Chapter Six
"Explain everything from the beginning." I requested, hovering near the doorway, stuck between deciding whether to enter the living room or remain standing by the door.
If Cole noticed my nervous stance, he didn't show it. He didn't even look my way, content in staring out of the window as if it held the secret to his entire existence, his snow white hair falling over his eyes. I was suddenly struck by a thought.
Did his hair feel as soft and cold as it looked?
I quickly shook that thought away, not having the slightest clue which part of my mind it had come from. Hopefully they wouldn't be regular occurrences, since I had enough on my mind without the weird thoughts showing up.
I was about to repeat myself when Cole beat me to it.
"Well, that is going to be an awful long talk." He tilted his head to the side, looking at me from under his long lashes. "Or maybe not. I don't remember much about anything."
If anyone could make me feel both exhausted and frustrated at the same time, it would be Cole.
Finally making a decision, I went into the chilly room and took a seat on the sofa facing Cole and the large window, showing its grey and dismal scenery proudly. I wondered what beauty Cole saw in the dark, twisted dead tree. Or the weeds whipping frantically in the garden, as the wind tore into them, yet they still clung on resolutely to the hardened soil, as he steadily looked out, never wavering in his gaze.
I shivered a little, wishing I had thought about turning on the central heating as the chill settled slowly on me.
My eyes roamed around the room, as I noted that no matter how much of our possessions we placed to fill the empty spaces in our house and our lives, this place just didn't feel like home and I wasn't sure it ever would.
It was a good thing he hadn't taken a good look at me yet. I really didn't want him to see my puffy eyes- it had been embarrassing enough when he witnessed me crying before.
The silence stretched on between us, causing me to get a little impatient. What was he waiting for?
I cleared my throat, hoping to snap him out of whatever zone he was in, but I might as well have been alone in this room, with the reaction I got- or a lack thereof.
"Well?" I asked, my cold fingers fidgeting with the frayed hem of my jumper as I looked towards Cole, who finally inclined his head towards me.
"There's something peculiar about you, little lady. For one, you are a ghost magnet. Trouble has yet to cease following you."
I didn't know which was a worse nickname- calling me little mouse or little lady- but I curbed my tongue, not wanting to invoke his wrath again. Not after last time.
"It's not something I can help." I said as he looked at me, and I realised just how easy it would be to get trapped inside his bottomless gaze. "But you can help me, by telling me what happened before? I need you to tell me the truth."
I hoped he didn't hear the desperation in my tone.
A deep rich chuckle left his mouth as he looked back outside, "How would you know if I lied? I could say anything and you would probably swallow it all up like a gullible little mouse."
I had to bite my tongue to stop a few, less thought out words leave my mouth. If I was going to get any information out of him, it would have to be in a well thought out and careful manner.
"It doesn't affect just me, it affects you too." I said calmly, looking down at my hands in my lap, wondering where it all went wrong.
Probably around the time I stepped across the threshold of this cursed house.
I heard him hum in contemplation.
"I may be many things, but I still do consider myself a gentleman bound to his word."
I nearly let out a most unladylike snort at his words but managed to catch it before it escaped.
"'I'll tell you what I know about the lady outside, lest she catches you unaware again. Best to be prepared if it ever happens."
His voice was closer than before and when I looked up, I realised he was sitting on the armchair close to where I sat, his gaze now steady on me. He didn't show any emotion as he let his eyes flick to my flushed cheeks and the tear stained tracks that led down them, nor the little shivers that had yet to stop moving along my entire body, for which I was thankful. I didn't know what I'd feel if he started to be nice to me all of a sudden.
If that could be possible.
"Hmm, where to start?" He asked.
Even though he wasn't expecting an answer to his question, I still gave it him.
"From the beginning, of course."
A small smile manged to slip onto his lips before he nodded, "Of course."
I sat more comfortably in my seat, waiting for him to elaborate.
"That woman has been around for a long time." He started.
"How long is a long time?"
He gave me a look under his long, dark lashes. "A very long one."
I gave him an incredulous look but didn't push him, in case he clamped up again. I chose to nod instead.
He turned his attention to the window again, as he continued to talk.
"She believes I hold the key to her secrets." He chuckled without humour, "How can I know her secrets when I cannot even remember my own?" He said, almost in a whisper.
"What secrets?"
"The secret every ghost wants to know. Who were they before they died? "
"And why does she think you hold her secrets?" I asked, not daring to look away from him in case he disappeared again.
He lifted his shoulders in a shrug, "Something to do with the house."
He wasn't being as informative as I wanted him to be but I pushed on.
"Why won't you let her in?"
"Because she nearly destroyed the house the one and only time I allowed her inside."
It seemed, rather than Cole putting my questions to rest, he seemed to spring more and more each time he answered- the opposite to what I was aiming for.
I voiced my thoughts allowed with him only quirking an eyebrow in response, "I can't help that. I'm only answering what you ask. Beyond that, I can't be of any aid you."
What else was I expecting?
I nodded my head with a small sigh, "Carry on."
But just at that moment, as if life itself was stopping me from trying to uncover the secrets of the dead, the phone rang from the hallway, a sharp ringing echoing throughout the house, as if daring anyone to ignore it.
"Please wait a moment." I said awkwardly as I stood up. I got a nod in response before I extracted myself from the sofa, and went into the hallway where ontop of a polished wooden table lay the landline phone which we had only managed to connect yesterday.
Names and faces flashed thorough my head as I reached for it, thinking who it could be. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't a long list of people, since I hadn't exactly been a social butterfly in my old life.
As I placed the receiver against my ear and just managed a greeting, the last person on earth I had wanted to hear from, spoke - but I shouldn't have been so caught unaware, since the person would have been the first to call.
As hard as I had tried to erase that person from my life.
"Zei! I'm glad I managed to get a hold of you. Why have you been ignoring my calls? I was getting worried and almost called Anna to ask but nevermind that now. How's the new house? Do you like it? Enrolled in college yet? You're choosing English literature aren't you? You always said you liked that. How are the neighbours? Hopefully not as nosy as Mr and Mrs Lewis hahaha-"
"How can you laugh knowing it's not what me and mum wanted?" I asked quietly, anger coursing red hot inside me but I restled to control it. I wouldn't give him that satisfaction.
"Now look Zei, we've talked about this so many times before, sometimes life just doesn't turn out how we want it too, and I'm sorry about what happened but it's time we all got over that chapter and start anew eh? You're my little soldier aren't you darling? You can handle anything life throws at you."
"Like how you quickly handled getting rid of us so you could start anew and play happy families with Kayla while forgetting me and mum," I paused, trying to blink away the tears.
"Right dad?" I whispered.
There was a pause, and I was so sure dad would be angry at me since I had never talked back to him, but all I heard was a weary sigh, "Look Zei, I know you're still angry but I want you to know you're my daughter and you're always welcome to stay with me and Kayla whenever you want. You know that. You know I wanted you to live with me but at the end of the day it was your choice to go live with your mum."
"I didn't want to abandon mum like you have dad. And unlike you, I know mum will never walk out on me."
"That's enough, Zeinth!" My dad finally raised his voice. "I understand you're still angry but I won't have you talk back to me in such a manner."
"Yes, I agree. This enough of a conversation to know I'm fine. You made your decision, dad. I'm making mine. I don't want you to call me again." I replied calmly, though I felt anything but.
"And dad?"
"Yes, Zei?" He asked, his voice resigned.
"It's Rose, Kaylas daughter who likes English literature. I've always hated that subject."
A heavy silence reigned down before I broke it.
"Bye dad."
Not waiting for an answer, and with more force than necessary, I slammed the phone back into its place.
I stood there, trying not to cry again. Trying to control myself.
"What was your father's sin?" Said a familiar voice next to me, causing me to jump before turning, eyebrows furrowed.
"How long have you been standing there?" I asked, meeting his steady gaze which he broke when he shrugged and looked down at the phone I had been close to throwing at the nearest wall, a couple of seconds ago.
For once, I welcomed the distraction from Cole but when he talked, we were back to the subject I didn't want to talk about.
"Why are you upset at your father? Is it something to do with his absence?"
"It's nothing." I said, walking towards the kitchen. My throat felt like I had been swallowing sandpaper, "And besides, you still have an awful lot to explain."
Even though I didn't hear his footsteps, his voice was clear behind me as he followed me into the kitchen, "I told you all I know about the women."
I whirled around to face him, the edges of my mouth turned down in annoyance, "That was it? That's all you know? How long have you been haunting this house?"
That seemed to get a reaction besides cool apathy, out of him- annoyance at me, being the biggest emotion on his face.
"I am a ghost, not a medium. I don't understand why you expect me to have all the answers when I have so many of my own unanswered."
I was stepping on new territory. I had to tread carefully lest he clamped down again. I remembered what Mr M had said about finding out an item precious to Cole. Now may be the chance to find out as much as I can about him.
"Like...?" I asked, leaning against a counter, tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear, which caused Cole to zero on the action, a strange expression on his face, as if he was looking but not seeing.
I was reminded of the first time we had met and he had scrutinised me under the very gaze.
"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" I asked, breaking his daze, his gaze becoming sharp.
"What do you mean?"
"Before..." I asked, suddenly struck with a memory, " you said I reminded you of someone. Who?"
For the first time in the short time of knowing Cole, I saw confusion flit across his features. "I...did? I'm not sure."
Now it was my turn to be curious, "How much of your past life can you remember?"
There was something in his eyes as he stared at me, something like...saddness? Pain? Hopelessness?
Whatever it was, it was gone as I blinked, making me question if I had really seen it or just imagined it.
"That's our curse, little mouse. The curse of the dead that still live in a world that has forgotten them." He said quietly, looking at me with such intensity, I had to fight with myself to not look away, "We cannot remember the regrets that keep us bound to the mortal world."
I looked away, not able to hold his heavy gaze any longer.
"I'm sorry." I said, not sure what else to say.
It turned out I hadn't need to worry since he had vanished again when I looked up.
To where, I had yet to discover.
I slowly slid down onto the cold floor, wrapping my arms around my drawn knees, feeling sad, confused and worried. Even the weak sunlight steaming through the window, illuminating the dust motes floating around the room, did nothing to ease the cold inside me.
I wondered, just that one absurd moment, how it felt like to be as light as a dust mote, to just wonder around aimlessly, without burdens and regrets weighing down on my shoulders.
I knew I had to get together before mum came home to see me feeling sorry for myself on the kitchen floor. I still hasn't decided if I wanted to talk about what happened between dad and me.
It wasn't like he'd ever ring her up.
I took a deep breath before getting up onto my feet, determined to get to the bottom of the ghost mystery while pushing all thoughts of dad aside.
Ghost mystery?
I shook my head.
Ghost problem was the right word.
X-x-x-x-x-X X-x-x-x-x-X X-x-x-x-X
By the time Mum came home from work, the house was in a much more habitable place, the heating on full to ward out the chilly wind and piercing rain that lashed against the windows, bent on getting in, and the lights were on, basking the house in a gentle hue of light, as the impending dark arrived outside.
She looked tired, hair limp and wet, frame wilted like a dying flower. I ushered her to the dining room, where I placed a bowl of tomato soup and garlic bread in front of her.
As I sat opposite her with my own bowl, she gave me a tired smile, the creases on her face becoming more and more prominent as the days went on.
"Thanks baby."
I smiled and blew on my soup, as I gave a quick glance around my surroundings.
No ghost in sight.
I let myself relax a little, figuring he wouldn't be joining us tonight for dinner.
I hadn't caught a peep of him today after he disappeared. To where was the question. A question I would find the answer on another day.
All thoughts of Cole aside, I focused on my Mum, who took a sip of her soup before smiling at me, "It's delicious considering the fact we didn't have much food in the kitchen."
"Thanks. How was work?" I asked after swallowing a spoonful of soup. I was glad I had decided to make it rather than something else, since it warmed me up inside and that was definitely something Mum needed after walking back home in such horrible weather conditions.
"Work's fine. Everyone's lovely. It's jus-" She caught herself before she slipt anything out. But I knew what she had intended to say.
It just wasn't the same. Our old life in the city stuck to us like stubborn gum stuck on hair.
If you didn't cut it off, it was there to stay and complicate things.
We both didn't speak for awhile, content in just eating. But still, I wished Mum would be more honest with me about her feelings. But she had always been like that.
Bottling everything up.
I sighed internally, knowing that the phone call with dad had to remain a secret.
I didn't want to go about bringing bad memories for mum, not after she was having a hard time forgetting herself.
It wasn't long until we finished and just as I was going to say goodnight to her, three loud knocks resounded from the entrance, making me jump.
I looked towards the noise.
Was the woman back?
Before I could think of what to do, mum had already taken long, purposeful strides towards the door, and had unlocked it.
"Mum, wait!"
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A/N: First of all, thank you sooooo much for all the support, the votes, the lovely comments and just reading the book.
I appreciate it immensely.
And I'd like to say I'm so sorry for taking so long to update. I have more drafts than chapters for the book because I want to take it in so many directions, but sometimes I write something down and it doesn't feel right and I have to go back and rewrite it until I'm happy it's good enough to publish.
I don't want to disappoint any of my readers so I really hope you enjoy the newest chapter. Let me know your thoughts :)
Question time :D
Who could be the mysterious stranger at the door?
re-edit;11/12/2018