Regina (8 page)

“You’re an interviewer?” Camille asked with
skepticism. “You look like a student yourself.”

The young woman laughed at Camille’s
statement. “Thank you! I get that all the time! I’ve worked for
Crosby for two years, right out of college!”

“Oh, well, how nice! That Regina is such a
good girl. Of course I don’t know her that well, she’s always away
at school but I see her over the summer. I’m Mrs. Camille Clemmens
by the way. I’ve lived next to the Roth’s since the building was
built. Pretty much everyone here has lived here since the building
was opened. My children are out of college with lives of their own.
It’s so nice to have a young couple next door. Regina is such a
good girl. Her parents sure do adore her……” Camille was saying.

“Yes, well, that is very nice to hear. Do you
know when they will be back? They must have forgotten or will
return shortly?” Carrie asked. Cutting her off seemed to be the
only way to stop Camille. She had to get to the point and report
back, but the old woman didn’t notice and kept babbling.

“No, no, I don’t think so. Poor woman’s
mother died. I never heard Lynda mention her mother but no one
would. Would they? I remember when my poor mother died. Heart
failure at 47! Can you believe it?!” Camille said with wide
eyes.

“No!” Carrie said faking her surprise. “I’m
so sorry to hear that! Well, that certainly explains why they
forgot. Poor things.” Carrie said shaking her head. “Now I don’t
know what to do. I have to report back the absence to my
supervisor. Regina won’t be able to get another interview.”

Carrie took a deep breath of sadness and
looked to the Roth’s door again. Her disappointment was showing as
if she was blasting it thru the corridor. Camille felt her
disappointment.

“I’m sorry to hear that too. I saw Regina
last week; her face was full of sorrow. That family is suffering.
They’ll be heartbroken to hear Regina missed her college interview.
But they won’t be back today; they went to Texas for the
funeral.”

Camille felt her head spinning. A lot of
sorrow for a family to go thru, then Regina will miss her chance at
her future.

“Is there anything I can do to help? I can
call Lynda.”

“You can! That would be great. If I could
just speak to them and quickly reschedule the appointment, my
supervisor won’t know Regina missed it.”

“Of course, dear. Just let me get the
number.” Camille did not invite her in.

“Do you know where in Texas?” Carrie called
from the door way.

“Umm……., no. Their flight was to Austin.”
Camille’s voice came from the tiny kitchen. “Well, wait. Lynda told
me the town when she came to tell me they would be away. What did
she say?” Camille said looking up.

While she was thinking, Carrie looked around
the apartment. It was the typical apartment for a lady holding on
to the best times in her life. Pictures of Camille dominated the
walls with little shelves full of knick knacks.

The old woman was still trying to remember
the town when Carrie asked, “Mrs. Clemmens, may I call her? I might
need to call her back and you might not reach her the first try. I
don’t want to put you out by calling her often.”

Camille was about to say it wasn’t a problem
when she heard Chef telling the contestants about the day’s
challenge. Camille was missing the show! She could rewind it, but
she timed it perfectly to end the episode at nine when the new show
began. She had to get rid of this woman.

“Sure, here you go.” Camille said with an
edge in her voice, almost throwing her the phone number. “I have to
go now. Good Luck.” She shut the door before Carrie could thank
her, but the door opened again.

“Oh, Lee! The town is called Lee.” Camille
shouted thru the cracked door and shut it again.

Lady Sarah was pleased and spun around on her
heals and started to leave the building with a large smile on her
face.

Chapter Ten

Last night I had another strange dream. Mom,
dad and I moved into Grandpa’s house, but the house was haunted!
Faucets in my bathroom would turn on and the water would run. I
know it seems like a typical cliché but it scared the hell out of
me. At one point, mom and dad left and I got into my bed for a nap,
I think. I had a baby monitor, for some reason, and began hearing a
woman on it. But there was no one in the house!

Suddenly, something came into the room. I
don’t know what happened next because my parents came home. But
something else stood out at me: the house. It changed shape during
my dream. I remember it being two stories with a cute and cozy
layout. There were lots of windows along one side of the wall.
Then, I realized I was in the room: dark leather furniture took up
the right side of the room while a tiny bar was on the far left. I
think there was a room beside the bar, making the room an L shape.
I can’t remember specifics though, I woke up soon after.

It was past two o’clock in the morning and I
was still shaking from tonight’s dream. Though it was nothing like
the dream I had last night, I was starting to feel very frightened
about the real meaning behind these dreams. I’m dreaming about
roads that exist and now a haunting that might be happening! Does
this mean the house exists too?

I rubbed my eyes and took a sip of water. It
always helped to keep water on my bedside, I laughed at the
thought.

I definitely wasn’t living in the house like
my dream suggested. After we moved in I looked in almost every
corner of this house, including Grandpa’s room and I’ve never seen
it, but that still meant the house existed and could be in Lee.

Ohhhhh, I needed to stretch and get some
fresh air! I felt trapped in my tiny room. The house was air
conditioned but it didn’t work so well upstairs. Gathering my shoes
and journal, I opened my door and crept past my parents open room.
Thank goodness they were in deep sleep otherwise they might have
heard me. The stairs stayed silent as I went down them. Once I was
safely on the first floor, I hurried past the living room and into
the kitchen. Socks helped soften the noise of my feet as I walked,
so the floors didn’t betray me by making noise as I skidded across
them.

Once I was safely outside, I made my way for
the patio under my window. The Texas summer breeze was amazing at
this time of night. Stars were blazing in the dark sky. I never saw
stars like this in New York. Taking a deep breath of the air, I sat
down in the chair. I began to feel good again as I sat outside.
Maybe if I write it down, I can shake the dream off?

My dreams are getting stronger and stranger.
Much of my dream tonight takes place in the future – a future that
will happen?? I’m shopping in a mall but end up in ‘the house’. A
living/entertainment room on the second floor of a house with large
windows on the far right side. They open to a large wood deck and a
distinct tree line. The house is not haunted this time but full of
people. They are watching me and chanting some sort of voodoo
words.

They’re wearing shiny, silky black capes
with hoods. I can’t see their faces or the color of their hair but
I think I know these people. I can’t get closer to see them clearly
because my legs and feet are tied up. This doesn’t worry me for
some reason.

To my left, a man is holding a large silver
knife. It was beautiful as he stood in front of me and pushed it
into my chest. The red rubies were from the knife, not my blood
draining from me. What were those yellow things on the knife? I
guess it doesn’t matter now. The point is he stabs me with it, into
my chest and thru my heart.

The pain feels real as I look into the face
of the man.

It’s my father!!

And though my dream ends, I’m left with a
lot of questions and fear.

Am I going to live in this house one day??
It’s getting pretty creepy – I’ve dreamt of the house on many
separate occasions but never like this. Never has my father been so
evil in my dreams! Maybe that is my present mixing in with my
dreams?

Once again, I shut the journal. It was almost
three in the morning, now. The Texas night was perfect with a crisp
breeze and lots of stars in the sky. I could hear the wind moving
the waters in the tank. If I listened to it hard enough, I could
pretend it was the ocean. As usual, I felt someone watching me,
possibly from the trees. They seemed to whisper to each other as
the wind blew. Still feeling shaken, I got up and made my way
silently back to my room. My first desire was to take Grandpa’s
keys and go for a drive. If the roads exist, then the house with
the room definitely does. I was pretty positive I would be able to
spot it if I came across it. But I threw the idea away, exhaustion
overruled my thinking. I made myself pick up my tired body and go
back to bed.

I hadn’t gone two steps up the stairs when I
heard a laugh from the living room. I stopped and snapped my neck
down to view the room. Chills ran up my spine. No one was in here,
but I knew I heard it! The living room was dark but Grandpa kept
the lights highlighting the artwork lit, giving the room a warm
orange glow. Everything was quiet and still. I waited for a few
moments, searching for any signs of movement or voices. My heart
started to slow down a little. Maybe it was the wind making noise
in the chimney? Grandpa said the house was over a hundred years old
and things do go bump in the night due to the age.

I liked the lies that I told myself. It was
comforting.

I turned to go back up the stairs when I saw
her standing at the top of the landing. That torn mouth was smiling
down at me. Its teeth and eyes glowed brightly as the lights
bounced off them, giving it an eerie glow. The rest of its body was
hidden by the dark shadows, covering it like a co-conspirator.
Water was dripping from its hair and clothes. My ears caught the
sounds as it dripped onto the carpeted stairs. I could see the
outline of its body as it stood there, watching me. Its breath was
slow, and raspy. Since the house was silent, the breathing was the
only sound that could be heard. My knees shook just as hard as my
hands as I stood there, mesmerized by it. My heart pounded terribly
as a cold sweat worked its way to my face. I didn’t know what to
do. Was I really seeing this? Screaming would normally be my first
reaction but I was surprised at the sudden appearance of it that I
couldn’t remember what the logical response was. It began to come
down the stairs. One foot came down the first step, then
another.

Squish, squish
were the sounds the feet made as it advanced down.

Terror kept my mind spinning out of
control as it started walking slowly down the steps towards me. I
was paralyzed from fright. It stopped a few steps away from me and
whispered, “
Run
.”

I howled from fright, it didn’t need to tell
me twice. My feet bolted for Grandpa’s room. I looked back as I
threw his door open and it was still standing there, watching me.
Its head was following my every movement.

“Grandpa!” I screamed as I burst into his
room and jumped into his bed. “There’s someone out there!”

His anger was mighty. No one had ever woken
him like this before and he was greatly pissed off, even at me.

“What the hell is going on?” He shouted.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Regina?”

“Grandpa, someone’s in the house! On the
stairs!” I pointed to the door. Just as I said it, footsteps ran
hard across the living room floor. We were in full view of the room
and though we could hear the footsteps, we didn’t see anyone.
Grandpa reached instinctively for his gun in his nightstand. It was
an old pistol, his favorite, and always kept loaded right beside
his bed.

“Stay here.” He grumbled. I nodded, there was
no way I was going anywhere.

As he advanced on his doorway, the footsteps
erupted into a full on run across the dining room and kitchen. We
heard the kitchen door slam with such ferocity it shook the
house.

“Dad?” Daddy called from upstairs.

“Lynda up there?”

“Yeah. What’s going on?”

“Get yer gun. Someone broke in.” Grandpa
called.

Dad and Grandpa searched the house from top
to bottom, and it was empty except for the four of us. They asked
me to describe in specific detail what the person looked like. More
importantly, they wanted to know what I was doing in the house at
night.

“I had a nightmare.” I explained. “It shook
me enough that I went outside for some fresh air. When I came back
in, it was on the stairs.” I will never forget Jeff giving me a
lesson in telling stores. K.I.S.S., meaning Keep It Simple
Stupid.

“You let someone in the house?” My mother
asked incredulously.

“No, Lynda. Regina wouldn’t do something like
that.” Grandpa stuck up for me. “They were probably in the house
before she went outside. Was the kitchen door locked when you went
out?”

“No.” I admitted.

Dad spoke up with a guilty voice. “That’s my
fault. I went outside for a cigarette when Lynda went to bed.” Mom
looked at dad sharply. Smoking was a habit dad was forced to give
up a year ago. It pissed mom off that he was killing himself with
those things.

“Well it’s locked now. Ain’t never heard of
no thief who locks the door behind them.” Grandpa said.

I laid my cheek against the arm rest if the
couch while the adults talked. They contemplated calling the
sheriff but decided it could wait till morning. Grandpa seemed sure
they weren’t coming back. I, on the other hand, was scared out of
my wits. Just hearing that eerie voice replay itself in my head was
frightening. After checking all the doors and windows, they went
back to their rooms.

On the way back up my father called out,
“Regina, be careful bringing drinks upstairs! It’s wet up
here!”