The ghost of him

Chapter 21

I call the Well's to make sure it's okay for me to come over now. I'm so glad they agreed. Mrs. Wells said she understands, and that I can come over whenever.

Mom overhears the conversation and also agrees, thinking it will be good for me, which is surprising considering she didn't let me go the cemetery, our spot, or even back to the school. A yes is a yes though. Let's hope she's right that it will be good for me.

And yes, I am skipping school again. Mom thinks this is good too, to give me a break, take some mental health days.

"Okay mom, I'm leaving!" I call to her.

"You have got to get your own car! And a job! And Bye!" She calls back.

I grab the keys and start up the car. I switch the radio to something good, and then I head off.

This is going to be good for me. I'll just go in there, take everything in, maybe I'll look around and prove that Dede was wrong. Or maybe that I was wrong. I can do this. It's just his room, I've been in there a thousand times. No biggie.

I pull up into the driveway and I head to the doorstep and knock.

"Oh my gosh, Rose! It has been forever!" Mrs. Wells hugs me real tight, and Mr. Wells just awkwardly stands in the background. She's acting like we haven't seen each other in years, though we saw each other at the funeral. "It's so good to see the daughter I never had."

"It's good to see you too." I always considered The wells' like my second family. I've known them since I was 6, so yeah. And they always considered me their daughter, one of their own. I liked that because it's good to have parents who are still married. Even if they aren't your real parents.

"Harold, say hi." Mr. Wells and I awkwardly shake hands. It's been weird between us since Aaron's passing, and I'm not sure why. Maybe he never really liked me, and was just pretending because of Aaron, but now that he's gone he doesn't have to pretend anymore. Or maybe that's just my anxiety kicking in and I'm overthinking things as usual. Either one.

"Well, Harold and I will be on our way." Mrs. Wells' says as she grabs her purse.

"You're leaving?" I ask.

"Yeah. We got to run a few errands. We trust you. Just, try to keep everything where it is in his room, and if you're ready to leave and we're not back yet, lock the door on your way out. Okay?"

"Okay. Got it." I say.

They step outside and I step inside, closing the door. His house seems different, even though nothing has changed. I used to consider this place my second home, and when mom and dad split, it actually felt like my first, because no house felt like a home without both parents there. Now though, it doesn't feel like home. It feels like a stranger's house, a house where you can't just walk in do whatever. You got to ask permission.

The house feels different too, the loneliness heavy, thick, making it hard to breathe. You can tell someone living here died. It just feels like it.

I take a deep breath as I turn to the stairs and look up to his room, where his door is closed. "I can do this." I slowly walk up there and turn to the door handle, and then I open the door.

I don't know why I was expecting something different. I'm assuming his parents kept everything where it was, or maybe just tidied up a bit. Aaron was always messy, with clothes everywhere, and now there's no clothes on the floor, so maybe they did.

The smell of his cologne mixed with dirty gym socks is everywhere. The usual smell of his room. There are no dirty gym socks on his floor, but his cologne is sitting on his dresser, which explains the smell. His parents probably came in here and sprayed it, to keep the freshness of his room.