ATTACHMENT | ANTHONY LOCKWOOD

THREE

LEIGHTON
35 portland row

I sat on the counter top, Lockwood stood between my legs as he held a cold flannel against my head. They had contained Annabelle's source now, meaning that her attachment to me was now contained and I felt like I was able to breathe again.

I could tell that Lockwood was deep in thought, probably feeling guilty for hurting Annabel's ghost, causing me to be in an indescribable pain.

"Thank you." I whispered to him, causing him to nod and throw the flannel into the sink before standing to one side of me, leaning back on the counter top and his hand on my thigh.

"I didn't know it was the source." Lucy explained. She stood at the opposite side of the kitchen from myself and the boys. "I just took it because-" She paused. "It's like I can feel what she feels. What she wants. I don't know, it's hard to explain."

"A psychic connection." Lockwood spoke slowly, making Lucy smile with a nod.

"I literally can not believe you stole a source from a crime scene." George shook his head, making me stifle a laugh. "DEPRAC will bury us."

"Excuse me. I'm not the only one round here who steals sources. What about that ridiculous skull you're always experimenting on?" Lucy raised her brows accusingly.

I laughed, knowing that I stole the source for George as a birthday present. It wasn't easy, but was certainly worth it when I saw his face light up with excitement. That was the first time George really started to like me.

"Actually, that was me."

I jumped down from the counter top. My weak legs, quickly giving way. Lockwood's hands wrapped around my waist, pulling me into his chest and holding onto me tightly.

"This is why we need to find a way to snap you out of it." Lockwood spoke, resting his head on my shoulder.

I closed my eyes and let go of a deep sigh before saying,

"I know how to stop it." I paused, turning to look at him. His brown eyes locked with mine, his brow raised waiting for the perfect response. "I just thought I was helping out."

"Leigh-" Lockwood pinched his brows. "You're not helping when you're ending up like this, right guys?"

He looked to George and Lucy, hoping that they would back up his statement. I glanced over to the girl, who seemed to be biting her tongue. I nodded, wanting to hear what she had to say.

"Annabel was stuck behind a wall for 40 years, with nobody knowing and DEPRAC doing sod all. She needs our help and maybe you can help." Lucy pointed over to me, making me smile.

"And what does she expect you to do, exactly, after all this time?" George questioned.

I knew exactly what Lucy was thinking. Annabel was a strong ghost she could dig into listeners brains and force us to only think about her and how we could help her. Basically Annabel was a manipulator and she was doing a damn good job of it because not only did Lucy want to learn more about her but so did I.

The difference between me and Lucy, though, I'd been doing this for a long time and I was developed I mean I'd been listening and becoming the ghosts since before I learnt to walk.

Lucy was good. She had potential, I just didn't want her to hurt herself the way that I hurt every time.

"Solve this. Get justice."

"She's dead, Lucy." Lockwood spoke, his fingers running up and down my side. "We can't help a ghost, we need to destroy her source and move on. Let her go."

I glanced to Lockwood, letting go wasn't exactly that easy. When a ghost has attached onto you, it was one of the hardest things to get rid of. And Annabel was strong.

"Come on, George, back me up." Lucy practically begged. "You love a new experiment. Why throw away the chance to investigate a new phenomenon?"

"Nice try, but psychic connections are weak science." George shook his head confidently. "You felt sorry for her. You heard her death loop. End of story."

"So prove it." Lucy smirked. "Before you destroy the ring, let me try to connect with her one last time. See what else I can feel. Let me prove to you that it is real."

Oh she's good. I would be totally surprised if she didn't sway George at the very least. She had my vote, I wanted to get to the bottom of Annabel Ward's death.

"No way. Too dangerous. You saw what it did to Leighton." Lockwood pointed down to me. "You can see how weak she is right now."

I looked directly at George, trying to unpick what he was thinking. I know that he never says no to a challenge.

"It is almost dawn. Her ghost will be much weaker." George shrugged.

"No." Lockwood demanded. His grip on my waist tightening, making me let go of a quiet hum. "We've only just escaped with our lives. Twice." He nodded over to Lucy.

"Because you were unprepared. Twice. This time, we'll do it properly." George moved to stand beside Lucy, causing a smirk on his face.

Both George and Lucy turned to face me. Reluctantly, I pulled away from Lockwood, causing me to stumble again. Thankfully, George steadied me as I sat on top of the table.

"She needs to do this, Lockwood." I whispered, understanding the feeling.

Lockwood inhaled sharply. His arms crossing, making my eyes flicker to his biceps. I wetted my bottom lip, fiddling with the ring that sat on my index finger.

"This doesn't feel right, Leigh, you're too weak."

"Leigh isn't weak." Lucy cut in, making all the attention turn to her.

"It's Leighton, only Lockwood calls her Leigh." George cut in. I was hoping that no one had noticed and that it would just be brushed under the rug. "Thats there thing." He paused again. "Other than the constant touching and flirting."

I hummed, my eyes locking with Lockwood's. I let go of a deep, shaky breath, before jumping off the table.

"I should get going, but good luck with Annabel's ghost." I paused. "I'm just going to get my things."

I quickly left the kitchen without another word. It was time for me to grab my bags and move on again. My mothers words playing over and over again in my head.

"If you stay, you'll destroy him."

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