The forecast had mentioned clear, auspicious skies and temperatures ranging from the upper 60s to mid-70s. In summary, the day was perfect for anything remotely outdoorsy.
Yet Remi was standing in a pool of her own sweat and tears wondering which part of the morning weather report she'd misheard. Nowhere during those ten minutes had the meteorologist mentioned anything about a blazing sun ready to roast her alive or temperatures hot enough to fry eggs on car hoods.
The girl dragged out two more boxes from inside the truck, dropping them onto the sidewalk with a grunt. She winced when her eyes caught the bold black letters scrawled in Sharpie: FRAGILE. Hopefully, that wasn't her mother's prized dinnerware.
She wiped the sweat beading along her forehead before tugging at the front of her shirt. There wasn't even a hint of a cool breeze in the air. Just the breath of a hot day blowing against her face. Remi couldn't wait to get inside and blast the air conditioning. She looked back inside the U-Haul. There were so many boxes left. Way too many for a seventeen-year-old to manage alone.
Wait, where's Harper?
Peering out from behind the moving truck, Remi spotted her younger sister perched under the shade of an apple tree. "Harper, instead of lazing around, can't you at least give me a hand? Half of this is your stuff anyway."
Her sister merely shook her head, keeping her eyes glued to the book in her lap. "Mom said I'm not allowed to do any heavy lifting while she and Dad are out." She stuck her tongue out, making Remi question whether her sister really was just two years younger than her or actually a toddler in disguise.
Ignoring her spoiled sister's antics, Remi huffed in disbelief before pulling her phone out from her back pocket. Her parents had been gone for more than two hours. Before leaving, they had told her they were driving back to their old place to gather the rest of their belongings. But now she was starting to believe they'd gone out to enjoy some time alone.
She gathered the wisps of hair that clung to the nape of her neck and twisted them into a messy bun. She was going to have to finish unpacking on her own.
As she walked up the steps to the front door, she glanced over her shoulder. A tall figure in a grey hood, his back now turned to her, rode off on a skateboard. She could've sworn he'd been watching them for the past ten minutes.
***
After hauling everything inside, sprawling herself onto the cool hardwood floor, and basking in the A/C for a full hour, Remi finally dragged her ass to the bathroom. One cold shower later, she was smelling and feeling fresh again. But a bit tired as well. She took one look at the unopened boxes littered across her bedroom floor and flung herself into bed. It was seriously time for a nap.
Two hours later, she awoke to the high-pitched shrieks her mother called "singing." Rubbing her eyes, she made her way downstairs. Her mother was in the kitchen organizing the pots and pans while her father stood flat against the wall, trying to mount their flatscreen TV.
"Mom you're so loud. I bet the neighbors back home can hear you." She plugged her ears but her mother simply smiled and continued her duet with Remi's father. When the girl was about to head back upstairs, she called out.
"Oh, Remi dear, thank you for bringing in the rest of the boxes. We were on our way when your Dad spotted a hardware store. And I'm not lying when I tell you I had to literally drag him out of there. You know how he can be." She crossed her arms over her chest, looking over at the man she'd married twenty years back. They watched in silence as her father tried to untangle himself from a mess of various electronic cords and cables. A few minutes later, the defeatist within him yielded. Trying to reach out for their help, he tripped over the electric drill and face-planted into the couch.
Remi looked back at her mother and the two burst out laughing. "Where's Harper?" she asked, trying to stifle her chuckles when her father frowned at her.
"I think she's reading out front"
"Still?! It's almost dark."
"Who's still reading?" Harper called out, skipping down the stairs. "I came inside hours ago." She took one look at her father's fallen form before deciding it wasn't worth her time. The older man muttered something under his breath along the lines of This family doesn't even think I'm worth their pity.
"Oh guess what, Rem," Harper called out, ignoring their father. "I was doing some research and discovered that this house may be haunted." She did her best to imitate a spooky ghost, wiggling her fingers in her sister's face.
Remi shoved her away. "What are you talking about?" Her sister read way too many horror novels. Ghost and spirits were all she ever talked about.
"I'm being serious. Apparently, an old woman used to live in this house. Alone. And when she died, no one knew. Days passed by with her corpse rotting from the inside out. The medics only came once the neighbors complained of the rotten smell."
Remi scrunched up her nose. She'd been hungry for dinner but now she regretted even coming downstairs. She looked to her mother for intervention.
"That's silly, sweetheart" their mother dismissed it. "There are no ghosts in this house. Well, not any that the realtor mentioned, at least. Anyways, I'm thinking of having homemade pizza for dinner. Who wants to help?" She looked to her daughters expectantly.
"Um, I think I need some fresh air." Remi walked to the door. The porch light wasn't working but there was enough light from the setting sun to make out her immediate surroundings. She plopped herself onto the steps and leaned back on her arms. The street was much quieter than her previous address. She could even hear faint music playing from somewhere.
She mindlessly brushed her fingers along the moss growing in the cracks of the cement. Suddenly, her hand came to an abrupt end. It felt soft and fabric-y. Turning to her left, Remi almost jumped out of her skin when she noticed the dark silhouette of a person sitting beside her.
Whoever it was, definitely wasn't there five minutes ago.
Even after her silent panic, the hooded figure didn't seem to move. Weirded out, she jabbed a finger into his shoulder.
The hood came down, followed by two hands pulling earbuds out of his ears. He turned to face Remi with an emotionless expression.
He didn't present an immediate danger, but Remi scooted back nonetheless. "Uh, what do you think you're doing here?" She kept her voice down, not wanting to attract her parents' attention from inside.
"I could ask you the same." He simply stated, turning back to face the sunset. In his hands were a sketchpad and pencil, but she couldn't make out the drawing on the page. "I live here," she informed him.
He turned back, meeting her eyes. "So it's true then?" He phrased it more like a question to himself. "The property's been sold, huh."
"Yeah, so you need to find somewhere else to sit and draw." She pointed to his art supplies.
He stared back in silence. Then he shut his sketchpad and stood up, startling Remi. Without another word, he hopped over the porch and strolled onto the sidewalk. Soon he was nothing but a retreating blur in the distance.
Remi went back inside, not sure what to make of the situation. Deciding to clear her mind, she joined her parents and sister who were laughing as they tossed pizza dough into the air. The kitchen was covered in flour, but Remi didn't mind. She always looked forward to her family's Sunday night cooking adventures.
Correction: Misadventures.
That night, when Remi tiptoed downstairs for a light midnight snack, she thought she heard rustling by the front door. When she looked out the window, however, there was nothing out of the ordinary.
She turned to head back to her room, but couldn't shake off the unnerving feeling of being watched. Her sister's words from earlier came to mind, sending a chill running down her spine. Remi scoffed at herself. She really had to stop letting her sister's stupid ghost stories get to her. Besides, this house wasn't haunted. It was just another normal house. Same as the last.
