He Haunts Me

I sighed looking up at the old house in front of me. The white paint was peeling off, half of the wooden wrap around porch was sunk down into the ground. The black shudders’ paint was also chipping as they hung carelessly beside the windows. The land the house was set on was overgrown with grass, weeds, and a few wild flowers. A wrapper from ice cream littered the cracked sidewalk. This was my new home.

I cocked my head to the side trying to find anything positive about this house. I clicked my tongue finding none from the outside appearance. “Oh Cecilia, don’t go by the outside appearance.” my mother scolded me as she hoped down from the driver’s seat of a U-Haul truck we rented. “I didn’t say thing!” I protested stuffing my hands in the front pockets of my jeans. “Well then, let’s have a look inside.” my mom bounded inside cheerily.

“What’s so good about New York anyway?” I asked kicking aside the ice cream wrapper and fallowing my mom inside. When my mom said we were moving to New York I was ecstatic. The shopping and fasted way of life were just bonuses for me. I was thrilled about the music scene. I would be able to find a show every night if wanted. I could find friends who liked the same music as I did. I thought maybe I’d even find a boy who liked the same stuff as I did. I was thinking New York City. Mom was thinking more...the complete opposite of the city.

“Oh Cecilia, look at the backyard!” mom yelled with excitement from somewhere near the back of the house. This is my first time at the house. I looked around the living room where the front door led me. The walls were an awful shade of off white. There was a tacky patterned carpet laid through the whole room. ‘This has got to go.’ I thought with disgust. “Cecilia!” my mom bellowed. While I took in the stairs in front of me covered in the same ugly carpet. “What?” I asked shuffling my feet against the carpet past a small bathroom located under the stair case.

“Honey, look! Deer!” My mom said excitedly still out of view when I entered a lard kitchen. The kitchen walls were the same ugly off white color and brick patterned linoleum covered the floor. I wonder past a slightly open door off the side of the kitchen to an archway leading to a backroom where I found a cheap navy blue carpet and the same wall color along with a washer and dryer.

I walked to the back door where my mom was peering out at a vast amount of land where a doe and three fawn where feasting on our overgrown lawn. I smiled. That would a beautiful photograph or painting. Maybe “not the city at all” was going to do my artist’s block some good. “Is that a smile?” My mom gasped in fake shock and put and arm on my shoulder let’s go upstairs then.” she smiled and pushed in the direction of the kitchen.

“What’s this room?” I asked pointing to the door off the side of the kitchen.

“That’s going to be my office.” I nodded and walked back into the living room and toward the stairs.

“This carpet has got to go.” I muttered jogging up the stairs.

“I know.” my mom commented from behind me.

“So this I thought could be your office.” my mom pointed to the door directly in front of the last step. I grinned and pushed the door open. I was expecting the same ugly wall color and carpet the fallowed us upstairs but found sky blue paint covering the walls and a dingy gray carpet. Even with all it’s mysterious stains, I liked it better than the purple and green floral pattern.

"That is so awesome!" I chirped excitedly. Our old house in Pennsylvania called for my art desk to be shoved our basement with everything else that didn’t fit upstairs. I used my dad’s old workout equipment as drying racks for my paintings. The single lightbulb hanging from above my desk didn’t help with inspiration much. Basements are just soul destroying in general I guess.

And this one is your room. She ushered me toward the door of the corner room. There was a rust colored carpet with more mysterious stains and a dark brown paint with random words and quotes written in sloppy white boy hand writing. I stepped into my room and was overwhelmed with a feeling that something was off. It put me on edge and I wanted to leave immediately. “I know it’s not very you but you just need to move your things in and paint.” my mom told me with a faint smile after I practically ran from the room.

“My room is right over here.” my mom led into her sage colored room. She was lucky she had a nice stain free tan carpet, although her room was smaller than mine.

“Are you sure you don’t want the bigger room?” I asked not knowing why the brown room made me so uncomfortable.

“No honey, I have a whole house to put my stuff. Your room is your space, I know how you like your privacy.” she grinned at me.

“Thanks mom.” I smiled falsely and wandered into the upstairs bathroom where there seemed to be a bright white theme going on. Everything in the large bathroom was a blinding white. At least the fugly carpet didn’t find it’s way in there.

I could not wait to call Tristan and inform him of my new living arrangements.