A Place So Wicked by Patrick Reuman (life books to read txt) 📕

window down, and in rushed a wave of scents, hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad, and the likes. That’s when Toby noticed the smoke billowing up from a grill and the picnic tables behind the crowd of people.

“How’re you folks doing?” his dad asked with a smile of his own, sounding almost as if he was about to sell the people timeshares.

“We’re good!” one man called out.

“Welcome to town!” a woman said from somewhere in the mass of people.

“Thank you, we’re glad to be here.”

Toby wondered how these people knew they were new to town, but he supposed it must just be a small-town thing. A honk rang out from behind them. Toby glanced back. It was his uncle Robbie in the moving truck. He had almost forgotten Robbie was back there, and now the man wanted them to get going. Toby noticed the other car waiting behind Robbie. His dad was looking back, too.

His dad bid the congregation farewell and rolled up his window. “He could be a little patient,” his father grumbled. “These people are going to be our neighbors.”

In Toby’s head, he sided with his uncle. He wanted to get to this house, get some of his things arranged, and take a nap. Even though he doubted the nap would happen with all the things they had to bring into the house, it was still nice to think about. The road had been long, not hard, but definitely boring, which had its toll on him. He was tired.

It was a few streets later before they passed anyone else. A middle-aged couple riding their bikes together came to a halt as they passed. The couple put their hands up in the air and waved. Only their father waved back this time.

“Here we are,” his dad said as they turned onto Ripley Avenue.

They slowed in front of a house. Toby wondered why his dad was driving so slowly until the car came to a near stop as it rounded into the driveway. Even then, Toby couldn’t believe what was happening. What stood in front of them was not merely a house, Toby thought. The word that came to mind was manor; this was a manor.

2

Having a house like this would definitely score him some points at his new school. With a smile, Toby looked around at the neighboring houses as he got out of the car. None of the other houses looked nearly as grand as the one he stood in front of. He hated himself for caring so much, but he would definitely be thought of at school as the kid whose family lives in the big fancy house, and that was a good thing.

Clouds passed over, leaving Toby and the house in a pool of dark shade. The house was tall in height but even more significant in its width. Its two stories spread wide like the shoulders of the world’s strongest man, which he had seen on the television earlier that year, some Icelandic man whose name he couldn’t even begin to remember. It intimidated even Toby as he stepped closer to its entrance, which was flanked by two broad pillars holding up a small outside roof. Above it was an attic, which stretched from one end of the goliath house to the other and had tall, thin windows, sort of like glassed eyes that stared down at him and the surrounding neighborhood. An involuntary shiver reverberated through his spine.

“If you’re gonna stand there,” his dad said, “then make yourself useful and get the house unlocked.”

Just as Toby turned around, his dad flung the keys to him. He barely caught them, almost losing his grip on the plastic keychain. He looked down at the key resting in the palm of his hand. It was bronze and looked decrepit. He wondered if it was actually ancient or just made to look that way, adding to the mysterious vibe that the house already gave off.

The key slid in easily. He twisted the knob and pushed the door open. It glided back and tapped softly against the wall. The opening was wide and empty. He expected it to be empty, of course, but something about the sheer size of the space made it feel so much emptier. Up ahead was a wide set of wooden stairs, which went up ten to fifteen steps and then turned to the left for the last five or so.

“Watch out,” Robbie said as he almost plowed Toby over, carrying a stack of boxes.

Toby jumped to the side, leaving plenty of space to spare. He found himself then in the entrance to a massive room, the potential living room, he guessed. There were two more sizable windows there, almost connecting into one single massive window, allowing the entirety of the outside world’s sunshine to rain in its daylight across the entire room.

“Crazy, huh?” his dad said. “Not even sure what we’re going to do with all this space, but I’m sure we can figure something out.” He walked past Toby and set some boxes down along the living room wall. “It’s a colonial. We have a house with a name, kind of cool. Apparently, it’s one of the oldest houses in town.”

For whatever reason, that news didn’t surprise Toby in the least. The house looked oddly new, but there was an old smell, or atmosphere, about the place that didn’t quite match the paint on the walls and the gleam of the glass.

“Wow, it’s even more beautiful than I remember,” his mom said as she joined them. “I can’t believe this.”

She set her boxes next to the others and then twirled, soaking in the room in its entirety. Her smile glowed, which spread to Toby, forcing him to crack the smallest of smiles himself.

“It is pretty nice,” Toby conceded.

His dad rounded past him, back toward the front door. “Well,