Haunted

Chapter 5: Desicions

They investigated at my house until almost five o'clock that morning. They had caught more evidence in that one night at my house than they'd caught anywhere ever. Good for their paranormal study, bad for my daily living situation. 

After I got to Chad's that night/morning, I pulled my shirt off and found big whelps across my chest, letting me know what the fire I'd felt had caused. Susan had ended up with a black eye, which she blamed on a slip in the shower when people asked. Yet the guys hadn't had anything happen to them at all. Who or whatever was in my house was a coward, only messing with women or those who were weaker.

It was now Tuesday and I was still staying at Chad's condo. After he woke up Sunday evening, we went back to my house so I could quickly pack a bag with enough stuff to last me a few more days. We hadn't talked about what had happened at my house since we'd left. Chad said that Susan was contacting some people to either do a cleansing and a blessing or a full blown exorcism and that I shouldn't go back until it was done. I still thought it'd be easier to just take a loss and sell it.

I had dinner with Eric and Kim after work, who about died when I told them all that had happened. Kim just sat there with her mouth hanging open and Eric grilled me about every little detail. I told them as much as I could, surprised at how the fear I'd felt flooded me again. I wondered how long that would last. Even after my house was cleared of the evilness that was there, would I ever feel safe?

They were also surprised that I was camping out at his condo. "Well, what else am I supposed to do? I can't stay with you and Phillip. And I have too many germs to stay at Kim's." Kim's mom was not only a little off, but she was a germaphobe, too. "And I don't have money to stay at a hotel, so. . . ."

"Who is this Chad fella, anyway?" Eric asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, what's his last name?" Kim chimed in.

"First off, he's just a friend. After what happened, he didn't want me staying there alone. And since he works nights and sleeps all day, he said I'd practically have the place to myself until I could go back home. And his last name is Bales. Chad Bales."

"So, what does this Chad Bales look like?" Kim asked.

I shook my head. "You two are impossible."

"We know, but what does he look like?" Eric asked again.

"He's muscular, taller than me, with short, wavy hair, kind of darkish, and green eyes . . . or blue . . . greenish-bluish, I don't know."

"Age?" Kim asked.

"He looks my age and that's all I know."

Eric continued to quiz me. "Where does he work?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know where he works? He could be a drug dealer or prostitute or something."

I laughed. "If that was the case, you'd have recognized his name," I teased Eric.

"True."

They finally dropped the topic of Chad, only to bring up another touchier one. "So, has Billy called you anymore?" Kim asked. I shook my head, hating the fact that every time I forget about him for a few days that someone would say something to bring him back into my thoughts. 

We finished dinner and I headed back to Chad's condo, knowing he had already left for work. I had been sleeping on his couch, since his second bedroom was used as an office and exercise room. As I got ready and laid down, I noticed a note on his coffee table. 

I don't know if you read, but you can browse my kindle if you want. 

It was interesting that he was a reader. I never took time to read, but seeing as how I had time right now, I reached over and opened up his kindle to see what all he had on it. I turned the lamp off and pulled the kindle light out so I could see, snuggling down into my pillow. I clicked on his favorites file to see what genre he liked. The series that surprised me the most was 'Harry Potter'; he didn't seem like the wizarding type. The ones that didn't surprise me were the ones by Stephen King, which seemed more his speed, and the ones I'd never heard of, but had scary titles.