Inside The Walls

Chapter One

The sun was starting to dim in the sky and the sky was fading from blue to purple to orange with a pink tinge bringing it all together. Crickets had already introduced themselves to the evening and the moon had already made itself clear in the not-yet starry sky. Lucy and Marie were getting ready for bed, brushing their teeth and picking out their bedtime story. Kevin was doing his maths homework at the brand new, shiny, wooden desk in his room. Mr. Robinson in his office with work from his company, and Mrs. Robinson was occupying herself with the dishes downstairs in the kitchen.

There was an empty room in the basement where the washer and dryer was put. Mrs. Robinson, after finishing loading up the dishwasher, decided to go downstairs to do a load of laundry, as Lucy and Marie are having trouble deciding what to read. "Borris, want to come keep me company downstairs?" Mrs. Robinson asked the dog in a high-pitched voice. Borris was lying down in front of Mr. Robinson's closed office door. Borris preferred Mr. Robinson because he is the one at home when everybody went out and Mr. Robinson is the one who took him for walks. Borris was excited for something to do so he followed Mrs. Robinson down the carpeted stairs to the unfinished basement.

Mrs. Robinson was putting in a load of white sheets and shirts and Borris was sniffing around the basement that he'd never been in before. Borris was particularly interested in one wall on the left of the laundry room. He sniffed towards the bottom before getting on his hind legs and scratched at the wall. He scratched on the wall and let out a whimpering noise. "Borris, stop that!" Mrs. Robinson scolded, snapping her manicured fingers by her side. Borris obeyed and it didn't take very long for Mrs. Robinson to start the washing machine and head back upstairs.

"Are you girls ready for your bedtime story?" Mrs. Robinson called up to the girls as she walked up the stairs and down the hallway. Borris walked into their pink painted room and settled in between the girls' pink and yellow canopy beds on a rug of their favourite TV show character, Strawberry Shortcake.

"Mummy, Lucy wanted to read Fancy Nancy but I wanted to start reading Magic Tree House," Marie complained when Mrs. Robinson walked into the room. Mrs. Robinson sighed; the girls always had these arguments.

"How about we read Fancy Nancy tonight, and then we can read Magic Tree House tomorrow because it's getting a little late, alright?" Mrs. Robinson offered. Marie compromised, but not easily. Mrs. Robinson read them their book and turned the lights out.

Mrs. Robinson stopped by Kevin's room next to see how he was doing on his homework. It was getting late, 8:30, and Mrs. Robinson wanted him to bed by 9. "Almost done?" She asked, sitting down on the bed in his room.

Kevin wrote one last number on his lined piece of paper before saying, "Done." with a big, relieved smile on his face. Mrs. Robinson smiled back and told Kevin to go get ready for bed. She gathered his papers and put them in his folder for the next day at school. After she said goodnight to Kevin, she walked downstairs to pull Mr. Robinson out of his office to have a glass of wine and relax.

"You've worked too hard today. Come have a drink," Mrs. Robinson almost demanded, leaning against the doorframe. Mr. Robinson was still in his work clothes except his blue button down untucked and a couple buttons unbuttoned. His tie was loosened so much he could pull it over his head. His shoes were in the corner, his jacket crumbled on the floor. His hair was a mess and Mrs. Robinson could see the tiredness in his eyes. As she waited for him to organize everything he'd been working on so his office wouldn't be a disaster the next day, Mrs. Robinson picked up his jacket and hung it on the coat rack in his office. She lined up his shoes and picked up the crumpled pieces of paper that hadn't quite made it to the trash can. She made her way to Mr. Robinson and smoothed out his dark brown hair that hadn't balded or gone gray just yet. "Take a break. You need it," she told him, looking into his muddy brown eyes and noticing the bags that lined them.

Mr. and Mrs. Robinson talked in hushed voices on the couch, making sure not to wake the children. They supped on their wine and smiled at each other, more in love with the other's voices than the day before. After hours had gone by, they were sitting in silence. Mr. Robinson had a slight smile on his face as he looked at Mrs. Robinson's eyes. "Jane?" He asked, making sure he had her attention.

"Yes, David?" She answered with an equally small smile.

"You've always had the prettiest eyes I've ever seen." Jane Robinson smiles at his sweet words. "They're like the ocean and on bad days they look stormy and on good days they look like the sun is shining on them. The girls have your eyes. But they're not as magnificent as yours." David Robinson ended his little speech when there was a scratching noise coming from downstairs. Jane put her wine glass down and got up.

"Borris?" She called to the golden retriever. Borris did not come. "It's Borris scratching downstairs in the laundry room. He was doing that earlier, too." Jane walked over to the basement door and called his name again. Borris did not come. She walked down the old carpeted stairs, turning on the lights as she went. She found Borris scratching at the walls. He has chipped the paint off in that spot and Mrs. Robinson could see the wall underneath. "Borris!" She scolded. She snapped her fingers but Borris did not come. He whimpered and started clawing at the white wall again. "What are you doing, you dumb dog!" Mrs. Robinson grabbed Borris by his red collar and pulled him up the stairs, having to bend over in an awkward way to keep a hold on the dog. She turned off the lights as she went.

Jane took Borris out before she went to bed, making sure the basement door was securely closed before going to sleep. In the middle of the night, Kevin had woken up suddenly with a cold sweat running down his back. He trembled from the fear that crawled in his bloodstream. He took his worn teddy bear and sprinted down the hall towards his parents room. "Mommy," he whispered as he poked his mother in the shoulder. Mrs. Robinson turned over, her eyes barely open. She didn't need them to be, she already knew it was Kevin.

"What's the matter, baby?" She asked him, feeling around to hold his hand.

"I was hearing a voice and it was coming from the vent and I don't know if it was a dream or not but it was where this man was in wall and somebody put him there and he was trapped and I don't want it to happen to me," Kevin spoke quietly but it was rushed and he stuttered and struggled to get all of his words out in a short amount of time.

"Of course it was just a dream. Nobody's in this house except us, okay? You're nice and safe, Mommy and Daddy will protect you. Come here." Jane scooted over and lifted up the covers to make room for little Kevin. Kevin scooted in under the covers beside his mother.