And then she remembered a place her mother used to take her when she was a child. Ashdown Forest was a beautiful forest high on a hill in Sussex, where her mother used to take her for picnics in the summer. The views from one particular clearing were out of this world, and on a clear day you could see the planes coming in to land at Gatwick. But best of all, Ashdown Forest was the home of one of her favourite childhood characters, Winnie The Pooh. Her mother would read her favourite Pooh stories to her, lying on a picnic blanket, their bellies full, and afterwards, they would go and find the places they had just read about in the book. As a child she had never quite understood why she never actually got to see the bear or his friends, but her memories of Ashdown Forest were nonetheless magical.
She decided she would go to the clearing with the beautiful views. There used to be a bench which would be the perfect place for her to sit and ponder for a few hours, she hoped it was still there. She turned away from the window and nearly screamed as she came face to face with Max. “Oh.”
He was standing very close to her, close enough for her catch the smell of stale sea water on his clothes, and she felt a spark of fear as his eyes bored into her. “Was there something you wanted?” she asked, trying to keep her voice from trembling.
“No.”
“Oh. Well, I’ve got to go somewhere. Bye.”
She wanted to get away quickly and turned away from him, ready to vanish, when she heard him say, “I will get my revenge, you know.”
She stopped and turned back to face him. “Pardon?”
“Revenge. One way or the other, Tom will pay for what happened to me.”
“Why Tom? He hasn’t done anything wrong.”
Max laughed, a dark, malevolent snarl. “He’s a fucking Cresswell and that makes him guilty. Make no mistake, he will pay, one way or another. When he’s least expecting it, I’ll be there. I’ve been biding my time, I’m just waiting for my moment and it will come, just you see.”
Jemma had had enough, she needed to get away, now. Closing her eyes, she imagined herself in the heart of Ashdown forest and, in a fraction of a second, she was there, leaving Max behind at the house. Walking slowly along the muddy path, she was glad it was such bad weather. The icy wind and relentless rain meant she had the place to herself, and it wasn’t long before she was lost in her thoughts, her solitary figure throwing the occasional ghostly shadow against the trees as she walked silently along the muddy track.
Max’s outburst had unsettled her and she felt restless and troubled. Her mind was flitting from one thought to another, Tom, Susie, Alice, Max. What was she going to do about Max and his threat to Tom? She had already told Tom what he had said, but he had just laughed and said that if Max was going to do something, he would have done it a long time ago. And then of course, there were her feelings for Tom, feelings that were growing stronger every day. And, if she did manage to persuade Susie to leave with her, he would be left alone with Max. Did she really want to return to a life without Tom?
And then there was Alice and the mysterious boy. Why was a ghost following her, and trying to talk to her? Could she be in any danger?
Deep in thought, she didn’t notice the solitary woman sitting on the bench when she got to the clearing. It was only when she turned to approach the bench that she saw she wasn’t alone. Even in the pouring rain, the woman was dry, like herself, and her hair remained perfectly still as the strong wind rushed past her. She was obviously a ghost, which meant that the lady would be able to see her. Sighing, she turned around to walk away, resigned to finding another quiet spot, when the lady spoke.
“Don’t mind me,” she said, softly, “there’s plenty of room for both of us.”
“I don’t want to intrude,” replied Jemma, keen to get back to her thoughts.
“You’re not. To be honest, I’d be glad of a bit of company. It gets a bit lonely up here, day in and day out.”
“Are you here all the time then?” asked Jemma, curiously, as she sat down next to the lady and looked at her. She had the saddest eyes she had ever seen – troubled and lonely.
“I’ve got nowhere else to go. So, how long have you been here, dear?”
“Oh, not long. About ten minutes.”
The lady smiled, “I didn’t mean here, I meant, how long have you been dead?”
“Oh! Sorry. It must be over two months now. What about you?”
“I died in 1937”, the lady sighed, sadly. “Robert, that’s my husband, and I had agreed to meet here, at this very spot, when we eventually died. We promised that we’d find each other again in the next world, and we’d spend the rest of eternity watching the sun setting from this bench.”
“That’s so romantic,” said Jemma, who loved a good love story. “So what happened? Where’s Robert now?”
“He died about five years after me. But he didn’t come, he went somewhere else, but I don’t know where.” She sighed again, staring wistfully out across the trees before turning to face Jemma. “It had never occurred to us that we’d end up in different places. He’s gone and I’m here, alone, and I don’t know why.”
“Haven’t you tried to find out?” asked Jemma, remembering her own refusal to accept her fate when she had first arrived.
“I just sit here and wait for Robert, hoping that one day he’ll let me know what to do.”
Jemma’s heart went out to this desolate and lonely woman. She smiled at her sympathetically, admiring the way thick silver streaks contrasted so dramatically with her nearly black hair. She was probably in her late fifties, petite and delicate looking, and was smartly dressed in a 1930’s style dress.
“I don’t know why I’m here either,” said Jemma, “but I’m trying to find out. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t meant to die, and I plan to leave here one day, when I’ve worked out how to use a wormhole. When I’ve figured it out, I’ll help you if you like?”
“That’s very sweet of you, but I can’t leave. What if Robert comes and I’m not here? No, I’m staying, but I hope you find your way out. I’m Claire, by the way.”
They chatted for a long time, by which time Jemma felt much better. It was so refreshing to talk to someone new, and Claire had listened patiently as Jemma told her about her unfortunate death, her futile attempts to talk to Alice, and her crush on the handsome and troubled ghost who lived in Jack’s house. She didn’t tell her about Max though, there was no need to spoil their pleasant chat.
As she got up to leave, Jemma smiled at her new friend as she said goodbye. “Can I come and see you again?”
“Of course you can, that would be lovely. You know where I am,” she smiled.
Jemma was in a much better mood when she got back to the house. Meeting Claire had been a pleasant surprise, she found it intriguing that she was content with just sitting in the same place, day in and day out, waiting for her husband, who was probably never going to turn up. She wondered why Claire was in this dimension, whether she wasn’t meant to have died or if she had some sort of mysterious reason for not being able to move on. Claire hadn’t been very keen to talk about herself, and somehow the conversation had mostly been about Jemma.
“Hello. Where have you been?” Susie looked up from a chair as Jemma appeared in the living room.
“I went for a walk. Have you ever been to Ashdown Forest?” she asked, as she sat down next to Susie.
“No. Why?”
“Just wondering. I’ll take you there one day, it’s lovely.” Jemma reached out and gently brushed a stray strand of Susie’s fringe to the side. It was an affectionate gesture, but one which resulted in Susie bursting into tears. “Hey, Susie, what’s wrong?” Jemma put her arms around the crying child and held her tightly.
“My mum used to do that,” she sobbed, reminding Jemma that, for all her bravado, she was still only nine.
“Oh, you poor love,” Jemma felt tears prick her own eyes as she felt Susie’s heartbreak. “We’ve got to get you home, did Tom talk to you about you leaving?”
&
nbsp; “Yes, and I told him not to be so stupid.” Susie’s voice was suddenly uncharacteristically sharp.
“What? Oh Susie, why did you say that? He’s trying to help,” said Jemma, crossly.
“Because there’s no way I’m leaving without him.”
“Will you stop being so bloody saintly. Tom wants you to leave, he wants you to be happy, so what’s the problem? I’ll stay here with him if that’s what’s bothering you.”
“Yeah right!” glared Susie.
“I mean it, Susie, if that what it takes to make you agree, then I’ll stay.” Jemma was only too well aware of the enormity of what she was saying.
“Now you’re the one being saintly,” retorted Susie, “and I wasn’t being saintly actually. I was just stating a fact.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing. It’s complicated. Just leave it.”
“No. Susie, listen to me, you have a chance to go home, to leave this place and be with your family again. Tom wants you to go, and I’m going to find out how to do it, because I know it’s possible. What’s so complicated about that?”
Susie looked at her friend, her eyes brimming with more tears as she whispered, “I can’t leave without Tom – not ever.”
“Why not?” demanded Jemma.
“Because....” Susie paused, choosing her words carefully, “it’s because of Tom that I died.”
Chapter 10
“Did you kill Susie?”
Tom stared at Jemma in amazement. “Why on earth do you ask that?” He looked stunned as he took in the significance of her question.
“Something I heard. Well? Did you kill her?” Jemma was determined to get an answer from him, whatever it took. She’d had enough of being fobbed off with his excuses and elusiveness. She could sort of understand that he found certain parts of his past painful to talk about, but if he did have anything to do with Susie’s death, it was about time he was straight with her.
“Of course I didn’t kill her – how could you even think that?” His usually sparkly eyes now looked offended and his voice was incredulous.
“So why does Susie say you did then?” Jemma’s voice was calm, but there was no mistaking the accusing undertone.
“What exactly did she say?”
“That it’s because of you that she died.”
“So she didn’t actually say that I killed her then?” he demanded.
“Well, not in those exact words, no.”
“Well, perhaps you’d better check your facts before accusing people of murder,” he snapped.
“How can I? Susie wouldn’t elaborate, and you never talk about what happened. I’m left to draw my own conclusions, Tom. If you had told me what happened we wouldn’t be having this conversation now.”
“And if you were my friend, you wouldn’t be accusing me of murder.” He shouted angrily, and stormed out of the room.
“I’m not saying it was murder, and if I really were your friend, you would have told me yourself,” she yelled after him.
Susie had also been evasive, saying that she shouldn’t have said anything, and that it was up to Tom to tell her what happened. She sighed in frustration as she replayed the argument in her head over and over again, pacing furiously back and forth across the room. But the more she thought about it, the more guilty she started to feel. Of course she knew that Tom wouldn’t kill anyone. She had, as usual, stormed in head first and practically accused him of murder, rather than explaining what Susie had said, and asking him calmly and rationally what had happened. Perhaps he would have told her everything and she could have given him her support. Instead, they had, once again, fallen out and this time it was for real. Shit, why did she have to be so bloody tactless? It had always gotten her into trouble when she had been alive, and now it had just lost her a good friend. Would he ever forgive her? She wouldn’t blame him if he never spoke to her again.
She suddenly felt a strong need to get away from the house, so she could work out how she was going to make amends. She really liked Tom. In fact, when she had told Susie that she was willing to stay behind, she had secretly been glad of an excuse to stay with him. And now she had blown it. Shit.
In a split second, she found herself back in Ashdown Forest, thankful for the fact that it was quiet again. She roamed restlessly from one end of the forest to the other, her mind racing with snippets of her argument with Tom. How could she have been so stupid to accuse him of murder, when she knew that he would never hurt anyone. She cursed herself over and over until she felt like screaming.
Eventually she found herself back at her favourite spot, and as she stood staring out across the expanse of trees and gorse, a voice spoke softly behind her.
“Hello again.”
“Huh?” Jemma had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she had completely forgotten about Claire, and as she turned around to greet her new friend, she felt comforted by her warm smile and welcoming gesture to sit down.
“You look like you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders,” Claire said, gently. “Are you alright?”
“Oh Claire, I’ve just done something really stupid, and now I’ve blown it with Tom,” she cried.
“Surely it can’t be that bad. Just say that you’re sorry and I’m sure he’ll forgive you.”
“I accused him of killing a child. I more or less called him a murderer.” Jemma felt even worse as she heard herself say the words out loud.
“And did he?”
“Oh no, of course not. Tom would never hurt anyone.” Jemma said, fiercely.
“So why did you accuse him?”
“Because I’m stupid,” Jemma sighed, sadly. “I always do this. I open my big mouth before I think about what I’m saying. In this case, I was frustrated with Tom for being so secretive, and I suppose I thought that I could force it out of him. Instead I’ve really hurt him, and now he hates me.”
“You may have hurt him, Jemma, but he won’t hate you. Tom will calm down and when he does, make sure you grovel like hell, and then tell him what you just told me. He’ll understand.”
“Really?” Jemma wasn’t so sure though. Tom had been really pissed off, in fact, he probably really did hate her now. The thought filled her with panic. Tom’s friendship was more important to her than she had realised, and it was only now that she was beginning to truly understand the depth of her feelings for him. She didn’t just fancy him, she didn’t just want him as a friend. She felt as if he were a part of her, that they were always meant to have found each other. In fact, he was her soulmate, she realised.
“I’ve got to go.” She jumped up, suddenly desperate to find Tom.
“Oh.” Claire looked disappointed. “Do you have to go so soon? It’s just that I’d forgotten how nice it is to have a bit of company.”
“I’m sorry, Claire, but I need to get back to Tom. I have to talk to him, you do understand, don’t you?”
“Of course. Don’t worry about me. Go and find Tom, but will you let me know how you get on?”
As Jemma looked at Claire’s sad eyes, she felt a pang of sympathy. Although she wanted to find Tom as soon as possible, she didn’t want to leave Claire alone, when she obviously was in desperate need of a bit of companionship.
“Come with me, Claire. Come back to the house and meet Tom and Susie. You’ll really like them, and I know they’ll welcome you.”
“That’s very sweet of you, Jemma, but I can’t leave here. What if Robert comes?” Claire’s soft brown eyes were full of naive concern that she might miss her beloved husband. Jemma didn’t have the heart to tell her that it was highly unlikely he was ever going to turn up. It was probably the only thing keeping her sane in her lonely existence.
“Tell you what. Just come for a short while. It’ll only take a split second to get there, and once you know where we are, you can come back whenever you like. If Robert should turn up and you’re not here, he’ll wait. You’ve waited all these years, why shouldn’t he wait for a little while? C
ome on, Claire, come with me. Please.”
“I suppose a few minutes wouldn’t hurt.” Claire was clearly torn, but in the end her loneliness won, and she agreed to come back to the house.
“Tom’s not here obviously, but Susie and Max are so I’ll introduce you to them before I go and find Tom,” said Jemma, as she showed Claire into the kitchen.
“Max?”
Jemma pulled a face and pointed to the wall separating the kitchen and living room.
“Yeah, he’s this creepy old spook who just sits in there and hates everything and everyone. We’ll get him over with first and then we’ll go and find Susie.”
“Max,” called Jemma, as she and Claire walked through the wall into the living room. As usual, Max was sitting in his chair in the corner looking damp and miserable. Jemma forced a smile onto her face. “This is my friend, Claire.”
“Hello, Max,” smiled Claire.
“Hmph,” growled Max.
“Nice to meet you too,” said Claire, as Jemma hurriedly led her back to the kitchen.
“Don’t take any notice of him,” grinned Jemma, when they were safely out of his hearing. “He’s like that with everyone. Ah, here’s Susie. Susie, come and meet my friend, Claire.”
After Jemma had hurriedly introduced Claire to Susie, she left them to get to know each other while she went off to find Tom. The most obvious place to start looking was the beach in Norfolk. She was there instantly, and was soon scouring the long, sandy beach, hoping to find him. The sea was rough today, the wind throwing huge waves with high white crests crashing against the shore, creating a noisy and dramatic backdrop. Straining her eyes, she couldn’t see anyone, living or dead, on the beach as she searched for Tom. She was beginning to despair that she wouldn’t find him, when she turned towards the dunes and saw a solitary figure, sitting in the shelter of the long waving grass, the same place that she had sat with him last time they had been there. Her heart flipped when she saw him, shoulders slumped, head bowed and deep in thought.
Love In The Wrong Dimension (Romantic Ghost Story) Page 10