Mommy They’re Here | Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE

 

If Paul was in the trunk of this car, I would slam my foot on the gas pedal, bulldoze a path towards the backside of the mansion, jump out, watch my car plunge into the pond, and not think twice. Hell, I’d probably even accompany the search party in trying to locate him. 

“Well… we’ve arrived!” I said to my younger sister Hailey, who remained silent in the passenger seat. She turned to me and smirked. Somehow, I felt she was less than enthusiastic to be back here than I was.

“Mommy… we staying here?” Sarah asked from the backseat as she stretched, still half asleep from her nap. She raised her arms as high as she could to reach the roof. When that wasn’t doable, she reached over as far as she could to get Cora, her baby doll that had slipped from her car seat onto the seat beside her. After grabbing Cora, she held her tight to her chest and put her feet against the back of the passenger seat and pushed.

“Yes, honey. This is where we will spend the entire weekend. Just us girls. And don’t push on the back of Hailey’s seat please.” I grinned back at her in the rearview mirror as I inched towards the house, careful to avoid the one big pothole that was smack dab in the center of the driveway. I tried to ignore the eerie feelings that revived themselves around me. The past is the past. Why did it feel like there was nothing I could do to erase the emotions? And the memories? It seemed like the memories would always be a battle. One that I would never wish upon anyone. 

“It’s not very pretty, Mommy,” Sarah said from the backseat. She attempted to put her feet on the back of Hailey’s seat again, but quickly pulled them away and glanced at me in the rearview mirror before making her doll dance in her lap.

“It was nicer-looking when we were kids, wasn’t it, Hailey?” I put the car in park right in front of the now rundown wooden porch and turned off the ignition. Sarah was right. It didn’t look pretty. In fact, it looked rather depressing. Empty. Abandoned. Kind of how I felt at the moment with my life. 

“It was very nice back then. Maybe the inside will be nicer,” Hailey said with a serious sigh and an attempted smile as she unbuckled her seatbelt. 

“Hailey, I didn’t mean to guilt you into coming with me. I just…”

“You didn’t guilt me, Rissa.” She smiled. “I just think a lot of this could have been worked out by not running away from Paul. That’s all.”

I rolled my eyes. Why did she have to be so sophisticated and make so much sense at nineteen? “I just need a small break from him. I need to think. About everything. Life. What I want to do…”

“Yeah, well…” Hailey began.

“Hailey, I just… I just can’t see him right now. Not after… not after...” I took a deep breath and shook my head. I let out a small laugh. “Not after what he did with Breigh. Not after what I learned.”

Hailey shook her head and peered towards the mansion. “I’m never getting married.”

“Mommy, are you mad at Daddy for going on sleepovers at Emma’s?” Sarah wondered as she held Cora close to her chest.

Emma was Breigh’s daughter. She was the same age as Sarah, and the two of them had become good friends. So we’ve had many trips to and from Emma’s house for the girls to play together and hang out. I presume this is how Paul ended up in Breigh’s bed.

“Yes, Sarah. Daddy should not have had any sleepovers with Emma’s mommy.”

Hailey laughed.

“What?” I stared at Hailey. “He needs to learn to keep his pants on. That’s what he needs.” I mumbled that last part to Hailey, hoping Sarah wouldn’t hear. 

“Mommy, maybe Daddy needs a new belt. For his pants. I have belts in my closet. But not the sparkle ones. He can’t have those. Those are only mine.”

Hailey snorted, and erupted into a fit of laughter. “How about we go look at the gardens, Sarah? I bet they’re overflowing with beautiful and colorful flowers. Maybe we can find some to bring inside. I have a feeling the inside will need some color.”

Sarah shrugged her shoulders. “Okay.” 

“You two have fun.” I winked as Hailey turned to kneel on her seat to unbuckle Sarah. I was still shaking my head over her comment when she opened the door to let Sarah out. 

“We will, Mommy!” Sarah shouted as she danced away from the car, holding on to Hailey’s hand.

I peered at the gray stone mansion, now surrounded by overgrown bushes and lifeless shrubs. Hailey and I inherited the estate when our grandfather passed away. We were his only grandkids, and he wanted to keep the estate in the family. When we were kids, we promised him we would take care of the place. Years passed, and neither Hailey nor I upheld our word. Now that Paul and I were on the fringe of divorce, it was the perfect time to make good on the commitment made to my grandfather. Just from glancing at the outside, I knew there would be a lot of work to do. I also had that gut instinct about the inside being just as distressing.

I snatched the mansion keys from the center console and stepped out of the car. I inhaled the crisp country air and glanced around the front of the estate. It was so different being back here as an adult. I still feel like it was just yesterday when I was running all over the grounds, playing tag with Hailey, or hide-and-seek. There used to be a white gazebo off the edge of the mansion that looked over the surrounding hills. You could partially see it from the driveway. I’m guessing it’d been gone for years, as I didn’t see any mounds of wood or a frame remaining. Hailey and I would pretend to put on plays and concerts in the gazebo. We’d blast music as loud as we could. No one seemed to care since the mansion was enormous; it was hard for anyone on the other side to hear what was going on far on the other end. 

I exhaled as I neared the front steps. The once-white pillars were now dressed in chipping paint. They were in good condition, but a few coats of white paint should have them looking like new. The cement steps were cracked and definitely needed to be poured again. As for the wooden porch that stretched around the corner to the back of the mansion, that would definitely need to be redone—especially the many rotten boards. I was up for this restoration. Excited as I was, I wanted to get started right away. Making this place my own was definitely what I needed right now to get my mind off Paul. I put the key in the lock and gently opened the door.