Lockwood and Co. book 4: The Creeping Shadow

Chapter 5(Flashback ends continue from prologue)

                          Seven months had passed since that day. I was now a freelance operative, and I hire myself out to other agencies. I won't lie and say that I haven't missed Lockwood and Co. every second I've been gone. But there's no point in regrets. Leaving was for the best. When the taxi driver dropped me off (I learned his name was Roy Walker) at the train station, I had gone home via train. I was right: returning had been hell. My family had never understood my fascination with ghosts, or my psychic abilities. Quite frankly my mother didn't care what my job was as long as I was bringing money in the house. When I came back, and she learned that I had resigned she had went mad with anger. 

                                                                      Flashback

                   I  had just came in through the door of our house(using my copy of our house keys to get in), when my older sister by one year, Mary tackled me with a hug. I grinned and hugged her back. While Mary didn't have any psychic powers, out of all my family members, she had tried the hardest to understand me and my gifts. That was one of many reasons why Mary was my favorite. 

            "Back so soon Lucy?" she asked. She was wearing black sweatpants, and a purple t-shirt. "You usually only visit around the holidays or on your off days. Why have you graced us with your glorious presence this time?"

             I tried to give her another smile to hide what I was really feeling, but I guess I failed because Mary frowned, as if noticing for the first time that an early visit probably wasn't a good thing. 

            "Are you okay Lucy?" she asks, a look of worry emerged on her face.

             Once again, I try to force a smile. "I'm fine."

              She scoffed."Don't give me that. I grew up with you. Whenever you're lying or you feel nervous, you force a smile, and try to brush off my questions. Why are you here Lucy? Did something happen?"

             I sigh, then I closed the door and lowered my voice to a whisper. "I-I quit Lockwood and Co."

             Mary's eyes widened. "What?! But you love it there! Why would you-"

             "Lucy?" I hear a voice call. I cringe. Mother. It's not that I hated my mum. It's just that she had begun to grow to comfortable with getting easy money from me, and after years of washing clothing for a living, I knew she would not take me leaving another job very well.

             I straighten up, and look up at her standing in the hall connecting  the dining room and the living room. "Hello Mum," I say with a very sweet voice, like everything was going well and I didn't have a bloody care in the world.

            Mary looks at me and I could see her wince. She knew this visit was not going to go very well.

            My mum, looks me up and down. "You're visiting earlier then usual, why-" she stopped talking when she noticed the bags behind me. She frowned. Mary was very perceptive. While she didn't have psychic powers, she was sensitive in other ways. She had noticed something wasn't right not long after I walked in through the door. But she had gotten that gift from my mum, and unfortunately for me, my mum was still better than Mary when it cam to using that skill. 

              "Lucy," my mother said in a dangerously low, yet pleasant voice. "Why are you here?"

            There was no point in lying. She would see right through me, and lying would only cause a bigger headache.