AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ken smiles a little. “That does sound like fun. It could be a lot like the old days, and I do have more free time now,” he answers, gulping the rest of his beer.
“Great! I'll let you know how the progress is going on the house so we can plan the trip,” I reply happily, glad that I can help my friend out.
I order us a few more beers, and we sit there talking about previous rides that we have taken together.
“Man, college sure was fun,” Ken says.
“You said it, buddy,” I reply, and we both laugh. Unfortunately, the later it gets, the more crowded the bar seems to become.
“Well, I guess we should get going. I need to go home and rest,” Ken says. He seems in better spirits now.
“You going to be all right?” I ask him just to make sure.
He nods. “Yeah, I'm fine. I want to start planning our trip. Plus, I need to make sure my bike is in good shape.” We both walk out of the bar together.
“Okay, buddy. I'll talk to you tomorrow,” I say as we part ways on the sidewalk.
Ken is a good guy and a great friend. It's a shame that all this is happening to him, I think as I walk to my car. I’m super glad I never got married. I look around at the sky. Wow, we were in the bar for a while. It's already getting dark. I get in my car and head into traffic. I have one more stop to make before I call it a night.
It takes a little over an hour, but I get to the neighborhood where Ken’s former house is. I think I will give the place one final look over before work begins in the morning.
Pulling up in the driveway, I get out of the car and pull the keys from my pocket. I unlock the door and walk inside. It's dark and empty. Taking my flashlight, I decide to start upstairs.
This is a pretty nice house. Modern and slightly newer, but kind of outdated. Ken must have spent a fortune on it.
I noticed right away that a few things need to be added to my construction list. It will be worth a whole lot more once everything is taken care of. I make my way upstairs before I walk around, inspecting room by room. My brain is already working on the numbers as I think of the changes I’m going to make.
I'm in the second bedroom when I freeze after hearing a scraping sound. “It's just my imagination,” I tell myself as I continue walking around the room. I stop a few minutes later as I hear it again: footsteps, or what I think sounds like footsteps. I look at the time. It’s almost eleven at night. “Shit,” I mutter to myself.
There is no mistaking it. Someone is creeping around the house in the middle of the night—just my luck. This kind of stuff always happens this time of year. People with nothing better to do. The minute they hear a house is vacant, they show up and take advantage of the situation. They think it's their one opportunity to steal something good or valuable or damage property.
Still cursing, I walk down the hall back to the master bedroom. This is the room I plan to start with first tomorrow. I look around and see my trusty baseball bat in the corner. I’d decided to take it with me to job sites in case of situations like this. Picking up the bat, I go back out into the hallway then pause a few minutes to listen. I hear another creaking sound from downstairs. Finally, I'm going to get a chance to use my bat and catch this thief or vandal.
Chapter Three - Mia
I wasted all day just driving around Heartland Village. Finally, as the sun set, my moment arrived.
Once it gets dark enough, I park a few blocks down the street and walk the short distance to my old house. I keep checking behind me to make sure no one is following or able to recognize me. Silly, I know, but I don't want to risk running into the new owner or anyone that I might know from childhood.
Sneaking around the entire property, I find a side window that’s unlocked. I manage to open it and get inside the house. Softly, I land on the floor then stand up to look around. This used to be our dining room. Things look so different but still the same. How could that happen? I will myself not to cry or get emotional.
Memories come rushing back to me as I walk around the empty room, which is only illuminated by moonlight. The house was once so full of our happiness and my parent’s love. But did any of that ever exist? I have to shake the doubt from my head, but it is still there.
