by Matt Shaw
“Why are you doing this?” Ian looked as though he were about to weep but held it together so as not to give Emily the satisfaction of seeing him cry - just in case that was what she wanted; some kind of sick game to her. “Haven’t we been through enough?”
“It scares me - the things moving...My husband sits there playing with a scalextric set he found in the loft after he was directed there by the board. He sits there controlling one car whilst the other car goes around the track by itself. The salt...At the dinner table...We ask for the salt and it slides, unaided, to where we can reach it. Spoons spin in the cups by themselves...”
“My son loved that set,” Ian muttered as his mind fixated upon the mentioning of the scalextric. “He had it for the Christmas just before...Well...It was his favourite toy. One of them at least, he had many. It ended up being a permanent fixture in his room up until the time he passed away and then I put it in the attic. I left it there on purpose, you know. I thought because it was a family home that a new family would discover it and get some use from it - along with some of his other bits and pieces. Didn’t want to take the memories away with me - me and Josh sitting around playing with it all. Too painful. I knew I’d never forget the fun times but seeing the track all the time...Seeing it there just reminded me of what I’d lost. The cars on the track. The sight of my boy in the middle of the road,” he started to cry.
Emily moved over and put a hand on his shoulder. She felt as though she wanted to give him a hug but knew it would probably be deemed as inappropriate.
“Please,” she said quietly, “just come around the house and see for yourself. It might help you. It might help both of you. Please.”
There was a pause, “When?” he asked.
“It has to be when my husband isn’t in. He’d be angry if he knew I had contacted you. He seems to think we can all live in the house as a happy family but...I have my own baby on the way and I’m sorry but...I’m not comfortable living with a spirit. I just want my family,” she felt honesty was the best policy. Ian nodded. He understood - on some level. “He should be going out with a friend one night soon. Just waiting for them to organise it. If you want to leave me your number, I can text you?”
Ian reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card which he handed to Emily. She took it and placed it on her desk.
“Please - if this is a cruel joke...Some sick game...”
“I promise it’s the truth,” she said.
Ian looked into her eyes and must have believed what she said for he simply nodded. He nodded again, as though it were his way of saying goodbye, and left the office. He closed the door behind him. Emily sighed heavily and sat on the edge of her desk. She felt as though a large weight had been lifted from her shoulder but knew she wasn’t in the clear yet. She needed Jason out of the house.
24.
The week that passed between Ian and Emily first meeting dragged for both of them. Ian had been desperate to come round to the house to see if Emily was telling the truth and Emily just wanted to get it over with. With each passing day, she found it harder and harder to pretend she was ‘okay’ with the living arrangements. Every evening, after work, she’d demand a walk with Jason - still using it as an excuse to get out of the house and away from Josh. She felt sure it was only a matter of time before Jason realised what she was doing - but he never said anything. It was almost as though he was happy to get out of the house with her too. Perhaps happy for some time together where he knew it was just the two of them? Perhaps happy just to get out of the house in which he’d been trapped during the day? It wasn’t as though Emily didn’t realise how frustrated he got, being stuck in all the time - something which happened ever since they sold the second car when they were getting their deposit together for the house. Before then he had his own car and could come and go whenever he so desired.
Finally, tonight was the night though. Jason was taking the car to go out with Travis for the night, not due back until the early hours of the following day, and Emily’s text message to Ian had been seen and confirmed as being a suitable time for him to come over too.
“You sure you don’t mind?” Jason asked as he stepped out of the en-suite bathroom. He was wearing a blue shirt, open buttoned at the top, with a nice pair of black trousers and his hair was styled back to keep out of his eyes.
“You look nice,” said Emily, “and - no - I don’t mind.” She was laying on the bed watching him get ready for his evening out.
“I can stay in if you want?”
“Don’t be silly - it was my idea. Go out. Have fun. You deserve it.”
“What are you going to do?” he asked as he fetched his mobile phone and wallet from the bedside cabinet where he had left them both.
Emily shrugged, “Have a bath and watch some television? I haven’t really thought about it.”
“I feel bad.”
“Go! Have fun! It’s not like it’s every day! You know you’ll have fun when you’re out anyway. Soon forget about little old me, stuck here...All alone...” Emily teased him.
Jason sat on the bed and leaned in for a kiss, “I’d never forget you,” he said with a kiss.
“Sure they’ll be plenty of eye candy out there to distract you,” she continued.
“I only have eyes for you,” he said - a cheesy grin on his face.
“Now say it like you mean it,” Emily laughed. She knew he only had eyes for her. From the first moment they met she knew he was the one she could trust without a shadow of a doubt. She also knew that he wouldn’t be seeing much by the time he started drinking. His drinking was so infrequent now, it would only take a couple for his vision to become blurred and his speech slurred.
He changed the subject, “I’m still not sure if I’m drinking or not...If I am - I’ll leave the car at Travis’ place and we’ll get a taxi...I’ll probably crash at his place and come back in the morning but I’ll let you know either way - okay?”
She nodded, “It’s fine. I’d rather you had a drink. Get it out of your system...And I’d definitely prefer you to stay out if you do! I don’t want to have to deal with your drunken arse.”
He smiled, “I love you.” He leant in for another kiss.
“Just try not to get yourself in any trouble,” she said. “And call me later on.”
“I will,” he promised. “You sure you’ll be okay here by yourself?” he asked her again. He had purposefully kept delaying his evening out with Travis because he knew Emily didn’t like being alone in the house. Although she technically wasn’t alone in the house - Jason knew that was the deeper issue.
“I’ll be fine. It’ll probably be good for me,” she said. “You can’t stay in all the time just because of - well - you know...”
“Okay well - any problems, give me a call. I’ll have my mobile phone on me.” He leant in for another kiss before standing up straight. He offered his hands out to help Emily off the bed. She took his hands and was soon standing next to him. “I’ll miss you,” he said.
“No you won’t. Now go before I change my mind,” she laughed. She span him around and gave him a playful pat on the bum to help him on his way.
He took the hint and walked out of the bedroom, with Emily following close behind. When they got down the stairs, to the front door, they shared a little hug and another peck on the lips.
“I mean it - any problems - give me a ring,” he reminded her.
“I’ll be fine,” she said. “It’ll be nice to have some peace and quiet from you. You’re so needy,” she joked.
“Harsh, my love. Harsh.”
He turned around and opened the front door before stepping out.
“Have a good time,” Emily said as she watched him walk to the car.
“I’m sure I’ll cope,” he said. He unlocked the car door, gave her a wave, and climbed in.
Emily watched as Jason started the car up and backed out of the drive. Seconds later, he had selected first gear and started to drive down the road. She wa
tched him until he was completely out of sight.
As soon as he was gone, she reached in to her pocket and pulled out her mobile phone. With the screen illuminated, she went into the text messages and quickly sent one across to Ian - a message informing him the coast was clear for him to come round. The message said ‘sent’ and she slid the phone back into her pocket.
All she had to do now was wait for him to arrive.
She stepped into the house and closed the door. Standing at the bottom of the stairs, she looked up to the landing and then down the hallway. Immediately she felt a creeping sensation wash over her as she worried where Josh may have been. Was he standing nearby watching her? Was he even next to her trying to touch her? A coldness rushed through her as her mind thought about all the possibilities.
“Josh? You here?” she asked.
Needless to say there was no answer. She remembered the board, which was now next to the little race track in what was supposed to be her baby’s nursery. She ran up the stairs and into the room.
“Josh? You here?” she asked again.
Despite asking, and hoping for a response, she still jumped when the glass moved by the board. She smiled. It was the first time they had actually communicated without Jason being present and, for a split second, she worried he might not be communicative with her.
“I’ve got a surprise for you,” she said. “Someone coming to see you.”
The glass didn’t move.
“Your dad! I managed to find him and he wants to come and talk with you too. Maybe even play cars with you.”
The glass immediately moved across to ‘no’ - faster than it had ever moved before.
“You wouldn’t like that?” Emily asked.
The glass circled ‘no’ again and again as a feeling of dread hit Emily. She hadn’t expected that. She thought he’d have been happy to have his dad come round; a chance to let him know he was okay. A chance to say goodbye. More importantly, for Emily, a chance to finish whatever business he had and finally move on to the other side.
“Just talk to him,” Emily said, “it’ll be nice. He wants to talk to you. He’s coming here specially.”
The glass didn’t stop moving around the word ‘no’.
Emily started to panic but knew it was too late to do anything. She just hoped Josh’d calm down before his father got to the house. It would hardly do any of them any good if he saw Josh was actually in a state. Especially as there’d be nothing Ian could do about it to comfort him.
“It’s okay,” Emily said. She tried her best not to show the fear in her voice, “It’s okay. Everything will be fine. I promise.” She knew it was a promise she couldn’t keep. She didn’t know how it was going to end. It was impossible for her to know. Before now, she didn’t even believe in the after-life let alone how best to handle it or deal with entities who were stuck between this dimension and the next. For all she knew - there was no other dimension and all people became spirits trapped in this world where they’d remain, unseen, forever. The more she thought about the possibilities, the more she started to doubt whether she’d done the right thing. Too late now.
“Why don’t you want to see him? He’s your dad? I’m sorry. I thought you’d be happy.” She didn’t admit to thinking it would cause Josh to cross over to the ‘other side’ (whatever and where ever that was).
The glass bounced from letter to letter, quickly, until it spelt out the word ‘Hurt’.
“Hurt? You don’t want to hurt him? Is that it? You don’t want him to know you’re still here?”
The glass moved, still with speed, across to ‘yes’.
“He needs to know you’re here,” said Emily. “He’s struggling...They both are...Your mother and your father. They need to know you’re here and that you’re not gone for good. They need it. And...” she trod carefully, “...I think it will be good for you too,” she finished.
The glass stopped dead.
“Josh?”
It didn’t move.
“Are you there?”
A knock from the front door, downstairs, made Emily jump.
“Shit.”
She walked out of the room and down the stairs where she opened the door to see Ian standing there. Considering how he had looked when they last saw each other - he looked good. He had had a clean shave, his hair was washed and it even looked as though he had made some kind of effort with his clothes.
“Hi,” he said, with a nervous smile.
Emily was just as nervous as him, “Hi!”
“May I come in?” he asked considering Emily hadn’t actually held the door wide enough to permit him entrance into what used to be his home.
“Sure, sorry...Yes...Come in...” she opened the door all the way and Ian stepped in.
“Feels weird being back here,” he said. “Nothing’s changed,” he noted.
“We haven’t got around to decorating yet,” Emily pointed out as though she were embarrassed by the fact nothing had changed since they moved in.
Ian smiled at her and asked nervously, “So where is he?”
“I’m sorry,” Emily said sheepishly, “he...”
“What is it?”
“He said he doesn’t want to see you because he’s worried about hurting you...”
“What?” he looked around the hallway as though he expected to see his son hiding somewhere. “You said my son was here...Where is he?” Ian pushed past Emily and ran up the stairs - obviously heading for what used to be his son’s room. “Is he in his bedroom? Is that how it works?”
Emily ran after him, “Wait!”
She chased him into the now-nursery where Ian had frozen - his eyes fixed on the race track in the corner of the room as memories came flooding back to him.
He noticed the board next to the track, “Is that how you talk?” He looked at Emily who had gone a deep red colour as she worried about what was going to happen and how it was all going to end. “Is it?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Son? Josh? Are you there?” He moved closer to the board and pointed to the glass, “Does this move?”
Emily sighed, “Yes. The glass normally moves but...”
“Son? Are you there?” Ian dropped to his knees and started to cry. “Please...If you’re there...Can you just move the glass for me?”
The glass didn’t move. Emily felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“He was talking just before you arrived and suddenly went quiet...” Emily tried to explain.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Ian asked. His voice was full of anger and venom. “I told you...I said...Don’t mess us around and yet you carried on regardless, like some sick joke...”
“It’s not...Josh! Stop this! Please move the glass! Show him you’re here!”
The glass didn’t move.
“You stop this! You’re poison!” Ian hissed. He climbed to his feet and wiped his eyes clear of the tears which spilled from them. “You couldn’t just leave me in peace? Everything I’ve been through...Going through...You had to bring me here to taunt me...Why?”
“Your son’s presence is here, I swear...”
“Fuck you!” Ian shouted. “Fuck you! You know how much it took for me to come here? It’s all I’ve been thinking about and...You’re sick!”
He stormed from the room and down the stairs. Emily went to go after him but the door slammed in her face. She tried the handle but it didn’t budge.
“Josh - what are you doing? Let me out. Let me out, Josh!”
She heard the front door go downstairs. It slammed shut. Emily rushed over to the window and watched as Ian climbed into his car. Seconds later he sped out of the driveway. A small hand-print appeared next to where Emily’s face was, at the window, before the window started to vibrate. Softly at first until it started to get harder and faster. She backed up just in time to see the glass shatter into a thousand pieces. She covered her face, to protect it from the flying glass, and let out a scream - not that her scream was heard over the so
und of another scream; the scream of a young boy.
Emily span around in the direction of the scream and saw a ghostly figure in the corner of the room, by the race track. The figure of Josh. Pale skin, clouded eyes - he was standing there, screaming out with pain, rage and sorrow. A scream which penetrated Emily’s very soul. She backed away from him.