The House on Mendocino Street-6

Hello again, everyone! Six more days until Halloween. I’m wondering if I’ll have some kind of ending to this story. I’m doing my best to keep it at or under 300 words. I know everyone has other blogs to visit and writing of their own to do.

PLEASE NOTE: This has not been edited.

Below is where you can follow the sequence of this story:

PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE

PART FOUR

PART FIVE

Thanks for visiting.

Hugs and chocolate, all,

Shelly

THE HOUSE ON MENDOCINO STREET

Bob and the realtor had returned.

“Like I said, no one’s out there.” Bob’s voice boomed through the furnitureless house.

Maddie about jumped out of her skin hearing it and snapped her head around to find him standing a few feet away. The realtor wasn’t that far behind him. “Oh.”

“That’s all you have to say?” Bob’s mouth twitched and the vein in his neck throbbed. They were two warning signs that he was about ready to blow his top.

Niki clung to her mother tightly. She buried her face as deep as she could into where her mom’s tshirt and jeans met.

Maddie pressed her hand against the back of her daughter’s head, bracing them for one of his verbal explosions. He had jammed fisted hands to his hips, and his face had reddened.

“We’ll discuss this later.” Bob’s hands dropped at his sides. “We need to finish the walk through.” He glanced up at the ceiling. The black mist had moved.

Maddie blinked her eyes twice and it was gone.

The real estate agent rubbed his hands together like a fly. “You’re going to love the rest of the house.” He moved around Bob and headed toward a hallway to the right of the living room. “The bedrooms are very spacious.”

Bob sauntered over to Maddie and took her arm. “You almost look as if you’ve seen a ghost,” he whispered sarcastically to her, slipping his arm through hers. “ Do you think you can keep all imaginary friends at bay until we’re through.”. His blue-green, marble-like eyes glared down at Niki.

The little girl shuddered, letting go of her mom. She walked ahead of them following the realtor. Maddie and Bob went right behind her.

Everyone stopped at the first bathroom to the right of the hall. The faucet dripped and dripped.

“That’s strange,” the realtor said. “To my knowledge the water hasn’t been turned on.” He reached for the knob and turned it clockwise. The water continued dripping. He then tried turning it counterclockwise. Nothing but tiny drops plopped against the porcelain.

Bob walked toward the tub and turned the knobs. Nothing happened.. “That’s strange.”

© Shelly Arkon 2013

The House on Mendocino Street-Post 3

Hey, everyone! This is the third scene of the story that I’m posting as I write. I’m doing my best to keep it at or under 300 words. It’s based on a true story. Mine. The names of people have been changed to protect the innocent. Also, this has not been edited so it’s not going to be perfect. I plan on expanding and polishing this later on for publication.

If you want to follow the sequence of this story click below:

PART ONE

PART TWO

Have a chocolate-filled day while I’m at work loppity-lopping today.

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly

THE HOUSE ON MENDOCINO STREET

Finally, Bob and the realtor pulled into the drive next to Maddie’s mini van. They both came in the real estate agent’s Mercedes. That meant Bob’s pick-up probably broke down again.

Both men nodded a ‘hello’ to Maddie and got out of the car. They walked in front of the mini van.

Bob stopped and gazed through Maddie’s windshield, gesturing for her to hurry. The realtor rounded the north corner of the house toward the front door.

God, there he goes again acting like a traffic cop. Annoying as hell. Maddie got out of her mini van. “I’m coming.”

Bob shoved his hands into his blue jean pockets, looking around her. “Where’s the midget?” A smirk popped on his face.

“In the backyard.”

“Doing what?’

“Exploring.” Maddie waltzed passed him. She stuck her nose in the air. “Remember when you were six?”

“Yeah. I wasn’t aloud to explore.” Bob came up behind her quickly and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Exactly.” That’s your problem, Maddie thought, as she allowed him to nuzzle her neck. “How do you expect a child to grow up normal?”

“Are you saying I’m not normal?”

“We’ll discuss this later. I’m sure the realtor would like to get the show on the road.” Maddie peeled his hands from her waist and walked toward the open front door to the house.

The real estate angent stood in the middle of the large empty living room, peering out the wide front window.

As soon as Maddie’s shoes hit the threshold, a tingling sensation rushed through her, keeping her from going further in. A dark shadow washed over the yellowing walls. The realtor didn’t seem to notice.

Bob caught up to her, pressed his index finger into her back, and pushed her forward. “What are you doing?” His voice sounded agitated.

“Nothing.” Maddie moved into the house to get his finger off her back. She hated his tendency to prod her along in the public eye. It was degrading.

“What do you all think?” The realtor asked.

Bob clapped his hands and then rubbed them together. “Looks---“

What sounded like a back door slapping a wall came from the back of the house.

“Mommy! Mommy!” Niki yelled. She skipped into the living room. “The man in the back yard says I can call him Grandpa Ed.”

© Shelly Arkon 2013

Writing Off the Cuff

Thought I’d write a short story off the cuff for Halloween, posting it as I go. So there will probably be mistakes.

The House on Mendocino Street is based on a true story. Mine. I once lived in a haunted house with my daughters. So I figured since this was Halloween month, I’d write a two or three or more part story.

THE HOUSE ON MENDOCINO STREET

The house didn’t look like much, an ugly grey Florida concrete home with a dirt yard to match. The only greenery was a pineapple palm growing close to the front door. The tree in the front yard drooped dead branches onto the roof. It was definitely not a candidate for anyone’s dream house.

Maddy couldn’t believe that she let her finance’ talk her into meeting a realtor to check out the dump. He had told her it was in foreclosure. By the looks of the house, she could understand why. It looks like a dump. But the house seemed to call to her. It had a familiar feeling about it even while she waited for her fiancé and realtor to arrive.

“Mommy,” Niki said from the backseat. “Are we going to live here?”

Drumming her fingers along the steering wheel of her mini van, Maddy shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t know. Maybe.”

“When will Mr. Bob be here?”

“Soon.”

“Can I go look in the backyard?”

Maddie found no problem with her daughter’s curiosity. Most six year olds were. “Sure. Just make sure you stay in it. Don’t go wandering around elsewhere.”

“Okay.”  Niki slid the the back passenger door open. “Mr. Bob won’t get mad at me, will he?”

“Don’t worry.” Maddie glanced over her shoulder and gave her daughter a small smile. She figured her finance’ needed to chill out when it came to her child. She hoped he would calm down about his parenting position after she married him. He took it too seriously. Too much on the strict side.

Niki hopped out of the van, ran to the front of it, stopped, turned, and waved at her mother.

Maddie waved back and watched her daughter skip around the corner on the south side of the house. After, she cast her gaze at her twenty dollar wristwatch she bought at Wal Mart a couple months ago.

Out of the corner of her eye a dark silhouette crossed in front of the garage door. She blinked her eyes twice thinking she had floaters crossing her vision for moment. Or am I seeing things. The shadow rounded the same corner her daughter did, but she dismissed it.

© Shelly Arkon 2013

Anyone else writing anything off the cuff for the world to see? I’ve been tinkering with the idea since I wrote an essay for another blog a while back. Anyone get story ideas from writing your blog?

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly