Sorry, gotta hurry, but I will answer any question through this chapter, I believe. Hope you all enjoy! Luv ya,

Angel of the Opera

Chapter 27- Tapes

Annie arrived at Jayden's house at 7:57 and pulled the keys from her car's ignition. She smiled, looking at the rundown little hut. She contrasted the house to Josh's. Was it a bad thing that Jayden lived in such a small and scary neighborhood, or was it a bad thing that Josh lived in such a prissy and expensive neighborhood? She didn't care much anymore.

She knocked on the door, and Jayden answered within seconds. He looked happy for the most part, but once again his face dawned new bruises and cuts. Annie sighed, looking at Jayden's beaten face. This time, there was a large red mark, that looked a lot like a hand. Annie knew that someone had hit Jayden.

"I know, it looks bad…" Jayden said, pointing to the bruises. "But it really isn't all that terrible. I found myself in a slight scuffle with a boy from another school. He didn't seem to understand the words 'get out of my way' when he parked his car in front of mine." He moved aside and let Annie in.

"I didn't know you had a car…" Annie said.

"Well, It isn't here right now."

"Where is it?"

Obviously without thinking Jayden said, "Rob has it." Then he looked horrified at his own words.

Annie stopped and looked up at Jayden. "Who is Rob?" She asked. " I don't think I've ever met him."

Jayden sighed, and looking quite defeated, he said, "Rob is my legal guardian." He answered.

He led her into the living room, where once again she sat on the couch. She sat in silence for a while and then Jayden told her to stay where she was. He left the room, heading for the kitchen. Annie got up and looked at the walls, hoping to find a picture of Jayden as a child, but found none. She saw another hallway, and checking and listening to find out if Jayden was somewhere near, she heading down it.

There were two open doors at the end of the hallway and one closed one. The two open ones where a closet and a bathroom, the third one, the closed door had one word on the wood: "Jayden". She listened, and hearing Jayden somewhere across the house, she opened the door, silently and slipped inside.

The room was not large, but in on side, a full sized bed covered half of the room, and on the other was a TV atop a cupboard. One of the doors where open, and Annie normally would have dismissed the contents, but she caught sight of her name. One of the tapes inside the door read, "Annie and Dad's recital".

Annie walked to the cupboard and read the three others closest to the first tape. They where all home videos of her and her father. One was her eight birthday. She popped this one into the VCR and watched as she saw her party, and her father call her his 'lovely ladybug' for the first time.

The recital tape contained her father and herself playing the very piece she had played with the ghost the other night. The other tapes contained things like this and all things her fathers ghost had spoke of.

Tears climbing into her eyes, she backed away from the TV. She held the remote in her hand, but dropped it as she turned to the door. Her head made contact with something hard. Jayden.

Oh, he is gunna be pissed.