Page 140 of Love at First Fright

My own school experience was the polar opposite of my boffin sister’s. Dossing around at the back with my mates whilst my parents despaired as Emily got perfect grades and I… definitely didn’t.

“Speaking of when we were kids…”

“Hmm?”

I took a deep breath. “So, this is random, but… you remember when Dad died…”

My throat closed. Just shut. Like someone had their fist wrapped around my windpipe.

What the fuck?

Silence. Then, “Yeah, surprisingly I do remember that pretty well actually.”

I swallowed hard, forced the words out. “But do you remember when you kept saying you could see him? Around the house? See… see his ghost?”

The tightness didn’t ease. If anything, it got worse. My eyes even started stinging.

Christ. Long day. That’s all. Just a really, really long day.

More silence. “Charlie, this is very, very random.”

“I just wanted to say… I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. And I’m sorry for being a complete twat, telling you to shut up about it. Saying that you were making Mum worse and everything.”

“Look, that was all a really long time ago—”

“I know, but I need to say sorry. And tell you that I do believe you. I’ve had some stuff happen recently which has, um… broadened my horizons.”

“You’re being haunted by ghosts?” she said teasingly.

I caught Bat’s eye. Those warm brown eyes crinkled with amusement, and he grinned at me, sending my heart all thump, thump, thump.

“Something like that.” I cleared my throat. “Did you see Dad much after I told you to stop talking about it?”

“Yeah. For a few more months. He didn’t ever talk to me or anything, but sometimes I’d hear him humming one of his favourite songs.”

A stab of pain shot right through me as a memory surfaced—Dad humming a rock song whilst giving me a piggyback, his voice rumbling straight into my ear.

I laughed. “His humming used to drive Mum mad.”

“Right?” Emily seemed to hesitate for a moment, then said, “I think… I think I saw him leave, by the way. Dad, I mean.”

“Leave? What?”

“So, you probably won’t remember this, but there was that one night when we were all in the living room. And you had your guitar out for the first time in ages. And you started making up stupid songs with rude rhymes about that postman who kept throwing our parcels at the door instead of delivering them properly.”

I did remember that! “Yeah, and then Mum ended up laughing for the first time since Dad died. And she went hysterical with it.”

“Yes! And she had tears streaming down her face, and I thought she was sad again—”

“But then she said she was crying because she loves us two so much.”

I remembered that moment with crystal clarity. It was the moment I knew Mum was going to be okay again.

“Yeah, then we all had that group hug on the sofa,” Emily said. “What I didn’t say at the time was that Dad was watching the whole thing. And when we were cuddling and laughing together, he left.”

“Left?”

“He smiled at me. At us. Waved. Then walked through the living room wall.”