Ghost of You // harry styles

Chapter 4- "I promise."

I sat alone in the corner of Starbucks on a rainy Tuesday after walking home from my day of classes. I took a sip of my vanilla bean Frappuchino,  my personal favorite, while I held my iPhone to my ear and observed the different people entering the shop. I waited, listening to the dial tone until it was cut off and replaced by the sound of a familiar female voice.

"Penny dear, what a pleasant surprise!" 

"Hi, Aunt Donna. Listen, do you have a second to talk?" I asked, taking another sip.

"Of course, I'm all ears." 

"Okay well, you may question me a bit when I say this, but do you know anything about a ghost in my house? Or just maybe any info on ghosts in general?" I knew how crazy I must've sounded, but this ghost boy has driven me into insanity. Surprisingly, I didn't hear a single chuckle or scoff on the other end of the line. It actually sounded like the question was expected.

"I was wondering if I'd ever hear about that again. When you were a child, around 3 or 4, you used to come into your mum and dad's room telling them about a little boy who visited you at night. At first, we just suspected it was your vivid imagination or that it was all a dream, but you continued to report meetings with this boy. Not only did he appear to you, but he really frightened you. But you never told us what he did exactly to scare you so much."

Penny listened to her Aunt Donna pause for a moment, expecting her to say something in reaction to this bizarre news, but when Penny said nothing she continued.

"Then what really startled your parents was when you came into their room in the middle of the night and said nothing as they woke up from the light from the hallway. Once you fully had their attention, you said, 'I don't want to have the weight of the world on my shoulders', and then just walked out. I can hear your mum telling me this as if she had called me yesterday. She knew you wouldn't know what that meant yet, and she was worried that this little boy was interacting you a bit too much. The next day, a friend of your father's who happened to be a priest came to bless the house. After that, we didn't hear anything. I mean, until now. Is everything alright, Pen?" Aunt Donna asked me fearfully. "Did something happen?"

I was at a loss for words after listening to the haunting story, but I managed to gain some composure and clear my throat.

"Erm, yeah everything's fine. I was just curious because I, uh, had a dream about it and wanted to see if it was real." I blantantly lied through my teeth. I think Aunt Donna seemed to notice, but waved it off.

"Okay, then... erm, I mean if that's all..."

"Yep, everything's completely fine! Sorry, but I'm going to have to go, I have, uh, work in a little bit." Lies continued to pour out of me, but once again, Aunt Donna just ignored it. Thankfully.

"Okay, I'll talk to you soon, hun."

"Thanks Aunt Donna, see you soon."

As I hung up the phone and tossed it on my bed, I began to process all the information.