Chapter 9
Ghosts
Ghosts
November 18
We’re on our way to England. James says there’s something he needs to show Aaron and me before we do anything else.
November 22
What James wanted to show us is a really, really old house. “This,” he gestured to the land around us, “used to be the outskirts of a town called Pinelawn.”
Aaron stared at James and said, “You mean this is…” James nodded. “Home.” He finished.
James grabbed my hand. “Come on,” he said, “I want to show you the inside.” We walked around the house, looking at the kitchen and livingroom and avoiding the numerous holes in the floor.
When we went upstairs, we stopped at the first room. “This used to be our parents room.” James said. I could see the pain and sadness in his golden-orange eyes. As we continued to the next room, Aaron stayed in the doorway.
When we reached the next room, Aaron whispered something. He was so quiet I could barely hear him. “James…?” he said.
James was the first one to get there. When he looked in the room, he froze. When I reached the room, I saw what they were staring at. In the middle of the room was a ghost. She was medium height and had dirty-blonde hair down to her shoulders. She was wearing clothes like the people I’ve seen in pictures of the American Revolution.
“Mum?” James asked and the ghost looked at him.
“James? Aaron? Can it really be you?” she asked, floating toward the two boys. She put her arms around them and said, “I missed you so much. I’ve been waiting here for centuries. My, you’ve grown so much. But I’m glad you’re safe.” She let go of them and looked at me, “And who is this? I haven’t seen her before. Is she your girlfriend?” she asked looking at James.
“Mo-om … Well, not really.” James took a moment to explain our story.
“Oh, you poor dear.” James’ mom said, bending down and hugging me. I smiled when she let go and nodded to let her know I appreciate her concern.
We stayed until almost sunset and decided to leave. When we were outside, a cat was sitting there. It had a white body and a sandy patch on its head. “Hi there, little kitty.” I said, walking up and petting the cat.
Aaron walked up to me. “Hi, Danielle.” He said to the cat.
I turned to look at him. “You know this cat?” I asked, curious.
“How’d you know it was me?” I turned around to see a girl around my age. She had blonde hair to her shoulders, and blue eyes.
“Your scent,” he said, “and the size-”
“Size of what?” she interrupted, glaring at him.
James stepped between Danielle and Aaron. “Hey, Danielle,” He said, stopping the impending fight between them.
“Buddy!” she shouted, quickly hugging James. “Did you kill those rogues?” she asked.
“Well…” James stated. “I killed two of them. I thought that the leader, Ciaran, was dead too, but he somehow lived. I also thought that Aaron was dead, but, as you can see, he’s not. And Nicole here,” he put his hand on my shoulder, “Her parents were killed by Ciaran. So, I’ve been looking after Nicole for the past three or so years,”
“Okay. I’m sorry you lost your parents,” she said, hugging me. I nodded in appreciation.
“James, I'm tired..” I complained, pulling on his arm.
“Okay. I'm sorry, I forgot again. The three of us don’t need to sleep, but-” he started.
“Three?” I interrupted.
“Yea,” Aaron said, “Didn’t you notice Danielle was a vampire?”
“Really?” I asked and Danielle showed me her fangs. “Oh.” I said. I'm not afraid of vampires anymore. Not as long as James and Aaron like them.
James decided it would be quicker to carry me home, so he picked me up in his arms. Sometime on the way there, I fell asleep.
December 2
It’s snowing! James bought us all jackets and boots so that we can play outside. I was almost done making a snowman with James when something cold hit the back of my head. I whirled around to see Aaron bent over laughing. As quickly as I could, I made a snowball and chucked it at him. I had forgotten his vampiric speed, though, and he dodged it easily. “No fair!” I shouted as Aaron threw another snowball at me.
Just before it reached me, James stepped in front of it. “Let me do this,” he said, “It’s been awhile since I had a snowball fight.” I just nodded and handed him a snowball. I leaned against my half-finished snowman and watched the two brother chuck snowballs at each other. By the time we were done, the sun was reaching the tops of nearby trees. We went inside and went to bed right after dinner.
December 4
James says that we’re going to live in Pinelawn. He and Aaron are going to fix their old house so that we can stay there. It’ll be so nice to have a permanent home again.
