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I wake up to the sound of my Great Aunt Margaret's hushed but angry voice; which is not a good sign. Since she is my only living relative she has been my legal guardian since I lost both of my parents, but that's all she is...a legal guardian and nothing more. Never has she shown even the slightest bit of affection for me, I am only her legal burden, and someone to batter with ill meant words; nothing I have ever done is good enough for her and nothing ever will, especially this. I open my eyes and realise that I am in the hospital and Alice is sitting in a chair to my right, when she sees that I am awake she nearly jumps out of her seat.
"Oh my god! Your awake! I am so sorry about last night, I shouldn't have gone ahead without you", she looks like she is going to cry.
"It's not your fault Alice, we knew it was dangerous", the events of last night slowly come back, through the throbbing of my head, "Why does my head hurt so much?".
She looks scared, "You passed out sometime after we got on the other side of those doors and when I called the ambulance on my cell. You must have hit your head as well because you have a concussion. We thought you weren't going to wake up because of it".
"As well? What else?".
She points down to my right arm which is in a crisp white cast and I groan, "I broke my arm! No fucking way!".
She giggles despite how worried I know she must have been, "It could have been worse".
"How am I supposed to do anything?", I whine.
"Ill help you when you get back, don't worry", she reassures.
"Get back? That must mean...Oh no I can not stay at my Aunt's! No!", I say a little too loudly.
"Shhhh...she's just outside the door and she's been really worried about you. Well in her own way I suppose".
I start to laugh before the pain in my head stops me, "That's not possible".
"I can see how she would be the type of person you definitely would not want to get on the wrong side of, but really she has been worried".
As if to prove her point my Aunt walks into the room, "Those damn doctor's can't do anything right, Alice, all I asked was for one simple little...Oh your awake, Isabella, thank goodness", I would blame her sudden concern as a hallucination but it seems all too real, "Don't you worry I have already talked to the school and everything is under control".
"Are we expelled?", this is what I dread the most because Alice has only just started.
"Heavens no! I wouldn't allow that to happen. Your friend here hasn't left your side all day, dear girl".
I smile over at Alice in thanks,"So your not mad at all?", I say warily, I am not used to this new attitude of my Aunts.
She avoids answering my question directly but her voice is not unkind, "That school has always been dangerous place, I remember what happened nearly 50 years ago...", her voice fades away as she seems to remember something, "Anyway", she says in deliberately bright voice, "You'll soon be out of here, that is if those damn doctors do their jobs like they are supposed to...", then she's off to attack another innocent doctor about me.
I laugh again, "Thanks for warning me, although I think I would have been just as shocked".
"Like Edmund said, family sticks together".
I feel a sickening twist in my heart when I think about the last memory I have of last night; Edmund's look of hate directed towards me. I know we went too far with the questions, but for some reason helping them matters to me more than anything else ever has.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. You don't need this right now, I tend to time my comment's all wrong", she blushes a little.
"No, it's fine I just have a hard time thinking of my Aunt as the way I think family should be".
"Will you let me do something for you? To make up for last night? Please!?", she gently pleads.
I don't bother telling her it's not her fault this time, because she's the type of person who will always say it is, "Alright".
"Come have Christmas with my family! You can meet my boyfriend, Jasper! He is the drummer in the band that him and his two best friends Emmett and Edward started. Their music is so amazing, but I am slightly biased", she laughs sweetly.
"Isn't Emmett your brother?".
"Yep", she nods her head, "He's plays the guitar and does some of the vocals, but Edward is their lead singer".
"I'd love to come but my Aunt will want me at her place for Christmas as usual", my heart drops at the thought of another Christmas helping the caterers for my Aunt's annual Christmas Party, anything would be better than that but I know a Christmas with Alice would be the best I have ever had.
"Well you have a month to ask her, I think it will be fun!".
I only smile, "Can I have something for my head now?".
"Oh right!", she presses the call button and grins, "Is there anything else?".
"You found out about my memory?", I take a guess.
She nods, "Your Aunt told me but the doctors mentioned it as well because of the coma you were in and your current concussion. I'm sorry if you wanted to tell me yourself".
"No it's fine really, did they say anything about me getting it back?".
She nods, "Yea they did but they have no way of knowing if you lost it because of the accident or the emotional trauma. We'll just have to see if anything jogs your memory or if you have flashbacks".
I want to remember just as much as I don't; I know my parents and my old life will still seem like they don't belong to me, "Sometimes I feel like I am such a fake, I mean everyone catches what is left of my accent but I don't feel like I once belonged in England. I don't even know if the memories returning would ever fix that".
"You don't have any pictures or facts like the town you used to live in?", she says softly.
I shake my head, "No, my Aunt made sure none of that was made available to me, the records at Allison Kendrick's are under special lock and key. She also burned all pictures and useless documents that had anything to do with my parents or my old life".
She looks at me in horror, "But why?".
"All I know is that she is from my father's side of the family. He married my mother against the wishes of his family and they never forgave him for it. I think he must have given up his fortune to be with my mother because my Aunt occasionally mentions that 'I have had a far more fortunate upbringing than I would have had if they were still alive', it's like she doesn't even care that they were my parents".
"When you come back to school I have a bunch of things that I should probably tell you", she says in a strange tone, but before I can ask her what she means the nurse Alice called for comes into the room and gives me some much needed pain relievers, then Alice excuses herself to go outside and make a quick call.
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When I am discharged from the hospital, I leave with instructions to come back if I feel dizzy or lightheaded. I am happy to leave so soon, but I almost wish they would make me stay, for the sake of delaying the stay at my Aunt's house. Alice came by this morning with clean clothes and a hairbrush, but had to go back to the school a few hours later, so I walk out to the waiting limo alone. When I arrive I soon find that even though my Aunt apparently uncovered some feelings of rare concern when she found out I was in the hospital some things will never change.
"This the last time I am going to use one of my favors to get you out of trouble Isabella, the next time you will be on your own and I won't be happy about it. The Allison Kendrick School For Girls may have...safety issues... but that does not excuse the stealing and trespassing that you and your friend took part in. It's the best school in America, so do not ruin your last chance". I cover up a smirk at the phrase she likes to re-use. Ever since I can remember she has always been the most superstitious person I know, and the most afraid of the unknown. She always calls things relating to ghosts or spirits 'Safety Issues'.
I nod, "It won't happen again, now may I please be excused to go to my room?".
She nods briskly, "But make yourself scarce around five. Your dinner will be sent upstairs, because I will be having guests".
I nod and make my way upstairs, for someone so afraid of ghosts, she sure makes me act like one when I am here.
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The next day I sprawl out on the grass in the back garden for some much needed fresh air. The cool late fall wind blowing through the trees is calming and soon I start to day dream... As usual when I let my mind wander I try to think about what I can't remember; and even with the recent events my mind is still blank of what matters. What would my life be like if my parent's were still alive? Or if we didn't go out that night? If only I could remember something about them or my old life then I would know more about me. Who am I really? Who was I? Do I have friends in England that would remember me? It's unbelievable how it is possible for your life to change so much in only a few seconds, and how someone you don't even know can choose to do so; my Aunt was not able to hide from me the fact that it was drunk driver that hit us, killing my parent's on impact...
"Why hello there, it's a bit early for Christmas though?", I open my eye to the unfamiliar voice. When I slowly sit up because of my tender bruises, an elderly man with a rake in his hands is standing nearby, he is obviously the gardener.
"Who are you?", I say anyway.
"Pardon me, the name's Finn", he tips his fishing hat and flashes me a toothless grin.
I stand up and move over to the walkway because he obviously can't rake around me, "I guess I am back a bit early this year, but not by choice". I assume he already know who I am so I don't introduce myself.
He shows no intention of going back to work, leaning on the rake instead, "Mind if I ask why?".
I shrug,"I don't mind, but you wouldn't believe the truth".
He turns serious, "You'd be surprised".
I decide that it can't hurt telling him the unglazed truth, and maybe ill prove him wrong about being surprised, "I told a ghost that he had better let me help him or he would be exorcised, and he went on an angry rampage", I gesture towards my arm.
He only looks a little amused, "That would make a fellow angry".
It's me that turns out being surprised, "You actually believe me?".
"Of course, I wasn't born yesterday, that school has always been haunted", he says matter-of-factually.
"This wasn't a normal incident though, there is someone new haunting the halls".
He thoughtfully answers, without a hint of falseness , "More of the Baltimore family I reckon".
I know this is the last name of the first family to own the mansion, but I never imagined that Chris, Hayden, Edmund and Ava were direct descendants. I suppose if the line hadn't died it would still be in their family, "You know about them?".
He looks straight into my eyes and have the strange sensation that he knows much, much more than he is letting on, "Yes, I know many things about the Baltimores. In their day people around here associated their name with greed and mistrust".
I am unable to hide my shock, "But..but why?".
"Even now, as ghosts, they cannot and must not be trusted, dear Isabella", he says gravely.
I look down for a moment, trying to collect my thoughts, "I think I already knew that but I refused to believe it. They were the ghosts that were involved in the accident awhile ago?", I can't bring myself to say which one I think it was, so I don't.
He nods once, "Prime example, what happened 48 years ago, no matter how much you think you know a ghost they can turn on you just like that", he snaps his fingers to prove his point, "Terrible temper problems they have".
This time I look at him in horror, because I know all too well what he means, "Who was there the last time?".
To his credit he actually looks surprised that I don't know, "Eighteen year old Maggie Parker", he flicks his finger towards the house and I gasp. My distrustful, superstitious, spiteful, and odious Aunt was the innocent girl that closed half the school in her wake and was never the same again.
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