Unseen

-10-

"I assume you don't want to marry me so what's your purpose on taking me to church? Do you want a priest to exorcise me or something so I can cross over or whatever I have to do?" I ask out loud.

I hear James chuckling again but this time he doesn't stop nor he looks at me. "None of the above, Paige. I just know a quiet place there so we can talk freely without having to pretend I'm on the phone or anything. It's not so bad that I look like I'm talking to myself, it's more about the fact that I'll be talking about ghost and other things that could make people lock me in an asylum."

"That makes sense. I thought the bigger problem was you talking to an invisible being but you're right, what we'll be talking about is worse... I guess. I'm not even sure how much you'll share and I'm still confused, I don't get why now you've decided to help me out."

"I have a conscience," is all what he says and now I'm the one sighing.

In front of the church there are some benches and true to James' words, no soul is around. It looks quiet and solitary so I guess it's a good place for us to have our conversation. I don't even know how long we'll be here but it's okay. I follow him until he takes a seat and I do the same, making sure to sit as far away as possible. I would sit on the other bench but then that would make him raise his voice and even if I can't see anyone, that does not mean there isn't someone around.

"Okay, so... what do you wanna know first?" he starts, looking at me and when he does, my mind goes blank.

There's so much I want know that I don't know where to begin. I don't know what to ask first and no matter how much I try, I can't come up with a first question. My eyes widen because I start to grow desperate. I can't miss this chance and what if he gets tired of waiting and leaves? You snooze you lose, right?

"Where are you from?" I ask, blurting out the first thing I could come up with even if it has nothing to do with what I really want to know.

He frowns and I close my eyes, knowing I asked the wrong thing.

"I don't see how that helps you out," he mutters and I know he's just going to tell me to bug off for not taking this seriously. "I'm from Winchester but I haven't lived there my whole life. I've been in many places. Before I moved here I lived in Bath."

Now it's my turn to blink in surprise because he actually answered that. I didn't expect that and for almost ten seconds I can't utter another word, too surprised to even think of a next question.

"W-why did you leave Bath?" I ask, deciding to follow the line I already started.

"That's connected with you... well, not you but your type. There was a ghost back there that wouldn't leave me alone and it got out of hand so I had to leave. Ghosts can't leave their homes and its surroundings, so moving was the solution," he explains and my mouth forms a big O, learning something I didn't know.

I never tried to leave Street but now I know I can't.

"Why can't ghosts leave and, for instance, follow you?" is my next question.

"They are bound to the place they died in and well, their homes as they spent most of their life there, I assume. For what I know, they're always roaming the place they died in," he keeps explaining, calmly and smoothly.

"Every time you move out is it because of escaping a ghost?" I inquire next, and immediately add: "Is that why you don't like ghosts?"

"Yeah, it's always been because of that. I'm not sure if it's a ghost thing or I'm just unlucky but all the ghosts I've dealt with are annoyingly stubborn." He gives me a glance that is both mocking and amused.