The Divorce

32

I placed my ear against the wall, trying to hear what they were talking about. The man had all but shoved me through the door and slammed it so shut, so fast. Naturally, my curiosity was piqued. I had to know who it was now. He brought it upon himself. Besides eves-dropping wasn't illegal, was it?

Maybe he did have his eyes on someone after all, pfffft, he didn't need me then, to play match maker. Why would he shove me like that if it wasn't someone special?

Either way, I didn't care. I just was like the cat, in curiosity got the cat. I could faintly hear a feminine voice. It definitely  didn't sound like his grandmother, so anyone else was better than that. The voice sounded young but not too young, younger than his step sisters so it couldn't be them.

The tones got softer, like they almost knew my ear was plastered to the wall, trying to hear their every breathe. 

Wait, they couldn't see me right? 

I massaged the wall with my ear, trying to find the best spot to find the voices. Where on earth did they go to?

"What are you doing?"

"Ah fuck, Spider...oh, it's just you," I said realising that the person standing behind me was Fern. My heart nearly jumped out of my body thinking it was Gabriel. Somehow creeping up behind me while I thought he was there. 

"Just...me?" Fern asked, he almost sounded offended but I couldn't see his face, because I was too busy trying to hear through the walls, "Who else would it me?"

When I didn't respond I felt a tap on my shoulder, "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to see who's in the room with Gabriel. Can you shhh I'm trying to listen."

"Just go in?"

"He kicked me out."

"So...,"

"I'm curious now, wait...what's that smell..." 

I turned around, realising that Fern had a plate in his hand, filled with little pastries and finger food. Now this seemed far more important. 

"Gabriel told me to bring a plate up-,"

"Thank you!" I grabbed it out of his hand walking back to my bed, leaving a confused Fern rushing behind me.

He paused for a moment staring at me, and then asked me confused "Why are you wearing a robe?"

"Am I not allowed to wear a robe?" I asked, realising that I hadn't even changed yet, maybe I needed shower first. I looked at my fingers, just about to grab the pastry and decided, I definitely needed a shower before I touched the grubby food with my hands. Who knows what dead souls I touched in those creepy corridors. 

"No, of course you are I just g-,"

"Can you leave?" 

"What?" Fern asked confused.

"I'm going to have a shower, well, you don't have to leave I guess, I'll just go into the bathroom and shut the door."

Fern was even more confused when I shoved the plate back at him, warning him that if he ate a single piece I would make him get me 10 more, and rushed to the bathroom to wipe the stinky dark corridor off my body. 

I was going to have nightmares' about that places and the ghost that I was positive was in there. I thought a nice warm shower, practically scalding but with a touch of cold water to make sure my skin wouldn't peel off, would make me feel better. 

But it didn't.

 It made me feel even more claustrophobic, even though I was out of that corridor.  Even though I ran the hot water and washed my body with soap three times, I still felt like I had cobwebs on me. On my hair, behind my neck, in my ear. I eventually gave up, the hot steam making me almost faintish. I think I had scrubbed layers of my skin off at this point.