Olivia’s breathing gradually came back to normal.
‘Covalent bonds,’ Kaz chimed in.
‘I’m going to fail!’ Olivia buried her face in her hands. ‘Why do they make us do science anyway? I’m doing fine in everything else but I can’t get my head around this.’
Morgan wrapped her arm around her friend. ‘Everything is going to be all right. Come on over to mine for the next few nights and we’ll drill it.’
Olivia looked up. ‘Will George be there?’
‘He might. Or, he might be off looking for his family. He’s had a bit to deal with lately.’
‘Maybe I could help George with his research?’ Hope shone from Olivia’s eyes.
Morgan grinned. ‘Chemistry first, then the ghost.’
After school, Morgan and Olivia put in a phenomenal homework effort up in Morgan’s room.
‘Who would have thought pink was such a good colour for studying?’ Olivia said.
‘I still hate it.’
‘I wonder if the pink is keeping George away?’ Olivia sat up and looked about the room.
‘Stop procrastinating.’ Part of her feared George turning up – he could be such a time-slurper. Another part of her missed him. George had a way of making her look at the world in a different way.
‘You’re blushing,’ Olivia said.
‘Must be allergic.’ She grabbed at a loop in the carpet pile and pulled strands out to demonstrate.
‘What’s he like?’
‘He’s very good at distracting me, that’s what, now come on, we’re nearly there, just a bit more to go and –’
‘What’s that?’
Morgan shook her head. ‘I didn’t hear anything.’
‘Seriously, I heard footsteps.’
‘Prolly Dave coming upstairs with muffins. This is due tomorrow. Don’t roll your eyes, you will get through this and your head won’t explode.’
Olivia sat up and grinned. ‘Are you sure your sexy ghost isn’t here? I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck prickling.’
‘It’s all in your head. You’ve been in the one position for too long, that’s why your temperature is dropping.’
‘Party pooper!’
Morgan tapped at her laptop screen. ‘I’m sending you a talking book. You can listen to it in your sleep.’
‘You’re going to hypnotise me into learning science?’
‘Got any better suggestions?’
Olivia shrugged. ‘OK, I’ll give it a try.’
‘Awesome.’ Morgan rolled her shoulders back. ‘I need a drink. I’ll be back in a minute.’
‘Wait,’ Olivia jumped to attention and glanced about the room. ‘Don’t leave me. George might turn up.’
Morgan looked at the empty chaise longue. ‘But you said you wanted to meet him. Now you don’t? Make up your mind.’
‘I do. But I don’t want to do it alone.
‘OK. We can give it a shot. Are you ready?’
Olivia mutely nodded her head.
‘Here goes nothing. ‘Oh George? George? Wherefore art thou, George?’ ‘
Olivia looked at Morgan and rolled her eyes. ‘You know that doesn’t mean ‘where are you?’ She’s really asking why is he a Montague, the enemies to the Capulets.’
‘Really?’ Morgan boggled. ‘Then why didn’t he write it like that in the first place?’
‘He did, but we’ve been interpreting it wro –’
‘But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Morgan is the sun.’
George appeared as his dashing and gorgeous self. Morgan grinned so much her cheeks hurt.
Olivia sucked in a breath and clung to Morgan’s arm. ‘I heard moaning!’
Morgan heard poetry.
Olivia clung to Morgan, ‘Ohmygod I can actually see him!’
‘You can?’
‘Y-y-yep. Yep, yep, yep,’ Olivia said
‘You believe me now?’
Like the velvety aliens in Sesame Street, Olivia kept making ‘yepping’ noises and the odd ‘Uh-huh, uh-huh’.
‘It’s nice to see you again George. This is Olivia. We’ve been helping each other with homework.’
Olivia pulled them towards the door, to escape.
‘You can see him, right?’ Morgan twisted to see her friend gaping at George.
Concern filled George’s face. ‘Your friend is a student of history? I take that to mean you have divulged my family’s shameful secrets?’
Ooops, better fix this fast. ‘It’s not like that. I told you I –’ Suddenly everything clicked into place. ‘You’ve forgotten. George, do you realise every time you go to the half place, you forget things? So before we have an argument, can you please trust me that I haven’t betrayed you. And if you stop going to the half place, you won’t get so confused.’
‘So now I’m not to leave the estate at all?’
Did it come out that badly?
Behind her, Olivia said, ‘This is the freakiest freaking thing in my frikken life!’
‘Your companion appears to be in distress.’
‘She’s shy.’ Would she be a really horrible friend if she admitted to liking Olivia’s fear? Finally, somebody could see George. She wasn’t imagining him. She had a proper witness.
Olivia jolted to the doorway. ‘I thought after reading the essay he’d be nice but he’s freaking me out.’
George tilted his head in confusion. ‘She has read the essay? About my family? Tell me it isn’t so?’
‘I am seriously going to pee my pants,’ Olivia said.
‘Everything’s OK George, there’s nothing to get upset about,’ Morgan said as Olivia pulled them towards the stairs.
George shouted, ‘Get out! I’ll have no more betrayal!’
Olivia made a wobbly sound and bolted down the stairs.
‘No need to get upset,’ Morgan said as George vanished again. With an exaggerated sigh, she picked up their abandoned homework and trudged after Olivia.
Safely downstairs in the kitchen, Olivia snaffled the last chocolate biscuit. ‘Tonight was intense!’
Dave provided the voice of reason. ‘There is a perfectly logical explanation for this. Olivia, you’ve heard Morgan talking about a ghost, so she’s planted the idea in your head. Then you read the essay, which practically brought him to life. You were primed for experiencing a ghost before you even went up there.’
‘It felt so real, but,’ Olivia said.
A thumping headache settled in for the night. Why did Olivia not see or hear him as she did?
A car tooted outside. Olivia’s mum.
‘Will you be all right?’ Olivia asked.
‘Yeah, sure.’ Morgan batted her concern away.
‘Thanks for the download.’ Olivia pointed to her device. ‘Maybe by tomorrow I’ll wake up a chemistry nerd.’
‘Good luck.’ Sadness spiked Morgan as she waved Olivia goodbye.
As she climbed back to her room, the emptiness suffocated her. No extra noise. No wind outside. No tree branch tapping at the window. No sign of any kind that the spirit world had any connection to this room.
‘Are you there?’
No reply. Why did he have to be so weird lately?
‘George, you can stop sulking now.’
Still nothing.
Morgan changed into her pyjamas and climbed into bed. ‘All right. I’m sorry for exposing your family tragedy to the public. Now can you come out?’
‘I accept,’ she heard him say.
‘George?’ Sunshine filled her. ‘You came back!’
Morgan flew at George. She landed on the furniture with a thud as he disappeared from under her. Disoriented, she stood up and found him sitting behind her on the chaise again.
‘Dress yourself woman, have you no shame?’ The words alone may have been stern, but George had a wicked grin on his face.
‘I missed you so much!’ She reached for him again but fell through nothing more substantial than cloud.
&n
bsp; ‘Please cover yourself,’ he said, appearing near the doorway this time. ‘Otherwise I shall be forced to take drastic measures.’
‘Measure away!’ It was so good to have Happy George back. He was so much more fun to be around that Confused George or Angry George
She reached for her dressing gown and pulled it on. ‘Better?’
George pressed his lips together in amusement before answering her. ‘It’s somewhat more respectable at least.’
Morgan took a step closer to him. ‘I missed you. I don’t want to fight any more.’
‘I feel the same.’ He took a step closer to her.
No further invitation needed, she crossed the floor and wrapped her arms around him. This time his body tensed and stayed with her. When his arms wrapped around her shoulders in return, she could have cried.
‘I apologise for causing you such upset. I was angry and took my feelings out on your good self, and your guest,’ he said.
‘Thanks, George.’ Apologies were always so much better when the other person joined in.
George said, ‘There are elements at work here that are beyond my control. I have had some time to think about events as they unfolded. You have not betrayed me as my father did. If anything, you have lifted the scales from my eyes.’
It would be much more satisfying if he stopped talking and got on with the kissing, but he had plenty to say and appeared determined to say it.
‘My darling Morgan. I could no more stay away from you than fly to the moon.’ Then he did the craziest thing. He stepped back from her, held both her hands in his and got down on one knee.
Her tummy flipped.
‘I must confess how ardent my feelings are for you. My dear Miss Morgan Parker, please say you love me? And will you do me the greatest honour in the world and become my wife?’
Her jaw could have hit the floor. Feather-light in the head, Morgan couldn’t form proper thoughts. Words pinged through her mind like proposal and yippee and fantastic and ohmigod but she couldn’t put anything together for a coherent sentence.
George kept looking at her with such intensity. As if he could become whole again if only she would accept. Maybe it was the light, but his skin became so rich and real, his eyes more beguiling.
Flattered beyond comprehension, Morgan couldn’t stop grinning. Her first proposal, and the man giving it was so utterly charming.
‘I’m not old enough,’ she heard herself saying.
‘You’re plenty old enough,’ George said.
A rewind noise scratched in her head. Marriage? The joy fairies stopped dancing about her as heaviness cloaked the moment. Which was such a pain because she’d enjoyed all the lightheaded fun stuff just a heartbeat ago. ‘George, you are amazing. But I’m still at school and times really are different now. I mean, when your parents married for life, it might have only meant another twenty years. I could live for another eighty.’
George kissed her hand – the contact was magically warm and firm. ‘Darling of my heart, I hope we shall live forever.’ When he looked at her like that she forgot her own name.
‘I was hoping my ardent declaration would be met with more certainty. Have I done something to displease you? I shall take strident measures to correct my faults.’
‘You are amazing.’
‘Is that a ‘yes’?’
‘Come on.’ Despondency curdled her tummy. So did real world issues. ‘George, I can’t marry you. You’re a ghost.’
‘A mere setback we can overcome, my love.’
‘Excuse me . . . ohhh –’ Everything turned dizzy and fuzzy. How exactly would they overcome their setback unless – oh dear. Their lovely moment became shrouded in fear. When she tried to swallow, her tongue felt too big. The only thing that felt even remotely normal were George’s warm hands in hers.
When had his hands become warm? Or had hers turned as cold as his?
Shadows and candlelight surrounded them. It had to be a dream, how else to explain away the sudden lack of pink in her room? A fire crackled softly in the hearth, a tapestry panel protected their faces from direct heat. Morgan sat in an antique chair with carved timber backrest and pillowed arm rests.
By the window sat a chaise longue, this one made from carved dark timber with swirls along the back and the legs. Where the pink carpet had been now lay parquet flooring and a decorative rug.
‘It’s beautiful,’ Morgan said on a breath.
‘It’s my home. Please say you’ll join me here?’
Morgan clung to the hope she was in a lavish dream.
‘Take your time,’ George pressed her hand to encourage her to go on.
‘I am so sorry George, but I have to say no. Oh please don’t look at me like that, I am trying to be as honest as I can.’
Pain flooded his face. ‘You can’t grow to love me?’
That’s the problem. She could so easily grow to love him. Despite their differences, they had way too much in common, including a desperate need for privacy that nobody else understood. Could it be she’d found her soul mate? She hadn’t expected that to happen until at least university. Or even later. ‘You’re messing with my head. I am absolutely far too young for marriage.’
‘We were made for one another, of that I’m certain. You’re –’
‘– George, I’m only a girl and –’
‘– of a suitable age.’
‘– you’re a ghost.’
He creased his forehead. ‘Why did you have to bring that up?’
‘It’s kind of hard to overlook.’ Silence for a beat, then Morgan asked, ‘George . . . where are we exactly?’
‘We’re in my home.’
‘Ri-i-i-i-ight. Um . . .’ Morgan’s heartbeat kicked up a notch. ‘If we’re in your home, where’s mine?’
‘It’s also here. This is where I come to find peace and quiet. I’ve been steadily rebuilding it.’
‘Is this what you call the half-place?’
‘Yes.’
‘How can I be here too? You come here because you’re . . . because you can.’ Her heart threatened to leap out her throat in panic. ‘Please tell me you haven’t done anything stupid.’
‘My dearest love, I would never hurt you –’
Panic overtook her. ‘What have you done? I want my Mum!’
‘I had hoped you would surrender to my ardent lovemaking, rather than a fit of hysterics. There is no need to be upset.’
‘I want to go home. Now.’
‘But you are home.’
Fear snap-froze Morgan’s heart. ‘What have you done to me George?’
‘Nothing aside from declaring my unyielding devotion. I had hoped offering you my heart and soul might be enough to persuade you. Then of course there’s the matter of speaking with your father for his permission.’
Relief slowed her heart to a more manageable rate. There was no way her father would give permission. Oh great, now she was thinking like a Victorian!
When she did marry – scratch that. If she ever married – her parents’ consent wouldn’t come in to it.
‘Morgan!’ Out of nowhere a hand slapped hard on her shoulder and gave her enough of a shake to lose balance. ‘Snap out of it!’ The voice sounded like her mother’s. ‘Honey, please! Stop playing games, it’s not funny!’
The room shimmied. Everything moved yet stayed in place. The Victorian splendour faded away and morphed back to its pink princessy glory.
The relief on Rachelle’s face! ‘Don’t you ever do that again, you nearly gave me a heart attack.’
Relief crashed over Morgan too. ‘I didn’t mean it.’ Whatever ‘it’ was, it hardly mattered as she crushed her mother in a hug.
‘You looked like you’d passed out standing up. I was right here talking to you and you didn’t even blink.’
How did she explain any of this to her mother when she hardly understood what was going on? She had to think of something quickly. ‘I’ve been doing some self-meditation to help me with school work. I guess
I went in a bit deep.’ No way could she tell the truth – that her ghost boyfriend was so in love with her he wanted her to make the transition to the other side. Which was something Morgan didn’t want to think about too closely, otherwise she’d freak out more than Olivia had.
Spicy aromas danced around her senses. ‘Oh yum. Is Dave making Thai?’ Any excuse to stop thinking about how far George wanted to take things. Because how else could a girl and a ghost be in a relationship unless they were both . . . that.
‘When you didn’t respond on the intercom. I panicked and thought something must be horribly wrong because –’
‘– I love Thai.’
‘Exactly. Come on.’ Rachelle’s voice dropped into a conspiratorial whisper. ‘Dave’s really lifted his game since we started filming the show. If I didn’t know better I’d swear he was getting competitive.’
As much as her mother tried to sound light-hearted, there was something strained about her. The way she smiled too brightly. The way her hand trembled as she brushed Morgan’s hair from her face.
‘I didn’t mean to make you so worried.’ Best to apologise quickly. Truth told, Morgan felt pretty shaken up by the whole thing. It was Morgan’s turn to fake on the smile and act completely calm. As calm as someone who’d been meditating should be. Two women faking calm to each other, nothing abnormal with that at all.
Aromatic coconut, lemongrass and basil leaves had her salivating. Dave had put a huge jug of iced water on the table beside the bowls filled with cucumber slices and coriander leaves.
‘Coconut rice, green curry and red curry,’ Dave announced as he took the lids off the balti bowls. He’d even put tealight candles under them to keep the curries bubbling hot. Not that they needed it with all the chilli he’d packed in.
‘Your instincts are correct,’ Morgan said. ‘He’s angling to take over the show.’
At which point Rachelle burst into tears and hid her face in her hands. Her words came out in a mash of blubbering. Morgan gave her mother soft rub on the shoulder and gave an apologetic look to Dave for dropping him in it; he gave her a stricken one in return, as if he had no idea what was going on.
The Girl and the Ghost Page 13