Young Writers Society

Hey everyone! I know I haven't posted in a while, but I've been busy with school. So hope you enjoy it

Chapter 12

I stared in shock at the corpses that had once been my parents. Blood pooled all around them and on their neat clothes, originating from an extensive cut across the throat. They'd bled to death, and by the look of horror on their faces, they hadn't expected the attack. Who could have done this?

The sound of movement caught my attention briefly as Nicolas came rushing into the room. For some reason he was in a state of alarm; I think I might've screamed out loud. I'm not sure.

"Oh my god" Nicolas whispered in disbelief. He yanked me behind him, as if he could block out the sight of the soulless bodies. But it was far too late for that. The image was forever engraved in my mind.

He held me in a surprisingly tight embrace, for a man of his age. As much as I appreciated the thought and gesture, right now the last thing I wanted was to be shielded. "Let me go," I spoke calmly yet with authority. He loosened his grip and I walked around him towards the bodies.

The more I gazed at them, the more I felt detached. Dead. They were really...dead. What had happened? What was I going to do? What was going to happen to me? Somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought about how I should've called the police. It's only when I heard Nicolas leave the room that I realized I'd actually said it out loud.

I remained transfixed for some time, ignoring everything else in the world. That is, until I noticed something white sticking out of my father's jacket pocket. No, it wasn't sticking out; it had been placed there. It was too well placed and clean to have been on my father when he'd died. I moved closer to his body. Nicolas tried to interfere - when had he come back? - but I held up a hand to stop him. He did so reluctantly.

I inched closer to my father and bent down to retrieve the neatly folded piece of paper. Nicolas came up behind me as I opened it up.

Stay out of Lord Frederick's business

or you'll suffer the consequences

just as your parents did.

In a split second the numbness and shock that I'd felt dissolved. My heart beat accelerated considerably. My ears began to buzz. Pure rage consumed me and I let out a cry of hatred, crushing the paper in my hand. My parents had been killed because of me! Whoever had done this had killed them just to send me a message!

A million emotions flashed through me. Anger at myself for their death. Regret that I hadn't been there to save them. Most of all though: hatred. I didn't know who this Lord Frederick was; I didn't even care. Only one thing mattered now.

How I was going to kill the son of a bitch.

* * *

"Do you want something to drink dear?" the chubby ambulance lady asked me for the fifth time.

"No. No. And NO!" I shrugged off the blanket she'd wrapped around me. Contrary to what she thought, I wasn't cold; people usually weren't when they were in a hot temper.

Trying to ignore the small brunette, I scanned my surroundings. Two squad cars were parked in front of my house, their sirens illuminating the dark forest. A hummer was also present, parked nicely in the driveway. On the front law, at about a dozen feet from me, stood Nicolas, giving his statements of the past events to the police officer.

A little further away, Tony was doing the same thing. It was useless for him, since he didn't really know much; Nicolas had called him after having called the police and he'd come over right away. He'd waited with us for the two hours it took the police to arrive. While I'd been thinking up ways to end my new found enemy, they'd spent it trying to figure out what had killed my parents. When the police had finally got to the house, they'd complained about the delay, to which they responded that Halloween was always a busy day.

Huh. I hadn't even realized it was Halloween. Sure, I'd seen some decorations here and there, but I hadn't celebrated it since I was a kid. Although- No! I didn't have time to think about that. I wouldn't have time for anything anymore. Planning your revenge was too mind consuming.

The ambulance lady gestured something to me and she got on my nerves. She was a nice woman, really, but right then, I didn't want someone to cajole me. I wanted someone to yell at; to punch. I let out an aggravated sound and got off the edge of the ambulance truck, heading towards Tony. The woman yelled at me and I ignored her. Again. I wasn't hurt, I didn't need a psychiatrist, so what good was there for me to stay put?

"Miss Evans, a word please." I turned to see a plump man gesture a finger for me to join him. Although irritated, the man held my curiosity. It was probably because of the Sherlock Holmes look he was trying - and failing - to pull off. Thank goodness it’s only a Halloween costume.

I walked over to him, eyeing him in puzzlement. Short, overweight and bald, he definitely wasn't the strikingly handsome type of man. But he had commandment written all over him; a presence meant to scare people out of their wits. The man people called upon to train the rookies and mama's boys. It was an easy guess that he was the detective of this case.

"Detective," I acknowledged when I'd reached him.

"Miss," he bowed his head slightly, "might I ask you a question?"

I frowned. "Go ahead, it's not like I have a choice, but I already told the officers everything."

He waved his hand in a gesture of indifference. "In your statement, you said you had not seen your parents in two weeks."

"Yes I did."

"I find it hard to believe any parent could leave their child for so long."

"If I'm not mistaken, detective, I'm not a suspect here; I see no reason for you to doubt my word."

"No, that's true. I was simply implying my opinion on the matter. You can understand my scepticism."

I laughed cruelly at that. "How quickly people forget the real nature of human beings!" I stared down at him, ready to give him a piece of my mind.

Just in time, Tony came over to us, a worried look on his face. "Are you okay C-"

"And who might you be?" the detective asked quickly.

I turned to glance at Tony. "He's -"

"The boyfriend" he finished.

I frowned but decided to keep quiet. For now.

"Miss Evans?" I turned back to the detective. "I must say, you sound so indifferent to your loss. Do you not feel for their deaths?"

I smiled coldly. "Everyone has their own way of grieving, detective. Some cry. Others close themselves off from the world. In my case," I let out a dark laugh, "I like to imagine how I'm going to shred the bastards who took them from me." As I spoke, I shredded thin air into minuscule particles, just to prove my point.

His face had gone terribly white; it quickly turned to a red of outrage. "Never make such statements, little girl! You could easily be hurt, or killed! If you go looking for trouble, I won't be able to help you!"

"Don't worry," I smiled widely, "I'm counting on just that."

Before I could say some other stupid remark, Tony stepped in. "Come on," he put a hand at the small of my back, "let's get you back to the mansion for a good night's sleep." He directed us in that direction.

I planted my feet firmly into the ground, refusing to move. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm sleeping at my house."

"You can't seriously want t-" the detective started.

I turned to glare at him. "I don't care what happened, I am not going to be chased from my own house!" I put my hands on my hips. A few seconds of silence followed.

Tony sighed. "I'm staying with you then"

"What? N-"

"And I'll put officers on duty to watch over you two" the detective interjected.

"I don't need-"

"It's either that or you come down to the station with me" he declared, knowing that's the last thing I wanted.

I made a frustrated face. "Fine!" I strode off towards the house. After entering it, I slammed the door shut, taking what little comfort I could in venting my anger.

* * *

An hour later, the police officers had finally left. They'd cleared the bodies, taken pictures of the scene and other crime lab stuff and then completely blocked off the room. Two police officers stayed behind, parking their car not too far away from the house, just in case. After checking up on me, Nicolas had also left for his hotel room, having refused to stay at my house or the mansion. "I do not wish to disturb you" he'd said. He hadn't wanted to admit it, but he'd been half dead - no pun intended -, as the events of the day, along with his travelling had worn him out. He promised to come back the next morning though.

It was late in the night now and fatigue had finally caught up with me as well. My eyes couldn't hold up for very long before demanding to be closed once again. I didn't want to sleep though. I don't think I can. I slumped further on the counter stool I sat on.

"Come on, let's go to bed" Tony said, helping me off stool.

"Let's? Hold it! You're not sleeping with me!" I stated.

"Yeah I am"

I put my hands to my hips. "Uh, no, you aren't!"

"Whether you like it or not, I'm sleeping with you, and that's final!"

For the next five minutes we argued. Apparently, when Tony put his mind to something, there was no shaking him. Somehow, I'm still not sure how, he ended up winning the argument.

So there we were, laying - with the most distance possible between us - on my bed. Tony had fallen asleep not long after we'd installed ourselves, aloof to everything happening around him. As for me, I was facing the other side of the room, completely aware of having a guy in my bed. Call me old fashioned, but it felt weird. Especially when he slept without a shirt, showing off a fine six pack and some muscle. Okay, so maybe that part I didn't dislike. It was still distracting though. I thought I'd never be able to fall asleep.

Thankfully, the body sometimes just can't resist the pull of sleep.

Vampires invaded my dreams. I knew I was dreaming. I could see myself as I see other people, fighting against two bloodsuckers. We were in a fierce battle, and I severely wounded one of them, who instantly healed. We went at it for a long time, neither of us able to cause serious damage. It occurred to me then that maybe this was a premonition. What if I could see the future in my dreams?

Then a monkey wearing a tutu came out of nowhere. Even worst, the three of us stopped fighting and started dancing with the ape. The black forest that had been surrounding us disappeared, to become an enormous circus. Okay, screw the premonition idea.

Just as a Spanish guy joined us to play some banjo, I heard distant voices. I strained to hear them, and in effect woke myself up. I wasn't completely woken up though; I was in that state between consciousness and the world of dreams. I could hear the voices clearer nonetheless. I couldn't be sure, but I thought I knew who was talking. But that would have to wait. I had a more pressing problem to deal with first.

It was big. It was tall. And it was spooning with me.

Tony had an arm wrapped around me, holding me down. I tried to shake him off and when that didn't work, I pried my arms out from under the arm that was draped over me. Then I tried to remove his arm off completely. The plan backfired. Still asleep, he pulled me closer to him, resting his cheek against mine. I was suddenly hot from all the heat he was giving away.

"Look at that. Disgraceful." a female voice spoke disgustingly.

I stilled. I'd definitely heard that properly. Frantically, I shook my whole body. "Tony!" I cried.

He woke up instantly, on the ready. "What? What is it?" He looked around the room.

"Took the half-wit long enough to wake up" a male voice chuckled.

Tony slightly got up, putting his weight on his elbow just by my head, scanning the bedroom. He glanced back at me. "What's wrong? Was I crushing you?"

Momentarily ignoring him, I got into a sitting position, where he wouldn't block me from the creatures that floated by my bed.

Two forms, that of my parents, were looking at me in disgust. Only, they weren't human. Their bodies were a white translucent, and the contour of their shapes was defined by a soft black glow. The only hint of color was the two red slashes across their hearts. Together, the slashes formed an X. Blood dripped from there, and through some unknown force, cascaded down their immaterial bodies and off. Only, the drops of blood vanished at every physical contact.

I watched in amazement as a drop of pure red fell from the male's heart, down his chest, under his stomach, down his legs and feet and, just as it hit the floor, pouf. As discomforting as the creatures were, they were quite the sight. I didn't need to be an expert to know what they were.

"Ghosts" I whispered in awe.

"Ghosts?... Oh. You can see your parents, can't you?" Tony asked. I nodded.

"Ah, so the little twerp can see us" my mother's voice echoed.

"And I can hear you"

"And she can hear us" my father's voice repeated in a tone of interest. His form turned to my mother's, and they both grinned.

"It's your fault were dead!"

"No good brat!"

"You were always a disappointment!"

"You should've died instead!"

"We should have put you up for adoption!"

I put my hands to my ears, trying to block out their verbal onslaught. "Stop it!" But they didn't.

"Look at her! She's such a whore"

"You're no daughter of mine"

"Shut up!" I swiped my arm towards them, actually passing through them. I just had the time to feel the ice cold sensation of their forms before they changed. Their forms disintegrated into small particles resembling snow. Then, by some invisible wind, the snow particles rose up in a whirlwind, before scattering in every direction. And just like their blood, they vanished the moment they touched the walls.

I looked back and forth, stunned that they'd actually stopped. I couldn't believe, that even in death, they could hate me for something completely out of my control. They were finally going to get what they wanted though; their baby boy. He was the golden child in the family yet he had never even taken the breath of life. They never loved me. I gave out a chocked sob and tears trickled down my cheeks.

"Aw, no, Princess. Don't cry." Tony came up beside me, grabbing me behind my back and legs. He lifted me up just enough to place me on his lap. "Sh. It'll be okay, don't worry."

"Wh-why are they here?" I hiccuped through a sob, "Shouldn't they just be dead?" It was an awful thing to think, but that's how I truly felt. A small part of me was sad at their deaths, yet another part felt relieved. For the most though, it was anger. Not for having lost my parents, but for someone having taken away some things that were mine, however little I wanted them myself. That's what made things worse; I'd caused their deaths and I was only partly sad. I am so screwed up.

"People sometimes become ghosts when they aren't ready to move on. Obviously if they're here, it's because there's something about you that keeps them here, whether they want to or not."

"How do I get rid of them?"

"You have to fix whatever needs to be fixed... Or burn the house down," at my horrified expression, he continued, "but that's a last resort, of course." He glanced around the bedroom, as though looking for a sign that there were ghosts. He obviously couldn't see them; only I could.

"What am I going to do?" I sobbed.

"Don't worry. Whatever happens, I'll be right there with you." He gave me a kiss on the forehead and held me tight. We stayed like that for some time, even after I had stopped crying and had calmed down. As much as I hated to be comforted, it didn't bother me then. I needed it more than anything else. No, I needed him to comfort me.

Just as I started to fall asleep, I realized something. CJ had been wrong all along; I didn't like Tony.

I was in love with him.