Chapter 4: One Hell Of A Day

As she picks up the girls, she opens the door and yells at them, “Hey, come on. We must go and get ready.” Excitedly, the girls quickly get in and they leave the parking lot. When they arrive home, Kelly fondly glances across the street and notices that Grayson’s car is still home. Silently, she finds herself thinking about their morning and blushes again before sighing.

They arrive at the concert just in time. All throughout it, Kelly can barely sit still because memories of his lips on her, make her panties soaked. That night after the concert is over with, she drives home and then tucks the girls in bed. Exhausted, she falls onto the couch before putting her feet up and laying back as she begins to fall asleep. “What a day.” She murmurs under her breath before she drifts off.

Startled, she wakes up out of a sound sleep. Looking around frantically, she wonders what just happened, so she stands up and stretches. At that moment, she could have sworn that she felt someone touch her leg. However, no one is there.

While turning, she feels someone, or something staring at her and then chills run up and down her spine. Finding that she must remind herself of the talk of ghosts in the house, she closes her eyes a second and then reopens them, just before she sees something moving towards her. As she stares into the darkness, a black shadow creeps closer and closer. Backing up hesitantly, she notices the shadow disappears.

Looking all over, she verifies that it is gone before she lets her guard. When she no longer feels that someone is watching her, she makes sure all the doors and windows are locked and goes to bed. As she lays there tossing and turning for a while, she is reminded of her past.

Sometime in the middle of the night she falls asleep, finally. As she does, she has vivid dreams about a man with a soft touch making love to her. A man she has never met before. Yet, she feels instantly attracted to him and yearns for him to fill her.

When she wakes up in the morning, her bed is soaked and a mess from a night of lustful dreams. Noting that the sheets are almost off the bed, she smirks because it looked like she really did make love on them with someone. While still remembering the dream vividly, she cocks her head and thinks, “How odd. The man’s face is engraved in my mind.” If she ever really saw him, she would remember him instantly. On that note, she begins to wonder if it was someone she has seen before.

All morning Kelly thinks about it obsessively and is unable to get it out of her head. Deciding to find out if anyone has ever died in her house, she makes her way to the library and asks the tall, older female librarian where there would be any records of past newspapers in the area. Clearly, she wouldn’t have to look too far back, because she seemed to recall that the house is only 40 years old or less.

Searching through old, torn newspapers, she spots an interesting document. It is an article on a suicide. Instantly interested, she flips through to the page and immediately recognizes the face on the paper. As she stares at it, her mouth drops open and she gasps softly.

“How, could this be? The man in the newspaper is the man in my dream. Could I have heard about this on the news when I was a kid? How did I know about this?” She says softly under her breath so no one else could hear her.

After looking through the rest of the documents, she makes a photocopy quickly and then reads the article intently. Apparently, the man had committed suicide in her house. No one knows why, just that he never left a note.

“How Sad.” She whispers before glancing around the room.

Continuing to read the article, she finds that he had hung himself up in the attic. The front door was unlocked and no one else was at home. His neighbor found him a couple days later when no one had seen him for several days. After all, they knew something was wrong because his lights were on, and the car was in the driveway.

When his neighbors went in the house, they noticed the attic door was open. Inside, they found his lifeless body. Reading the rest of the article she notices that it points out that his name was Carlos Dego. He was only 31 when he died. Feeling somehow attached to this man, she feels saddened, and tears start to form in her eyes. “What is wrong with me? I didn’t even know the man and I am starting to cry.”

When the librarian walks by and stops abruptly before asking if everything is alright, Kelly turns to her and asks her politely, “Did you happen to remember this case by any chance?”

Looking down at the worn paper, the librarian shakes her head no. Scratching the back of her neck, she realizes that she is not going to get anywhere with this today, so she picks up her things and leaves once the librarian walks away. Strangely enough, on the way out, she glances over her shoulder and sees a familiar face. Ah yes, as the fates have it, Grayson is at a table reading a thick plat book.

Of course, it is right between her and the door. Walking over to him casually, she strikes up a conversation before she sits down next to him, “What are you doing here?” She asks sweetly and filled with curiosity.

As soon as he looks up and sees her, his eyes light up and he replies softly, “Every once in a while, I come here to do research for my work. I check out parcels of land and any information I can get on surrounding areas. How about you?”

Wondering if she should tell him the truth, she pauses before thinking, “Maybe he would think I am nuts.”

Deciding to trust him, she whispers quietly, “I was looking into the history of the new house.”

Glancing up at the clock on the wall, he quickly states, “Isn’t it about time you pick up the kids?”

Looking at her watch quickly, she proceeds to rush out, but not before turning to him on the way and saying a little too loudly, “Thanks for reminding me. See you later.” with a smile on her lips.

As she is driving to pick up the girls, she wonders why it seems that he is everywhere she goes. Is it fate?

Because it is just about time to pick up the kids, she pulls up next to the school and waits for them to get out. While sitting in the car, she thinks about the poor man who killed himself in her house. Why does she feel so attached to him?

While thinking about this, she doesn’t notice Lilly and Jaime walk up and then open the car doors to get in. As soon as she hears them making a commotion, she starts the car, and then the two girls start yelling at each other. Looking in the rear-view mirror, Kelly asks lovingly, “Jaime how is everything going in school?”

“Mom, why do you always ask me this? I always tell you the same thing over and over. Doesn’t it get boring?” Jaime says sarcastically while she looks especially tired today for some reason.

Kelly responds in an authoritative voice, “I’m your parent. I’m supposed to, even if it bores me to tears. Honestly, I think all parents are supposed to ask this over and over. It is part of the job requirements.”

Jaime rolls her eyes before she adds excitedly, “My day was just wonderful.”

When Kelly turns to Lilly, she smiles before asking hesitantly, “Lilly, how was your day?”

While smiling sweetly, Lilly replies, “Fine mom. Did you know that Jaime had a boy ask her to be his girlfriend? She said no.”

Simultaneously, Jaime’s mouth drops open at the very same time that she leaps forward and starts hitting Lilly in the back of the head. Jaime hisses at her and then says angrily, “Why would you do that to me? I hate you!”

While Jaime hits her hard and then harder, Lilly screams at the top of her lungs and then they finally arrive home. As they pull in the driveway, Kelly slows down and tells them both to be quiet for the moment. As soon as she steps out of the car to open the house, she notices a package on the porch.

Walking up to it, she bends down and then sees a small piece of paper attached, it says that it is from Grayson. Smiling, she unlocks the door and then tells the kids to get inside.