Chapter 56 #5
The faint sound of gurgling bubbled against my ear, and the hair on my neck stood straight up.
I could sense the ghost as it hovered next to me, her hair once again brushing along my skin.
My stomach dropped in fear as the bathroom lights flickered once more, revealing just how close the pale woman was.
Oh my god…
Her claw-like fingers gripped my face as she extended her jaw and screamed.
Before I could even blink, she forced my head into the liquid-filled sink and held me under.
I tried to pull away and break free, but she was so strong.
My hands smacked the edge of the sink, flinging around as the ice-cold liquid splashed around my face.
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t see. And I couldn’t move.
Let go of me!
I wriggled some more as my lungs ached to inhale.
Let go of me!
The pale woman kept me pinned, trying to drown me. I opened my mouth and screamed into the darkness. And only then did she let go.
A loud inhaling gasp broke through the bathroom as I shot back, flinging the black liquid all across the room.
My lungs burned from how cold it was, as if my head had been held in a bathtub of ice.
I shivered and groaned, gasping as I looked around the bathroom.
“Wh–wh–where a–are y–you?” I hesitated. My body ached and I felt myself struggling to stand.
I was exhausted, mentally and physically, and had spent most of the night enduring this ghost’s haunting.
“S–show y–your–s–self! N–no more g–games!”
The ghost didn’t appear.
I’ve had enough of this.
I stumbled from the sink to the bathroom door, on edge and searching the room as I twisted the knob. The door opened with no issue and I wasted no time rushing into the bedroom.
Where are you?
The cold room made me shiver more. I grabbed a blanket and wrapped myself tightly, trying to warm myself.
The room was dark, aside from the moonlight that peeked through the single stained glass window.
I could feel the ghost’s presence nearby, but she was hiding.
“No more,” I whispered. And with those words, I exited the bedroom and ventured across the hall to my brother’s.
“Finn?” I knocked against his door. “Finn? Finn, can you open the door?” I could hear his snores out in the hallway.
Damnit it. He’s passed the fuck out.
“Finn?” I knocked again. He didn’t answer. And I knew there was no chance he’d wake up.
Fuck, now what do I do?
A sensation hit my back as I slowly turned to find the ghost standing just on the other side of the open bedroom door.
Only this time, she was a full apparition.
I eyed her appearance, noticing the ragged, off-white patient gown.
The woman was barefoot, her hair waving around as if she were floating in water.
Her face was the same menacing and demonic one from before, hiding behind the messy strands of her hair as her one foggy eye glowed in the night. She was a frightening sight to behold.
“No,” I whispered as I backed away. “No. Leave me be.” My body shivered, still drenched and sopping wet.
“Leave me alone!” The ghost opened her mouth and screamed the most unnatural scream that left my ears ringing from how loud she was.
“Leave me be!” I cried out, covering my ears as I fell to my knees against the opposite door. “No!”
The door swung open and I fell against a pair of warm legs. “Lucky?”
My eyes shot up to see Finn, still half asleep, and looking at me completely confused. He rubbed his eyes before helping me to my feet.
“What the hell are you doing? Why are you awake at this hour? And why are you huddled against the door?” he asked as he touched my arm. “Woah, Lucky, you’re ice cold.”
“No shit! I’m soaking wet!”
Finn’s eyebrow raised. “No, you’re not?” He looked me up and down. “Are you okay? Did you go outside or leave your window open?” My brother looked past me and into my bedroom. I followed his gaze and realized the ghost was gone.
Wait, not wet?
I looked down and saw what he saw.
I wasn’t wet, or stained, or covered in a liquid of any kind. I was dry and clean. Just as I had been when I went to sleep.
But…how?
“Come on.” Finn gently grabbed my hand and walked me across the hall to my doorway. “Let’s get you back in bed. It’s nearly morning, and you obviously need rest.” I stopped as he stepped through the threshold. Finn turned and looked at me, clearly still confused. “Lucky? What is it?”
I didn’t look at him. Instead, I looked past my brother and into the bedroom.
It was all lit up, same as it had been when I fell asleep earlier in the night.
There were no pools or puddles of the black liquid anymore.
The bed was perfectly put together, and everything was in pristine condition, despite being the opposite when I had left it.
“I—” I stepped in and looked around. “I don’t understand.”
Finn whistled as he looked around the room.
“Wow. This room is pink.” He shook his head and laughed to himself as I peeked into the bathroom.
It was also perfectly clean and untouched, despite the nightmare that had occurred in it only moments ago.
“Damn, Lucky,” he teased. “Your room is nothing like mine.”
I ignored my brother and fell to my knees, peering closely at the floor where I had vomited. There were no stains, no trace of the black liquid. Nothing.
“Hey, what’re you doing?” He looked at me.
My head turned to face him as I sat there, perplexed and completely dumbfounded. “It’s all gone.”
“What’s gone?” he asked.
I rose to my feet and was at a loss for words.
It was all here…all of it. How is this possible? It’s as if none of it had ever happened. But it did. I know it did. It was real, all of it. So real.
“Lucky?” I looked up at my brother. “Are you okay?”
No.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” I forced a smile.
He crossed his arms. “Are you sure?”
No.
“Yeah. I just…I just had a nightmare.”
A really bad one.
My brother nodded. “Well, it’s almost morning. Why don’t you come sleep in my room? You can have the bed, and I’ll just sleep on the floor.”
I bit my lower lip. “Are you sure?”
My brother nodded. “Yeah. Truthfully, I think these beds are a bit too soft for me anyways. So you’ll be doing me a favor.” He reached his arm out and motioned to me. “Come on. You need to rest before we head out later today.” I walked over to him as he rubbed my arms and held me close.
Finn opened the bedroom door and stepped into the hall.
I remained in the pink bedroom as a weird pull tugged at my spine.
I slowly turned and noticed the same woman sitting on the window bench, gazing out into the night.
But something was different about her. She wasn’t wearing the tattered dress from before.
This time, she was dressed in a black Victorian dress, just like the one in the portrait downstairs.
And from the way the energy in the room had shifted, I knew this was a different version of that same ghost. A shadow self.
“Lucky?”
As Finn’s words fell from his lips, the woman slowly turned her head and looked at me.
Her face was no longer demonic or deformed, but just as it was portrayed in the portrait.
Her hair was tamed and even curled, her entire appearance almost normal.
All except for her left eye which remained a fogged white.
And for a brief second, I swear she smiled.
Who are you?
And just like that, she disappeared, like smoke in the night.
“Come on.” My brother guided me to his room and shut the bedroom door behind him. And for the first time that night, I was able to easily fall asleep.