I ploughed through the bags and boxes that my mum had placed in the corner of my room, looking only for the things I actually needed. I left my clothes in the sacks they came in and pulled out my PlayStation, laptop, and phone charger. Once my TV had found its new home on my empty cabinets, and the cables for my PlayStation had been plugged in, I positioned my chair in front of it and began my night routine.
I could spend hours playing games, disconnected from this world and in another. Somehow, I was someone else in these games. I was Corporal Henry Davidson, a soldier in WW2 trying to save the world or Cristiano Ronaldo, scoring goals for a winning side, collecting medals with ease. Some days, I would sit back in my chair and play until the dark sky outside became light, only then realising just how late it was and how tired I had become. Tonight was different though. No matter how many different games I tried to play, I couldn’t settle. I was agitated by the overwhelming feeling that this was not my home.
We didn’t belong here.
I turned off my game and looked around the room, noticing the boxes I had left to one side. The glistening of gold caught my eye as I walked over to a box holding a bunch of medals and trophies. Without a second thought, I closed it back up and dumped it in the wardrobe before pulling a duvet and pillows out of a black sack. I tried to sleep but as much as my body felt tired, my brain wasn’t. It seemed to jump from thought to worry and back around again. I had just gotten used to being the weird kid at school, knowing I only had a year left before I could leave, though admittedly, it would be to another school. It didn’t matter though because I knew it would be a university that Theo wouldn’t be at and my family wouldn’t be nearby. A new school at this point in the school year would already make me stand out like a sore thumb. Pair that up with looking the way I did and having Theo as my brother would only make things worse. As much as I hated it, I did like my classes. I was currently taking English, sociology, and history, preparing to apply to do a law degree at university in January. I had no idea why I had been interested in becoming a lawyer since no one in my family had ever done it but it was probably for that reason that I wanted to do it. A job that was so different from that of my dad’s. It didn’t matter what I picked to do though, my dad was only interested in what Theo would do. Knowing my luck, he would be discovered as the next talented footballer and be earning millions before I had even finished school.
I sighed, tossed over to my side, and stared at the cracks in the wall.
The house really was a state.
5
Ab
It was strange to be in the house at night and not be smothered in darkness. I wandered the hallways restlessly as everyone began to settle in their bedrooms for the night with a nervous feeling in my stomach. I hadn’t ever had to scare people individually before, usually it was all at once.
As I walked past Maia’s room, I could hear her softly mumble to herself. Curious, I peeked my head into the room.
She was facing the wall, pretending to draw on it with her finger as a pen. Continuing, she whispered, ‘Hello.’
‘Are you talking to me?’ I whispered back before she turned her head and nodded.
‘Can you really see me?’
‘Yes.’ She nodded again.
I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. How was it possible? No one had ever seen me before.
‘Why do people keep saying you’re not here?’ she said going back to her unseen drawing on the wall.
I found myself fidgeting as I forced myself into the corner of her room. Except for some dirty windows and a fresh coat of paint needed, the room wasn’t in too bad of condition and already looked cosy with her soft furnishings scattered everywhere.
I shrugged my shoulders. ‘I don’t think they can see me, kid.’
‘But why?’ she said facing me once again. It was a feeling I couldn’t help but enjoy—being seen.
‘Do you know what ghosts are?’ I said trying to tread carefully around the topic. Even I knew that kids didn’t exactly respond well to stories of ghosts and ghouls.
‘Yes, dead people who are see-through,’ she replied as I chuckled.
‘That’s almost right except, I’m not see-through to you...’
She didn’t say anything at first, instead, she frowned as though she were thinking about it before her face relaxed. ‘So you’re dead?’
I nodded.
I liked this kid. I couldn’t help it. I loved her fearlessness. There I was, a ghost, and she was completely unfazed.
‘My name is Maia-Rose but everyone calls me Maia,’ she said, pulling up her pyjama sleeve and holding her hand out to shake.
‘Nice to meet you, Maia.’ I grinned as I tried to shake her tiny hand but went straight through it. ‘I’m Aubree but everyone calls me AB. Well, they used to.’ It had been so long since I had said my own name that I almost felt choked up hearing it out loud.
‘I like AB.’
‘Me too.’
‘AB, do you live here by yourself?’ she asked, pretending to draw on the walls once more.
‘Well, I did until you moved in.’
‘Do you like living here?’
I thought about my answer for a moment. It wasn’t a question I had ever really asked myself. What was the point when I had no choice?
‘Not really, but I’m stuck. I can’t leave, no matter how much I want to.’
‘You’re not alone anymore now though.’ She smiled infectiously before lying back into her bed and tucking the blankets under her arms, silently signalling to me it was time for her to sleep. ‘Why can only I see you?’
I shrugged my shoulders, wondering the same thing. ‘I have no idea but, Maia’—I bent down in front of her—’I think it’s best you don’t tell your family about me as I think it will just get you into trouble.’
I wasn’t sure why I had told her. If she told her family, it would only help me scare them.
‘Ok,’ she replied.
‘Ok, goodnight.’ I smiled as I left the room.
‘AB?’ I looked back at her, holding on tight to her teddy. ‘I’m glad I can see you.’
I smiled and felt a rush of something warm take over my body. I was sure that if it were possible, I’d be glowing in gold.
‘Me too, kid. Me too.’
It was only as I left her room that I realised how strong I felt. I could feel it streaming through me. I had gained that much strength from one kid believing in me, how much could I gain from the entire family?
I slowly walked across the hall, hesitating for a moment outside Cait and Jack’s bedroom door. I could scare them all, there and then, possibly giving me enough strength to exist in the house for ages before I needed anyone to visit, but Maia’s face and words smothered me. I couldn’t do it to her. Not yet.
‘One day won’t hurt, and plus they’ll have another day to finish cleaning the house. I prefer seeing the house all nice and decorated anyway,’ I said to myself as I walked away from the door and up to the library. ‘I’ll do it tomorrow.’
Once I reached the library, I excitedly turned on the light and watched the room glow under a black sky before I picked a new book from the shelf. I relished every turned page.