Chapter 4
Jean and Tom shake their heads as they carry Rose’s things out of the house. As they load the back of their truck, a realtor walks up and places a ‘For Sale’ sign in the front yard. The realtor glances at them, smiles and walks off, heading back to her car.
“It’s such a shame. Rose was so excited about buying this house,” Tom says, placing the boxes he carried in the back. He watches the realtor drive away before he glances back at the house.
Jean shakes his head. “She didn’t even get to fully unpack when she had her accident in the bedroom. Slipped on an empty box and hit her head on the wall.”
“I heard her phone had fallen out of her pocket before the accident. She tried to crawl for it across the room for it,” Tom says as they walk back into the house to continue their job. “Bled out right next to it because she collapsed unconscious. She never woke up in time to call for help.”
Jean and Tom stand in the bedroom and follow the trail of dried blood from where Rose was found dead close to the door to the cracked wall. It is still covered in her blood. They grab Rose’s boxes and leave the room.
“They are going to have to get new carpets. The blood won’t come out and they have tried every trick in the book,” John says. “No idea how they’ll fix the wall.”
Behind them, Rose sits in the middle of the room, hugging her knees to her chest. Blood spills from her head in multiple places, covering her face, glasses, and runs down over her clothes. She sobs as she stands up and follows Jean and Tony out of her room. Outside, she hears the truck honking, letting her know her things are there, ready to be unloaded.