Ghost

Three

SATURDAY, JUNE 01, 2013

8:30 P.M.

It was now eight thirty at night and Tom was still hanging around Nathan’s. Nathan decided not to ask Tom about the cups because Tom would probably deny and say it wasn’t him who flipped the cups over.

Anyway, the two were currently watching some paranormal show on television. Nathan, however, did not feel comfortable at all. But he didn’t tell Tom because he knew that Tom would tease him about it.

“Crazy, isn’t it?” Tom asked, turning to Nathan. Nathan looked at Tom. “I don’t really believe in that crap anyways,” Tom then said.

“Why?” Nathan asked.

“Cause! It’s a t.v. show! I’ll only believe it when I see it.” He said, crossing his arms. Nathan frowned a little. He believed in things like that…

“Oh,” Nathan said. “Can we change it?”

“Why? You scared?” Tom smirked. Nathan rolled his eyes.

“No, I just want to watch something else.”

Tom sighed. “Fine.” He changed the channel and kept on flipping through them until he came to the sports channel.

“Stop!” Nathan said as Tom passed a channel that was showing a soccer game.

“Ooh, football!” Tom said, “Nath, can you go make some popcorn or something?”

“Tom, this may be my own house now, but you can help yourself every once in a while!” Nathan rolled his eyes.

“Technically my house because I bought it with my own money,” Tom said, “But yes, this is your house, and I am your guest.” He gave an amused look at an annoyed Nathan.

“Well if it’s technically your house because you bought it, you can help yourself.” Nathan crossed his arms and smirked.

“Smart ass,” Tom mumbled under his breath. Nathan heard but ignored him.

“Anyway, we don’t have popcorn. I still need to go food shopping.” Nathan says.

“Well, alright… How about I come back tomorrow and we can go? It’s getting late and I should start heading home.” Tom said. Nathan nodded in agreement.

“Alright.”

The two got up from the couch. Tom stretched and looked around one last time. “I’m glad you like it, Nath,” Tom said, smiling.

“It’s amazing, Tom. Thank you,” Nathan said. He was lying, though. There was something about this house that disturbed him, but he couldn’t really put his finger on it.

“It was no problem!” Tom said, patting Nathan on the head. Nathan laughed and followed Tom as he walked to the door. “You know what to do if you’re having a problem,” Tom said.

Nathan nodded, “I know.”

Nathan and Tom said their last goodbyes before Tom eventually got into his car and left, leaving Nathan all alone. Without Tom, the place felt empty and eerie, almost… abandoned. Nathan wasn’t used to living on his own, and it was a bit scary for him. But he’d have to get used to that and he knew it. Nathan sighed and picked up his phone. Maybe talking to his mother would help ease the uneasy feeling he was having at the moment. He dialed her number and almost instantly, she answered.

“Nathan!” Nathan smiled once he heard her voice.

“Hi, mum,” Nathan said.

“How are you, honey? Is everything alright over there?” Typical of his mother, sounding worried thinking that something’s wrong.

Nathan chuckled, “Everything’s fine, mum. Tom bought me a new house! I mean, he made a pretty jerk move, but I’m grateful he bought it for me. I moved in today.” Nathan said looking around.

“That’s great, dear! And you know Tom, never thinking before he acts!” His mother laughed lightly. “So do you like it?”

“Um,” Nathan said, “It’s… Different.”

“How so?”

“It’s kind of old. It’s nice, but it’s old… And it was very cheap.”

“Sorry to hear that, Nath. How much was it?”

“Tom said it was one thousand. It leads me to think that there might be something wrong with it.” He sighed. All of a sudden, the line started to sound scratchy. Nathan furrowed his eyebrows and figured that he’d walk around the house to get better reception. But none of it worked, as it only got worse.

“Nathan…” He heard a whisper through the other line.

“Mum?” He asked, his voice getting shaky.

“Nathan…”

“What, mum? I’m right here,” Nathan said, thinking that it was his mother saying his name. But it wasn’t.

The scratchiness started to disappear and Nathan was able to hear clearly again.

“Nathan?” His mother asked. “You were breaking up so I went into a different room. Is everything okay?”

“M-Mum, did you hear that?” Nathan asked, ignoring her question and looking around. His heart was racing and he was feeling a little lightheaded. He sat down on the couch and leaned back.

“Hear what, hon?”

“The voice… On the phone… It was saying… My name.” Nathan said. He was quite disturbed by this.

“I didn’t hear anything, Nath.” His mother said. “It’s getting a bit late, anyway. What time is it over there, quarter to nine? It looks like it’s been a long day, considering that you just moved in today. Why don’t you get some sleep, yeah? And I'm kind of tired too, seeing that it's almost two in the morning here.” She chuckled. Nathan sighed.

“Alright, mum… Love you.”

“I love you too, dear.”

Nathan hung up the phone and sat on the sofa for a little while longer. He eventually got up and locked all the doors and windows. He made his way upstairs and stopped once he spotted the door to the attic. He gulped and stared at it for a little before walking into his new room. It was pretty cold in there for a day that’s been so hot. In fact, the whole house was cold, as if it were in the middle of winter. Nathan thought it was strange, but thought nothing else of it. He quickly changed into some pj’s and hopped into his bed which was surprisingly comfortable. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he instantly fell asleep.

But what Nathan didn’t know was that after Tom had left, he wasn’t really alone…