“Thanks, I’m good,” I said.
“I’ll bet.”
I shot him a grin and a wink that brought a speculative gleam to his eyes. Then I headed around him for the door, before I changed my mind and did something stupid. “Enjoy your snack.”
I headed up the stairs to my room, trying to get away as quickly as possible without looking like I was actually fleeing.
Chapter Thirteen
Safely back in my room, I distracted Fuzzy and myself by playing “attack the shoelace” some more. I didn’t want to think about Doug, I didn’t want to think about being lonely, I didn’t want to think about how much this weekend was sucking, so I focused on Fuzzy and wiggling the string. At least he seemed happy.
Once we’d killed enough time, I said, “How about you take a nap while I go put my laundry in the dryer?” But as soon as I moved to leave, Fuzzy went and sat in front of the door. I laughed. “I take it you want to come along? Okay, come on.” I picked him up and carried him with me.
As we traipsed back downstairs, the house seemed even darker than before. At first I thought maybe the moon had set, but then I realized the light was off in the hallway. I guessed Doug had turned it off. I made my way carefully down the steps, and breathed a sigh of relief when they didn’t squeak even once as I descended. When I reached the mudroom, I tried to turn on the light, but it wasn’t working. Still, there was just enough dim moonlight spilling in from the hallway for me to make my way over to the washer and dryer.
Just as I reached them, I heard muffled voices approaching from the front of the house. I paused. It was a weird hour of the morning for people to be up. I started to call out to them when Fuzzy put his paw on my mouth, startling me into silence.
Fuzzy and I swiveled to look at the doorway as the voices approached. I recognized Meg and Doug, but they were with at least one other man and woman whose voices I didn’t recognize. Fuzzy let out a deep, soft, nearly subsonic growl. His fur stood up. I wasn’t sure why, but Fuzzy felt threatened. I hugged him closer to comfort him, but he was rigid, eyes fixed on the door to the hallway where the people would be any second. Fuzzy’s reaction had me tensing up. Telling myself we were both being ridiculous, I stepped forward and took a deep breath to call out to the approaching people.
Somehow I misstepped in a way that made it feel like the floor lurched. I fell back on my ass, Fuzzy clutched in one arm as I braced my fall with the other. The floor seemed to swallow most of the sound of my impact, but I still made a dull thud.
The voices paused.
“Did you hear something?” whispered Doug.
“Check it out.” That sounded like Meg.
There was no way this wasn’t going to look bad if they found us now. They’d think I’d been spying on them. Maybe if I kept quiet, they would head for the kitchen and wouldn’t see us.
I’d landed near the shelves next to the washer. Fuzzy pushed at me, and it occurred to me I should move. I scooted back until I was leaning against the wall under the shelves, where the shadows deepened around us. I clung to Fuzzy, who for once was statue still. My heart was thumping.
Two tall silhouettes appeared in the doorway, and I froze. One of them was Doug, but I had no idea who the other guy was. His face was in shadow, so I couldn’t see him clearly.
I heard a clicking sound as Doug tried the light switch by the mudroom door. The two men retreated into the hallway.
“Light’s out,” said Doug.
There was a pause. Meg said, “It shouldn’t be.”
Not-Doug said, “You still have that flashlight app on your cell phone?”
Well the game was over now. They’d surely see me, and I didn’t really have a good excuse for hiding on the floor in the dark. I was pretty sure “my kitten told me to” wouldn’t make sense to anyone but me.
I was trying to figure out how to explain myself, when, without making a sound, the wooden planks in the wall behind me separated, the floor slid me and Fuzzy through the opening, and then the wall closed in front of us. I found myself in a crawl space between the walls.
If I’d thought my heart was racing before, it was about to explode out of my chest now. What the hell had just happened?
A beam of light swept the wall where I’d just been leaning, interrupting my thoughts and redirecting my attention back to the mudroom. The wall’s paneling had closed up tightly, and only a little light leaked through. Still, I flinched. I tried to breathe quietly and clung to Fuzzy, whose attention was riveted on what the people were doing. I heard someone walk over to the wall right in front of us. There was a scraping sound as they picked something up off the floor.
“Box of dryer sheets,” said Doug. “It must’ve thumped when it fell off the shelf.”
Not-Doug made a “hmm” sound. I could hear him walking around the laundry room. It looked like he was panning the light around the room. “Someone’s got laundry in the washer.”
“Finn,” said Meg, and the way she said it made me feel cold. “Damn house. It was supposed to keep her in her room.”
“You told her she should do her laundry,” said Doug.
“I did, didn’t I. And the house took advantage of the loophole so it could try to please her,” she said.
Not-Meg said, “The house is trying to please her?”
“No, no, no, of course not,” said Doug. “It’s more…just showing an interest in her.”
There was a pause and then Not-Meg said, “You were right. It was worth the risk to come here tonight.”
Not-Doug said, “Let’s get this done.”
They all retreated to the hallway.
I tried to wrap my brain around what they just said. The house was interested in me? They were talking about it like it was alive. I looked around my cozy hiding spot, and goosebumps rose on my arms. I decided to try something. I leaned forward, so that my lips were nearly touching the wall, and whispered, “I need to see what’s happening.”
I jerked back as the boards in the wall in front of me separated just enough so that I could see into the mudroom. They’d opened at just the right angle that I had a view across the room, out the door, and into the hallway.
My heart was discoing around my chest. I swallowed a couple of times and tried to process. I hadn’t actually expected that to work, and I wasn’t sure what to do. Well, when all else fails, I was taught to fall back on good manners and be polite. In a shaky whisper I said, “Thanks. Uh, good house,” and patted the wall. The house sighed a little in a way that I thought sounded happy, so I gave it an extra pat.
“Let’s do this,” said Meg.
Fuzzy and I peered out. Meg, Doug, and their guests were standing in the hallway, facing the wall next to the mudroom. From where they were standing, I was pretty sure they were facing a door that was on the same wall as the stairs. It was closed when I’d walked past it earlier, but I’d guessed it was a closet or maybe the entrance to the basement.
Doug stepped back and leaned against the kitchen wall. Meg stepped forward and Not-Doug and Not-Meg flanked her, standing back a bit on either side of her. Meg put her arm out. I couldn’t see what she was touching, but I guessed it was the door. She just stood there. Several minutes ticked by, and then she opened the door.
“See what I mean—nothing.” Meg shut the door quietly.
“Even though her position is provisional, she’s the current housekeeper, so she should have full access,” said Doug.
Meg said, “They’ve been keeping it a secret, but it’s been getting worse over time, and now it’s been weeks since it worked at all. I don’t care what they say, I think the house is out of juice. For this to work, we have to compensate for the missing energy.”
Not-Doug and Not-Meg came forward next to Meg and all three reached out their hands. From the way they were leaning, I was pretty sure they were all touching the door.
A low vibration thrummed through the wood around me. It was so quiet that I don’t think I’d have noticed if I wasn’t sitting on t
he floor. The vibration remained low and steady—it didn’t build like the sink-hole noise did—but I still broke out in a nervous sweat. A weird energy was building in the air, like the electricity that builds before a big thunderstorm.
Fuzzy strained toward the hallway, scrambling desperately to get down. I had to wrap both arms around him to hold him in place.
“Now. Try it now,” whispered Not-Doug. His voice sounded strained.
Meg pulled hard on the door. It made no sense to me because she’d just opened it. But she was obviously straining. Suddenly, she slipped back very slightly, and a wind swept into the hallway, along with some leaves and dust. There was a thump, the wind cut off, and Meg let go.
Fuzzy meowed, but it was drowned out by the thump.
They stepped back, all three of the them panting.
Doug had straightened from the opposite wall. “You did it!”
“We only got it open a crack,” said Not-Meg.
“Yes, but the fact that we opened it at all—now, before I’m even officially in charge…” Meg gave a low laugh that made me shiver. “Just imagine what we’re going to be able to do.”
“Agreed,” said Not-Doug.
Groaning hinges signaled a door opening upstairs.
“We woke someone up,” said Doug.
The floorboards creaked as someone walked along the upstairs hallway.
Not-Doug and Not-Meg moved quickly and silently to the back door. Not-Meg slipped out, but Not-Doug paused. “Make it through this weekend, and we have a deal,” he said. “We’ll be nearby if you need us,” and then he left.
The stairs squeaked out the approaching person’s descent down the back stairs. Meg stole away toward the front of the house, making no noise as she went, and Doug moved into the kitchen and started banging around, opening and slamming cupboards.
Nor walked through the mudroom. By the time she got to the kitchen, it sounded like Doug was digging around in the refrigerator, talking to himself. From my vantage point, I could only see a little ways into the kitchen. Nor was standing in the doorway with her back to me. Doug hadn’t turned a light on, but the refrigerator light silhouetted Nor.
“Doug?” she said.
I heard a thud.
“Ow. Shit, Nor—you scared me half to death,” Doug said.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you hit your head. What are you doing?”
“Snack attack. I’m having a craving.” There was a pause. Doug’s voice dropped. “You feeling hungry, too?”
Holy crap, that was exactly the same thing he’d said to me. And he’d used the same deep tone of voice too. Ew. I felt like patting myself on the back for good judgment in not jumping him. I wondered what Nor would do.
“You trying to refrigerate the whole house?” she said.
Doug chuckled and shut the fridge door, plunging the room into shadow. “So, you up cuz you want something?” He kept his voice low and added a little purr in it.
Nor turned on the light.
“Ow, Jesus, bright,” he said. “Way to ruin the mood.”
I grinned. Nor could clearly take care of herself. I heard Doug moving around in the kitchen. Nor stayed in the doorway.
She said, “I thought I heard voices and a door slam. Was someone here?”
“Huh. I was talking to myself while I was trying to find stuff in the cupboards. Sorry if I woke you.” His voice took on a teasing, flirty tone again. “Though not really, if I’m honest…that short little robe you’ve got on is really working for you.”
Nor shifted in the doorway, and I could see her looking around the kitchen and up and down the hallway as she said, “Mmm. So, two things. One, that wasn’t a no. And, two, seems like you’re trying awfully hard to distract me, Doug.” She looked back at him. “Do I look like someone who loses focus easily?” Her voice sounded casual, but I could see a tension in her shoulders. I’d have bet money she was giving him some kind of terrifying lawyer look.
“You know you’re not allowed to bring random people here, particularly now. It’s against the rules.”
“Look around you, Nor. Do you see anyone else? It’s just lonely little me down here.”
Nor went to the back door and looked out the window into the night. She must not have seen anything because she said, “I’m going back to bed.”
“Sure there isn’t anything I can do for you? Since you’re up and all,” Doug said.
“‘Night, Doug.” Nor padded past me and up the back stairs. The house creaked and moaned as she went, so it was easy to hear her progress. I knew she was in her room when her door groaned as she opened and closed it.
Doug waited a moment, then shut off the kitchen light and exited the kitchen. No creaking accompanied him, but I could hear his footfalls as he walked down the hallway and then went up the front stairs.
I was sure he was gone because the wall in front of me opened up, and the floor slid me and Fuzzy forward into the mudroom. When I looked behind me, the wall had closed up already and looked normal.
Competing thoughts battled it out in my head. Little Monty Python men were yelling “Run away!” in one corner of my mind, while another corner had the Poltergeist chick shrieking, “What’s happening?” In the middle, Mister Spock stood with one eyebrow raised saying, “Fascinating” and thinking we should investigate.
So I sat frozen, clutching Fuzzy to my chest, occasionally blinking and swiveling my head to make sure no one was sneaking up on me.
Then Fuzzy started purring. I looked down at him, and he chirped at me softly. Next he started nuzzling me. It took me a minute to realize he was calming me down. It was working.
I loosened my death grip on him and nuzzled him back. “I’m supposed to be the one taking care of you, not the other way around,” I whispered, then I kissed his head and cuddled him while I pulled myself together. First things first. I needed to get back to my room before someone else came along.
Unlike the racket the steps made with Nor, they were silent when I crept upstairs. Neither the hallway floor nor the door to my room made a peep either. Once I was safely inside, I put Fuzzy down. He went into the bathroom and slurped up some water while I paced the room.
Okay, everything the house had done so far had been to help me. But the house was helping me.
Fuzzy came strolling out of the bathroom and looked up at me. He took in the sight of me freaking out, gave me an exasperated sounding, “Meow,” and leapt up onto the bed. He sat there looking at me.
Keeping my voice down, I said, “Fuzzy, what the hell just happened? Who were those people, and what were they doing? And holy hell, what’s up with the house?” I stopped short. “Oh no, what if it’s possessed?”
I looked at the ceiling and the walls, but they looked normal to me. Of course, so had the ones in the mudroom.
For maybe the first time in my life, I felt weird talking to an inanimate object, but I muttered, “Uh, House, you’re not possessed, are you?”
There was a sputtering sound from the radiator. To me, it sounded indignant.
I looked at Fuzzy. He didn’t seem bothered at all, and if the House were possessed, I was fairly certain he’d be hissing and growling. Instead, he was calmly grooming a paw. “Uh Fuzzy? Since you’re a stray, I’m guessing this is your first house, and so I feel I should tell you that this isn’t really how houses are supposed to behave. In fact, they don’t behave. They’re houses. They’re supposed to just, you know, sit there.”
I contemplated a wall. Feeling ridiculous, I said, “So, uh, House, if you’re not possessed, then you’re, what, like alive or something?”
There was a short pause, then I heard a single ding sound from the bathroom. I took a few cautious steps into the bathroom. “Uh, was that a yes?”
As I watched, the sink vibrated, and the glass on the edge rocked and clinked against the metal faucet.
Ding.
The house could have chosen to make any number of noises, but it chose to make a “ding” sound that remin
ded me of the ding you got on a game show when you got something right.
“I see we have a sense of humor,” I said to the house.
Ding, ding, ding.
I didn’t know how I felt about a house having a sense of humor. I could see where that could go really wrong, so I just said, “Huh, okay. Good to know.” I paused. “Um, no offense, but I gotta tell you, this is weirding me out. I’ve never met a, whatever you are, before. It’s gonna take me a little getting used to.” The house didn’t say anything, so I went back and sat on my bed.
Nope, sitting wasn’t going to happen. I decided I needed to get out of the house, take a walk, clear my head. It was still dark, but the sky had already started to lighten.
I got dressed, put Fuzzy on the bed and told him to nap, then headed out. On my way through the mudroom, I realized my laundry was still in the washing machine. I tried the light, and it worked. As I was putting my laundry in the dryer, I realized that the house must’ve kept the light off to keep me and Fuzzy hidden. For whatever reason, it really was trying to protect us.
I started the dryer, and when I turned off the light, I paused by the wall and whispered, “Thank you. Really.” I gave it a nice pat and then went out the back door.
Chapter Fourteen
When I slipped outside, I stepped onto a back porch. I paused for a moment, soaking in the soft hush that precedes dawn. I could feel the forest dreaming around me.
Sunrise was still about a half hour away, but the twilight had lightened enough that I could make out the silhouettes of things. Tugging my sweater closer against the damp chill in the air, I walked down the steps and onto the dew-laden grass. I headed for the outline of a fence across the lawn in front of me.
Parts of the fence were valiantly attempting to remain upright. The rest of the fence had already lain down and called it day. As I approached, I found a gate that was stuck open, hanging from one remaining hinge. I stepped through and the scents of rosemary, basil, and oregano greeted me, making me smile. A garden! Or what was left of one.
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