UNTITLED

six

Later on the night of my sixteenth birthday, Alex and Elizabeth had both dropped me off at home. It was half an hour away from midnight but I noticed that Dad wasn't home yet as his car wasn't parked in the driveway. Elizabeth pulled me in for a hug, muttering out another birthday wish. I smiled against her hair, thanking her as I pulled away.

"Are you sure you'll be alright on your own?" Alex asked. "I mean, it is your birthday after all."

"Yes, I'm sure that I'll be fine," I said as I rolled my eyes at him. "Stop worrying so much."

He shrugged, cracking up a smile. "I just can't help it. I like you."

Though I smiled a bit at that, I kept my thoughts to myself, not wanting to make things more complicated as it already is. I noticed that Elizabeth had been watching our exchange of words and the atmosphere that had turned awkward.

Silence stretched on between us.

"Well," she spoke up, breaking the ever growing silence as she grabbed her brother's arm. "See you next week then, Addy."

I nodded my head a bit. "Yeah, see you next week."

Elizabeth tugged on Alex's arm, dragging him away to the direction of their house as he was reluctant to leave.

"Have a nice weekend, guys!" I called out to them before they got out of sight and earshot.

"You too!" Elizabeth called back, waving her arm at me.

My eyes were glued to their leaving figure and as soon as I couldn't see them anymore, a heavy sigh escaped my lips. Tiredness was beginning to consume me, even as I trudged up to my house, opening the front door with my spare key.

"I'm home," I said to the empty house, not really expecting a reply.

But then, I heard a tired familiar voice, startling me as it said, "welcome home, child."

My blood ran cold for a moment but then I heard him chuckle. I calmed, recognizing that laugh from anywhere.

"God, Fred," I muttered as I placed a hand over my thumping heart. "You scared me."

I heard him apologize as I walked to where he was standing by the banister of the stairs. Not wanting to pass through him and experience that unpleasant feeling again, I moved to the other side, carefully walking past him. A shudder shot down my spine at the sudden reminder of this morning but I quickly suppressed it.

Right at that moment, I had been reminded of his disappearance through out the whole night.

"Where had you been?" I asked, "I haven't seen you since we left Quintol's."

"Apologies, Adeline," he said from behind me and I glanced back to see that he was following me up the stairs. "I had some pressing matters to attend to."

My eyebrow quirked up at that even though I knew he couldn't see it.

"Oh," I muttered, not really believing him.

"I trust you had a good evening, yes?" he asked after a few moments of silence, clearly changing the subject.

Stifling a yawn, I walked into my room and changed into a nightshirt and shorts. 

"Yeah, guess so," I said, glancing at Fred who was sitting on a chair near the window.

A small smile touched my lips as I was suddenly reminded of Alex's stupid jokes he'd been telling me through out the whole night. I heard him scoff.

"You're such a terrible liar," he mumbled.

Though his words didn't quite catch my ears, I shot him a glare, earning a chuckle. I rolled my eyes at him and his childishness.

"You still haven't explained to me," I said after finally settling in my bed, snuggling the comforter. "About you, your death, my sudden ability to interact with the dead. Easy to say, everything."

I raised my head from my pillow, peeking at him to see that he was staring out the window. He was quiet for a while and I assumed that he didn't hear me as he seemed to be deep in thought. I was about to call out to him when he suddenly spoke up, still not looking away from the window.

"You will understand in the morning after you wake up, but for now, go to sleep, child."

Confusion struck me and so did annoyance.

"Why would I have to sleep first?" I questioned as I rolled my eyes, clearly getting annoyed. "And why can't you just tell me now?"

Fred sighed as he turned away from the window. "If you insist then."

My eyes followed him as he stood and walked to where I was. I moved away to the side when he sat next to me on the bed. He stretched his legs as he propped them up, leaning back against the headboard. A tired sigh escaped him and I watched him close his eyes, waiting patiently for him to start.

Moments of silence passed by and I was growing impatient, frustrated. Subconsciously, I let out an annoyed grunt, turning away from him to stare at the ceiling. He seemed to have sensed my frustration as he had opened one eye, raising an eyebrow. A soft laugh was heard and I glared at him.

"Do you recall on my death?" He asked, breaking the silence.

Glancing at him, I raised an eyebrow in question as I sarcastically asked, "is it possible to forget?"

I heard him scoff, muttering words of disapproval and I couldn't help but to crack a smile. He shook his head a few times.

"I would prefer not having to do this," he grumbled, making me confused. "But remember that you were the one who insisted on wanting to know now."

Suddenly, he held out his hand to me and I knew exactly what he meant. I was hesitant as fear was slowly starting to grow inside me. Fear of not knowing what I would see when I take his hand in mine. My gaze was darting between his hand and his eyes, trying to figure out what ever the hell he had in mind.

He saw my hesitance and his expression soften as he lowered his hand. Right when he had opened his mouth to say something, I cut him off.

"What's it about this time?" My voice trembled but I tried to keep it steady again as I spoke. "What memory are you going to show me?"

His mouth was set in a thin line as I watched him think.

"I cannot tell you that it will not be unpleasant,"he said softly, as if he was trying to reassure me. "But I can tell you that I will be there, ready to bring you comfort when you need it."

He raised his hand again, holding it out.

My eyes were glued to it and I heard myself say, "You promise?"

A small smile graced his lips. "Cross my heart."

I let out a snort of laughter at how ironic that had sounded. Nonetheless, I had reached for his hand and a shudder went down my spine at the coldness. Goosebumps were all over my body and I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand.

The moment I had firmly held his hand, the feeling of being sucked into a vacuum was there. My stomach lurched and my eyes were squeezed shut as I waited for it to end. Nausea rose in the back of my throat but I pushed it down.