Chapter Four.
Lyra
Ten days went by, and things moved quickly.
I was still at the hotel, despite Thea settling into Seareef.
Something had happened, and Thea wouldn’t discuss it; that was her prerogative.
Meanwhile, matters were moving speedily at Leafpoint.
The good news was I hired Benny, Tom, and Dean, which had been a great decision.
Tom designed the perfect cabin beds. Although I wasn’t sure who’d ever stay in them, they worked perfectly with the curved walls.
The design freed up a lot of space in the tiny bedrooms. Dean had painted all four smaller bedrooms white, with an accent wall, which brightened the area tenfold.
The tiny bathroom, which included a shower, toilet, and sink, needed tiling, and Benny gave me details to hire someone to do it.
Benny and Tom checked the kitchen thoroughly. They agreed only the countertops needed replacing. They were stone, but Benny pointed out multiple cracks. He contacted a friend who’d put them in yesterday for me. Benny was proving to be a godsend.
He’d called an electrician to install replacement switches and fresh light fittings.
I’d replaced the wall-lamps as well. Thank heavens for next-day delivery!
On top of exchanging all those throughout Leafpoint, I’d also updated the plug sockets, having a few more fitted.
The fuse box itself had recently been installed, so I didn’t worry about that.
Meanwhile, I cleaned and scrubbed the rooms, one level at a time, working my way downwards.
The whole duration, I felt like someone was watching me.
Worse, things kept being moved, and not just mine.
Benny, Dean, and Tom all complained that their tools weren’t where they had left them.
After painting the bedrooms and doing an excellent job, Dean and Tom started on the kitchen.
They’d painted the walls and stripped the old paint off the cupboards before painting them a light blue with a white trim.
Today they were adding the finishing touches, and it would be done. There was a white goods store in town, and I planned to go later this afternoon and order the range oven, fridge, freezer, and other stuff. I also wanted a bed.
“You’re lucky Leafpoint is so wide,” Benny said, jostling me from my thoughts.
“Guess I am,” I smiled as I glanced at the kitchen cupboards that curved into the rounded walls.
“You have the number for the woman who makes the specialised mattresses?” Benny checked.
“Yup. I’ve already sent the measurements. It’s amazing how quickly this is coming together.”
“Leafpoint has good bones. She just needed some tender care and love. Look how she’s blossoming.” Benny grinned.
“She certainly is. I can’t believe Leafpoint’s mine,” I said, running a hand over a wall.
“Lyra, you’re not frightened of all the stories about ghosts?” Benny asked curiously.
“No. Trust me, there are far worse monsters out there than Leafpoint. I’ve encountered several,” I whispered. My face fell, and Benny smiled in sympathy.
“Bad breakup?”
“Humiliating, painful, embarrassing, spite-filled and heartbreaking. One I never saw coming, and I don’t know how I missed it.
My ex didn’t just aim at me; my boss, the other woman, outed their affair at work.
Everyone knew, and nobody had spoken up, so I was the fool.
I left four days after their relationship was announced.
Hell, Cale even broke up with me in the office as my colleagues and their friends snickered.
“Lyra, that’s harsh.” Benny shook his head.
“What’s bad is I was with Cale for five years, and he was seeing her for three years. Serena didn’t care that she was the mistress. Honestly, I’ve no idea why he didn’t just break up with me,” I whispered.
“Men are idiots,” Benny said sagely, and I giggled even as I swallowed tears.
“Yup, I certainly won’t trust someone else anytime soon.”
“You’re young.”
“Twenty-five and soured on guys already. There’s no way I’ll ever risk my heart again. Certain people don’t know how to cherish something precious,” I complained.
“A small percentage do. I’d die for my missus; I’ve never looked at any other woman and never will.
Is she still the person I married? Hell no.
But her body, the lines on her face, her attitude, speak of a life she and I have shared.
We’ve loved, laughed, lost, grieved, and done it all together. That’s something to cherish.”
“Women need more men like you, Benny!” I exclaimed, wiping tears from my eyes.
“There’s someone out there for you, Lyra.”
With a bitter smile, I shook my head. “I’m seven years older than Tom. If you don’t mind, I’ll give Tom another five and then set my cap at him.”
Benny laughed at my teasing. “Tom’s a good kid.”
“Because his parents raised him right. Go on, get off to your family and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I was close to a breakdown and was barely holding it together. Benny seemed to sense this as he waved goodbye. As his van pulled out, I sank to the clean floor and, drawing my knees up, began sobbing.
The pain and embarrassment spilt out of me.
Every biting word uttered during that workplace showdown I remembered, and it all came flooding back—that cruel, final showdown.
Serena gloated I was a nobody and talentless, and that I was going to be forever stuck in a dead-end job.
She, however, was a rising star in the company.
Cale agreed, ignoring the hurt on my face and in my voice.
He’d asked the staff who he belonged with—elegant, brilliant Serena or frumpy, ambitionless me.
The office had roared with laughter. Cale told me I was the charity case, the pity fuck, and now he needed to find a more worthy charity to support.
Cale’s friends hurled insults; how I was forever clinging to and stalking him.
I left early with Serena threatening to dock my wages, and I returned home.
“If this hadn’t happened, I don’t know what I’d have done,” I whispered through my tears. “After all, there’s no one who would have noticed I was missing, nobody to care if I was dead. I was invisible.”
William
Lyra’s words sank deep into my chest, and I hurt for her.
She appeared to have suffered terribly at the hands of this Cale.
What sort of man acts in that manner? Unusually, I was torn.
Lyra seemed so desperate and miserable; she needed somewhere to hide and heal.
But if I let her stay, she could release what I kept imprisoned.
There really wasn’t a choice, but it didn’t mean I didn’t feel sorry for her.
Guilt-ridden, I rattled a drawer, and Lyra’s head snapped up. She glanced about warily. Minutes ticked by, and she wiped her tears.
“They’ll never find me here,” she whispered, and I closed my eyes.
The poor girl needed somewhere to hide, and here I was about to traumatise her.
That left me no different from her ex-boyfriend.
That made me a cad and went against my grain.
My parents were what would be called upper working class.
My dad ran a lucrative grocery shop, which allowed me to receive an education.
I have no idea what my mother and father thought my future would hold, but it wasn’t becoming a lighthouse keeper. But I loved the job.
I was brought up to respect and treat women kindly.
Not to abuse them or worse. I’d seen plenty of drunken louts who thought nothing of raising a hand to a woman.
To make one fear me had me holding back.
Sure, I had the excuse of the evil I had to imprison and keep away from humankind.
But in the light of Lyra’s grief, that failed to help my conflicted emotions.
Finally, I took a deep breath and acted.
“Flee,” I intoned.
At first, I wasn’t sure Lyra heard me. She sat up and stared blankly at the door. To add to the atmosphere, I rattled the drawer again, but Lyra didn’t react. There was an expression of complete desolation on her face, and it was slaying me.
Slowly, Lyra climbed to her feet.
“No,” she whispered, and then she exited Leafpoint. Leafpoint shoved her disapproval at me and then left me alone. Oh well.
Lyra
I was struggling to make sense of what I’d heard.
Despite how upset I’d been, the word ‘flee’ had definitely been said.
But there’d been no one there. Was someone playing tricks on me?
I didn’t understand. There would be a simple explanation, as ghosts weren’t real.
Why would anyone go to such lengths? What did trying to convince me that the lighthouse was haunted achieve?
“Are you okay?” Mrs Penrose asked as I entered the hotel.
“Yes, thank you,” I answered dully. Mrs Penrose looked at my face and shook her head.
“You’ve a visitor, but may I suggest a shower first?” she said kindly.
“Who is it?”
“A property developer,” Mrs Penrose replied with distaste.
“Tell him I am not interested and to leave,” I murmured and turned towards the stairs.
“Miss Jasper!” a man exclaimed, and I sighed. Guess he wasn’t going away. “My name is Keith Keating, and I represent Homes for You.”
Recognising the company’s name, I shook my head. “Look, I don’t care about whatever you’re selling,” I said in the same dull tone. Mrs Penrose sent me a worried look.
“Oh, no! It’s what we can offer you! Today, it’s fairly common to be land-rich but cash-poor. Did you know Leafpoint Lighthouse sits on five acres of land?”
“Yes. I’m aware of what I own,” replying, already done with this conversation. How dare this man try to shame me as poor?
“Homes for You are very interested in buying the property to develop,” Keith said with a greedy light in his eyes.
“It’s not for sale.”
“Oh, but you haven’t heard the offer yet,” Keith chortled, looking amused.
“I don’t have to because I’m not selling.” I refrained from saying I couldn’t if I wanted to. Something deep inside warned me not to mention The Trust.
“Come now. Listen, we are open to discussion.” Keith smiled, which I disliked.