Chasing Souls

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

“Lindsay?” Seth called. “Who's at the door?” He came up behind me and looked over my shoulder. “Who're you?”

“I'm Lindsay's father.”

Seth raised his eyebrows and shot me a look that said 'we're talking later.' “Uh, would you like to come in?”

I gave Seth a death glare, wanting him to take back what he said. He can't come in! He can't disappear for right years of my life then magically show up like everything is fine!

Seth led him into the living room and dad sat down on the black leather couch with Seth and I sitting on the matching loveseat across from him.

Nobody spoke for a while. Dad was staring at me at I was still processing the fact that he was here as my mind filled with questions.

After ten minute of silence, I blurted out a question. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you,” he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“You're supposed to be dead,” I spat.

He raised an eyebrow. “Would you prefer that I was?”

I didn't answer, thinking it over in my head. Would I prefer to have my own father dead? He might as well be because he has been gone for the past ten years. I stayed quiet, silently answering his question, making him sigh.

“Lindsay, I know that you have struggled these past few years, but I had no choice. I had to fake my death or you, your brothers, and you mother would have died.”

“Two of them died anyway,” I muttered darkly.

“I know, but there is nothing that I could have done. I was supposed to be dead; I couldn't have just swooped in and saved them.”

“Then why are you here?” I pressed. “Why did you suddenly decide to appear eight years later?”

“Look, Lindsay,” he sighed. “I did what I did to protect my family, but mainly you.”

“Why do you have to protect me?”

“I'll tell you later. How are you?”

“Frustrated because you won't tell me why you have to protect me,” I said bluntly.

“I'll tell you later,” he repeated.

“Why? If my life is in danger, then I have the right to know why,” I demanded, my voice growing slightly louder with each word.

“How are you?” he asked again.

Seriously? Is he really blowing my question off? If his life was in danger, I bet that e would want to know why. “I'm pissed off.”

“How's Nick?”

“Hiding in his room.”

“What about Cayden? I thought I saw him at the funeral.”

“I don' know where he is.”

Dad sighed, frustrated with my minimal answers. “Look Lindsay, I'm trying. I know that you're frustrated with me, but I'm trying to make this work. I lost my wife and my son and if something happens to me, I don't want this to end on a bad note.”

I took a deep breath. “Dad, all of this is your fault,” I deadpanned. “I'm used to you not being here, so if you really want this fixed, then you have to try, not me. You;re alive,” I shrugged. “But our relationship is dead because you killed it.” I got up from the loveseat and stormed up to my room, flopping down onto my bed and screaming into my pillow.

“What'cha doin'?”

I jolted up and rolled over to see Jake looking down at me with an eyebrow raised.

“Screaming into my pillow,” I casually answered. “You?”

“Looking at my crazy sister.” He sat down on the edge of my bed and asked, “Why are you screaming into your pillow?”

“Why don't you go downstairs and see for yourself?” I grumbled.

He quirked an eyebrow and got up from my bed, heading out the door and disappeared. Jake came back a minute later looking really confused. “Who's the old guy?”

I stared at him with my mouth open in shock. “You really don't know who he is?”

Jake shrugged. “He looks a little familiar. Why?”

“Maybe because of the fact that he's your father..” I mumbled, looking away.

Jake was silent for a few seconds, so I looked up and saw him staring at me, eyebrows raised. “Huh. I guess that's a pretty good reason.”

“Jake, he's supposed to be dead!” I hissed. How can he be so calm about this?

He shrugged. “So am I, but here I am.”

“That's different?”

“How?”

“Dad said that he did what he did to protect all of us, but especially me. He pretended to be dead for eight years and we had no idea that it wasn't him that died in the crash. However, the night that you died, you actually died. I saw the knife go into your body! Dad just faked the whole thing and devastated the family.”

Jake sighed again. “Look, Lindsay, I knew that I was a ghost long before you saw me. I was so tired if seeing you freak out during thunderstorms and have random break downs over the years that I finally showed myself to you. It was only for a second, but it was enough for you to notice me. Before that, I wasn't planning on having you find out. It want until you found out about Seth and Cole that I decided that you could handle seeing me without freaking out. The supernatural world is a nasty place and I had no desire to bring you into it, but then everything happened to suddenly and it was like I didn't have a choice anymore.”

“But you actually died!”

“So? It's like the same thing with dad, but he never really died.”

“Jake, he left us on purpose! How are you okay with that?”

He shrugged. “I guess because I know how he feels. Why can't you accept him the way you accepted me?”

“Because you couldn't help it! You didn't choose to leave me but dad did! He left an I believed that he was actually dead! Do you know how it affected us? Especially after you were gone?”

“Of course I knew how you felt!” he yelled. “I saw it, but I couldn't do anything! Do you know how I felt? I was completely useless! I couldn't just appear and sat that everything was okay without freaking out you, mom, or Nick. Do you know how badly I wanted to tell you? I waited for years to show you that I was still here, but I could never find the right way to tell you.”

Just then, the door to my room swung open and Nick walked in. “Lindsay, who are you talking--” He cut himself off as he looked at my twin brother siting across from me. Nick's eyes widened in shock and he whispered, “Jake?”

*****

Hey guys. I know it's short, but please vote and comment!

~Jen