Bad Dreams by R. L. STINE

Author:R. L. STINE
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SIMON PULSE
Published: 1994-07-02T16:00:00+00:00

chapter

11

Maggie pulled away with a terrified cry.

The man jerked back, his gray eyes wide with surprise.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. “I—I asked if you’ve been baking long?” He pointed up at the sky. The late morning sun was climbing higher, heating up the backyard.

“You could get a bad burn today, even though it’s spring,” the man said. “I thought I’d better wake you.”

“Uh—thanks,” Maggie choked out. As she stared up at him, he came into sharper focus.

He was old, with a heavy white stubble on his leathery, creased face. He wore a battered orange cap and had a toothpick wedged in his mouth. His smile revealed uneven yellow teeth.

He held a hand out. It took Maggie a while to realize he was offering to help her up. Reluctantly, she took his hand and climbed to her feet.

I am so jumpy and stressed out, she thought, scolding herself. I think everyone in the world is out to get me!

“Milton Avery,” the old man said in his harsh voice. He nodded and raised two fingers to his cap. “I’m your neighbor.”

He held out his right hand to Maggie. Maggie shook it. The old man held on to her hand a moment longer than Maggie would have liked. His skin felt like old paper.

“You haven’t told me your name,” Mr. Avery said.

“Oh, sorry. Maggie. Maggie Travers.”

“Maggie Travers,” the man repeated. He nodded thoughtfully. “Nice name.”

Maggie smiled. “Thanks.”

The man smiled back warmly. He removed his cap, revealing a head that was bald except for a fringe of scraggly white hair. He scratched the top of his head, then put the cap back on. He looked up at the house. “It sure is nice to have this house occupied again,”

Maggie stared at the house too, as if she hadn’t seen her own house before.

“It was on the market a long time,” Mr. Avery said.

Maggie felt her spine tingle. “Was it?”

“A long time” The way he said it, Maggie wanted to ask just how long he meant. Years? Decades? He obviously could remember back a long way.

Mr. Avery went on. “I didn’t like having an empty house next door. Kind of gave me a dead feeling every time I saw it. Know what I mean?”

Maggie knew exactly what he meant.

Mr. Avery took his cap off again and used it to point at his house. “I even took to keeping the shades down on this side of the house. So I wouldn’t have to see yours.”

Maggie glanced at the still-drawn shades as another thought rolled through her mind. “Did you know the people who used to live in my house?” she asked.

Mr. Avery didn’t answer right away. “Not really. They didn’t live here very long. Terrible story. Terrible.”

Her heart pounded hard. “Why—what?”

The old man searched her face. “The real estate salesman didn’t tell you the story?”

“No, what story?”

Mr. Avery frowned. “Well, I guess I can’t blame him for keeping it from you. I mean, Bob Jamison is a pretty honest guy, for a salesman, anyway.

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