Ghost Of You *SLOW UPDATES*

Chapter 4

The picture attached to the story is the house floorplan. :)

Enjoy!

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We pull up at some luxurious townhouse by the beach at the end of a court and I can't help but be stunned by what we found at the end of a short ten minute drive.

I open my door and stand up uneasily as I wait for directions as to where to go. But my path becomes clear when the front door of the house opens up and out walks a man with a almost shoulder length hair that curls wildly, and a plain tee on that he's matched with a pair of black skinny jeans.

"Luke." I breath, tears threatening to well up in my eyes as I lean back on the car and try to open up the door urgently. However, when I look at Michael with puppy eyes (who is rolling the roof up), he just shakes his head with an innocent smile.

"Shayla."

I spin around painfully slow and meet his pristine blue eyes that are filled with crystallised tears.

My throat closes in and my lungs burn from not breathing. The tears in my eyes begin to slip down my cheeks as Luke approaches slowly, standing barely a meter in front of me.

"You're really here." He says choking back tears.

I barely nod my head as I crack a weak smile and say, "Against my will, but yes."

He nods his head in response but doesn't move and acts as though he's forgotten to speak.

So, I do the thing I've wanted to for almost four years.

I slash my hand through the air as it meets with his cheek in a cold hard slap to which his head snaps to the right.

"That's for not talking to me for fucking years Luke Hemmings. You bloody abandoned me, and I guess it's because all this fame has gotten to your big head you asshole." I spit as crystallised tears drip down my cheeks in steady streams before falling to the ground in little drops.

He dares to look back at me with shadowed eyes as he says in a calm tone, "It wasn't my choice. Trust me Shay."

"Bullshit." I reply as Ashton cuts into the conversation and says, "Why don't we head inside before the rain hits hey?"

I stare at Luke with eyes of pure venom as he nods and says, "I think an explanation is in order."

I shake my head and turn to Ashton when I say, "I want to go back to my dorm please."

"No can do princess," Michael says from behind us as he slams the car door shut. "I'm tired and I'd be the one to drive you home."

I scream in frustration and storm towards where Calum stands in the front doorway, calmly watching on from a distance, who chuckles and says, "That went well."

"Don't even get me started Hood." I respond as I march past him and into the magnificent beach villa with views of the ocean out it's window.

I gasp in its beauty as I walk forward, calmer now, and towards the window where I raise my hand and press it against the cool glass as I look out at the moonlit sea which shimmers in the night time glow.

I sigh in a mixture of frustration, anger and exhaustion as I clatter to the floor and lean against the chilled glass, staring out at the sea in peace.

"Are you going to slap me as well or am I okay to come near you?" Calum asks as he squats down in front of me, the other boys standing behind him.

I look over at them briefly but say nothing as I turn my head and look back out the window as I say, "I missed you all so much. I'm sorry for reacting this way but it's the only way I know how to react to people who abandon me."

They stay silent but I hear them move closer to me as they too sit down by me and look out at their glorious view in bewilderment.

"Why didn't you stay in contact?" I ask weakly as my breath begins to fog up the glass.

It's Luke who responds with, "Your mother if I recall correctly, told us to let you go. We all tried to send you tickets to our concerts, letters, postcards. We asked for ways to contact you but it seems we never got through to you."

"Your lying. You could've followed me on my social media." I respond, trying to keep my anger down and instead stay level-headed.

"We're not. Just ask your wonderful mother about the mountains of things we sent you. And with the social media thing, we tried a few times but every time we attempted to find you, it was as though you never existed." Ashton replies as I pull my phone out of my pocket and look at the lock screen which bears a photo of me and my mother at her birthday in November last year.

"You know we were to close to just dump you like a piece of rubbish." Ashton continues as someone reaches towards me and places their warm hand on my exposed thigh.

"You know I would never have abandoned you Shayla. Never."

I look towards Luke who has tears dripping down his face wearily and large red mark covering his left cheek from where I slapped him.

"How did you know you sent them to the right address?" I croak out tiredly, my voice weary and broken as Mikey and Ashton exchange an uneasy glance and Calum looks down at his lap.

Luke sucks in a breath and says, "We know we sent them to the right address because we received a letter back from your mother with one simple sentence written on it."

He pulls something out of his pocket and hands it to me as though the paper will dissolve in his hands and turn into mist. I open it carefully and behold fancy handwriting with familiar curls and swirls all over the paper.

Leave us alone. We have moved on and so should you. Don't try to get in contact either, I'm always watching over my daughter.

Janet Holmes.

I read it over and over again until it hurts to scan the simple words written and addressed by my mother.

I look up at Luke and say, "I had no idea."

"We've tried to four years to get to you but if we even came to your house, your mother would turn us away immediately." Mikey says calmly as I turn my gaze to face him.

I stay silent and cast my eyes back out towards the horizon and think of the world beyond these glass panels.

"What was it like travelling the world?" I ask blissfully, wiping the tears from my face.

"Lonely." Cal responds almost immediately.

"Harsh." Mikey answers with a slight chuckle.

"Intriguing." Ashton replies with a smile, drowning out our sorrows with his dry humour.

I can't help but laugh at his gleeful face and turn to Luke and ask, "What about you?"

"It was the things the boys said plus one more. It felt empty. I had no one to share my experience with except for the boys. I was missing my best friend in the whole wide world... Literally." He says with a dry laugh.

I turn to face him, the pink fur on my coat brushing against my flush face as I crawl over to my friend and give him the reassurance we both need.

He holds me tight as he whispers in my ear, "I was missing you."