Chapter 26

The drugged chocolate milk incident was hard to forgive. One minute we were having fun, and the next they drugged me! It was confusing. Every time I began to think of them as family, they would pull some nasty surprise that put everything back into question.

"You gave me something to make me sleep again." I confronted Marvin as we drove out of town.

"I did not!" Marvin denied.

Lies on top of lies, as was often the case with Marvin.

"You did so!

– What makes you say that?

– I'm not stupid, you know. We're on the other side of the river."

Marvin didn't look remotely embarrassed and laughed off my accusation:

"Crossing the border is boring, kid. Believe me, I wish I could've slept through it."

His clumsy attempt at humour didn't land and he lost his smile when he saw my hostility.

"You tricked me.

– It wasn't a trick. It was just for… safety.

– You guys always do that!

– Not always…" Marvin protested. "Last night was fun; didn't you have fun?

– You just did that to trick me!"

As I said the words, I realized they were true. Harry and Marvin hadn't taken me sightseeing so we could have a good time; they had only done that to lower my guard. Marvin was never good at handling these conversations and tried to wiggle his way out the only way he knew how:

"How about I get you a new baseball hat before we leave? Or a sweater? You want a sweater?

– No! I don't want a sweater or a cap!" I snapped back. "Family doesn't do that."

After an uncomfortable pause, Marvin gave a tentative reply:

"We're… different. You know that.

– Yeah, you suck." I muttered bitterly, crossing my arms.

"Don't be like that, kid. We're just being careful."

Had I been older, I would've asked Marvin why our safety somehow always came at my expense. Since I was just a child, I expressed my frustration in simpler terms:

"It's not fair.

– I know. But we're home now, so it won't happen again, okay?"

I mulled over this peace offering. Marvin sounded sincere, but I wasn't willing to trust him so easily.

"You promise?"

Had Marvin been wiser, he wouldn't know better than to make such a promise. But as his main concern was to placate me, Marvin told me what I wanted to hear.

"I promise."

That episode would not be forgotten.

More or less convinced, I accepted this would-be apology, though in the back of my mind, I was aware Marvin had not apologized. I pushed my anger aside, as I had learned to do. We still had a long road ahead.

I had no idea where we were going. I wasn't sure it mattered anymore. We kept driving south. That was my only clue. At first, the mere thought of being back in the States renewed my interest in our drive, but I got over it. In Canada or the States, a long drive is a long drive.

I did get my hopes up when I realized we had crossed the border through New York, but to my regret the Big Apple or the East Coast was not our intended destination. To pass time, I kept track of the states we crossed, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky. Clouds gathered on the horizon the further south we drove until it started to rain in early evening.

After what felt like an eternity, we landed in a county in South Tennessee near Chattanooga. I'm not sure why Harry and Marvin chose that state over any other, but here we were. Our new home. We arrived late in the night, in the middle of a downpour. I could barely see the house through the curtain of rain and what I saw wasn't encouraging.

The house was right off the interstate, not too far from town. Along the way, we had crossed a modern neighbourhood, but our house had been built decades before these newer models. I have nothing against old houses, they tend to have more character, but this one was different. An aura of abandonment hung over it. It stood alone on its side of the road, apart from the rest of the neighbourhood. Set deep on its ten acres of land, it felt as if it had been dumped at the end of a dirt road, abandoned by the world.

It was another bungalow. Though we were in the suburbs, it was surrounded by a forest of its own. I had expected a wooden area, as those were preferred by Harry and Marvin. I'll even say that I liked wooden areas as they afforded me more freedom, but those woods gave me the creeps. The way the trees arched over the house and the bushes clawed at its side, it was as if the forest wanted to swallow the house whole.

Marvin wasn't too impressed by our new dwelling either.

"Here we are. Home sweet home, kid!"

He tried to sound cheerful, but he wasn't convincing.

"That's our new house? Are you sure Harry got the right address?

– It's not that bad. It's just dark. I bet it's real nice inside."

I seriously doubted that, but we were here, weren't we? Bags in hand, I ran after Marvin in the rain. Harry, who had the key, unlocked the front door and we piled up, dripping wet, in the hall. Harry turned on the lights and we had our first look around.

Small would sum up everything about the house. To our right was the living room and doors leading to the bedrooms. To the left was a tiny crammed kitchen. Our table would be a tight fit and it wasn't a large one. Harry didn't say it, but I knew he didn't like it. There wasn't much counter space and it had a single-bowl sink, instead of a double one, which was pure heresy for a plumber or any respectable cook!

The air was stuffy and Marvin had to struggle with the old sash windows in the living room to open them.

"It could be worse. At least the roof's not leaking." he declared, ever positive, as he took his coat off.

"Where's my room?"

I knew it would be in the basement. Judging by the general appearance of the house, I was already regretting my previous living quarters. And I was right. Harry located the door at the back of the house. Down steep wooden steps, was a room I would not have called a basement, but a cellar.

I looked down those steps, in no hurry to take possession of my new room. We were in late spring and the temperature outside was comfortable, yet I could feel the damp and cold air coming from the cellar. Harry, also looking dubious, led the way. I followed him, stopping mid-stairs at the depressing view.

The cellar was a bare cement room with no windows. It's only source of light came from a light bulb on a chain. I didn't know it at the time, but the previous owners had probably converted a crawl space into a cellar, resulting in the ceiling being too low and making me feel claustrophobic. Next to that cellar, the storage room back in Illinois looked positively quaint!

I stared at Harry as he inspected the cellar without a word. I was tired and angry. I didn't like our new place. Why did we have to move out here? And why had Harry chosen such a dumb house! I hated it! I hated everything about it, and I would not sleep in this basement!

I was itching give Harry a piece of my mind, but his expression held me back. He was not happy. I knew better than to antagonize him when he had that look on his face. I could also tell Harry wasn't angry with me. He didn't like the house any more than I did. This realization gave me hope. A year ago, Harry would've left me in that cellar without a care. But that was a year ago. So I stayed silent, waiting for his verdict.

Behind me, Marvin wasn't too pleased either.

"That's not a basement. I thought you said the house had a finished basement.

– The landlord said it did!

– Well, clearly, he's full of shit!

– What do you want me to say, Marv? Nothing we can do about it tonight. I'll call him tomorrow."

Harry made to walk back upstairs when Marvin blocked his way:

"The kid's not sleeping down here."

There was no arguing with Marvin's tone. I loved that tone. At least, I did when Marvin used it to stick up for me. The gesture almost made up for the drugged chocolate milk.

"Fine, let him sleep in your room till we sort this out." Harry agreed, perhaps too tired to come up with an alternative.

Harry and Marvin didn't say it, but they both plainly saw that the house would not do.

Finding a solution, however, proved a lot harder than it seemed.

Turns out our new landlord was a slippery one and Harry had trouble getting his hands on him. He was never around whenever Harry called and had just mysteriously stepped out whenever Harry dropped by his office.

That man didn't know it, but he had entered a dangerous game.

He was messing with the wrong tenants.

As a result, we ended up staying at that house much longer than we cared. This also left Harry and Marvin in a difficult position where I was concerned. We were stuck at that house whether we liked it or not and Harry and Marvin had things to do. They couldn't spend all their time with me, and since the house did have a basement, their reaction had been to lock me in there. Yes, they recognized, the place was a little basic, but it wasn't as if I had to sleep down there. It wasn't for long, just the time to run a few errands. How bad could it be?

The answer was, very, very bad.

Over my brief stay in the cellar, I came to believe it was haunted. No matter how many times I told myself it was only my imagination, I caught movement out the corner of my eyes, saw shadows where there shouldn't be any and heard whispers even when I turned the volume of my Game Boy all the way up. And that was before the light went out for no apparent reason. Suffice to say that when Harry and Marvin came back, I was a hysterical mess.

"It's those damn scary movies you let him watch." Harry accused Marvin.

"Don't blame me; he's never been scared before!"

Marvin gave me a sideways glance as he said this. We both knew it was a lie. I had once shown similar fright after watching Alien. It was what had gotten me out of the storage room back in Illinois. Marvin didn't bring it up, but judging from his thoughtful expression, he had not forgotten. Did he think I was pretending?

I wish I could've told him how this was different. This wasn't about horror movies. Something bad would happen if I were left in that cellar. I could feel it! To this day, I'm still unsure if what I heard was real or not. All I know is that the memory of that basement still gives me goose bumps.

So the next time Harry and Marvin had to leave, I wasn't exactly cooperative.

"Don't be a brat!" growled Harry exasperated. "We changed the light bulb, it's fine now."

It would've taken much more than a new light bulb to convince me to step back in that basement. I therefore stood my ground.

"Come on, kid. It's just for an hour or two. There's no such thing as ghosts." Marvin pleaded, gently pushing me toward the basement. I panicked and shrieked:

"I don't want to! Please don't make me!"

Again, Marvin could've easily dragged me in the basement, but he didn't and wouldn't let Harry do it either. The chocolate milk incident had already damaged their family rhetoric; perhaps Marvin sensed how forcing me in the basement would undermine all their efforts of the previous year.

"Harry, maybe we shouldn't...

– Don't be such a wuss! It's perfectly safe down there.

– Can't you see the kid's scared? And can you blame him! I wouldn't want to be stuck down there; would you?"

Marvin stepped out of my way and I took refuge in the living room where I could keep an eye on them. The conversation we had had in the car hadn't been lost on Marvin as he added pointedly:

"Family doesn't do that. And we are family, right?"

I'm not sure the argument convinced Harry, but he did drop it. Rolling his eyes, he closed the basement door.

"If you don't want to lock the kid in the basement, then what?

– Lock the door! Don't forget to lock it!" I urged him from my position.

"Kid, ghosts don't use- Ah, forget it." Harry gave up reasoning with me.

"He could stay in the bedroom." Marvin suggested.

Since our arrival, I had been sharing Marvin's bedroom. The room was too small for both our beds, so I had been sleeping on a camp bed made of the couch's cushions, pillows and blankets. The bedroom was small, but it was far better than the basement. This option didn't win Harry over for numerous reasons.

"The bedroom locks from the inside, we're on the ground floor and there's a window." Harry listed. "Do I need to explain why that doesn't work, Marv?

– I'll stay in the bedroom, I won't run, I promise!" I assured Harry, but was ignored by them.

After a brief pause, Marvin spoke again.

"Well, we could always use these..."

Dangling off his fingers were the handcuffs. He didn't seem proud of his idea and wouldn't look at me.

"You're going to tie me?" I asked in disbelief.

Until that point, the handcuffs had been used as a punishment. And they now wanted me to spend whole days handcuffed? I didn't see what I had done to deserve this.

"I don't want to be tied!"

The idea, however, appealed to Harry. They were an acceptable solution. With his patience reaching its limits, he laid down my options:

"Listen, kid; it's the basement or the handcuffs. Your choice."

Normal families wouldn't force such options on a child, but as Marvin had pointed out, we weren't like normal families. So I chose the handcuffs. It didn't mean I liked it.

Handcuffs, real ones, are heavy and uncomfortable. Period. I never could understand how some people found them kinky. They have clearly never been handcuffed against their will. Really kills the mood. Even if Harry was careful not to tight them too much, my wrists were sore and bruised after a day. And that was without mentioning how they limited my movements. They, however, kept me out of the basement. Handcuffs were the lesser of two evils.

Harry and Marvin didn't handcuff me to the bed. They didn't hide their discomfort at the idea and opted for the heater radiator instead. Since it was right next to where I slept, it seemed to make sense. They appeased their conscience by telling themselves I would be comfortable.

Although Marvin had suggested them, he didn't like leaving me handcuffed. He had always been the one who brought me little treats, but it then became a daily habit. Every time he would go out, Marvin would bring me back something; whistles, slime or key chains from gumball machines, bouncy balls, stickers, transformers and comic books. Not that I complained! Marvin also made it more bearable for me by persuading Harry to only handcuff one of my wrists to the radiator. It made it better, but barely. It was during our stay in that house that I came to hate the handcuffs.

No, I did not like this new house and did not hide my feelings. I couldn't wait to leave. My bag was packed and ready to go, but the days dragged on, turning to weeks. We lived in boxes, Harry and Marvin having only unpacked the everyday essentials. They hadn't set up business either. They might have taken a job under the table here and there, but they didn't want to take any serious contract until we had settled down. I did not understand why it took so long for Harry and Marvin to fix our situation. They were adults; why couldn't they fix this!

I grew restless from being handcuffed for hours. I wasn't stupid and used that time to examine them. And obviously, I tried to pick them, what else did I have to do all day? I used whatever I had on hand; wood shards I collected outside, a bent up fork, small brushes, without success. I wasn't sure what to look or feel for. I would poke at the key hole blindly until I was so frustrated I threw my tool away in disgust. After I had cooled down, I would pick it up and try again.

"Kid, what the hell have you been up to?" Harry growled one day upon discovering broken pieces of pencil led stuck in the key hole. "What are you trying to do? Jam the handcuffs?

– No…"

Harry was never angered by my attempt at picking the handcuffs. He knew I wouldn't be able to figure how to pick the double lock model he was using without proper instructions.

"You wanna end up dragging that radiator around for the rest of your life? Cause that'll happen if you jam those cuffs."

Harry was only kidding and I didn't rise to his bait. I watched him warily as he unlocked the handcuffs.

"Harry, I don't like it here. Are we leaving, soon?" I asked, massaging my wrist.

Harry paused, frowning. His bad mood was back. He clenched his teeth, but instead of snapping at me, Harry replied almost kindly:

"I'm working on it, kid. It won't be long, I promise."

The details of renting a house weren't clear to me back then. I, however, came to understand that our landlord had promised Harry many things, including a finished basement with a second bathroom, and had not delivered. Harry had tried to reason with the landlord and negotiate the rental of another property, but our landlord kept giving him the brush-off.

That man had no idea who he was dealing with.

I almost pity him.

Almost.

It was only a matter of time before the gloves came off. I can pinpoint Harry's epiphany to one afternoon while he was talking things going over with Marvin. The three of us were in the backyard. Like the house, it wasn't much to look at. The place hadn't seen a lawn mower in such a long time it was more of a field than a yard.

The trees and bushes around the property were so dense it was hard to remember we were but a few yards away from a normal neighbourhood. I liked to climb trees, but not those. They were… I don't know, too still. I never saw any birds or squirrels perched in them. It wasn't natural. Whenever we went outside, I was careful to stay close to Harry and Marvin. Like the cellar, those woods gave off a bad vibe. Had the opportunity arisen, I would not have run away through those woods.

That day, Harry and Marvin were sitting on the cement stairs of the patio, having a beer. I listened to their conversation while shooting some cans and bottles in the distance with my slingshot. I had become really good at it too, hardly ever missing my mark. It was a way for me to blow off steam. I wasn't over my fear of pistols, but I sometimes missed Buzz's pellet gun.

"So let me get this straight… Cause we're plumbers, he expects us to renovate this dump? Just like that? For free?" Marvin spat furiously behind me.

It was the first time I had heard him express his true feeling regarding the house. It was good to hear I wasn't the only one who hated the place.

"That sums it up." Harry replied grimly.

"He can't get away with that!" Marvin hissed. "Fuck this place, Harry! Let's break the lease and leave!"

I looked at them hopefully. Would this be it, the day we would get out of here? In my excitement, I lost my grip on the sling and my rock flew across the backyard, way off the cans and through one of the windows of the old shed, breaking it. I whirled around in alarm.

"Oops…"

I expected Harry to take my slingshot away and to go inspect the damage, but he didn't move from where he was sitting.

"Don't worry about it, kid. If anything, that's an improvement."

Harry didn't sound angry, which I found surprising. He looked lost in thought, swirling his beer in his glass without drinking.

"Does that mean I can shoot the other windows too?" I asked, only half kidding.

"Sure. Knock yourself out."

I didn't know what had got into Harry, but this was fun! I grabbed a rock at my feet and aimed at another window while following their conversation.

"We can't break the lease, Marv.

– Why not? He lied about everything!"

I muttered in agreement before releasing the sling. I was rewarded by the sound of broken glass. I looked at my captors, just to make sure I wasn't in trouble, but they barely looked over.

"Yeah, but the bastard was smart about it." Harry continued. "He didn't include the details of the house on the lease."

Harry's tone told me how serious this was. I toyed with another rock in my hand. My eyes shifted to my wrist, bruised and painful from the handcuffs. I aimed at the shed in anger and broke the last window. It didn't make me feel better. Out of targets, I came to sit by Harry and Marvin.

"So what are you saying?" Marvin asked Harry. "We're stuck here until our lease expires?"

How long did lenses last? I could not imagine living in this house for months.

"You said we'd leave soon." I reminded Harry with reproach. "You promised."

Harry stopped swirling his beer around to look at me.

"And we will, kid."

He eyes narrowed his eyes in thought, before turning to Marvin.

"I'll go talk to the guy." He said, setting his untouched glass of beer down. "I'm sure we can come to an agreement."

As I had found out myself, Harry was a fine negotiator.

Our landlord should've agreed to break our lease.

When Harry returned later that evening, he looked mighty pleased with himself. Never mind the fact that his right hand was wrapped in a bloody bandage. Harry didn't seem to feel the pain. He walked in with that swagger, waving a piece of paper in Marvin's face.

"Good news, Marv; our landlord has agreed to break our lease. And with no penalty, too! I told you I'd get through to him.

– You're bleeding." I remarked. "Did you have an accident?"

Harry's smiled widened, apparently unconcerned with his injury. He grabbed a bottle of tequila and two glasses from the cabinet in the living room.

"Just a scratch, kid. Bring me some ice cubes in a towel, will ya?"

I obeyed while making sure not to miss a word of Harry and Marvin's conversation.

"Harry, what did you do?" Marvin whispered urgently. "I thought you would talk to the guy."

Harry had come home with good news, but Marvin's reaction kept me from rejoicing. He sounded fretful and ignored the glass of tequila Harry handed him. That didn't faze Harry who downed his glass before sinking in a chair in the living room, smirking.

"He wouldn't listen. So I had to make him listen. He finally got my point of view."

I could tell Harry was enjoying himself. He poured himself a second shot, while Marvin's frown deepened.

"Are you nuts! What if he calls the cops?"

I looked sharply to Harry; he always took the threat of the authorities seriously. In this instance, however, Harry seemed much more amused than worried and drank up once more.

"He won't.

– How can you be sure?

– Cause I told him that if he did, our good friend Vince Baccalieri would pay him a visit."

The name was unfamiliar. I looked from Harry to Marvin, taking-in their reaction. Marvin's worry melted at the name as he slowly returned Harry's grin.

"So, the jerk's heard of Trigger-Happy Vinny, huh?

– You should've seen the fucker squirm when I told him we were old friends of Vinny's. Take it from me, we won't be hearing from him again."

Harry raised his tequila glass and Marvin finally joined him in a toast.

"So… Vinny knows we're in town?

– Yeah, he knows, all right." Harry took a lighter and lit their signed lease on fire. "But not for long."

I watched the piece of paper burn and crumble in Harry's hand. Our key to freedom. We would leave, find another home, but that's not what I remember most about that moment.

I had followed my captors' exchange, without a word, without asking questions. They didn't outright spell what Harry had done, but I was smart and could put the pieces together; he had pummeled our landlord into breaking our lease.

Besides lightly skinned knuckles, he didn't have a scratch on him. Harry didn't hide from what he had done. He was proud of his accomplishment. What's more, he had had fun. Even as a child, I could tell this course of action wasn't new to Harry or Marvin. They had done this before.

It made me look at Harry with new eyes of understanding.

I cautiously walked back to Harry as he cut the butt of a cigar, a clear sign that he was in a good mood. I handed him the towel with ice cubes wrapped in it.

"Thank, kid. Here, I brought you something."

Harry reached into his pocket and fished out a square handheld grey cassette player, with a retractable microphone.

"What is it?

– They call it a… Talkboy." Harry replied, reading the name off the side of the device. "It's an audiocassette player and recorder. I found it at our Landlord's office. I figured it would make an interesting toy."

Found? I had a feeling our landlord had not handed over the Talkboy of his own free will. As I looked the device over, I found I didn't care much.

"Thanks, Harry!

– See? Didn't I tell you I'd get us out of here?"

Unlike Marvin, Harry always kept his promises.

Whatever the price.

AN:

All the houses I describe in this story are real houses I find on realtors' site. When I came across this one in Chattanooga, the first thought that came to mind was that it must be haunted. That basement and forest were so creepy, I loved it! As our trio moved around a lot, I decided this house would make an interesting stop on their journey.

Hope you guys enjoyed!