WARNING THIS CHAPTER MENTIONS MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AND FRIGHTENING IMAGES.

***

The black car rolled to a stop outside the old manor house and Everett glanced over. It was Tobias Wright and his wife.

The wife was very pretty, but just sat there, a pair of thick, black sunglasses shielding her eyes and part of her upper face. Tobias was the only one who exited the vehicle.

He limped over at where Everett was standing and offered him a small smile.

"I stopped by to see how things were going?" Everett noticed that Tobias kept subtlety glancing at the house and it made Everett wonder if he was.. searching for something. Or somebody.

"Good," Everett replied a little stiffly. "Everything's good."

"I'm glad to hear it." Tobias looked back at his wife, who wasn't even looking forward, but appeared to looking down at her lap.8

"That's your wife?"

"Yes. She is a good woman, but alas, she has a troubled mind." Tobias looked pensive.

"Yeah, it sucks when you're thrown a damn curve ball in life."

"Indeed." Valentina immediately looked up and she looked... pissed off. She started fumbling with the car door, struggling to get it open.

Tobias hurried over to her, trying to persuade her to stay in the car and stating that they would be leaving in a few minutes.

Valentina was not to be put off. She was determined to get out of the vehicle and come closer to the house.

Tobias held her hand, gently guiding her closer. Dahlia had seen the visitors and stepped out on to the front porch.

"My wife, Valentina," Tobias said, unnecessarily.

"It's nice to meet you." Everett tried to give the troubled woman a genuine smile, but he knew it fell flat.

"Get out of my house!" Valentina snapped, her pretty face contorted with anger and anguish.

"Now, sweetheart," Tobias said softly and gently, but also firmly, as though he was trying to reason with a young, stubborn child.

"This isn't our house any longer. Remember? We bought the new house."

"I want my baby!" Valentina screamed suddenly. "Give her back! You bastards! What have you done to her? Tell me!"

Tobias looked embarrassed as he struggled to pull his wife back to their car and get her inside. He leaned heavily against the car, trying to calm himself down.

He finally walked back over to Everett and Dahlia.

"I beg your forgiveness," he said quietly. "I shouldn't have brought her here. It always stirs up too many unpleasant memories. I will bid you both farewell."

"Don't worry about it," Dahlia said softly. "If she's lost somebody close to her, it can effect a person's mind."

"Yes. Goodbye. If you should need anything, please don't hesitate to call."

Dahlia came and stood by Everett and surprising him by reaching out for his hand.

"That poor woman. She seems to caught in her past and can't seem to break free."

"It happens." Everett gave Dahlia's hand an affectionate squeeze before releasing her.

......................

Kyle was exploring the house. He'd found his way up into the old attic. There were some interesting things up here.

One of those old, old radios that he'd read about online, but hadn't ever seen before. There was a lot of those old clothing trunks, too, like people used way back when, when they travelled.

Kyle hadn't seen the... girl lately. He'd only seen her that first day and even he was beginning to think he'd only imagined it.

He'd tried calling out for her, but he wasn't sure he was doing it right. He needed to get online and see if there was a special way to communicate with ghosts.

Kyle wasn't sure he really wanted to communicate with the girl. He was curious about her, though. He'd heard what Mr. Wright had told his dad the first day they arrived, about how a personal tragedy occured here.

Was that tragedy the girl? Had she died here? Was she sick and died from a disease? Or had it been something much more sinister? Like she was... murdered?

Kyle shuddered. He really didn't want to think about that one. Or maybe it had been an accident? Maybe she tripped and fell down those steep stairs and broke her neck.

Kyle was still looking through everything up in the attic. He came across a gold locket. He pried it open and inside, was a photo of the girl he'd seen.

...................

"Kyle!" Everett couldn't find his son anywhere. Where the hell was he? Geez.

"Kyle! Are you up here?" A figure came flying down another set of stairs. It was Kyle. He looked rumpled and was out of breath.

"Where the hell were you?" Everett demanded, looking annoyed with his son.

"Exploring the attic. There's a lot of cool stuff up there."

"I'll bet. Just be careful, okay? This house is old and who knows what shit could be lying around."

"I'm being careful, Dad." Kyle started in the direction of his bedroom, but Everett stopped him. Crap. He wanted to examine the locket more closely.

"We're having a barbecue tonight. I need your help. Think you're up to it?"

Kyle studied his dad's face. Ever since Nora died, he hardly smiled or laughed anymore. Which wasn't like his dad at all.

Usually his dad was smiling, joking around, teasing his mom and him, laughing about something.

Not lately. Not since, well, you know. The reality of everything hit Kyle so hard that it nearly left him breathless.

"Kyle?"

"Uh, sure, Dad. I can help." His dad managed a feeble smile and half heartedly slapped Kyle on the back before turning and heading outside to fire up the grill.

Kyle opened his fist, where he had hidden the locket and stated at the photo of the girl. Who was she? What had happened to her? Why had she died?

Kyle was determined to uncover the truth. He knew that's probably why the girl was still hanging around this place.

She wanted someone to help her pass over to the other side, so maybe at last she could find some peace.

..................

Dahlia was positive that she'd set the bowl for the fruit salad on the kitchen counter. It was not there.

She sighed in frustration and went to pull another bowl out of the cupboard and set that one on the kitchen counter. She heard Everett calling for her so she stepped out on the back porch to see what he wanted.

"Can you bring the platter of raw meat out?" Dahlia ducked back inside and lifted the platter of meat off the counter and took it out to Everett.

He smiled at her. Or tried to. She gave him a faint trace of a smile herself. Or at least as much of a smile as she could muster.

Dahlia went back to her fruit salad. Except when she entered the kitchen, both glass bowls were there. Only they were on the kitchen floor, in broken pieces.

..................

Dahlia didn't mention anything to Everett another two broken bowls. She just cleaned up the mess, tossing away the broken glass and went to work on making the fruit salad.

Her mind was going and going. Kyle had insisted that he'd seen a girl, here, in the house. Maybe he hadn't been lying. Maybe this place really was.. haunted.

Dahlia's mind wandered to Valentina Wright. The poor woman was clearly unwell in her mind. Was the girl that Kyle seen her daughter that had died in this house?

Dahlia's skin immediately prickled with goosebumps. It was possible. Except, Dahlia didn't believe in ghosts. There were no such things as ghosts.

Ghosts only existed in troubled people's minds. People like Valentina Wright. Only people who were deeply disturbed saw ghosts. Dahlia's hands immediately stilled.

Kyle. He was deeply troubled. After he'd learned of his baby sister's death, he just... shut down. He didn't cry. He didn't scream. He just sat there, this blank expression on his face, like he couldn't possibly believe that Nora was actually... gone.

Dahlia told Kyle it was okay for him to get angry and to be sad. That there wasn't anything wrong with him feeling that way.

But all Kyle had done was ask if his parents were finished talking and then he went straight to his bedroom and shut himself away from everyone.

Dahlia felt as if she hadn't lost just her daughter, but her son as well. Kyle hadn't hardly spoken a single word to her or Everett.

Dahlia knew he eventually broke down. She had heard him in the middle of the night and went in to him, just holding him close.

After five minutes, though, Kyle pulled away, physically and emotionally. He told Dahlia that he wanted to be alone. So Dahlia respected his wishes, even though it nearly killed her to do so.

After that night, Dahlia never saw Kyle cry again. She figured he was ashamed of his emotional outburst.

Everett came in, carrying the cooked meat and barely glanced at Dahlia. She wondered if things would ever go back to being the way it used to be between them.

........................

Dahlia was about to turn in for the night. Kyle has seemed lost in his own thoughts during dinner and Everett just kept bringing up random subjects, just to try and make some conversation.

Dahlia was relieved when dinner was over. Kyle quickly headed upstairs, probably to sketch and drown himself in his music.

Everett went back outside as Dahlia started cleaning up. She'd sighed. If this was how things were going to be, they should have just stayed home.

Dahlia had went to sit out back, in the back porch, with a tall, cold glass of iced tea and a book.

She read for a while before deciding to just turn in. Kyle was in his bedroom and Dahlia wasn't sure where Everett had wandered off to.

Dahlia was sitting on the bed when she heard something strange. It sounded like a girl's laugh. Her entire body froze, making her think that maybe she was hallucinating.

"H-Hello?" Dahlia stood up and looking around the bedroom. She heard a.... whisper, saying...Mom.

Was it... Nora? Has she followed her to this place? Then... Dahlia saw it.

The girl that Kyle had seen. And she was standing in the doorway of the bedroom.

Chapter 3

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