Resolve // Van McCann

2. How Dare You

7 October 2015

It was our fifth trip to this house in the past month or so and I still couldn't believe this was our home. We were in a quiet neighborhood which is a stark contrast to the city we lived in not too long ago.

My dad decided on a career change. He couldn't stand the long hours and stress even though his job paid him well. So he began looking for another job in his free time and came across a new job opportunity which led us here.

Everything happened so fast. He immediately began looking for a house close to his work and we moved out of the cramped apartment we lived in for years. In the city, we couldn't afford to buy a house but on the island, we could.

We pulled into the driveway with our U-Haul in tow. We didn't have much. In fact, we'd have to buy more furniture to fill this house up. This house was a dream come true. It's a two story house with three bedrooms and two and a half baths, which is much bigger than what we needed seen as I'm an only child but my parents fell in love with the house anyway.

"We better get to work then!" my dad exclaimed. "I'll bring the boxes in."

We spent the whole day cleaning the house and moving the boxes into the garage. Despite having been at it for a full twelve hours, we didn't even make a dent in the amount of work we had to do. The next few days were the same. More cleaning and the boxes were slowly becoming unpacked and the house was starting to look like home.

Eventually, a week had passed before we were done unpacking everything. Now it was time to buy more furniture. I left my parents to it because I wanted to put the finishing touches to my room.

I was organizing my closet when I heard the doorbell ring downstairs. I immediately straightened up wondering who would visit. It's probably a neighbor stopping by to say hello. I dropped what I was doing and made my way downstairs to the front door. I peered through the window and saw a young man with his back to me. I opened the door just a crack and he turned around.

He looked to be around my age. He was tall and lean with messy brown hair and bright blue eyes. He had a small smattering of freckles across his face, and upon closer inspection, he seemed to be drunk. His eyes were glassy and he reeked of alcohol which made no sense because it wasn't even noon yet.

"Umm...hi," I said politely.

"Coming here was a mistake," he said, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "I shouldn't be here."

I had no idea what he was going on about but I figured he had the wrong house. He's drunk so it's very possible.

"You must have the wrong house," I told him.

His eyes went back to me. It was as if he was looking through me in his current state. "No, this is the right house."

"Why are you here?" I questioned. I didn't mean for it to sound harsh but I had stuff to do and he was wasting my time.

"Why am I here?" he repeated, his voice loud. "Why are you here? How dare you and your family move into this house! D'you have any idea who used to live here?"

He took a step forward and I closed the door in fear but he managed to get his boot wedged in the door. For someone who's drunk, he moves pretty fast. I began panicking and pushed the door closed even though it was no use with his boot still in the door.

"I don't know what you're going on about! Please leave!" I shouted.

I couldn't believe I had to deal with belligerents in this neighborhood. He was now pushing on the door and I was struggling to keep it closed. We had a landline in the kitchen. I could run towards it and call 911 but that would mean I have to let go of the door. After a split second, I decided to go for it. I let go of the door and bolted for the phone. He wasn't expecting me to let go and tumbled onto the floor which bought me some time. I quickly dialed 911 and pressed the phone to my ear.