice. She couldn’t make out the words because he seemed very far off, but it sounded like he’d told her he was home. And it sounded like he was in the living room but she coul
d barely hear him. She stood still and listened very carefully, pressing her ear to the door. Nothing. She looked around and realized the back of the closet was the nearest to the living room, so she walked over, pushed a bunch of clothes out of the way and pressed her ear to the wall. She didn’t hear anything for a while, then she heard his voice and it came in clear enough for her to understand him.
“Harmony!” he called “I’m home! Where are you?”
“Well, hello, handsome,” a very sexy female voice called.
Harmony froze. This was a different voice than the one she’d been hearing. She listened more intently but didn’t hear anything for a few long seconds, then she heard Marc call out, his voice laced with panic, “Harmony! Is that you?”
Silence. Complete and total silence. Harmony’s breathing began to escalate and she didn’t know what to do.
“People come here all the time,” another female voice called, this one much, much smoother, almost like one on a coffee commercial. “They like it here.”
Harmony became even more frightened, if that were possible.
“What the fuck?” he called out. “Harmony! Are you playing a prank on me? Come on, now! I get it! Ha ha!”
A memory flooded back to Harmony and while it should have made her smile, it made her very, very sad. She didn’t do many pranks, never had, but when she did, they were good ones. One April Fool’s, she’d replaced their TV with one of those fake ones they have in furniture stores for display. Marc hadn’t noticed and had sat down on the couch, grabbed the remote and tried to turn on the TV. When it didn’t come on, he had gotten up and found out that his TV had turned into a cardboard one and this more than confused him. Harmony had watched him from the kitchen and laughed so hysterically she was almost rolling in the floor. After his anger, and embarrassment, subsided, he told her that was a pretty damned good prank. But he had begged her to never again mess with the TV.
She suddenly realized they might not ever have another April Fool’s again. Tears streamed down her face and she felt herself wanting to break down and cry. But she couldn’t. She had to stay strong and get out of this house. And she had to help Marc, too.
The House in the Hills Page 18