and I go over to her side and lead her back to my bed for a well-deserved sit down.
‘Did you see that?’ she trembles, still staring at the open doorway.
‘No.’ I have to lie. It’d be pretty hard saying “actually yeah – and did you feel that dead person who walked straight through you and is now laughing hysterically beside me here – at you?!” well it would, wouldn’t it?
‘There was a knock on your door!’ Amber says in a strangulated whisper. ‘But there was nobody there!’
‘Amber – that’s not scary or even unusual, I’m afraid,’ I tell her. ‘If you had a three year old crazy for a brother then you wouldn’t be quite so amazed, believe me!’
‘But your brother is downstairs!’ she gapes up at me.
‘Ah – now that’s what he wants you to think, Amber, he’s a clever little sod, really he is – he learnt everything he knows from me!’ I praise my quick thinking with that one.
‘But I heard…..’ she says flatly, pointing to the door.
‘I know you did, Amb. Now let’s get this all cleared up before mum has one of her hissy fits, then I’ll walk you back home so I’ve still got time to copy up your History notes for tomorrow when I get back, yeah?’
‘But….. you must have heard it, Mads, you MUST have?’
‘I’m not sure what I heard, Amb. Or… perhaps it’s just you that the ghosts come through for, after all, eh? Maybe they can only receive your channel and nobody else’s, hmm? Have you thought of that? Perhaps that was their way of saying “tune in another night for some more of the same”?’ I do a little air quote and try to sound like an announcer off the telly.
‘Are you taking the piss, Madeline?’ she scowls back at me.
‘Only a little bit, Amb,’ I confess. ‘You must admit, though, this is all a bit funny, isn’t it? I mean ghosts? Spirits, the Other Side? Come on, who are we trying to kid?’ I force a laugh for good measure and help her to her feet.
We start to walk through the open bedroom door and then my heart plummets as Davey leaps to the top of the stairs, pushes us out of the way and rounds the corner, speeding across the landing to his room as if there’s a wolf at his heels after his blood.
‘I….’ Amber starts, pointing to my brother, but I stop her with a silencing palm.
‘Er… I think that’s enough for one night, don’t you?’ I say to her as a doctor might a mental patient and she shuts her mouth again and lets me lead her downstairs.
Leo walks with us all the way back to Amber’s and it’s only once she’s settled at her house…her lovely big house with her lovely big bedroom and her lovely….
‘Hey, hey, watch what you’re thinking – or about to think!’ he rounds on me. I smile in apology. I haven’t even remembered to bring my iPod, dammit.
Anyway, it’s only once we’ve started our return journey that I find the courage to ask him about how he appeared in Amber’s bedroom yesterday.
‘So you must have been there before, then,’ I say, hoping he can’t see how embarrassed I feel asking him this. ‘If you could go back there now I mean – wasn’t that how you said it works?’
‘I did,’ he says. Telling me absolutely nothing. The pig.
‘So… um… correct me if I got it wrong, but you must have been to Amber’s house…’ I refuse to say “in Amber’s bedroom”. ‘Before to be able to go back now… then….is that right?’ I walk on.
‘Yeah I’ve been there before.’ He says.
Seriously, he’s either making this really difficult for me or it just feels really difficult talking about it. It’s still raining a bit and so I’m trying to rush from tree to tree to keep from getting too wet. Needless to say the raindrops have no effect whatsoever on Leo apart from shimmering prettily as they fall through his fuzzy figure and down onto the pavement.
‘Okay, okay,
‘Did you see that?’ she trembles, still staring at the open doorway.
‘No.’ I have to lie. It’d be pretty hard saying “actually yeah – and did you feel that dead person who walked straight through you and is now laughing hysterically beside me here – at you?!” well it would, wouldn’t it?
‘There was a knock on your door!’ Amber says in a strangulated whisper. ‘But there was nobody there!’
‘Amber – that’s not scary or even unusual, I’m afraid,’ I tell her. ‘If you had a three year old crazy for a brother then you wouldn’t be quite so amazed, believe me!’
‘But your brother is downstairs!’ she gapes up at me.
‘Ah – now that’s what he wants you to think, Amber, he’s a clever little sod, really he is – he learnt everything he knows from me!’ I praise my quick thinking with that one.
‘But I heard…..’ she says flatly, pointing to the door.
‘I know you did, Amb. Now let’s get this all cleared up before mum has one of her hissy fits, then I’ll walk you back home so I’ve still got time to copy up your History notes for tomorrow when I get back, yeah?’
‘But….. you must have heard it, Mads, you MUST have?’
‘I’m not sure what I heard, Amb. Or… perhaps it’s just you that the ghosts come through for, after all, eh? Maybe they can only receive your channel and nobody else’s, hmm? Have you thought of that? Perhaps that was their way of saying “tune in another night for some more of the same”?’ I do a little air quote and try to sound like an announcer off the telly.
‘Are you taking the piss, Madeline?’ she scowls back at me.
‘Only a little bit, Amb,’ I confess. ‘You must admit, though, this is all a bit funny, isn’t it? I mean ghosts? Spirits, the Other Side? Come on, who are we trying to kid?’ I force a laugh for good measure and help her to her feet.
We start to walk through the open bedroom door and then my heart plummets as Davey leaps to the top of the stairs, pushes us out of the way and rounds the corner, speeding across the landing to his room as if there’s a wolf at his heels after his blood.
‘I….’ Amber starts, pointing to my brother, but I stop her with a silencing palm.
‘Er… I think that’s enough for one night, don’t you?’ I say to her as a doctor might a mental patient and she shuts her mouth again and lets me lead her downstairs.
Leo walks with us all the way back to Amber’s and it’s only once she’s settled at her house…her lovely big house with her lovely big bedroom and her lovely….
‘Hey, hey, watch what you’re thinking – or about to think!’ he rounds on me. I smile in apology. I haven’t even remembered to bring my iPod, dammit.
Anyway, it’s only once we’ve started our return journey that I find the courage to ask him about how he appeared in Amber’s bedroom yesterday.
‘So you must have been there before, then,’ I say, hoping he can’t see how embarrassed I feel asking him this. ‘If you could go back there now I mean – wasn’t that how you said it works?’
‘I did,’ he says. Telling me absolutely nothing. The pig.
‘So… um… correct me if I got it wrong, but you must have been to Amber’s house…’ I refuse to say “in Amber’s bedroom”. ‘Before to be able to go back now… then….is that right?’ I walk on.
‘Yeah I’ve been there before.’ He says.
Seriously, he’s either making this really difficult for me or it just feels really difficult talking about it. It’s still raining a bit and so I’m trying to rush from tree to tree to keep from getting too wet. Needless to say the raindrops have no effect whatsoever on Leo apart from shimmering prettily as they fall through his fuzzy figure and down onto the pavement.
‘Okay, okay,
Similar Books
