“Well, honey, we can’t have him barking through this lovely dinner mommy made, can we?” said Paul, smiling at Sam.
“You’re still not even close to off the hook,” said Sam, bashing Paul’s attempt at forgiveness.
“All right, let’s eat,” said Paul, trying to change the subject. “Ray invited us over for dinner on Saturday. He’s doing away with some of his turkeys and thought we might like to get out of the house.”
“What does that mean, daddy?” asked Lily. “’Doing away’ with his turkeys?”
“It means he’s going to kill them,” said Emily.
“Ewwww, daddy,” shrieked Lily.
“Emily! That’s enough,” said Sam in a strict tone, staring at Emily to get her point across. Emily put her head down and played with her peas. “That sounds like a wonderful idea,” said Sam sarcastically, knowing full well she would be in for a night of Ray’s famous stories.
A loud cry and whimper interrupted her thoughts. The distinct sound of pain came from the garage.
Paul shot up out of his chair and grabbed Emily as she headed for the door. “No, Em! Let me,” he said, trying to protect Emily from whatever he was about to find.
Sam lifted Jack from the highchair and handed him to Emily. “Girls, take Jack in the other room while daddy and I handle this,” she said before following Paul into the garage. Paul could hear a soft whimpering cry behind the car in front of his work bench. He peeked around the corner to see Kingston on the ground covered with blood. A large pair of hedging shears protruded from his back. Paul knelt down to him as Sam came around the corner. “Oh, my god, Paul…. What happened?,” said Sam, covering her mouth in shock. Paul looked at the blood trail leading from between the shelves.
“He must have bumped into the shelf and they fell on him,” said Paul.
Sam ran into the house and upstairs to grab a towel. Running back down, she pocketed the car keys as she hurried past the girls.
“Mom, what’s wrong?”asked Emily. “Is Kingston ok?”
“Stay here, girls, and watch your brother,” said Sam as she entered the garage. The girls looked at each other with worry at their mom’s response. Paul was rubbing Kingston’s ears trying to keep him quiet. Sam came around back of him.
“Paul, hold him still—this is going to hurt,” said Sam. She put the towel underneath Kingston and then quickly pulled out the shears. Kingston whimpered and whined softly. Sam wrapped towel around his hind end and tied it tightly.
“Let’s get him in the car,” said Paul. Sam opened the door and helped lift Kingston up and slowly into the car. “I’ll be back,” said Paul. “Call Dr. Allen tell him we’re coming.”
Sam nodded and tightened her lips firmly with tears in her eyes. She went over to the wall, pressing the garage door opener. “Don’t worry about us,” she said. ”Just get him there as fast as you can. Call us when you have an update.”
Nodding his head in agreement, Paul jumped in the car. As the engine roared to life he reversed out of the garage. Sam watched him go to the end of the steep drive before accelerating onto the road. She could hear the tires screech as he picked up speed.
“Don’t worry boy, you’re going to be ok. We’ll fix you up,” said Paul, looking in the rear view mirror at Kingston, who looked back at Paul for comfort. “You have to be ok,” he whispered, thinking about his family who just wouldn’t be the same without him. All Paul could think about was how fragile his family was at that moment. He had to do everything he could to save their beloved family member.
Sam turned and looked at the blood-soaked floor. She couldn’t chance the girls seeing it. She took a bucket off the workbench and brought it into the kitchen. Bringing it over to the sink, she turned on the hot water and reached down under the cabinet for a sponge. She stood up, and as she looked out the window she glimpsed what looked like the reflection of a man with blood on his face standing behind her. Turning around, she scanned the kitchen but saw nothing out of the ordinary except two dark spots on the floor. She slowly walked to them, peering around the corner into the dark dining room. She flicked on the light. The room was empty. Returning to the kitchen, she knelt down to touch the dark substance on the floor. They were globs of mud.
“Silly girl, must be losing my mind,” she said to herself as she wiped the mud off her hands and returned to the sink. She looked into the window again but there was nothing. Running her hands underneath the faucet, the blood was hard to scrub off but eventually her hands came clean. She didn’t know what she had just seen—she couldn’t explain it, but it made her start to question her own sanity. Looking over at the open basement door Sam shook her head in disgust. “How many times do I have to shut this door before someone gets hurt?” She closed it and pulled at the handle to make sure it was fastened securely.
“Mommy?” came Lily’s voice from the living room.
“Yeah, honey, I’ll be right there. Everything is ok. I just need to clean something up.” Sam pulled the bucket out of the sink and headed into the garage. She put the bucket down next to the blood, walked over to the wall, and put her finger on the button to close the garage door. Looking out the door to the end of the driveway, she saw a person. In the moonlight it was hard to make out who it was, but the person was definitely looking at her. She stood still, trying not to move. As she stared back, a bad feeling crept over her. What only lasted a moment felt like forever as the figure walked away, disappearing into the trees at the bottom of the drive. Sam hit the button and, standing back from the door, grabbed one of Paul’s golf clubs leaning against the wall.
“Mommy?”
Startled, Sam turned around and quickly pushed Lily back into the house before she could see the blood.
“Emily!” she yelled as she heard Emily running through the hall and into the kitchen. “Take Jack and Lily upstairs into my room. I’ll be up in a few minutes. Lock the door.”
“What’s wrong?” said Emily.
“Now!” ordered Sam, trying to instill a quick response.
Emily took Lily’s hand and pulled her into the living room to get Jack. Sam went to the front door and locked the bolt before sliding the chain lock on top. Quickly she ran to the back door, locked it, and pulled down the shade. Taking a deep breath, she took the phone off the wall and tapped a number.
“Hello Dr. Allen, it’s Sam Bolton. I’m calling because my husband Paul is on his way to your clinic. We had an accident with Kingston. He was cut by a pair of falling hedging shears.”
“All right, Mrs. Bolton,” said Dr. Allen, “I’ll head down to the clinic right now. Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of Kingston.”
“Thank you…he means a lot to us,” said Sam, leaning against the basement door. Exhausted, she slid down to the floor.
“I understand,” said Dr. Allen as he hung up the phone.
Sam wiped the tears from her face that she could no longer hold back. Her life seemed to be falling apart, and the lack of sleep had taken its toll. She took a deep breath and gathered herself. Get it together girl. They need you, she thought as she stood up and went into the garage. She looked out the garage window and scanned the yard. Nothing moved. All she heard were the crickets singing their nightly song. She turned back to the bucket on the floor. Putting on a pair of yellow rubber gloves, she knelt down, and with the sponge she started to scrub.
The bucket of water turned red and the floor was finally clean. Looking at the wet floor, she heard what sounded like faint footsteps behind her. She rose to her feet and looked around the garage. “Buttercream? Here, kitty, kitty,” she said, walking around the stacked boxes of home improvement supplies while removing her gloves. One of the boxes fell over and she again heard the sound like little footsteps. She smiled and slowly walked forward. “Buttercream, you naughty kitty, where are you?”
She looked down on the floor. There were bits of straw everywhere. “What have you been eating, you fresh kitty?” she said, kneeling down and picking up some of the straw. She t
urned around and walked back towards the shelves. “All right, but you’re going to be stuck in the garage until daddy gets home.” She picked up the shears and dipped the blades into the bucket of water. Then looking up at the top shelf, she wondered, What else did you put up there? Turning over another bucket and standing on it, she reached up with her hand and felt around on the top shelf. The bucket wobbled back and forth slightly as she reached as far as she could.
SNAP! Something seemed to viciously bite her hand. She screamed and fell off the bucket to the floor. Grasping the mousetrap, she pulled it off, holding her fingers in pain. “Damn it! Why the hell!” she said, rubbing and shaking her hand, and then looking at it. There was an ugly red line across the top of her three middle fingers. She looked up at the shelf and could now see what looked like a small glove hanging over the edge. Standing up she grabbed the tip and pulled it quickly toward her. Down came Edgar crashing to the floor. She shook her head at how she had caused herself to be so frightened. “Well, that’s enough for one night,” she said, picking up the scarecrow and tossing it face down onto the workbench. Picking up the bucket, she headed into the house, closing the door behind her. She poured the bucket of water down the sink and washed it down.
Bringing the bucket back to the garage, she looked over at the workbench and noticed the scarecrow sitting up. “Hmmm,” she said to herself, not thinking too much about it. She went over and pulled the light cord, plunging the garage into darkness. Closing the door to the garage she stopped hearing a faint giggle. She looked around the garage as the phone rang in the kitchen.
Sam rushed over to answer it. “Hello?”
“It’s me, honey,” said Paul. “I’m here with Kingston. The doctor gave him thirty stitches. He’s going to be just fine.”
Sam closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good news. I’m so glad, and the girls are going to be relieved too.”
“The doctor is wrapping him up now. I’ll be home in an hour.”
“All right, I’ll be waiting,” said Sam, hanging up the phone. She didn’t want to tell Paul about the strange visitor or her accident. He had enough on his plate at the moment. Sam smiled and laughed—it had been such a long day, and all she wanted to do was wind down and relax.
She made her way up the stairs and knocked on her bedroom door. “Girls, it’s mommy. Everything is ok. Come open the door.”
Emily opened the door, looking at Sam for some comforting news. Lily and Jack were watching cartoons. “Mommy, what happened?” said Emily, trying to prepare herself for what Sam might say.
“Is Kingston going to be all right?” said Lily, turning away from the TV.
“Yes, girls he’s going to be just fine. He had an accident and the doctor had to give him some stitches, but daddy will be home soon with him.”
“Yeah!” the girls shouted happily as they started to hop around.
“All right, girls,” said Sam “Bedtime. Go to your rooms and I’ll be in to kiss you good night.” The girls hurried to their rooms to put on their pajamas. Sam picked up Jack and took him to his room. “Come on, little man, night time for you too,” she said. She laid him on his changing table and opened the drawer.
To her surprise, out jumped Buttercream. He ran from the room. “How long have you been stuck in there, silly boy?” said Sam. Since he was a kitten, Buttercream had been known for his antics. He always seemed to be somewhere he didn’t belong.
Sam pulled out Jack’s pajamas and got him ready for bed. She laid him in the crib as he blew raspberries at her. “Sleep tight, little boy,” she said as she turned on the glowing bear and placed it next to him. Walking out of the room, she closed the door half way before heading to Emily’s room. “Goodnight, Em,” she said as she kissed her on the forehead and tucked her into bed.
Sam went to close the door. “No! Can you leave it open for tonight?” said Emily.
Sam was taken aback by the request but a lot had happened that night “Ok…. love you,” she said.
“Love you too,” said Emily, turning over and pulling the covers over her shoulder.
Sam went into Lily’s room and sat on her bed. “I want you to try your best to get some sleep,” said Sam, knowing Lily would lay awake waiting for Kingston. “Do you think you can do that for me?”
“Yes, I’ll try,” said Lily as Sam leaned over, kissing her forehead.
Sam went downstairs and into the pantry to retrieve her stashed bottle of wine. She heard the car pull into the driveway and the garage door open. Hurrying into the garage, she was excited to see Paul and Kingston. He hugged her tightly. “I’m so glad you’re back,” Sam said to him.
“Me too,” said Paul. “It was tough, but he pulled through.” Sam opened the back seat and Kingston, wrapped in bandages, got up to lick her hands.
“What a good boy you are,” said Sam, mushing his face and giving him a kiss on the nose. Kingston hobbled out of the car and they went into the kitchen.
Paul saw the glasses and bottle of wine. “Excellent idea,” he said, picking up the bottle and opening the drawer to get the corkscrew.
Sam smiled at him. “It’s been so crazy the past couple days, I just want to relax.”
Upstairs, Emily was half asleep and her eyes were almost closed. The door to her room creaked open very slowly. She opened her eyes to see a little tuft of hair by her bedside. It moved around the edge. “Jack, is that you?” she muttered. “Go to bed. Mom always lets you stay up too late. Go bother Lily.”
The head of hair disappeared. Then from underneath the bed came a loud knocking on the hardwood floor. Thud… thud… thud. Startled, Emily woke up and opened her eyes wide. “Jack, you little brat,” she said as she sat up in bed. She leaned out over the bed, looking down and trying to see without falling out. She sat back in her bed holding the covers tightly. A green light glowed from under the bed and chiming music began to play. She jumped out of bed and moved a step away; then, bending down, she saw Mr. Bear glowing green underneath the bed. She got down on her stomach and reached, pulling it closer.
From behind her, she heard small footsteps coming closer. Emily whimpered in fear. She didn’t want to turn around. Something inside her froze. Tears started to form as she heard the tap-tap-tap of feet. She swallowed, and slowly turning around she sat up and squeezed Jack’s bear tightly.
Edgar was sitting in her desk chair facing her.
Terrified, she started to sob. The door to her room slammed shut, turning the room pitch black. She heard her desk chair fall to the floor, followed by footsteps that ran by her. It took everything she had to try and run for the door. She sprang to her feet and reached for the handle. A strong grip around her ankle pulled her to the floor. Mr. Bear skidded across the room. It again lit up and started to sing. The closet door creaked open behind her. As something dragged her backwards toward the closet she clawed at the hardwood floors and kicked wildly. “Ahhhhhhhh mommy!” she screamed loudly.
The mysterious grip released her ankle. Crawling forward, she again sprang up to grab the door handle. Shaking it, she screamed, “Help me!”
Down in the kitchen Paul and Sam heard the plaintive cries and ran up the stairs. Even the injured Kingston sprang into action, barking as he leaped past them.
In her room, Emily, still fighting to open the door, looked behind her. The floor boards in her closet groaned ferociously and the noise moved towards her.
Kingston made it to the bedroom door first, barking loudly. Then Paul grabbed for the handle wrenched it open. He picked Emily up and started hugging her. A very confused and tired Lily stood in the hallway, awakened by all of the screaming.
“Daddy, he’s in there! He’s in my room!” Emily cried as Paul turned on the light.
“It’s ok, sweetie,” said Paul. “Who’s in your room?”
Sam stepped in, taking Emily from Paul. “It’s okay baby. I think you just had a bad dream,” she said.
Kingston went around the room, sniffing the floor, investig
ating the cause of the commotion.
“There’s nobody here,” said Paul, looking in the closet.
“I saw him,” insisted Emily through her tears. “First Jack came into my room. He left Mr. Bear under my bed, and when I went to find it the scarecrow tried to get me!”
“Em, Jack is in his crib,” said Sam. “I put him down before you went to sleep. Mr. Bear is with him and the scarecrow is in the garage.”
“Honey, I think you had a bad dream,” said Paul.
“Em, you can sleep in my room,” said Lily, who after hearing Emily’s story was looking for any excuse not to have to sleep alone.
“Ok, Em,” said Sam, “Why don’t you sleep in Lily’s room tonight, and Kingston can sleep on the floor with you. He won’t let anything bad happen.”
Lily walked over to Emily, took her hand and pulled her out of the room. They both went into Lily’s room and Kingston followed.
“Paul what’s happening here?” whispered Sam with tears running down her cheeks.
“It’s going to be ok. Kids have bad dreams sometimes. It’s perfectly normal.”
“I know, Paul, but did you see her face? She was terrified. I’ve never seen her look like that before.”
“All right, we can talk to them tomorrow. Everything is going to be fine.”
Sam started heading back downstairs. Turning around, she looked back up at Paul. “We have to do something,” she said.
Hearing the seriousness in her voice, he nodded in agreement. He walked down the hall to Jack’s room, and as he slowly opened the door something caught behind it slid across the floor. He knelt down and picked up Mr. Bear. It lit up in his hands. Paul carried it over to where Jack was fast asleep. He put the toy down next to him and smiled at his baby boy. Quietly Paul left the room, closing the door behind him.
Chapter Nine
The Breaking Point
Sam sat up in bed. The room was dark and she looked around and over at Paul, who was fast asleep. The house was quiet. She got out of bed and walked down the hall to the stairs. Tied around the top banister was a rope. She picked it up, wondering why it was there. She heard giggling and saw Jack toddling by the bottom of the stairs.
The House on Hayden Pond Page 5
