Chapter One

I stood on the sidewalk. The walkway up to the old house in front of me. I looked up at the old gothic Victorian style home. Did I make a mistake? I was beginning to second guess myself. How was I supposed to renovate an entire house on my own? I was a receptionist.

The grass was overtaking the cement walkway up to the house. You could barely see the steps that led up to the front of the house due to all the bushes being overgrown. I took a deep breath and began to walk towards the home that I had just bought at the Memphis auction. It has always been a dream of mine to live in an old Victorian home. Of course, the homes that were already renovated were completely out of my budget.

Charlie had talked me into going to the auction and maybe finding a fixer upper. Charlie had been my rock for the last nine months as I went through court dates and lawyers making sure that Ryan paid for the abuse that he had put me through. When I was close to giving up because it seemed that it was a never-ending continuation process, Charlie had told me to pull myself up and keep strong. She reminded me that I needed to make sure that Ryan would not hurt anyone else.

I received a call not long after that. A final date had been set for court. I was to make an appearance and tell my side. I had already written many statements as to what I had lived through for 6 years. The lawyer that I was currently working with said that if I was able to get on the stand, it would be more impactful. I had agreed.

I had thought that I might shy away or bag out when the court date came. To my surprise, I woke that morning with the most strength I have felt in a while. I was finally going to be able to help put this man behind bars like he deserved. I went to the courtroom and told my story to the judge. It did not take long for a sentence to be handed to Ryan. He said nothing throughout the entire hearing. Instead, he sat and glared at me. His eyes almost looked closed with how small the slits were.

I did not care. He could hate me. It would not shake my resolve. When the sentence was finally read to Ryan, 11 months, and 29 days, only then did he say anything to me. "We are not through." Ryan said to me. He made sure to say it quietly so that the judge did not hear. A cold chill ran down my spine.

I had made sure he paid for what he did to me. What would happen when he got out, though? I asked the lawyer. He reassured me that a restraining order had been put on Ryan to never come near me. It would stay in place for many years.

After the hearing, I called Charlie. She picked me up, and we went out to celebrate. That was when I started talking to her about moving. Not too far but far enough so that when Ryan got out, he would not be able to find me. Charlie mentioned Memphis. It was large enough that I could get lost.

I thought about it for a while and ultimately decided why not? I was young enough, and I needed a fresh start. I moved to Memphis and occupied an apartment for a little while. Saving up some money. I have found a new dentist to work for. I would make sure that if a promotion came around, I would take it this time.

When Charlie came to visit, I talked to her about looking for a house. I was done with the apartment life and wanted a home for myself. "I really want to own an old Victorian home. But looking at the prices around here, I will be saving forever." I spoke.

"You know they do auctions on homes, right? Maybe swing by when they are having one. I mean, you may have to put some elbow grease into it, but you'll love it even more." I loved Charlie, she was encouraging when I needed it the most.

I did as she had said. I looked online and found the times for the next auction of houses and made sure to arrive with plenty of time to get a good seat. They let the crowd know that they did not have a long list of homes. I could feel my excitement dwindling a bit.

The first few homes that they auctioned went quickly and for far more than I expected. I wasn't sure we could expect the pricing to be, but this surpassed anything I had in mind.

"Finally, we come to the last home up for auction, ladies and gentlemen." The man who had been auction to this point. He pointed at the board and clicked the button in his hand. The image that came across the screen was of a large old Victorian home. Instantly, I wanted the home. Instead of the ruin it was, I saw what it used to be. I wanted to be the one to restore the beautiful home to its former glory. "The last home on the docket today is the old Martin residence." I expected people to start bidding. However, the crowd was silent. Would this be possible?

When the auctioneer said the price, my mouth dropped. It was an 8th of the worth of the house. Still no takers. I quickly raised my hand. The auction was over quickly after that. I sat shocked in my seat that I had just bought a gothic style Victorian home from 1901.

I pulled out my phone and called Charlie. She congratulated me and said, "I told you. You are the ruler of your own destiny." I rolled my eyes. She could be so corny at times.

Now I was standing in front of that house. I asked myself if I had just wasted a lot of money on a house that might just end up back at the auction. I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders. I was not going to admit defeat. I had defeated my abuser. I could renovate a home.

The small moving truck should be here shortly. I walked up the walkway to the front porch. There was a small area where I could put a little table and rocking chair if I wanted to. I put the key in the lock and pushed the door open.

I ws surprised to find that most of the furniture was still in the home. I wasn't sure what had been left or not. Although it was not the original furniture from the 20th century, it was still dated. If I had to guess at least from the 70's.

I had asked the auction if they had information on the home. They had given me a small file on the original family that owned it. I mainly wanted to know if anyone had died in it. The last thing I wanted to do was clean up the murder scene. I had been reassured though that no one had died in the home.

I heard the moving fan pull up outside the house. I walked back out front to greet the movers. One of the men got out of the truck. He put his baseball cap on his head and looked up at the house. "So, you bought the Martin house, huh?" He asked. I looked back over at the house and back at the man again.

"I did. You know it?" I asked him.

"Everyone in on this side of town knows about it. It is known for being haunted." I looked back at the man.

"Really?" I asked him. I did not quite believe in that sort of thing. I was ignorant enough to think ghosts weren’t real, but I wasn't chasing them either.

"It is all a bunch of crap if you ask me." The man said. He shrugged his shoulders and then turned back to the truck. The driver had hopped out and was opening the big door in the back.

It did not take long to unload the truck. It was mainly boxes and a few larger pieces of furniture like my couch and bed. I was slightly grateful that I was able to go through the old houses’ furniture and keep anything that caught my eye. I would have to see if anything was worth the money. It was not going to be cheap to renovate a large home. Again, I started to doubt myself.

I waved my hand to the movers as they pulled away from the house. I closed the door behind me and turned around. Now, what to start with first?