The House on Cold Hill

29

Jade sat in the Range Rover beside Ollie in silence for much of the way to school. She had been silent at breakfast after dropping her little bombshell, and she seemed determined to remain silent now.

He was silent too, deep in his own troubled thoughts. But then, finally, he said, ‘OK, enough screen time for one car journey!’

She looked at him with a miffed expression.

‘So come on, darling, tell me more. You said you saw a ghost. What did you see?’

‘It was a little girl standing at the end of my bed.’

‘OK. Did she frighten you?’

‘Well, sort of.’

‘What did she look like?’

‘The same as last time.’

Surprised, Ollie said, ‘You’ve seen her before?’

She nodded.

‘How many times?’

‘I don’t know. Several times.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me before, or your mum?’

She shrugged. ‘I thought Mum would be spooked. You know how nervy she is.’

He smiled. ‘OK, so why didn’t you tell me?’

‘I tried to the other day. You were like — sort of a bit dismissive.’

‘OK, I’m not being dismissive now. Tell me more about her.’

‘There’s another thing, Dad. Remember I told you, when I FaceTime with Phoebe, she keeps seeing this old woman behind me.’

He halted the car at traffic lights, frowning. ‘Do you remember on our first Sunday in the house — you asked if Gran had come up to your room?’

She nodded.

‘But your gran had gone home quite a bit earlier. Did Phoebe see something then, in your room?’

‘Yes.’

‘So how does all this make you feel?’

‘I think it’s pretty cool!’

Ollie smiled. ‘You do?’

She nodded again, vigorously, her eyes bright with excitement. ‘I think it’s so cool that we’ve got a ghost!’ Then her demeanour darkened. ‘Well, except I’m not sure I like this girl who comes into my room. I don’t think she’s very nice.’

‘Why’s that?’

‘Well, she doesn’t say very nice things.’

‘What does she say?’ Suddenly the woman in the car in front of him, a small Toyota hatchback, threw a cardboard cup out of the window. He felt a flash of rage. Why? Why did people do shit like that? He looked at his daughter with deep affection. She was a decent human being. She’d never throw litter out of a car window. Or harm an animal. She didn’t have a malicious bone in her body. Although sometimes he worried she was too trusting.

After some moments, Jade said, ‘Each time I see her she tells me not to worry and that I’ll be joining her soon. That we all will be — you, Mum and I.’

‘Joining her where?’

‘On the other side.’

‘That’s what she says to you?’

Jade nodded. ‘She says we’re already dead.’

‘What do you say to her?’

‘I just tell her she’s silly! She is.’

Her attitude cheered him up a fraction and he smiled. ‘Yes, she’s very silly.’

‘Dead people can’t hurt you, can they, Dad? You said that to me, didn’t you?’

‘No, darling, they can’t,’ he said, trying to sound convincing.

A few minutes later he watched her head off towards the school, with her little multi-coloured rucksack on her back, and her guitar in its maroon case in her hand, hurrying to catch up with a group of girls — her new friends, he wondered?

He sat there for several minutes, long after she had safely disappeared, chatting away happily to a couple of girls in the group. No doubt full of street cred because she had talked to a ghost last night and none of the others had.

Then he drove off, heading home.

Hoping some of the workmen would be there today.

Just what the hell had really happened during the night?

He was nervous, he realized. Nervous right now about being in the house alone.