Matt woke up feeling refreshed. He blinked several times, adjusting to the light in the bedroom that he forgot to switch off before crashing. As was his custom, he rolled over to his left to give Emmy a quick cuddle. The empty side of the bed reminded him where his wife was.
Matt stretched while on his back and yawned before rolling over to the right to check his watch which he always placed on the bedside table before going to sleep. He raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips. The time read four minutes past nine.
One of those kinds of sleep then, he thought as he got up to head to the bathroom.
While emptying his bladder, Matt realized that he was hungry. His stomach felt hollow. Thinking back to the meal he shared with Jean hours ago, he shook his head. He ate a full meal. Full enough to allow him to crash and fall asleep as soon as he hit the bed. The growl his stomach gave off put any further doubts to rest.
Matt passed by Gina’s room to
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The House By The River: A Paranormal Horror Novel Chapter 13
Emmy stirred from her short evening nap. Her first thought was to get up and look around. With Gina’s arm draped on her legs however, she opted not to. Her daughter needed the rest and Emmy did not want to wake her up just yet.She bent her neck from side to side, releasing the tension. She exhaled audibly with each pop. Emmy briefly considered sliding down and just proceed to sleep. A few moments spent sitting and considering the option and Emmy abandoned the idea.How long was I out? She asked, raising her gaze towards the wall.The digital clock with its pink lights proudly answered her question. Thirteen minutes past nine. Emmy inhaled and exhaled through her mouth loudly. A shiver ran down her spine.She did not have the chance to consider what it was or what it meant. As soon as she shook herself out of that macabre dream, Gina woke up. Emmy offered to get her something to drink or eat to warm her up but when Gina declined, Emmy went
The House By The River: A Paranormal Horror Novel Chapter 14
“But why? I’m strong.” Jean asked.“Sometimes, your own strength is not enough. You must know when to ask for help.” Princess Jessamine answered.“I don’t need it.” The little girl answered, “I have you. This is your kingdom.”“That is true,” the princess answered, gliding in the air, her beautiful multicolored robes flowing with the breeze, “this is my kingdom and everyone obeys my will. But you are only safe here if you’re with me.”“I’ll always be with you when I’m here, so I won’t need help.”“I can’t always be with you. I’m a princess, I have princess-y things to do. Besides, don’t you want to go on adventures on your own? This kingdom is really big, you know.”“Maybe.” Jean started, considering the princess’ words. “Don’t you have soldiers or knights?”<
The House By The River: A Paranormal Horror Novel Chapter 15
The lights around the outside of the house conceded to the slowly brightening sky that marked the end of dawn. Jim woke himself up when his head swayed too far to the left. He fell asleep on the seat that Emmy occupied the night before.Contrary to her declaration, Jean was able to fall asleep quickly as soon as she lay done on a stack of blankets that Matt prepared for her, to the left of the chair. Matt got up and looked out the window. There was a thin mist hovering a few inches above ground. The rain had stopped.Sue woke up some time during the night and excused herself saying she needed a change of clothes. When she failed to return, Matt followed her to their room where he found her sleeping on her side on the edge of the bed. She did not wake up when Matt repositioned her and placed a blanket over. He left her to have a proper rest but kept the lights on and the door open.The room’s floor was filled with scattered clothes and medical supplies. Mat
The House By The River: A Paranormal Horror Novel Chapter 16
Matt was left downstairs to cook and clean up. Emmy took Jean back upstairs to give her an early morning bath. As if on second thought, he took pictures of the tracks with his old smartphone before he started to clean. He was starting to doubt whether he locked the doors the night before or not as he wiped off the prints. He shuddered every time he tried to consider just exactly what was happening, or what it all meant.There were no tracks leading out of the house. That could have been explained easily. And if Jean was sleepwalking, locking the doors from the inside didn’t help. He took a mental note about getting additional locks. It did not calm him one bit. A thought kept coming gnawing at his mind, forcing him to confront it.Who… what was it?The terrifying issue of the voice that spoke to him, the voice that both he and Emmy heard took a backseat. Matt remembered Jean coming into Gina’s room. She was sleeping there when he exit
The House By The River: A Paranormal Horror Novel Chapter 17
She tried to make excuses for it. She tried to adopt his husband’s attitude as she bathed her daughter. She failed. So, Emmy tried to find a way to ask her questions without sounding off an alarm or triggering any sort of panic, or an onslaught of questions, from Jean. After bathing her, Emmy pretended that she needed help cleaning up Gina’s room. Jean liked it. The little girl listened and observed patiently as her mom taught her how to fold clothes. When it was Jean’s turn, Emmy started asking the question. “Honey, do you remember how late or early it was when you went to bed?” “I don’t know,” the girl shrugged, “but it was night already.” “After dinner?” “Yeah. Daddy and I, we watched TV. I think I fell asleep.” “You remember anything else?” “Uh uhm.” The girl shook her head. “Do you remember maybe waking up and going to for a drink or needing to pee?” The little girl shook her head again. Emmy could see that
The House By The River: A Paranormal Horror Novel Chapter 18
The door chain locks did not take long to install. Matt placed them at above eye level to make sure Jean would at least need something to stand up on before she could open them. He turned it over and over his head while he installed the locks although the explanation was apparent.If not Jean, then who? Or What?He did not like it. The encroaching feeling of helplessness, brought about the lack of answers to any of his questions. Unwilling to dwell and wallow on it, Matt immediately moved to the next task.He went to back to the garage to return the drill and picked up a small shovel and a plastic garbage bag. They only had big sizes stored outside. He decided it was fine. If any, double wrapping it on itself would make for a better seal and prevent any disgusting smells. He managed to put the severed carcasses away in under five minutes.Not satisfied, and by force of habit, Matt surveyed the area again, this time including both sides of the hou
The House By The River: A Paranormal Horror Novel Chapter 19
They had supper at Gina’s room that night. It was almost entirely silent except for Matt trying to make light of things. His jokes and quips mostly fell flat. Emmy just beamed him a weak smile now and then. Gina did the same as well. Only Jean seemed to be into it, giggling at the silly bits. Emmy called him downstairs once supper was over.“We should sleep together, in Gina’s room.” She said.Matt saw the seriousness in her expression and offered no objections.“Sure hon. I’ll just watch something with Jean until she’s tired. Then, we’ll go up.”Emmy nodded to him, placing a hand on his chest and went up. Matt put the TV on and called Jean down. He washed the dishes and cleaned the counter then joined her. It was a funny show. Although it was not for kids, the laugh tracks helped. She giggled and laughed along as the program progressed. Whether she understood the jokes or not, Matt had no idea.
The House By The River: A Paranormal Horror Novel Chapter 20
Matt’s dreamless slumber was interrupted. He groaned as he felt someone shaking him vigorously by the shoulder. He sleepily opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was the tent he put up was already gone. Matt turned on his back to find Emmy kneeling beside him, urging him to wake up.Has she been crying?The expression written on Emmy’s face was enough. Matt got up, propping himself by his elbows and took a look around. He did not speak for fear of waking up Jean who slept beside him. Noting nothing of import, he turned his eyes back to Emmy. She was not looking at him. Her eyes were transfixed on the door.It was open. He squinted to adapt his eyes but saw nothing. Matt realized he might need to talk his wife out of it but before that, he needed to satisfy her. He felt her hand shake while she looked. He decided to pretend he was paying attention as he got up to a sitting position.The next few seconds yielded nothing. It was qu
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