Finding Home (Zak Bagans Daughter)

Chapter Twenty-One

Before Zak was able to say anything, I bolted back up the stairs and into my room; making sure to lock the door behind me. I was hoping the stereotypes of ghosts having the ability to walk through walls weren't true. I slid down the back of the door and covered my face with my knees; because if I can't see it, it's not there right?

Wrong.

"Charlie" it whispered. I felt a cold presence on my knee cap; as if a hand was resting on it.

"You're not here, you don't exist" I whispered. It just laughed.

Seconds later, there was a ferocious pounding on my door.

"Charlie open up!"

I was too terrified to move. I refused to open my eyes.

"Come on Charlie! It's me, your dad. You know I would never hurt you"

"That's not the problem" I muttered, my eyes still squeezed shut.

"Then what is the problem?" he asked. His voice sounding a little muffled since he was on the other side of the door.

"It wants me to hurt you and the best way from that not happening is if I can't touch you."

He groaned a little.

"Charlie. You are stronger than this, for God sakes you're my daughter. If anyone can beat this, it's you"

I took a deep breath. He was right, I am strong and I can beat this.

One by one I opened my eyes, only to find nothing else in my room, but myself. I smiled a little; this was the first time for a few days that I couldn't feel anything evil.

After I stood up, I creaked my bedroom door open just a smidge, just to make sure it was Zak outside my bedroom door. It was.

He was sitting against the wall, opposite of me. His knees were slightly tucked up to his chest and arms loosely wrapped around them. When I looked him in the eyes he was staring at me with a worried glance.

I walked up beside him and slid down the wall next to him. Then, I gently put my head on his shoulder and sighed.

"I'm scared"

"I know me too" he whispered. "We're going to fix this. I called a good friend of mine and he's going to help us get rid of whatever has attached itself to you"

"Father Bryan?"

He nodded.

"Aren't priests only used for exorcisms and possessions?"

He nodded again. "Mostly. But Father Bryan has helped me out with numerous cases with my show before. I'm hoping he will be able to help us get rid of, you know what"

I nodded. I was glad he didn't say her name.

"When will he be here then?" I needed this thing gone.

"He said as soon as he finishes another case in Minnesota, then he will get here right away"

"So... about a day?"

"Exactly"

I looked my phone.

4:22 A.M.

"What are we going to do for the next 20-some hours then?"

Zak looked down at my phone to see what the time was as well. When he saw how early it was he huffed, causing his cheeks to blow up like a pufferfish.

"I know a psychic, she lives close. Maybe I could get her to bless you and the house before Father Bryan gets here"

Before any one of us said anything else, a shadow ran right across the doorway of my room. This time, both of us saw it.

"What. The. Hell" Zak muttered. He began to stand up when I pulled him back down.

"If we ignore it, it won't bother us."

He sighed and sat down next to me again. I couldn't explain how safe I felt with my dad next to me protecting me from the evil that lurked around us.

"When I was a kid" I started. I wanted to get my mind off of what was going on around us and distract the both of us. I realized it was working when Zak slightly turned his head toward me.

"Before Marion, you know became... Marion, she would sing this really dumb lullaby to me when I had nightmares or if I was really sad. It was one of the very few things she did for me in those moments. It was really funny when she sang it, because she was really bad a singing-"

Zak smiled when I mentioned her terrible singing. He was probably remembering something from when they were together.

"And when she sang so badly, it would make me laugh, causing me to forget whatever I was upset about at the time. It worked, every single time, until she stopped singing it to me" I trailed off, we both new why she stopped singing that lullaby.

"I wish I knew her. Like how you knew her. The only Marion I remember is the bad one"

He sighed. "I don't even know where to start. Your mom, she was wild, but a different wild. She loved to dance" he laughed. "Even though she was kind of a terrible dancer. And her laugh, oh my god Charlie, that laugh made me fall in love with her over and over again, every single time." He looked over at me. "Every time I look at you, I see her. A young, beautiful, smart woman, with so much going for her. So much life and happiness, and spunk. You would have loved her so much if you knew the Marion that I knew"

It was like we were talking about two completely different people. He was talking about a young woman, who had so much life and purpose. The only one I knew loved drugs and only knew how to be was a selfish skank.

I didn't want to ruin the image and good memories he had of her, but I wanted to remind him that she definitely wasn't who he remembered. So I told him of one of the worst memories I had of her.

"When I was nine years old she made me breakfast for like the first time in at least five years. I knew something was up when I found her one morning making smoothies and pancakes, but I said nothing. It was nice to have a mom, just for a nice breakfast. Little did I know that the strawberry smoothie she gave me had crushed ecstasy in it." Zak's mouth opened, but no noise came out. "I was a child. I could have died. That smoothie was supposed to be hers, not mine. It wasn't even her who took me to the hospital; it was the damn landlord who found me. You know why he was even in there in the first place? He was wondering when the next time they were going to fuck." Zak winced at my language, even though we had both been swearing the whole time we'd known each other. "She didn't even care when I was having seizures, possible brain damage, or anything, she even walked out on me when they gave her my medical bill. That's how I went into foster care for the first time. Even in there my life was shit. Creepy foster dads, people who only used me to babysit their biological kids, and then the bat-shit crazy ones that screamed and beat you for no reason. Somehow, after every single time, I still managed to find my way back to Marion. And every time she would get me out of foster care, she would be 100% clean for a couple months. Then the second she got me back she went for the drugs."

"I am so sorry Charlie. If I had known you even existed I would've gotten you out of there immediately"

I looked over at him and smiled. "You've got me now"

He chuckled and kissed my forehead. "I still wish I had seen you as a cute little kid, too bad you don't have any pictures of when you were a baby"

"Yeah, I have only seen one photo of when I was a baby, and it was the day I was born. I haven't seen it in years"

He sighed and looked at his phone again.

5:16 A.M.

I didn't know we had been talking for so long.

"I'm so hungry" Zak moaned. As if on cue, his stomach growled, causing both of us to laugh.

"Let's get out of here, yeah? Get some breakfast and some fresh air before we cleanse you and the house."

I nodded in agreement and stood up. Zak followed my lead.

"No organic shit this time; I need some real food in my stomach"

Zak laughed.