Ghosts Of The Attic

4. Broken Glass

4

     Even with everything that had happened, I managed to laugh. The first laugh I’ve ever uttered since Lucinda vanished. And I knew it was a hysterical laugh–a very, hysterical laugh really. But the dead girl merely stared until I stopped, now noticing her serious and slightly concerned expression.

     “Why are you laughing?” she inquired.

     “Lucinda can’t be alive,” I stated. “There was so much blood, it would be impossible for her to survive from all that.”

     She frowned at my statement and gripped my hand tighter. Her eyes were averting my grey eyed gaze while she thought of something to say. “Anything is possible,” she murmured, her voice sounding strained. “I mean…just look at me. I’m dead just like you said, but here I am nonetheless.”

     Her words caused something in me to snap and I pushed her away, disgusted with myself for even looking at her. Quickly, I stood up, frowning. “That’s right, you are dead,” I nearly screamed, “and the dead shouldn’t be in the living world!”

     “But–”

     “No, you’re not real! You’re not real! You’re not real!”

     Slamming my fists against my head, I backed away from her, still screaming. I didn’t care if I was sent back to St. Ophelia’s anymore. The madness had to stop; I needed the endless silence, to have no more voices to torture me. And then that’s when it dawned on me. This is just a dream. All of my movements ceased as I thought about how too fast today went. My eyes snapped back up to the girl, who was waiting for my next move.

     “None of this is real,” I stated. “I’m just dreaming all of this.”

     She furrowed her brow in confusion as I moved further away until my back hit a wall. My hands were tangled in my hair, but slowly dropped to my sides as I closed my eyes. As soon as I wake up, this will all be over. Slowly, I counted to ten, inhaling the stale air. Then I opened my eyes to see the same scene again except the girl had stood up, moving closer. Escape was futile since she was on me in a snap with her hands on my arms; surprisingly, she had an iron grip.

     “Lucas,” she stated before annunciating, “look at me.”

     I closed my eyes again, but opened them once I felt something cold on my cheeks. Her slender hands held my face as she drew me closer to stare into her wide eyes. As she spoke, my body temperature seemed to drop dramatically to the point where my teeth began to chatter, but the girl didn’t seem to notice this, she continued to explain something although the words passed right through me. With my last bit of energy, I gripped her wrists and pushed her away, which caused my body temperature to return to normal in a second.

     “Don’t you ever touch me again!” I screamed. “Just leave me alone!”

     “Lucas, please,” she sighed, desperation in her voice, “let me explain. Let me help you.”

     “You’re not real!”

     Frustration was getting the better of me, I could feel it. Tears were welling in my eyes–obscuring my vision–and I blinked them away only to have myself sobbing in the end. I slumped against the wall until I hit the floor, pulling my knees to my chest while I buried my face in my knees. The girl tried to touch me again, but I shrugged her away.

     “Lucas,” she sighed. “I am real. But…you’re not going to talk to me, are you?”

     I answered her with silence.