Chapter 3: Welcome Home

We arrive in the morning. I woke up about thirty minutes earlier. Once the sun hits my eyes it’s normally game over on sleep. The sun can be brutal along the horizon from the east. I feel exhausted still. Maggie said I was tossing and turning. I normally can’t sleep well on cars. I would on mountain climbing trips out here but I at least could put the back seats down. I’ve had to do it a few times when my girlfriend partied hard as well. It gets her through trauma. The small sacrifices we make for love. I forget how secluded it was over here. We have the Great Plains to the east and mountains to the west. Even though this road has been becoming more residential the house is a good distance away. We had some slight hills and trees for privacy. The house has seen better days. Nobody wants to live here. It’s another creepy house on the legendary Riverdale road. After the internet blew up all the legends and ghost stories over the past few years the whole road has become popular with amateur ghost hunters. Luckily even though there is a lot of new residential areas being built their is space before our home. The closes is a new area with a few half built homes.

I get out of the car and zone out staring at it. I didn’t tell Maggie everything last night. Some things are to embarrassing. Our dad didn’t just disappear. One night as kids we heard a loud commotion from the attic. Sounded like things falling over and some shouting and something else I can’t really remember but I remember the silence after. It was loud then dead silent. We were scared and couldn’t find our dad so we called the police. It took them forever to finally show up. A negative about living in the middle of nowhere, but I remember them bringing a body out of the attic. We didn’t get to verify it was him but the police didn’t care. To them they still blamed our dad for the disappearance of our mother and unborn sister. Just another case closed. We found out that our dad was found hanging. He was never suicidal no matter how bad things got after that camping trip. He always had hope. He did get distant and started getting into the paranormal but he never gave us the impression he would do something like that. After that the house became another local legend. Another ghost story on Riverside Rd.

“Long time no see.” I hear as I snap out of the zone i was in. My brother walks out of the front door with a woman. He rushes over and hugs me. It’s been years. His embrace was warm and welcoming. I squeeze back. “It’s so good to see you again. Welcome back home! This is my girlfriend Mallory” he says as he waves her over. A gorgeous short girl covered in tattoos comes over. Even has some face tattoos. She has a voluptuous body like my queen. We definitely are brothers with the same taste.

“It’s nice to meet you” she nicely replies.

“This is my girlfriend Maggie” I tell them introducing her.

“Let me help you guys with your stuff. Come make yourself at home again.” Zach says as he grabs our backpacks. That’s all we brought for this short trip. We’re used to packing light.

We walk inside and a flashback of memories hit all at once. It still looks eerily similar to our youth. Book cases and tables and the entertainment system set-up we’re all the same. The double glass doors between the living room and dining remained. You don’t see that to much anymore. I look around in awe.

“Yeah, it hasn’t changed much. Ever since we left nobody would stay long. I was eventually able to buy it for cheap. It just felt right. You guys can stay in your old room or on the couch. It turns into a bed.” Zach says.

“Thanks man. We’ll probably just crash on the couch” I reply. “I’m gonna go use the bathroom real quick.”

“Still on top of the stairs.” He reminds me.

I venture up the creaky wooden steps. The bathroom is still the same as well. A boring beige wall color with wooden cabinets. I notice a crack in the sink. That’s new I smirk. I use the bathroom quick then stare in the mirror as I wash my hands. Something is different as I get an eerie feeling. Ahh, It’s a new mirror. The only thing that looks new. I step into the hall and see my old bedroom door wide open. I walk over to it. The same green carpet and sky blue walls. I lay down on my old twin bed. All that remained was that and my wooden dresser on the other side. I hear scratching coming from the closet. Probably mice. I open the door and nothing was there. It just looks creepy and old with some hangers. I lay back on the bed. I’m so exhausted still.