by Trinity Crow
“You won! Oh, my God! Did we all win?”
Pink-haired Tasmyn, who looked alarmed by the physical contact, nodded, then stepped back, a pained look on her face.
“Let's go celebrate,” Finn, proud, new owner of a haunted inn, said with a grin. I nodded along with the others. Away from the stares and comments of the crowd, I felt my happiness begin to swell. I owned a house! The relief was almost painful.
We turned to follow Finn up the street.
"Uh, Tasmyn?" The girl, Nikki, stood there looking uncomfortable. “You won,” she said softly. "Uh… I don't guess you remember what we said?"
Tasmyn stared at her, her eyes huge and dilated.
What had been said, I wondered.
The girl looked liked she wished the ground would swallow her up, but also like she had no choice. “Um, about if I won, you could stay with me and if you won. . .”
“Didn't you win?” Cassie said in astonishment. “I thought you said we all won.” She shot an accusing look at Tasmyn.
“I. . . I did?” The pink-hair girl grew pale and she stepped back.
I wanted to shield the girl from their accusing looks. Cassie blew so hot and cold, I thought. It was unsettling. I wasn't sure she was someone I would ever feel I could trust.
“About what you said. . .” Nikki repeated, moving closer. “That if I won, you could stay with me and if you won, I could stay with you?”
The silence dragged on too long and everyone was staring at Tasmyn. I wished someone would step in.
"Uh, yeah,” Tasmyn said. "Sure. Give me a call and we'll set it up.” She turned and stumbled further down the street, mumbling something.
“I don't have your number,” Nikki called out.
The pink-haired girl walked faster, lurching to get away from us. There was something really wrong with the way she was stumbling, but no one else seemed to notice.
“Tasmyn,” Nikki called louder. “I don't have your number.''
“Never mind,” I heard Finn say as Tasmyn fled around the corner. “We'll find something for you.” The disgust in his voice was so loud that I winced. I broke away from the others and hurried after the girl.
“Abby! Let her go,” Cassie called. “She isn't worth it.”
I ignored them. I felt we had somehow made a bond between us, our little group of dollar-house hopefuls. But how easily they were throwing her away. I remembered Cassie running through the crowd with out a backward glance and shivered, realizing they could discard me just as quickly.
When I reached the corner, my worst fears were realized. Tasmyn lay on the sidewalk, shaking violently. Her eyes were rolled up and her head struck the cement repeatedly.
I let out a cry of dismay. “Call for help,” I yelled at the staring crowd. The blank faces stared at me, unmoved. "Please! Someone call for help."
I dropped my packet as I ran to help, falling to my knees and cradling her head in my hands.
“It's okay,” I said softly, fear screaming through me as I tried to stop Tasmyn's head from slamming against my knees. “Shhh, just relax. Easy now. Help is coming.”
I turned my head to yell for help again and saw the dollar group rushing towards us. Then, Nikki dropped down beside me.
“Oh, my God!” Her eyes were full of tears as she ripped off her jacket and covered Tasmyn with it.
“An ambulance is coming,” Cassie said. She looked like she, too, was going to cry any minute.
“You didn't know,” I said briefly seeing the guilt in her eyes.
Cassie shook her head, no doubt thinking she was the worst person in the world.
“Is there still some security around?” Nikki asked, directing looks at Finn and Adam. “The ambulance may have trouble getting through these people.”
Adam nodded and he tugged Cassie away to look for some official help with crowd control.
Finn crouched down. “Does she have family I can call?”
Nikki shook her head. “No. That's why we made that plan. We're both on our own. She mentioned her mom, but said they weren't close. She said she'd die before going back to her.”
“Still,” Finn said, uneasily. “It's her mom. . .she should know.”
Nikki and I exchanged a glance.
“We should stay out of it,” I said, fixing him with the sternest look I could manage. “That's not our decision.”
The wail of a siren interrupted us and people scattered as the authorities arrived. They made short work of getting Tasmyn on a stretcher and into the vehicle.
Nikki pushed her way up to the ambulance. I heard her fierce voice telling them Tasmyn was her sister. The medics moved out the way and allowed her to climb in. As the sirens screamed and the ambulance raced away, the rest of us stood silently, our joy dampened what had just happened. Would Tasmyn even get to see her new home?
Chapter 5
"I can't believe that guy," Cassie fumed as they drove away from the hospital. She ripped up Finn's card and threw it out the window. "He had no right to contact her mom and get us all kicked out.
"What?" she said when Adam made a disapproving noise at her actions. "It's biodegradable."
I said nothing, though I agreed with Cassie. It hadn't been Finn's place to decide whether Tasmyn kept contact with her family. Giving birth to someone did not give you a right to the rest of their life. And now, having met the woman who gave birth to Tasmyn, I could understand her need to get as far away as possible.
"At least Tasmyn is going to be okay," I said, hoping to forestall a fuss between brother and sister. I turned and gave Nikki a smile. "You can come stay with me," I told her. "But I'm going to put you to work!"
Nikki's eyes brightened. "Really?" she said, hope visibly rising in her.
I nodded, feeling shy in the face of her happiness. It was a strange feeling to have the power to help someone else. The burst of happiness it gave me was like icing on the joy I felt at having a place to call my own.
“You. . . You're not planning on sleeping out there tonight? Are you?" Adam said in disbelief.
“Yes,” I said with a shrug. “I am.” I gave Nikki a questioning look.
“Me too, if Abby's okay with it," she said matter-of-factly. "Every penny I save on a motel is money I can help her with food and stuff.”
“It's very okay,” I said. “Two's company!”
“But that place isn't fit to live in,” Adam protested. “It has no roof!”
My mouth tightened. That was easy for him to say. He had somewhere to go. I wasn't going to mooch off people when I had my very own house. Poor Nikki was already in that spot.
“Let's not get into all that, just yet,” Cassie begged us. “Come on, you guys! We're winners! Let's go buy a flashlight or two so we can go look at our houses!”
Cassie's crow of triumph was impossible to ignore. We all exchanged a grin and Adam, gave in with a good-natured sigh and headed towards the tiny commercial area to find a store.
By sheer loudness, Cassie won the right to visit her house first. It was funny, I thought, even though the other girl had paid for the tickets for both houses, Cassie was already calling one Adam's house and the other, her own. So it was to Cassie's own, we went first.
“It's closest,” was Adam's only comment, “and it will shut you up.”
It was close. Just a few blocks from the downtown area in a slightly shabby, older neighborhood.
It didn't look too bad, I thought when they pulled up, just a little neglected.
“Middle-lower class neighborhood, schools and public library with in walking distance. Property values are rising and zoned mixed commercial/residential!” Cassie said with satisfaction as she climbed out the car. “What?” she said smugly at our surprised stares. “That Finn is not the only one who can do research.”
The house was the last one on the block and had a wide, mostly treeless lot. The few trees clustered around the unassuming little building as if protecting it. Cassie proudly pulled out her keys as we approached the door.
“Uh, sis?” Adam said slowly. “I don't think that will be necessary.” He gestured at the door which was not only missing a doorknob and keyhole but was partially open.
“No biggie,” she said. “It's been a crash pad for several years. The inside is really rough, but I'm going to gut it anyway.”
“That will cost a lot,” Adam said, with a frown.
“Yeah, maybe,” Cassie said, sounding as if she wanted to change the subject. “But we can do a lot of the work ourselves.”
“We?” Adam said pointedly.
“What are brothers for?” I teased him, earning a wry look.
Cassie shot me a grateful glance and then jangled her keys loudly. “Let's go in!”
“I'll go first,” Adam said sternly.
“Oh, brother dearest!” Cassie blew out her breath and batted her eyes. “Please save me from the haunted house.”
Before he could answer, the door opened and a couple of teens stepped out.
“Oh, hey,” one girl said casually. “Better hurry if you're going to get pictures. I hear the new owner is some eager-ass woman. She'll probably be over here soon.”
“Yeah, but I hear she's going to turn the place into a coffeehouse. That'd be cool,” said her friend.
"I heard an art studio, but whatever," the first girl said in a bored tone as she passed me
"She should keep the name Hideaway House," the lanky guy in the back said loudly. “Like an homage. Man, the parties this place has seen.”
“You've never seen them, Eric,” the first girl said, over her shoulder. “Your mom has you on a 10 pm curfew.”
“Shut up, Shelly!” he said and pushed his way past them, hurrying down the sidewalk.
Shelly laughed and ran to catch up. “You're such a baby!” she said.
“Why'd you have to embarrass me in front of those hot girls?” they heard him mutter.
Cassie smirked as the trio left. “I'm the eager-ass woman,” she said, “so you two must be the hot girls.”
Nikki laughed and preened, but I could feel myself turning red. I was definitely not anyone's idea of a hot girl.
“What was all that about a coffeehouse?” Adam asked, turning to look at Cassie.
“Who knows how these rumors get started?” She shrugged him off. “I mean, Hideaway House? What local came up with that gem? Look, Adam, are you going first or not? Move out the way if you're just going to keep talking!”
Adam took a deep breath and walked forward, clicking on his flashlight as he entered the house.
“Watch your step,” he called back. “It's a little rough in here.”
Cassie crowded eagerly after him, Nikki and myself trailing after her.
A little rough was an understatement. We didn't need the flashlights, because the uncovered windows showed plainly the gaping holes in the sheet rock, the graffiti sprayed on the walls, and the trash scattered everywhere. Adam's foot hit an empty beer can and it clattered hollowly across the floor.
“This place is the pits,” he said, frowning.
Cassie sighed. “You're such a Debbie Downer. You have to look past the current state and see the potential.”
Adam looked doubtful, but I could see what she meant. I moved over to the kitchen where gaping holes marked the places appliances should have stood. I wiped a bit of dust off the window and peered out.
“You can see downtown from here,” I said in surprise. Cassie moved up beside me.
“Yep,” she gloated. “And I could put a walking path directly through the back of the lot. That street over there has all these arty ,little shops, a frozen yogurt place and supposedly a micro-brewery is in the works.”
“All of that in this sleepy, little town?” Adam said.
“Yes, in this sleepy, little town,” Cassie retorted. “They are developing it to lure the college crowd over. The academic staff as much as the students.”
“But you're not planning on opening a coffeehouse?" he said, his brows lowering suspiciously.
“Give me a break, Adam.” Cassie sighed. “I enrolled in college, didn't I? Like you insisted. I just need a side project to. . .” Her face darkened. “To keep my mind busy.”
It was clear the loss of their parents was making Cassie so on edge and Adam so protective. I felt bad they were going through such a hard time.
“Can we check for anything?” I said to break the moment. “Or are you just getting a good look?”
Cassie whipped out a folded sheet of paper she had made a list on. She set Nikki to taking video on her phone while Adam checked the interior plumbing. I wrote down the measurements that Cassie began taking with the tape measure she had whipped out her bag.
“The first thing is to secure the house,” Cassie said happily as she stretched the tape along a window. “I'll need plywood and some power tools.” She looked at the exposed wires. “Maybe a generator.”
I checked to make sure Adam was out of earshot.
“An art studio, huh? That sounds amazing.”
Cassie froze and then gave me a long look. “Oh, Abby, I want it more than anything. I know he doesn't understand and that he's worried that I'll fall flat on my face, and after blowing all my money, I'll have no way to support myself. But, I can't live my life in a bubble.” She shook her head and then met my eyes, her face alight with determination. “It started as away to distract myself from. . .from missing them. But I love it. It makes me feel happy and alive and sharing it with others is. . . Well, it the best feeling ever.” Her jaw firmed. “I won't turn away from that, Abby, even if he doesn't understand.”
I tried to smile reassuringly. “He loves you. He'll come around.”
Cassie nodded, but her eyes looked uncertain as to whether she believed me or not.
Chapter 6
We emerged from Hideaway House an hour later and all of us, except Cassie, were a bit daunted by the work she had ahead. Without waiting for a vote, Adam pulled into Sonic Burger for happy hour and bought us a round of drinks. I had never been there, of course, so the girls chose a strawberry-limeade for me which turned out to be as yummy as they promised.
“Okay, what's next?” Adam asked.
"It's getting late,” I said shyly. “Is it too much to ask for you to drop us off at the house?"
"Drop you off? You can't really mean to spend the night!" Adam frowned. "You don't even know what condition the house is in," he protested when he saw by my face I was planning just that. "Let's go take a look before you make any decisions."
Cassie opened her mouth and then shut it again at Adam's stern look, but I wasn't going to be quiet. It wasn't Adam's decision. Nikki and I had nowhere else to stay and it was stupid to spend money on a motel room when I had a house. Maybe it would be dirty, inconvenient and a challenge, but it was a challenge I was looking forward to with all my heart. After all, Adam wasn't my brother, and we had just met. As grateful as I was to the two of them, I couldn't let him make choices for me as he was doing for Cassie. My face must have said as much because he sighed and relented.
"Where's the directions?" he said heavily. I pulled the sheet from the binder which had both written directions and a little map. Adam ignored it and just typed the address into his phone.
"Two miles," he remarked, lifting one eyebrow. "That would have been quite a walk."
I started to frown at him, then immediately my face smoothed over. The instinctive reaction was years of indoctrination and training, so that my face might always be "pleasant and comely as befits a woman."
They no longer control you, I reminded myself shakily. I let the frown reform on my face. It felt like freedom.
"I'm quite capable of walking two miles," I told him, as evenly as I could.
His lips twitched and I fought not to smile, but when he laughed, I gave in and laughed with him.
Rickrack House was just outside the city limits, which Cassie told me enviously, meant lower taxes and lower utility bills. “Because you don't have to pay for city services like s
ewage and garbage collection.”
“Except that means you have to handle your own,” Adam put in. “Living in the country is not just some peaceful romp in a meadow.”
“The compoundI lived in before was in the country,” I said quietly and he fell silent.
Two miles was under a five minute drive, and though I stoutly maintained to myself that I was capable of walking it, I was still thankful to see the road whizzing by.
“Oh look!” Nikki said, pointing to a house off the main road. “There's the place Tasmyn won.”
I studied the house. It had a formal air, the neat brick walls rose up two stories, straight and uncompromising with no porch or overhang to soften the severe lines. I found it cold and forbidding, but Adam was nodding approvingly.
“Now that place looks like it will last forever. What was wrong with that one?” he demanded of Cassie.
“Too far out,” she said dismissively. “No development potential.”
Nikki and I laughed at her business-like tone.
“You sound like Finn,” Nikki put in. “Are you going to be on the ghost tour, Abby?”
I gave a nervous laugh. People deliberately coming to stare at me, taking pictures and telling others where I lived? It sounded horrible. What I wanted was a place to hide away.
“I hope not,” I said fervently, but before they could ask me what I meant, Adam announced “We're here!”
The car bumped over the rutted drive jostling us badly before coming to a stop. I was oblivious to the others as I climbed out the car and looked up at my house. It was, as I had thought from the pictures, waiting for me.
The house had been neglected, bricked up and left to rot and it needed me to bring it back to life. My heart swelled at the thought that I would be here to do just that. It was mine and I loved it at first sight. I stood there a long minute, basking in the reality that I had a home. After some time passed, I turned to look at the others' reactions to my house.
Adam was staring with disbelief. He frowned at the missing roof and the rafters left bare to wind and rain. He saw no potential, only the negatives, like the bricks used to block the windows from vandals. The massive cinder blocks were cemented together in windows that had been stripped of even the frames. The look of dislike on his face was clear.
