Ghost of a Chance Book 1 in Above the Grave Trilogy Read online

  “Why do you think I stay around here? Everyone is weird around here. I fit right in!” Drew smiled.

  “You aren’t weird, Drew. You are definitely different, but you aren’t weird by any means. Now, are you going to tell me why it is that you are still a virgin or are you going to make me follow you around for the next two weeks to get you to open up again?”

  Drew laughed starting to relax a little. “Yes, I was getting there. The reason that I was such a loner before that day was because just two years before I was almost raped by my stepfather.”

  Liza gasped. “Drew! Oh my God! What happened?”

  “Well, I was twelve years old and my mother had been remarried for about 3 months. I tried and tried to tell her that the guy was a creep. He just gave me a really bad feeling, you know?” Drew paused to light a cigarette and to take a moment. She had never spoken about this to anyone and she knew that it was time to get it all out. As uncomfortable as it made her, there was a huge change coming and she thought that if she talked about her past, maybe it would help her ease into the future. “He was constantly trying to get me to sit on his lap and he even would beg to brush my hair after my bath at night. Mom kept saying that he was just trying to be a dad, but at twelve years old that was just a little too much.”

  “That is something that you do with a six year old, Drew, not a twelve year old.” Liza said still in awe.

  “Yes, I know. I knew it then to. Anyway, one night my mom called and said that she was going to be working late at the diner because of some big meeting that they were supposed to have. I took my nightly bath and put on my robe and headed for the bedroom. Jack,” Drew shuttered at his name. It was the first time she had said it in many years, and just to prove that she could, she said it again. “Jack, my step- father at the time, was sitting on my bed whenever I got out of the bathroom. He said that he thought it would be nice if he could tuck me in since my mom wasn’t there. My mom stopped tucking me in when I was five.” Drew’s eyes started tearing up now.

  In the many years that Liza knew Drew, she had seen her cry only one other time and that was when she ran away from home at sixteen. Her mother was getting re-married. Liza understood now why Drew had been so upset. Either she had been worried about her mother, or she couldn’t bear going through another “daddy” again. Either way, she now understood, years later, what Drew must have been going through in her poor mind.

  “I told him that I was too old to be tucked in and asked him to please leave the room so that I could put my pajamas on and go to bed. He got up then and said that he would help me with my pajamas. I told him that I was a big girl and to please get out. He said, “Alright then, let me just have a hug good- night.” His slimy hands undid my robe then and he pushed me down on the bed.”

  Drew was shivering now. Liza reached for her hand and nodded her head in an effort to let her know that it was ok and to go on. She hated to see her friend like this and really didn’t want to hear the rest. She thought that it was probably time for Drew to get it out after so many years of holding something so terrible in and continued to listen. Her eyes which normally looked so light and easy going looked cold now. It was definitely time to get rid of what must have been weighing her down for so long.

  “I remember how soft his hands were. Like a creepy soft. Do you remember “Of Mice and Men” when the man kept his one hand in a glove of Vaseline all day for his woman at night? Creepy.” She paused again then swallowed hard. “He cupped my breast with one hand and was undoing his pants with the other. I remember feeling his “man-hood” on my inner thigh. He was almost there, Liza! My mom came running in when she heard me screaming from the driveway.”

  Drew laughed and tried to shake off the fit of hysteria that she felt coming on. “I had a beautiful lamp that my real father had bought me when I was only four. It was like a Cinderella doll with a gorgeous dress and it was big and heavy. My mother picked that thing up and knocked him right square in the face with it. She wrapped my robe around me then and told me to go to the bathroom, lock the door, and get dressed and not to move until she came and got me.”

  “What happened to the asshole?” Liza said through her own tears that she hadn’t realized had fallen and through teeth that were close to cracking from grinding so hard.

  “He was arrested. Last I heard he was living somewhere in Michigan. He is on the child molester list or whatever. I don’t know and I don’t really care. I wish I could go back in time and cut his damn balls off though. If my father wasstill alive the man wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

  Drew barely remembered her real father. He had died when she was very young, but she liked to imagine that if he and his mother had been divorced instead of him dying, he would have come and rescued her. It wasn’t that she blamed her father of course; she just wished that things could have been much different.

  “So, you are afraid of men now?” Liza asked.

  “No. I’m not afraid of men.” Drew put her arms around herself and shivered again. “The thought of having a man touch me like that again literally makes me want to puke though.”

  “What about making out with Bobby and that one guy, what was his name, John, in high school? Remember the night at the lake and the drive through?” Liza asked.

  “I never made out with those guys.” Drew said rolling her eyes as she was getting back up now and heading into the house. She looked back at Liza, “I just told you that so you wouldn’t feel bad about losing your virginity in the back of Ernie Miller’s mom’s station wagon.” She ducked in the house now as she saw Liza reach for the coffee mug that was sitting on the table next to her. About two seconds later she heard the mug shatter against the brick wall of her apartment building.

  “You bitch!” Liza laughed following Drew inside. “I haven’t thought about that pimple faced creep in forever! Now I am sure I will have nightmares! Have you ever even kissed a guy?”

  “You mean besides the assholes who try to slip one in on me when I am bartending? No. I have had no desire, Liza. Does that make me a freak?”

  “I think it makes you need to go out and get laid and find out what you are missing, chick.”

  They both laughed at that. Liza knew that Drew was done talking about it now as she watched her start digging out her paintbrushes. She didn’t think that there was anything in the world that she could say to Drew that would help her any more than just letting her get it out. She realized that there was just one more thing that she needed to know though.

  “Drew?” She said quietly.

  Drew set down her papers and looked up at Liza. She was hoping that Liza didn’t want any more details about that night. Drew hadn’t eaten anything yet and really hated getting dry heaves. She was already on the verge of throwing up.

  “You aren’t like, into girls are you? You, know, like a lesbian?” She explained when Drew looked confused.

  Drew turned and walked to her then. She put one hand on Liza’s cheek then and the other one gently on her butt and watched as Liza’s mouth dropped to the floor. She said, “I have been waitingso long for this moment.” She leaned in then and smacked Liza hard on the open mouth.

  “You are right. Maybe I do need to get laid.” She said through half closed eyelids. “But not with a girl, if I ever do change my mind though, you will definitely be my first choice.” Drew laughed then and gave her friend’s bottom a little squeeze.

  “Such a….” Liza started then went to the living room to get her clothes. “I’m getting in the shower. Alone, and yes, it will probably be acold one.” She said after Drew raised her eyebrows at her.

  Drew didn’t know how she had gotten through that. The countless psychiatrists that her mother had her sit with for months after that night couldn’t even get that much information out of her. Maybe it had just been time to let it all out. She just hoped that Liza wouldn’t feel uncomfortable around her now knowing her deepest, darkest secret.

  Liza was feeling a bit nauseous after hearing about
Drew’s horrible childhood experience. She took a longer than normal shower just thinking about everything and soaking up the heat of the water to try and get the feeling back into her chilled bones. How the hell was she was supposed to get Drew to fall in love after all that had happened to her? That would be like setting up Elton John with Ellen DeGeneres, some things just weren’t meant to be! If her Nana said it was to be though then she supposed it would all just have to fall into place somehow. With Drew’s eviction it was as good a time as any to get the ball rolling she supposed.

  “Well, I have to get back soon.” Liza said as she came out of the bathroom looking like her normal, school teacher self. Tim and the kids are going to be coming home this evening and I have been very bad and need to get the house cleaned up before they get home. What do you say we go grab a bite to eat before I head out?”

  “That sounds like a great idea! Believe it or not, I am starving.” Drew smiled. She was glad that they could go back to being their old selves again. Though Drew wasn’t feeling like her old self. She was feeling fresh and renewed. She felt better than she had in a very, very long time.

  Though it wasn’t the fanciest place in the world, the girls both knew that they couldn’t go wrong with the Waffle House. There was nothing like sticky syrup, hot melted butter, and soggy waffles to soak up all of the liquor from the night before.

  “Johnny Depp.” Drew said breaking the silence after they had made their order.

  “Where!” Liza exclaimed jerking her head aro und. Drew thought that if she had moved it a centimeter more it may have actually popped off of her neck.

  “Behind you!” Drew clicked her tongue, which was one of her annoying little habits that Liza had learned to ignore after so many years. Liza almost fell out of her chair trying to see in the booth behind them. “What I was going to say was, Johnny Depp is hot. Of all the men in the world, I could handle being stuck on a deserted island with him.”

  “Sheesh, I thought you meant you saw him! For crying out loud Drew! You should really learn to think before you speak and then when you do actually speak, let it all out in a full sentence!”

  Drew had to laugh as she watched Liza settle back down in her seat. Yes, they were going to be just fine. If there was one person in the whole world that she could count on for anything at all, including a good laugh, it was Liza.

  “Harry Connick, Jr.” Drew said. Liza cocked her eyebrow up over her coffee mug. “No really, I think I just saw Harry Connick, Jr. walk in front of the Waffle House.” That’s when Liza spit her hot coffee all of Drew.

  As Drew was locking up the front door that evening to head to Boudreaux’s for her first night back on the job, she noticed another paper stuck to her door. “Wow, Liza, I guess you really can get evicted twice in one day.” She said to herself. She took the paper down though and noticed that it wasn’t an eviction notice after all; it was a real-estate flyer. The paper was hot pink and she swore it was still warm, like it was hot off the press.

  House and 10 acres for Sale:

  $20,000

  Furnished, castle-like, stone mansion with all new plumbing, wiring, and appliances. 6 bedrooms, 3 Bath, swimming pool and privacy fence.

  Call (555) 555-5555

  “Is this a joke?” Drew looked around to see if anyone was hiding in a corner laughing at her now.

  There was no way someone was going to sell a house like that for $20,000 or for anything close to that for that matter. They would have to be desperate for drugs or something or, just downright insane, either one was a norm for New Orleans. She thought that she had $5,000 saved up in the bank already and if she turned in her life insurance that her mother had bought her when she was born she imagined that it would be worth at least $5,000 by now. So, maybe she could work something out. The place must be a real dump though. She shoved the paper in her bag and promised herself that she would at least inquire about it tomorrow.

  Drew’s first night back at Boudreaux’s was absolutely crazy. It seemed the little hole in the wall had picked up business since the last time she had worked. She raked in $300 in tips and she didn’t even have to flaunt anything. It was great, but it was now 6:30 in the morning and she had to be at the gallery by 9. She calculated that this double shifting wouldn’t last more than a week.

  The walk home at 6:30 in the morning wasn’t quite as peaceful as you would imagine it would be. Everyone stayed out until dawn there on the weekends and it seemed that rush hour never ended on the nearby highway. Dodging stumbling drunks and the homeless lying on the edges of the sidewalks was something that Drew had gotten use to as well.

  By the time she walked home and grabbed a bite to eat and a shower she still had an hour before she had to leave again. She couldn’t decide if she was going to take a nap or make a phone call. Since she only had 2 days left her eviction from the apartment she decided that the phone call was probably her best and most important option.

  It seemed the phone didn’t even get to ring before a gruff voice answered her call. “Yellow!”

  A sarcastic man she thought, great! “Um, yea. I am calling about the house for sale? The one for $20,000? It was on a flyer on my door last night.” She waited for the guy to start laughing and correct her that the price was actually $200,000 or more like $2,000,000.

  “Great! When do you want to sign the papers?” The guy said excitedly.

  “Well, can I take a look at the place first?”

  “Oh, right.” He said disappointed. “ Well, the place is really in great condition. It sets off by itself, sort of out in the country, do you have email? I can send you some pictures of it? It needs a little TLC on the outside, the inside is spectacular though. At least it was five years ago. I haven’t been in there since then. Probably needs some dusting.”

  “Can’t I just meet you there? Can you tell me where it is?” Drew said a little confused.

  After a long pause and then what seemed like an eternity of arguing that she wasn’t going to buy anything until she saw it, he finally decided to meet her there in 30 minutes. She would have to break out the Harley and she would have to call in late to work for the first time in 2 years but there was no way she was missing this one. She couldn’t wait to see what kind of scam this guy was trying to pull off.

  The first road that she was supposed to take after exiting the highway was a washed out gravel road that she had never before in her many years of living in New Orleans noticed. As soon as she turned onto the road she spotted a fat old man with a cigar hanging out of his mouth leaning against a brand new silver Cadillac. He even looks like a con man. She thought to herself. She pulled up in front of him and he automatically held out a hand with a ring of keys.

  “I will sit here for ten minutes. No more! Go take your peak and then meet me back here. If you take longer than that you can call me as soon as you get to a phone.” He started to get back into his car.

  “Wait, you aren’t going to go with me?”

  “Nope, I haven’t stepped foot on this land in 5 years and I ain’t goin’ do it now.”

  “Alrighty then.” Drew clicked her tongue, stuck the keys to the house in her pocket and put her helmet back on.

  “You got ten minutes, little lady.” He warned her again.

  Drew gave him the thumbs up and then took off down the road. “Weird.” She mumbled to herself under her helmet.

  About a mile up the dirt road and through some thick ass trees she noticed an old cemetery to her right. The cemetery wasn’t in the best shape she noticed. Since everything was pretty much flat or sinking in New Orleans she could pretty much see the house and everything around it once she cleared the trees.

  She had to pull over and catch her breath. It was absolutely beautiful in a gothic sort of way. There were a lot of vines and weeds growing up over the iron fence that surrounded the castle, and yes, it was a castle, and it looked like a crap load of trash that had blown up around the fence and yard as well. It had definitely been a while since anyone had been
up here.

  She was glad that she had worn jeans and her Harley boots because it looked like it was going to be a wade through some tall grass and no telling what was living in the grass and weeds.

  “Ten minutes? How the he ll am I supposed to check out this freaking mansion and be back in ten minutes?” She said out loud.

  The place looked like it belonged in a Bram Stoker’s novel. The only thing it was missing were the gargoyles on top of the roof and the blood sucking undead of course. Though she couldn’t quite see the fine details of the architecture from where she was standing and hadn’t been inside yet. Who knew, maybe there were blood suckers living in there after all, or not living she supposed. She drove the bike around the fence as far as she could without running into more thick weeds.

  It looked like there may have been a garden at one time and some very nice landscaping around the castle and then a privacy fence took up residence at the back of the house. She imagined that was where the swimming pool was. “It’s probably the home of the Swamp Thing by now.” She said to herself.

  In her heart she had already made up her mind though. She didn’t care if the entire roof was falling in, she was in love, and she would get this house for whatever price she had to pay. It was going to be a lot of hard work getting it cleaned up though.

  She started to turn around when she noticed a light flash in one of the upper windows. She squinted to see more but it was too bright outside. She figured maybe the crazy guy had someone up there cleaning or something but then she saw that the padlock was still locked on the outside of the gate and that there were weeds entwined around it as well. There was no way someone was in that house.

  “The sun must have reflected off of a mirror or something.” She said again, shrugging to herself.

  She got back on her bike wishing that she had more time to at least go inside the fence and raced down the road to try and make a deal with the guy.