Thirty Days in the House by John Reeves (best novels for students TXT) 📖

is having a mid-life crisis. Talking to him about his choice to stay down in the basement he seemed almost child like. He's moved the T.V. from the guest room down there. It's kept nice and neat. For a basement it's very neat, but now that I've unpacked all the boxes, so is the rest of the house. It's still a work in progress. I'm expecting him to set up a cot down there any day now.

When he got home he went right down to the goddamn basement. He's tried to lure me down there with a bottle of wine, but why can't he come up here? We own the house, and not just the basement.


Day 22

Everyone has a breaking point. No I'm not to mine yet, but unfortunately I do feel I'm drawing closer by the day. John is seriously testing the strength of his relationships. Not just his marriage to me, but clients have been calling for him. Some of those his best clients haven't heard from him in days. I thought he'd been going to work everyday. Something isn't right, although the house is eerie and strange that's not what I'm talking about.
I took John his food down to the basement. He sat it on the table as if not hungry. There was something different about my husband, however I was unable to put my finger on what that was. I know he's acting strange lately, but I really do love him. Some people find their soul mate, and others spend their whole life searching.


Day 23

I saw the ghost of Don Maxwell today. He was walking in the wide upstairs hallway looking around at the upper portion of the walls. It almost seemed like he was trying to follow the beams of sunlight coming through the high windows. I stood there watching him for a couple of minutes, before he eventually walked through the wall without looking at it.
I might have been afraid of the apparition had I not did some mild research, but there seemed to be a level of comfort from just knowing who the man was. John will never believe what I saw today, but unless Mr. Maxwell goes down to the basement, John will never see him. I'm not sure I can go on like this. I do love John and want this to be the dream we both intended it to be.


Day 24

What is my breaking point? That seems to be the question at hand. Something has to give, either that something is John or the marriage. Not everything is what it seems to be. I know I'm not alone here, but is Don Maxwell the only postmortem member of the house. I've come to realize time is not on my side. I'm growing concerned of what might or might not be.

John is down in the basement building model airplanes. He has not been himself, and I think that's because he's become somebody else mentally. I don't believe John is the man I married. When I went down to the basement to fulfill sexual urges that I could no longer contain. John seemed almost afraid to touch me. He seemed like a virgin boy being introduced to sex. That was not John down in the basement.


Day 25

I truly believe that our happiness hinges on getting out of this house. Don Maxwell might not be evil, but I strongly feel there is an evil presence in the house. Deep in the confines of the old beaten house is a soul, and I do not think it friendly like Maxwell. I'm going to talk to John about leaving.

John said there is no way he'd leave, "They'd have to kill me first." He meant every word of that too. It was life and death in his eyes. I could see that when he spoke to me. I'm not alone in the house, but I've never felt more like I was emotionally.


Day 26

The dog was back in my dreams again. I know now that the dog will never let me leave this house. It wants me to be here, and suddenly it's become obvious that I cannot leave. Not even if I wanted to. I never like calling something life and death, especially if it's really not. This situation is life or death.

John was working on his models again in the basement. He'd built and painted three of them over night. His eyes looked like he'd been deprived of sleep, and his voice sounded defeated and broken. Not to mention his tone was not that of the man I married. John was someone else.


Day 27

The dog is no longer in my dreams. He's patrolling the front yard waiting for me to try and leave. I couldn't go now if I wanted to. There is something...bigger than me, or any decision I should make. Some things are not meant to be understood, but I truly wish I'd have looked into this more carefully. Consider this a hidden clue: This is not just a dream. That dog is real.

I have prayed to a God I've had very little faith in. If you don't hold on to something than you have nothing. I never wanted to end up alone, or hidden from the world. Now in the remote wilderness I'm caught between my love and evil. John seems to just be occupying his time, waiting for something inevitable.


Day 28

The basement door is locked. John wouldn't come up here when I called for him. I had to lock the door, I begged him to come up from the cellar. The dog had penetrated the security of the basement. If John was down there I'm sure he's dead now. The dog has done something to the phone, and the cell phones are not getting a signal from here. I'd never make it to the car before that vicious dog got me. I don't want to die.
There was a lady waling up and down the staircase, but like Don Maxwell she seemed to be out of touch with the living. I'm sure that the monster in the basement has killed my husband. I can't hear anything through the door. Why couldn't he have come out of there when I called for him. By the tone of my voice he had to know I wasn't joking. I'm starting to cry again.


Day 29

They're looking for John. His coworkers have reported him missing. I know where he is but, I have no way to tell them. The dog has consumed him, and would love to take me over as well. I cannot let them have me.

I have been raped by the incubus, and have been violated in ways another human could never do. With my husband gone they feel like they own me. I can find a way out - I must if I intend on surviving. My will is damaged, but not broken.

My prayers have not been answered. I don't think if there's a God he can reach me here. Regardless of what old man Maxwell might have thought, this is unholy ground. Demons live and manifest here. They want me but my heart is in survival.


Day 30

I'm tired, weak, and not sure I can fight them anymore. Unless I get help today,