The House Over The Hil

Chapter 9

After they were done looking through those old photos, Toby dragged Tommy around the house and showed him everything. He showed Tommy his family's room and some old valuables that they used to collect. One of those valuables was a pearl necklace that his mother used to wear all the time.

"Mother loved to collect necklaces." Toby told Tommy as he opened up a little drawer with many beautiful necklaces inside. "This pearl one was her favorite since me and my sisters got it for her."

"How did you get it?" Tommy asked, looking at the very pretty white pearl in the middle.

"We saved up enough money to get it for her birthday." Toby said with a smile. "She loved her gift so much, but didn't like the fact that we used our money."

Tommy snickered when he heard that.

He remembered when his brothers and him would make homemade bracelets for their mother. They would try so hard to make them as pretty as possible and give her the best gifts. He loved the smile she had on her face when she first saw the bracelets. Tommy wished he could see that smile once again.

"Me and brothers used to make bracelets for our mother." Tommy told Toby as he watched the ghost carefully place the necklace away. "She had the biggest smile on her face whenever we pulled it out and gave it to her. Sometimes, I still think back to that smile and wish I could see it again."

"What do you mean?" Toby asked, cocking his head to side.

Tommy could feel a pressure build behind his eyes. "My mother...she passed away when I was 10."

Tommy grabbed his heart and felt the pressure finally escape in the form of tears. He couldn't get himself to stop. They just kept coming.

Toby's face froze with worry. You could tell that he felt very bad for Tommy.

"I'm so sorry." The ghost said, going to hug Tommy, but was only met with the boy pushing him away.

Tommy didn't mean to push him away. He just didn't like it when people showed affection towards him. Even though he showed affection towards other people, he didn't like it when they did it back.

"I didn't mean to!" Tommy quickly said after he pushed the ghost away. "I just...I...don't wanna be...just don't touch me."

Toby pulled his hands way and watched as Tommy hugged his legs and plopped his face into his knees. He didn't want to make him cry more, so he just moved back from Tommy.

Tommy had missed his mother everyday of his life. He remembered her beautiful smile every time he would dance around the room. It was amazing to look at. She would always giggle and laugh as Tommy and his siblings would fight all the time, playful of course. He missed her so much. Tommy wished he could see her just one more time.

"Tommy? Are you ok?" Toby asked, wanting to comfort him. "I'm here."

"I'm fine, Toby." Tommy said, trying to hide his crying face.

Tommy looked away and tried it not show that his face was stained with tears. He doesn't want Toby to know that he is weaker than he acts. He tries to act tough so he doesn't show that he is weak, and broken, on the inside. If he showed his pain, no one would think of him they way they do now. And he can't let that happen. Not again.

"Tommy," Toby said as he grabbed his shoulders. ", I'm so sorry that brought up that memory. I-if you want...you can leave..."

Tommy glanced up and saw Toby's saddened face. For some reason, that face made Tommy want to cry more. He felt bad that the boy looked like he was about to cry as well.

"I'm not leaving." Tommy said, whipping away the tears on his face and trying to hide them. "I won't leave you here alone."

Tommy unrolled from his little ball and crawled over to Toby. The ghost boy was leaning against a wall so Tommy leaned against the wall with him and let him place his head on his shoulder. His head was so cold on Tommy's shoulder, but Tommy wasn't gonna complain. He didn't want Toby to feel more bad than he already did.

The light, from the setting sun, making the sky purple and pink, shown down on Toby and made him transparent. It was so weird to see his own shoulder through Toby. Something told him to freak out when he saw it, but he wasn't. Everything felt so calm in this moment. He didn't want to freak out, just in case he scared Toby.

All Tommy did, was lean against the wall and feel his eyes drift to sleep.