A/N: Hello again! I'd like to thank all my wonderful reviewers for the reviews! :) Sorry for the late posting too! I'm getting the writer's block, I suppose. Anyways, here is the chapter!
Tobias had come back from the market and returned with his arms full of the ingredients. "Is everything alright, ma'am?" he asked softly, his eyes searching Anne's tired face.
"Yes. I just didn't get enough sleep." Anne replied with a yawn. If that barber hadn't awakened her, she probably would've been able to work. She was opening the shop up tomorrow and she had a lot of work to do but she didn't feel quite- alive enough to work.
"You wouldn't mind if I stayed tonight, would you? I really don't have a place to stay for the night. " Tobias queried as a plan formulated in his mind. He would sleep upstairs and find exactly what was haunting it. His best guess was that there was some spirit haunting it. And if there was, then he would find a person to help him rid of the ghost.
"Of course." Anne said nervously as chills of fear went up her spine. What if Tobias found out she was assisting a ghost?
"Great! I'll sleep upstairs." Tobias said enthusiastically but she disagreed with him, which made him even more suspicious.
"No. You can sleep down here and I'll sleep upstairs." she said, hoping he wouldn't argue back. He could not find out that there was a ghost up there... An evil ghost that wanted revenge...
"I don't know if you understand, ma'am. But there is something up there. And I know you can see it. Tell me what are you seeing?" Tobias questioned as Anne kept a calm façade.
"Nothing. Nothing at all." She said untruthfully and twisted her hands behind her back. "I use upstairs as my little thought house… Sometimes I need a quiet place to get my thoughts out and upstairs is the perfect place."
"Then why don't I sleep upstairs?" he asked with persistence, not wanting to give up.
"Please. For your comfort. Guests deserve good treatment, and good treatment is what you'll have." She replied with a genuine smile. "So I'll just go upstairs now and take a nap. You can sleep down here."
"Thanks ma'am." He said before he left to another room to sleep. Although, he still doubted Anne's reply to what she saw up there.
Anne walked outside of her shop and climbed up the steps to Sweeney's shop, sluggishly opening the door, and heard a creak when the door opened. She did have a slight feeling of fear, but she remained as calm as she could be. "Mister Todd?" she whispered, but like earlier, no one replied. She spotted a cot in the room and walked over to it. She sat down on it and waited for Sweeney to show up; however, he never did. She waited. And waited. Not a sound came from the room and her eyes began to droop with sleepiness. She reminded herself to stay awake but her body felt so tired that she finally decided to give in to sleep.
Sweeney floated back to his shop through the walls and was about to sit in his cot but something or more precisely someone was occupying it. He took out his razor and stepped closer to the person, ready to rid of the sorry excuse of a person's life. He brought his razor closer to the person's neck and jumped back a little when the person groaned and rolled over. The person's black hair covered his or her face, which made it difficult for Sweeney to see exactly who it was. He attempted again to slice the person's throat but the head of hair looked too familiar. He pushed some hair out of the person's face and realized it was Anne.
His ghostly fingers traced the outline of her face, from her forehead to her jaw. He shivered for some reason and he recoiled his hand as if he were touching poison. Who was she to steal his cot? He was going to give her a rough awakening to teach her to not sleep in his cot, but something had stopped him. He didn't quite know what it was but it was a peculiar feeling that he couldn't right grasp.
He sheathed his razor and started to pace back and forth in front of his broken mirror. Why couldn't he just shove her out of his room? It was his room in the first place and he wanted revenge on every single person in the entire world. No, the only reason why he didn't shove her awake was because she was going to be part of his plan. 'Yes, that was the only reason.' He coaxed himself in his mind. That blasted woman was using HIS cot in HIS room.
His eyes landed back on her and he grumbled to himself. He might as well find a way to remove her off his cot. But he still couldn't draw himself to drag her off, no matter what he thought of. He waited for her to wake but time ticked by slowly. He began pacing again and pondered on why he couldn't drag her off. There was some reason that he couldn't simply solve.
Anne stirred and his gaze instantly landed on her. He walked to his cot, stopping a few feet away from the bed to allow her some room.
"Mister Todd?" she groaned groggily as her eyes fluttered open. She immediately became alert and jumped out of his cot with panic. "I didn't mean to fall asleep in your cot!" she blurted out hastily. "I just- I let Tobias sleep downstairs and I needed a place to sleep and-,"
"Calm yourself woman!" Sweeney raised his voice slightly over hers, causing her to stop her rambling. "Now, slowly."
"Tobias is sleeping downstairs and I told him I'd sleep up here." Anne's gaze adverted to the ground with embarrassment. "I suppose I'll go sleep somewhere else… for you'd rather not be disturbed."
"No." he said in a whisper. "The cot is all yours." Sweeney didn't know what made him say that either. "Just don't cause a clamor while I'm around."
"Thanks." Anne said and he nodded his head subconsciously.
It was very irregular for Sweeney to receive thanks from someone. No one had thanked him for many years… except for Anthony who stole his Johanna. He stared blankly at her for a while yet it was unconsciously done.
"Mister Todd?" she queried, snapping him out of his thoughts. He had become quite amiable once she had agreed to his terms. She really didn't want to assist a murderer, but she was compelled to. It wasn't like she had a choice if she wanted to live. "Have you planned out an idea for customers?"
"Yes." He replied abruptly. "I have. You will make a flyer… to seek out an apprentice. And send him up here. I will then shortly dispose of him and clean it up."
"But these are innocent men-," Anne protested with fright of what might be the outcome of the mess.
"DO NOT QUESTION ME!" Sweeney bellowed and she shuddered with fright. He slowly calmed himself, trying not to scare her away. He didn't want to purposely scare her away… just yet… He needed her… for his plan. "I tell you one thing. All men are corrupt filthy vermin. There is not a single man that has not committed a sin and therefore, I shall get my vengeance."
Anne remained taciturn and nodded her head lamely. If she could only make him see that killing was not the answer…
"Now, do not question my motives for you know them well." Sweeney placed his hand roughly on her shoulder and guided her to the exit. "Post the flyers and we shall find some very good customers. Once killed, I will drop them off in the river Thames and let their corpses sink."
Anne gagged at the thought of dead corpses floating down the river. "Of course, Mister Todd. I'll have the flyers up by tomorrow." She replied quietly.
"Good. I'll make sure it is cleaned up so there'll be no blame on you." Sweeney said gruffly and opened the door for her to exit.
She walked out of his grasp and down the stairs, thinking of what the flyer should say. She had this strange feeling twirling in her stomach as if something bad was going to happen. She had to do something to stop it… but how? She shook her head with disappointment and entered upon her shop.
A/N: Thanks for reading and please leave a review! :)
