Awoken - chapter one

Chapter eighteen

Eighteen

As we pulled up to Louisa's house my stomach was doing somersaults. I slammed the car door shut behind me and made my way to the red-brick stone patio, grasping the envelope tightly in my hand. The elaborate and beautiful flowery stain glass inserts in the white door shimmered in the moonlight. As I reached out to knock on the grainy varnished door I realised I hadn't even considered what I was going to say. I glanced back at the car and Beau was staring at me, egging me on to knock. He stuck his thumb up and a cheesy grin was spread across his face. I took a deep, steadying breath. You can do it Grace, just reach out your hand'

'Hey Grace, what's up? If you're looking for your Mum, our appointment isn't until Thursday. Really I should have booked her for last week.' She pawed at her long distressed brown hair, frowning at her split ends. My Mum and her hairdressing shears were definitely needed. My eyes shot towards the hallway table, which was covered with family photos. Walter's photo stood pride of place next to an extremely large silver and mauve lamp. It was nice to put a face to my mysterious hitch-hiker. His crooked smile hung slightly on the left, his pearl white dentures and his jet black headpiece dipped uneasily to the right and his brown eyes were slight and framed by fuzzy grey eyebrows. 'Grace, is there something wrong?' Louisa asked suddenly concerned.

'I'm fine thanks. Is your Mum here? I have something for her.'

'OK, I'll just get her. Mum, can you come here for a second?' Louisa yelled down the hall. Light shuffling footsteps with the tapping of a walking stick approached us. As Louisa stepped to one side I saw her - Walters' wife. She was stunningly beautiful, with a head of silvery grey hair cropped around her long face and deep brown eyes.

'Hi. I was sorting through my car and I found something that I think belonged to your late husband Walter.' She just stared at me perplexed. 'I've got a feeling it's important so I wanted to drop it over.' I handed the envelope to Louisa. A beaming smile lit up her face. Louisa turned the piece of paper round to show her mother. The old lady dropped her walking stick on the floor and threw her withered hands up to her mouth as tears welled in her eyes.

'It's the will, the deed papers. Everything's here!' Louisa exclaimed.

'Thank you Grace, you really don't know how much this means to us.' She enveloped me in her arms and held me tightly.

'I think I can guess. It wasn't just me though, my friend Beau was a big help. We're just glad that we found it for you.' I gestured towards the car and both Louisa and her mother waved fervently, beaming. I made my way back down the stairs with a merry skip to my stride. As I shut the car door behind me I rested my arm on the open window seal and standing in the doorway, still in an embrace was Louisa and her mother. 'How do you do this all the time? It's exhausting.' I started up the car and pulled away from the curb.

'Exhausting, but rewarding. For so many years I ignored my gift. I tried to fight it, to push it to the back of my mind. I was alone and really confused pretty much all of the time. I only begun to accept it when I met Gwen and after years of trying to ignore what I can do, I can say without a doubt this is not nearly as draining as the other spiritual situations I've encountered. Gwen told me I would meet someone who was special, who would understand and accept me for who I was. I didn't believe her at first but then I met you.' I pulled up outside Gwen's house and turned off the engine.

'I think it's more probable that you're the special one but thanks, I'll take what I can get.' He leant over towards me and stopped, mere inches from my face. His sweet warm breath grazed my neck as he lent in closer and kissed my cheek softly. Right on cue my heart skipped a beat. Without a word, just a cool, kind smile, he opened his door and jogged around the front of the car onto the pavement. Our eyes were locked the entire time. He stepped inside the front door and then closed it behind him. Watching him leave, even if only for a short time, was getting harder and harder to handle.

I regained use of my body and started up the car. As I glanced into my rear view mirror and into the back seat, I caught a glimpse of Beau's backpack. With what little energy I had left I made my way up the yellow brick path to Gwen's door. Before I could tap at the wood, Gwen opened the door and greeted me with a huge and welcoming smile. I held up Beau's bag and without a word she ushered me in. 'Go up the stairs and it's the first door on the right.'

'Thanks Gwen.' I crept up the wide wooden staircase and followed Gwen's directions. As I extended my hand to knock on Beau's already ajar bedroom door, I stopped. Beau's reflection in his wardrobe mirror mesmerised me, transfixed me into a state that took control of all my bodily functions. I felt utterly powerless.

As he removed his black t-shirt and threw it in a wicker basket next to his bed, my breathing became arduous. A few pale pink scars that donned his Adonis like body was a roadmap to his past, a part of him that I was yet to discover. His beautifully crafted body that appeared as smooth as moulded clay resembled that of a GQ magazine model. His rippling, sculpted muscles heaved as he took a deep breath in and ran his hands through his hair, the feeling of pure want and desire coursed through me and with that, I was a chained slave to my body's jerk reaction. I stumbled against the door which made it creak. Instinct made me cower out of view.

I soon realised, as Beau's footsteps got closer to me, that this wasn't a fool proof plan, hiding was useless. The light from Beau's room beckoned the darkened hallway as he pulled open his door. I stepped out into view with a stupid smile on my face. Before he could say anything, or think something a lot worse, I held up his backpack. My cheeks were painful as my awkward smile grew. He took the bag and I darted for the stairs. He reached out and pulled on my arm. I turned slowly and after a few seconds I realised I hadn't caught anything he had said. His bulging chest was all I could look at. He too noticed this and his grin said more than words could. 'Huh' I said as my gaze wandered slowly from his chest to his face.

'I said thanks' he chuckled.

'OK, well I'm gonna go.' My embarrassment engulfed me. I shot down the stairs and out of the front door in one fell swoop. What the hell was that? I am happy to admit to my fair share of stupid things that I have done, but that just takes the biscuit.'

I parked Bob up as usual next to my Mum's 4x4 and with a bounce in my step I put my key into the front door. It was nice to see Mum donning a happier expression as she made us some hot chocolate and I ran through the whole story. The envelope in the car and my lunch with Beau. I obviously left some specific details out though; telling Mum that my new boyfriend, the boy I was desperately in love with, could see and talk to ghosts would probably have gone down like a lead balloon. I really didn't need any excuse for her to believe I was insane. Besides, it was mine and Beau's little secret.

I fell into a death like sleep rather quickly that night. I drifted off easily, glancing at the shadows from the trees that rapped on my window. The last thing that stuck in my mind before I was sucked into unconsciousness was him. It just felt wrong to think of anyone else.