Bellman Tower

Chapter 8

"Okay, thank you." I say to Jay's mom, "I had a good time and the food was really great. Thanks for having me, especially on such short notice."

"Anytime, my darling. I'm glad you liked it." Jay's mom smiles at me warmly, "Girls, say goodbye to our visitor, please."

"Bye. Will you come again, Nikki?" The twins chorus. After getting over the shock of seeing me in their home, they had interrogated me about every aspect of city life and what it was like to be me. Then they had insisted on showing me their rooms and what they liked to do in their spare time. Jay had to rescue me in the end.

"Bye, girls. Thank you for showing me your things and I'll try to come again." I smile down at them. I didn't have to try to smile at them, they were genuinely cute. "You're welcome. We like you, that's why we showed you our things." Katherine tells me, taking her sister's hand. I chuckle and try not to let the praise go to my head like it's tempted to do, "I like both of you too. You're cute, you know that? I'd better get going now, it's getting daek and I need to get home."

"Jay, walk our guest home." Jay's mom orders Jay in an icily cold way that has an underlying tone, 'Go or else...' Sighing at his mom's look, Jay gets up and then holds the door open for me like a gentleman. We walk down the lane silently and into town. Jay sighs, "And that was my crazy, weird family. They've probably put you off me already."

"No, they didn't. They're cute. The way you all fight, the way your mom threatens you, I find it so... homely. It's cool." I pull my jacket tighter around myself.

"Cool? They make me claustrophobic."

"You have family. Value it... while it lasts." I ignore the spasm of constriction in my heart and continue to put one foot in front of another, no matter how hard it gets. Jay doesn't speak for a while and then he says, "You know, your parents would be really proud of you." When I don't reply, he just continues.

"They would be proud of you for moving on and letting go."

"Please. Can we not talk about this? It's kind of a sensitive subject." I plead, shoving my jands in my pocket, "Anyway, we need to walk faster. My aunt doesn't know I'm out here." Then I suddenly remember something, "Listen, Jay, I need to ask you something but you need to answer truthfully."

"Go ahead. I'll tell you the truth." Jay shrugs.

"Erm.. do you know if there is anybody called Trevor living at the house?" I ask, hoping for a true answer, "Please don't the subject. I really need to know this."

"Don't you mean 'lived'?" Jay says, looking at me with confusion and complete bewilderment.

"Huh?" I frown.

Jay clears his throat and looks around cautiously, "I'm not really supposed to talk about this, no one is. But... I'll tell you. Twenty years ago, your aunt and uncle had a baby. They called him Trevor. On his fourteenth birthday, he got drunk on something. Your and uncle told him off about it, he got grounded. I think it was the fact that he was intoxicated but he went up to the attic and threw himself out of the window. He died. No one has been to the attic since. We don't talk about Trevor at all."

I stare at him, my heart thudding in my ears. Oh my god. Trevor's dead?!

"What do you mean by that?" Jay asks.

"Huh?" I look at Jay, "Did I say that out loud?"

"Er, well, yeah." Jay looks at me, concern glinting in his blue eyes, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Do you believe in ghosts, Jay? In... presences of a person after their death?" I ask him, ignoring the pointed question.

Jay shrugs, "Yes... in a way. I don't believe in the white cloth things you see in cartoons, though."