Page 59 of Giving Up The Ghost
He slid from the hood but didn’t go any further. “Will you come with me?” he asked us. “Just to the entryway.”
We trooped after him, trying to give him space but still stay close. True to his word, he only went as far as the entryway. Even with my limited abilities, I could feel the change in the place since the lines were broken (mental note, research ley lines and sigils). The air felt heavier, cooler. A faint whiff of something like ozone teased the edge of my senses. The tang of rot drifted on a current of air, the remains of Charlotte’s rest in the cellar, dragged through the house by the techs. It would take a while to really scrub the smell out of the house and until then, it would taint almost everything it touched. Even the air itself.
Or maybe I was just being paranoid.
Ezra and I waited by the door as Oscar walked to the spot where I’d seen the crying woman that first time. “Hello,” he called softly. “Mum? Are you there?”
There was a long silence before he spoke again.
“Becky told me you sent her. And that you and Dad have helped her. You’re a better person than I dream of being, Mum. I don’t know if I could’ve done that, in your place. Been so forgiving and kind.” More quiet. Then, “I hope you can hear me somehow, Mum. I love you. So much. And… I still miss you. It hurts less now, but it’s always there. And I don’t know how you feel, but I like to think maybe you’re missing me too.”
Ezra exhaled shakily. “Jesus Christ,” he muttered.
Oscar smoothed his hands down over his dusty waistcoat and brushed his hair back from his face. “Well. I’ll be waiting, okay? Find me when you can.”
He walked past us and didn’t look back, cheeks pink and eyes wet.
We made it to the bottom steps before he exhaled a dry sob and shook his head. “Damn it. I see why Grandmere insisted on me talking to ghosts in myprofessional voice.” He laughed, the sound thin and hollow. “I feel torn open from that.”
Ezra and I slid our arms around him in an embrace and, after a moment, he sagged into it. “Now can we go?” Ezra complained, breaking the tension and making Oscar laugh for real this time. “Just one more thing. I need to see to the ghosts in the cellar.”
“We’ll come with you,” I said immediately. “Just in case.”
“The dead can’t hurt me,” he reminded me. “Not unless I let them. I need to do this on my own, Julian. It’s… It’ll make me feel better. Or start to, anyway. I can’t leave them there, even with the lines broken. They might be stuck for other reasons or need help crossing over. Who knows what that trap did to them, what Charlotte and Nadine did inadvertently.” He hesitated, then said to me, “When I’m done, can you and Ezra help me gather the items she scattered? I want to arrange for them to be sent to the townhouse so I can go through them, see what I want to take back to the States and what I want to leave here for now.”
I nodded, unable to hide my eagerness. “I’d love to take a look at some of this stuff, if that’s okay with you?”
“Of course.” Oscar smiled. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Oh my god, this is foreplay, isn’t it? Don’t be gross in front of me,” Ezra whined.
“You’re one to talk,” I reminded him, “How many times have we walked in on you and Harrison in various stages of undress?”
“Or overheard your phone calls? Seriously, there’s a time and place for a speakerphone and phone sex is not it.”
“Fuck both of you,” Ezra sniffed, unable to hide his smile. “I’m not talking to either one of you now.”
Oscar laughed as Ezra flounced back to the car, then turned to me, raising up on his toes to brush a kiss against the corner of my mouth. “Our holidays together kind of suck,” he mused.
“Next time, we should let Ezra plan it for us. He seems to have better luck with trips than we do.”
“Oh, let’s not do that. We’ll end up at one of those nudist resorts or something so he can have a laugh at our expense.”
“Oooooh, good call. Well, We’ll just have to figure it out on our own then.”
Oscar kissed me again, then stepped back towards the door. “Wait for me out here, yeah?”
I nodded, gripping my cane like a lifeline and turning to join Ezra at the car. He jumped up and we walked towards the lane. I could feel Oscar’s eyes on us the whole time.
CHAPTER 16
OSCAR
Ezra and Julian feigned interest in the lane, standing by the hedgerow like old men, Julian gesturing at the field across the way and Ezra nodding enthusiastically.
Ridiculous, the pair of them. And I loved them both fiercely.
Everything inside me felt raw and tired, grit-streaked and torn.I nearly destroyed everything.
