CHAPTER EIGHT

Morag was putting on her dressing gown when she heard a scream of terror coming from the spare bedroom. With her heart thudding, she found Laura staring into space, her face white as a sheet.

" Laura, what's wrong?" she asked. Laura was covering her eyes with her hands. Morag took her hands away from her face.

" I-it's him, " Laura gasped, " He was h-h-here,"

" Who?" Morag looked around, nobody was there.

" Sam!" Laura shuddered and Morag put her arms around her.

" Sam was…here?" Morag asked doubtfully.

" He was standing right there." Laura insisted, pointing to a spot that was a couple of feet away.

" Well…the dark can play tricks on your mind." Morag said after a moment's silence.

" You think I'm going crazy?" Laura glared at her.

" No, not at all. But you've been through a lot." Morag tried to make her see reason, "It was probably just a shadow you saw that's all."

" Are you sure he's dead?" Laura asked softly as Morag pulled her in for another comforting hug.

" Absolutely," Morag replied without hesitation.

" Sorry if I scared you." Laura smiled ruefully as she drew back the covers of the bed, " The bed's all made up. Pleasant dreams." She gave Morag a goodnight kiss before heading back to her own room..

Laura lay in her bed for at least 20 minutes until she felt Morag slide into bed next to her. Laura had her back to her and smiled as she felt an arm curl around her waist.

" I just felt like some company, that's all." Morag whispered into her hair before they fell asleep.

Tim, Jacob, David and a couple of others walked along the secluded stretch of beach. It was close to midnight and freezing. Jacob was glad he bought his jacket and buried his hands deep into the pocket of the jeans. He had finished two cans of beer and was feeling decidedly light-headed.

" Thirsty?" Tim asked Jacob, throwing him another can of beer. Jacob frowned at it.

" Don't you have anything…lighter?" he asked him.

" Try this." David handed him a bottle of vodka with lemonade. It wasn't lighter but anything was better then beer.

He took a swig and was surprised to find it actually tasted sweet. He took a longer gulp and smiled, this was a drink he liked!

They drank, talked and a couple of girls joined him-Tim's girlfriend Amelia and a girl Jacob sorted of like from Math-Megan. They flirted and Jacob had his second bottle of vodka. By the time he finished that, he was wasted. He couldn't talk properly and couldn't walk in a straight line either. The world spun dizzily around him and for a brief moment, he thought he was going to be sick.

He stood up and swayed, maybe a midnight swim will help sober him up some? He handed David his vodka and pulled his shirt off.

" What are you doing?" Tim asked curiously, his arm around Amelia's waist.

" I feel kinda sick, so I'm taking a swim." Jacob stumbled as he took off his trousers and was naked except for his boxer shorts. Megan blushed when she saw the guy she was crushing on, practically naked.

Tim stared at him, " Are you crazy? You've had two beers and two vodkas and you're gonna take a dip? Everybody knows not to swim when you are drunk."

" It's kind of funny, coming from you." Jacob glared at him, " from the same guy who made me take a midnight swim awhile back."

" Yeah but that was different." Tim shook his head, " Even I know not to swim when you've been drinking-come on."

" I used to be on the swim team at my old school. I can hold my breath under water for a full minute. That was how I managed that swim." He strode towards the water and Tim grabbed his arm.

" I will not be held responsible if something happens to you," Tim hissed, angry,

" And if this is your idea of paying me back for what happened to your mother, then go ahead. Swim, see if I care."

Jacob just stared back defiantly and walked into the water. The coldness shocked him at first and he got used to it after awhile, " Hey, this is great!" he called, splashing around, " Come on in Megan!"

" No thanks, I'd rather stay dry!" Megan called back, deciding Jacob was stupider than he looked. She turned away, disappointed.

After fifteen minutes, Tim sat up and stared out into the darkness, " Hey, where is he?"

" He's just trying to scare us-like last time." David shook his head, annoyed. Jacob sure knew how to attract attention.

" No, something's not right." Tim began taking his shoes off, jeans and his shirt. He waded into the water until it was waist-deep, " Jacob! Stop fooling around and come out!" there was no reply. He waded in further…and almost had a heart attack when something grabbed his leg and pulled him under. Jacob surfaced and dunked Tim one more time, laughing.

" Can't believe you fell for it again." He chortled as Tim resurfaced, coughing and spluttering.

" You-you…I could kill you." Tim hissed, anger boiling over. He took a swing at Jacob but was taken aback when Jacob blocked his swing. The guy was stronger than he looked.

" It goes to show that you don't ever mess with me again." Jacob said as his eyes bore into Tim's, " Understand?"