Sat in a café across the road from where he worked, Gary was thinking about the Berman story. And with it came doubt. The cunt that plagued all writers.
Because who would want to read a book about an everyday family haunted by a supernatural predator?
Who?
Even his editor wasn't too pleased with the idea.
'If you're going to write a book, make it a page-turner. Give the reader something they can look forward to when they go to bed. Give them something that will make them late for work because the book you wrote kept them awake all night. In other words, forget this damn NOVEL Forget it!'
Yet Gary found it difficult to accept his editor's advice. In some way, it was as though the woman, who was the first to tell him about the Berman family, was now filling his head with further doubt.
Yet Gary knew The Berman story couldn't be left alone. He had to write it.
Had to.
It felt good to get away, to be here in KFC, looking like a regular family dining on a Friday night. Harmony and Katrina, munching away on their pieces of chicken - browsing their Facebook accounts, were both chilled. Fiona didn't say much - but kept a watch on the window.
'Is anyone here?' Steven asked.
'What?'
'Nothing, just go on enjoying yourselves in your own little world.'
'Your Dad's right. Harmony and Katrina turn those phones off.'
'But, mum, my friend's having a hard time; she needs someone to talk to.'
'Does your friend go to the same school as you?' Fiona asked.
'Yeah, but that's not the point.' Katrina argued.
'Well, you can speak to her on Monday.'
'I can't; she's got relationship problems.'
Steven almost choked on his food when his daughter had used the term; Relationship problems.
'See, this is why I don't tell you anything, because you think everything's a big joke.'
'We don't, but your friend is what age? The same as you, and she has relationship problems.'
'So, you didn't have problems when you were younger?'
'Not really, because we didn't take everything so damn seriously when we were kids.'
'Well, this isn't about you.'
'You want to watch your mouth!' Steven said sharply.
'Yeah, stop banging on about your friend. Nobody cares!'
'Well, I care because she's my cousin.'
'She's not your cousin; you bellend, you have to be related.' Harmony pointed out, sat facing her sister.
'It doesn't matter if we're not related, blood-wise; she's still my cus.'
Harmony's face exploded with shock.
'Oh my God, you're so thick; how do you work that one out? Dad, tell her.'
Steven would if he could get a word in edgeways, but Harmony and Katrina were speaking over one another. He could only drag his eyes to Fiona.
'Dad, tell her.' Harmony said a second time, her voice screeching. It went through Steven.
'Look, the pair of you, knock it off, okay?'
'But dad!'
'Dad, nothing. Just eat your meal and stop whining.'
The girls did. Thank God for that.
At nine-thirty, they were back home.
Fiona wasn't thrilled with that hour because that's when the bad shit always happened. Nothing major. People; whispering in empty rooms. Shadows looming around the house. It was the witching hours when the devil really came out to play.
Steven, unaware of Fiona's thoughts, when to open the front. When.
It wouldn't open. There was something behind it.
'What the fuck?'
'What's wrong?'
Steven turned around, and Fiona saw a look of befuddlement clogged in his eyes. 'The front door. It won't open.'
'What do you mean, it won't open?'
Steven wasn't keen on the idea of repeating himself. But he had to.
'Well, it has to. Here, let me try.'
'Sure, go ahead, but it won't open.'
'Talk about giving up before you even started.' Fiona thought to herself, giving Steven a sharp look. 'Well, at least let me have a go.'
'Go on then.' Steven said, pointing his hand to the front door.
'Are we locked out?' Katrina asked.
'No, it's just stuck, that's all.'
Hearing the conversation behind her, Fiona, with her shoulder, tried pushing the front door open. But damn, Steven was right. It wouldn't budge.
'There must be something behind it?'
'Like what?'
'I don't know, have a look.'
Steven, about to do that, heard from across the road; two people yelling for him to wait up. They were waving their hands in the air.
'What they're trying to do, stop an aeroplane?' He joked — but realised his jest was in bad taste. The neighbours looked afraid. Steven could see it in their eyes.
'I'm sorry, but can we have a word?'
'Sure, what's wrong?' Fiona asked. Already fearing the worse.
'Forgive me for shouting like that, but me, and my partner, we've been waiting for you to come back for ages. Oh, my name is.'
The neighbour gave his name and offered his hand to Fiona.
Fiona shook it, as did Steven.
'You think we can talk around the corner? It's nothing about your kids, but I don't want to scare them.'
'A bit too late for that now.' Steven said sharply. His words were like a razor cutting through paper. And the neighbour who had done all the yelling drifted his eyes away. He looked guilty.
'I do apologise, but we had to see you straight away. We saw you leave earlier. Don't worry, we're not stalkers; I was taking out the bin. It's why we came over.'
'Yeah, we went for something to eat.' Fiona said.
'What is this about?' Steven wanted to know. Looking back at the front door. He was growing impatience.
'Well, that's just it. We know it's just you and your partner who lives here, along with your kids. That's why we thought it was odd.'
'What?' Steven asked, intrigued.
'The old man.'
Fiona gulped with fear.
'That's what we thought.' The neighbour said, looking at his partner.
'This old man, what was he doing?' Steven asked. He had to pretend he and his family knew nothing about an old man.
'I really don't want to frighten your children.'
'Just say what you have to say.'
The neighbour wished he hadn't opened his big mouth, but it was too late. He had to press on.
'I was in the front room when my partner came running downstairs. He swore blind; he could see this old man in one of your bedrooms.'
'And?'
'Well, how can I put it? He was head-butting the glass, and I don't mean just little headbutts! But really going for it.'
'Yeah, I'm surprised. He didn't put his head through the glass.'
Steven looked up at the bedroom window and saw the neighbours were right. The window wasn't smashed or anything.
'Which window was it?'
'The window you're looking at.'
'Are you sure it was that one?'
Steven knew his house had problems, but he was struggling to get his head around what the neighbours had told him. You head-butt a window, your head is going through it. No arguments.
'For defo.' The neighbour said, his partner agreeing.
'I was there. I saw it. How he didn't smash the glass is beyond us.'
'Yeah.' Steven thought to himself. Still leaning his eyes on the window.
'And that's not all. Do you mind if we go inside?'
'There's an issue with that, I'm afraid.' Steven said. 'The front door. It won't open.'
The neighbour said. 'Oh.'
'It could be the weather? The coldness might have stiffened it. The same thing happens with our front door. Do you mind if I give it a try?'
'Sure.' Steven said.
The neighbour went to the front door. Gave it a push and stopped.
'It feels as though you got something stacked behind here?'
'That's what I thought.' Steven said. 'You want to see if both of us can get open?'
The neighbour said it was worth a try, and both men began pushing together on the front door.
The sound of something falling made the neighbour jump.
'What the fuck was that?'
'I think it was a chair falling.'
'In an empty house?' The neighbour said. 'That old man, he disappeared.'
'He disappeared?' Steven asked.
'Right in front of me.'
Steven said nothing — but zoned his eyes to the bedroom window again. If this was the first time hearing about the old man, he would be in shock. A man in his house disappearing, but it wasn't. His home was haunted.
'I know how it must sound. Crazy, I know.'
'Yeah.' Steven mumbled to himself.
Katrina was about to say the ghost in the house, but she was stopped by her sister pinching her arm.
'Ouch! What was that for?'
'Because.'
'Because what?'
Hearing the scrimmage between the two girls, the neighbours believed this was their part where they said goodbye.
'Look, we ought to be heading back now. Work tomorrow morning.'
Steven told the girl to pipe down and said thanks to the neighbours.
'You know, for coming over and telling us what you saw. It means a lot.'
'Think nothing of it.' The neighbour said, and he and his partner went back home. Unaware, as all the residents were, that at three in the morning, Fiona and Steven were woken by the girls screaming.
Rushing into the girl's bedroom, they saw disembodied arms dangling from the ceiling. Each arm swaying like a tree branch in the wind.
And there, outside the window, the old man floating.