by Riley Ross, Sally Slayer, Kaydence Rayne, & Dovey Mayali Cralk
Chapter Three
"You have ways of getting rid of me?" he asked, startled.
"I do. Now you need to stop. Stop acting like a spoiled little brat who's pissed off because he didn't get his way! I'm not your mummy; I'm not going to give you your way just so you'll stop your tantrums! I don't want to force you out of here, but I will if I have to."
Griffin had already come to the realization that he needed to stop what he was doing. He didn't like admitting it to himself, but he had grown used to having her around and would miss her if she left. Even through all of his torment, she had been nice to him, catching him off guard by luring him into conversations about the weather or the music she had playing at the time. It was the closest thing to a friendship the man had had in longer than he could even remember. Seeing her tears, tears that he had caused, was the slap in the face he so desperately deserved and needed.
"Okay," was his simple reply.
Pippa opened her mouth to snap back. "Bloody right, ‘O-’ Wait, what?" She had been expecting an argument of some kind, and stopped short.
"I said, 'Okay'. I'll stop. I took it too far; I should never have let it get that out of hand. I just...all right, here's the thing. When other people have moved in here before, and there have been a lot, I just rattled a few dishes, looked out at them from the shadows, and bam! They moved out. Everyone was easy to scare off. Why did you think you got such a great deal on this property? The price went down every time the new owners put it on the market, since they wanted so desperately to unload it. But then you came along, all sass and fire, and I took it as a personal challenge. The harder I tried to drive you away, the more you dug your heels in. When I saw that, I pushed more and more, thinking that only one of us could win. For that, I apologize. I let my drive to win take over my better senses. Can you forgive me?"
Pippa just stood there staring at him in shock.
"Um. I'd offer to buy you some new dishes to replace the ones I broke, but my wallet is on my other body," he joked, trying to lighten the mood. She remained silent. "Pippa? Please say something."
She cleared her throat. "I uh...I need a few minutes alone, I think. To process this..." Without another word, she walked slowly to the front of the house and out to the swing, which had quickly become her favorite place, to sway gently back and forth and let her thoughts sort themselves out in a way that made sense.
What's with the about face? One minute the little wanker is tormenting me to the fullest of his capabilities, the next he's apologizing! It's probably just another trick. He just wants to lull me into a false sense of security to make his next bombardment feel even worse than the ones before. But he seemed so sincere...ugh! What am I supposed to do here? What do I believe?
Griffin stood on the porch, watching the different emotions crossing her face, and hoping that she was able to see that he truly was sorry. He couldn't believe he had allowed himself to become such a monster. Maybe she'll forgive me if I show her the hidden library!
"Yo, Pip Squeak!" he called.
She seemed to have forgotten he was there, as she jumped when she heard his voice. "Did you just call me a pip squeak?"
He laughed. "Yeah, what about it? Come on, I completely forgot about something, I'm thinking you might want to see it, maybe even move some of your sewing stuff in there."
That brought Pippa up short, and she glared at him suspiciously. "A new place, huh? This is all some big trick, isn't it? What, did you set something up to keep me trapped inside so I can't even escape to the yard?" She was so livid that her body began to shake while she strode angrily to meet him on the porch.
"No! No, I'm trying to give you a peace offering here! Dammit, of course you don't believe me, what the hell was I thinking?" He began to pace back and forth, running his hands over his face. It unnerved Pippa even farther. She could see his boots hitting the floor, but no dust stirred, nor could she hear the tapping sound her brain kept telling her should be coming.
"Um, could you please stop that?"
Griffin paused and looked at her. "Huh? Stop what?"
"That," she waved her hand at his feet. "It's messing with my head!"
Looking down at his feet, he cocked an eyebrow at her in confusion. "Okay, I'm lost. What am I doing wrong?"
Pippa giggled. She hadn't meant to, but it really was silly. The whole situation suddenly struck her as hilarious and she burst out into full blown laughter. Doubling over, she kept pointing at Griffin and trying to speak.
"What the hell is happening here? Do you have booze hidden out at that tree, or what?" he demanded, not knowing how to handle the sudden turn of events.
She took in a deep breath and tried to stifle her giggles. "You! This! This whole thing is madness!"
"Okay..."
"Look, you don't like me because I get to breathe and eat and feel, and I don't like you because you torture me for it! Neither one of us can be happy like this." she said, still giggling occasionally.
Griffin nodded. "I’m not sure why you’re laughing about this, but that's what I was trying to say. I already apologized, and I meant it. I got carried away. Now, will you come in the house with me so I can show you the surprise?"
"Okay, but I warn you, Griffy Boy, cross me and I'll cross you, if you get my drift!"
"Oooh, look at the big scary woman with all her threats!" Griffin teased. "Yeah, yeah, I get it! Now shut your pretty mouth and come on, will ya?"
Pippa slapped at him, inciting another round of laughter when her hand went through him and she toppled forward.
Griffin held his hand out for her, looked down at it when she passed through, and joined in. "Come on you goofy thing, stop messing around!"
She finally got back up and held the door open, more to poke fun at him than be polite, and the two walked into the house together.
He led the way up the stairs, and Pippa caught herself checking him out. She quickly looked down, hoping she hadn't been caught. Griffin didn’t notice, at least she thought he hadn’t, but she didn't see the smirk that passed fleetingly over his face.
The only rooms on the second floor were her bedroom with adjoining bathroom and a walk-in closet on left side of the landing, and wide open sitting room that overlooked the rolling plains to the right of the house. Griffin turned to the left and walked down the hall and into the closet.
"So...my surprise is in the closet, then?" Pippa asked.
Griffin grinned at her. "That's right, Pip Squeak, go on in."
"I'm not a pip squeak," she mumbled, opening the door and stepping inside. Pippa looked around, but all she could see were shelves stuffed with her sewing supplies, bedding, and boxes of things she had yet to find a place for. "Are we gonna play seven minutes in heaven?" she teased, waggling her eyebrows at him.
Shaking his head and chortling, he told her to close the door. "Okay Pips, I have to explain a couple of things first. I'm going to open this door for you, but as soon as I do, you have to push on the wall. I won't be able to do both."
"Wait, what are you talking about?"
"There's a hidden door here, and it opens to the most amazing room ever."
Pippa's eyes grew large. "You mean to tell me I bought a house with a hidden room? How cool is that?! But, does it take two people to open the door?"
Griffin shook his head. "No, but I need to show you how to do it. When I do, though, I'm going to disappear before I can push it open for you. Are you ready?"
"I...I guess, but I have questions now!"
He slid one hand under the third shelf on the back wall, and put his hand on top of the fourth. "Now, you see exactly where my hands are? A quarter of the way in from the right, halfway from the left? This is where you put your hands. Then compress, listen for a click, and push forward. Here we go!"
"Wait! Why are you going to disappear? How are you able to do that, interact with the shelf like that?"
A cli
ck sounded out and Griffin whipped his head at her. "Push!" he shouted as he began to fade.
"Griffin! You can't just leave me hanging like this!" she cried out as the door gave way under her hands.
She couldn't see him anymore, but heard the whisper of his voice floating in the empty space where he had just stood.
"I'm not a ghost."