THE LANDLADY by Jay Jay.

ARGUMENT.

The argument happened out of the blue, and took Raewyn totally by surprise.

Raewyn had asked, nicely, she thought, if Zane could tidy up some of the dishes that had accumulated in their bedroom. After all, he had been at home more than she, and the dishes were mostly his. Overdue for a wash, and she didn't want cockroaches moving in.

Well, he hit the roof!

Why was it his job to keep the place tidy? She left just as much a mess as he did. In fact, all those books strewn about the place where he could trip over them at night, WAS NOT FAIR!

Raewyn, of course, had started yelling back. She just felt so stung by his unfairness. So worn out from long hours of study on a project she was finding hard to get a handle on. So stressed from a particularly bitchy woman at the part-time job she had at a local cafe. 

And now this banter from the very one person she felt she could count on, the guy that was meant to have her back.

She lost her temper. She flared, he flared, she stormed out.

Audrey had heard the racket, was on her way up the stairs to see what was going on. Raewyn grabbed her arm, led Audrey back to Audrey's room.

"That IDIOT!" she snarled. "What's got into him?"

Audrey soothed, 'Maybe he's just stressed out. Doesn't take a genius to see that you are too."

"He's been so...uncommunicative lately. Honestly, I feel it's me putting all the work into our relationship."

"Come on, you know how guys are...they don't open up..."

"Stop making excuses for him! I don't want to hear it!"

The two sat on the bed in silence for a long while.

Raewyn had not been in Audrey's room since the move. Looking around, she was astonished to see just how much Audrey's plants had grown. It was like a tropical jungle in here. A dangerous jungle, considering how many carniverous plants Audrey had dotted around the place. In addition, there were all sorts of vines, colours, strange flowers and leaves...

"Where did you get all these plants?" Raewyn asked, curious now that she had calmed down somewhat.

"Oh, I find them on-line, in junk shops, you know."

"They are thriving!"

"It's weird, but... I reckon I get some help." Audrey lowered her voice. "I think there's a ghost in here."

Raewyn felt a chill go down her spine. "Why would you say that?"

"I dunno...silly when I say it out loud. There's just a feeling... when I go out, I tell her to look after my plants, and when I get back..." she gestured around the room, "have you ever seen house plants grow like this? For ME? I'm no expert, but look at them!"

Raewyn was looking at them, and feeling uneasy. 

"I'm thinking... there's something like that in our room too... I get this dreamy feeling, when I'm trying to work, I just can't work in there, I have to go to Uni to do most of it. I think that's why I'm getting stressed. But Zane... he seems to be home, all the time. I thought he was working on something, but now... I think he's goofing off... And that new girl, Sissy, she keeps making rude comments at me... you don't think...?"

"I really didn't think those girls were a good fit from the start, but everyone else wanted them in to pay the rent. That's what I think." Audrey looked at Raewyn, not wanting to say more, but she had noticed the body language when Zane and Sissy had been close together. That didn't prove anything more had happened, did it? So, she didn't want to fuel Raewyn's fears when there was no proof of wrong doing.

But from the walls, a little voice in her head was laughing. Another woman's voice said, you know what is going on. You know it will end in tears. Tell her. Tell her to move away from that creep. Tell her he's lost interest in her. Tell her he's with that younger girl now. Tell her. Tell her.

Audrey shook her head. Raewyn started. "You O.K.?"

"Just... just had a little fly go near my hair... tell you what, lets go for a walk."

"Not the garden, the garden will creep me out at the moment."

"No, not the garden, I was thinking... lets grab a coffee, at that place near the take-away, sit and talk a-while."

The two women left.

Amber slipped out of the wall. She flitted around the room, clutching her head. Oh, why couldn't people just be open and honest? She sighed, a heavy sigh that blew the plants gently as if in a mild breeze. Time to tend them. A bit of dusting and polishing, some water, some love and attention. That's all any living thing needed. She appreciated that even more, now that she no longer had a life. She was going to care and nurture all these things, all the pretty plants. She would look after Audrey, too. The BAD THING that had happened to Amber was NOT going to get Audrey. Not if Amber could prevent it.

Upstairs, Zane was sitting on the bed, fuming. Simmering with anger. Jacob could feel the rage. Invisible to Zane, Jacob sat beside him silently on the bed, putting a ghostly arm around Zane's shoulder. Zane shivered, it was cold.

"Don't worry, mate. Have to show women their place, sometimes. They get too uppity. Tell you what, I've got just the substance that you need. Here."

Jacob produced a joint from out of the air, touched it to Zane's nose so that the smoke was being breathed in. Zane did not smell anything, yet after a while he began to feel different, more relaxed. 

"That's it, that's it," Jacob soothed. "It's working, good. Now, this one has a calm factor, but in future I'll give you something much more spicey, yes I will. Ooh, you will love what I have in store for you. Now, don't you worry about your girl-friends, I've got mine very much under control, and I can pass on that gift to you. I like you, Zane, I've gotten to know you a little. I think we could be good mates. Oh, yes."

Jess watched all this helplessly.

Whatever substance Jacob had given her had kept her in a fantasy land, all these years. She was just starting to get a notion that maybe, maybe things were not right. She was paralysed. She couldn't move around, she couldn't get out of the room, she couldn't get away from Jacob. She was suddenly fearful of Jacob, of everything. Who were the strangers that shared their room? Why didn't they see her?

Jess struggled harder.

She had to get free.