Unwanted Guest

I had snuck back home through a cave I had dug going from my room to the garden. Mother didn't know about it, because I had it hidden well. I couldn't sleep that night. I was too worried about whether or not that ghost had really been my father, or an impersonator. I knew that the only way I'd ever get some answers would be to hire a private investigator, but I was just a kid. I didn't have any money and my mother wasn't exactly wealthy, not to mention I didn't really have any friends besides Amy, who was also an outcast like me. It was just the two of us against the world.

Like sisters from another mister. I had her back, and she had mine. I remember before I met her. I was so lonely, and the only thing that made me happy was music. It got to the point I wanted to make my own music. So I begged my mom to get me a guitar. It was about a year after father had disappeared. She didn't say anything, just nodded her head and handed me some money. It wasn't much, so all I was able to get was an acoustic guitar. I really wanted the red and black electric guitar, but it was way more than mom could afford. I like my guitar though. It's helped me in more ways than one. Then when Amy came into my life, she blessed my ears with the best voice I ever heard sing.

Our plan is to run away and chase our dream of becoming a band. But things constantly come up. Things change. This was one of those things, because now I can't just leave without finding out the truth. It will eat me up until the day I die. Or so I thought. While I lied in my bed wide awake, just thinking, Amy was a nervous wreck in her home. Before I left, I helped her clean up best I could. I didn't want to leave her with no help. Both of us tried many things to get that planchette. I was trying with tools, but it was as if her floor was cursed. It didn't want to budge. She gave up on the tools and eventually slammed her hands into the wood repeatedly until her hands bled. I had to restrain her and tell her to calm down, that we would come back and figure something out. I poured alcohol on her hands and wrapped them up gently, and gave her a hug. She whimpered, said she was scared.

"Don't be. It was all just a coincidence. That earthquake, it came out of nowhere and at the worst time possible, but just try to get some sleep and I'll come back over later and try something else," I had told her.

She breathed in and out, hugged me goodbye, and we parted ways.

During this time, Amy was in her bed, trying to sleep, but saw something move in the corner of her eyes. She jolted up many times to try and see if what she was seeing was real, or just in her head. She told herself to calm down, that she was hallucinating from stress. She was in denial. When the sun rose, the hallucinations stopped. So she chalked it up to just her stress.

"It's just a board game, stupid," she chastised herself. "Not real."

It was now just one day before Halloween. Unlike me, Amy had a part time job. I haven't had the confidence to get a job since I got fired from my first one. Everything was going fine, until my school bullies walked in. I tried to hide myself, but they noticed me. I saw them whisper something in my boss's ear, then they left. I was confused. Moments later my boss told me he wanted to see me in his office.

"Is something the matter, sir?" I asked, sitting down.

"I've been informed that you frequently bully and harass some kids. I can't have someone like that working for me, I'll lose business," he said.

"What? No! You got it all wrong. They're the ones who bully me! Please I need this job," I begged.

"I'm sorry Amber but it's five testimonies against yours. Just go home."

As tears fell, I felt an incredible amount of anger well up inside me that day as I clenched my fists and grit my teeth together.

"You will regret this," I glared.

I went over to Amy's place immediately after that incident and cried into her arms about how life was cruel and unfair. I didn't understand why those kids had to torment us.

"I just wanted to earn money," I sobbed.

"Shhhh, I know. I know. You didn't deserve that," Amy said.

It was then I looked up at her face and noticed she had dark circles under her eyes.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Hm? Yeah yeah, I'm okay. Just a little tired."

"You should go take a nap."

"No I- yawn- I'm okay. Really."

I wanted to press her for more, but decided to let it go. We were gonna try to find a way to get the planchette when we noticed it wasn't even in its spot anymore. It completely disappeared.

"What the? Where'd it go?" I shivered, feeling a random chill in the house.

Amy had passed out where she was sitting. I frowned, wondering why she didn't just go sleep in her bed. I shook her and had her at least go lie down on the couch. She really did not want to sleep in her bed. I was pretty tired myself for not being able to sleep last night, so I walked up to her room to lie down. As soon as I opened her door, the atmosphere felt way different from the rest of the house. It felt colder, more sinister. I felt unnerved, but shook it off and lied down.

I woke up moments later from searing pain coming from my back. When I saw blood on the bed, I screamed in a panic. Amy came running immediately and she also screamed.

"YOUR BACK!"

"WHAT? WHAT'S WRONG WITH MY BACK?"

There were deep cuts along my back. It looked like I had been attacked by a wild animal. She took me to the bathroom immediately to wash my back and put gauze over the cuts.

"You should see a doctor about your back. You might need to get stitches," said Amy.

"What's going on in your house, Amy?" I asked.

Amy sighed. "That spirit we were talking to, most definitely is not your father. We let a benevolent spirit in my house, and for some reason it's decided to take refuge in my room. The rest of the house seems to be safe, for now."

My eyes widened. "So, we didn't talk to my father. He might still be alive then." Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought about the possibility of reuniting with my father.

"Maybe. But, we should board up my room for now. No one can get hurt like this again."

"What will your parents think?" I asked.

"I'll just have to tell them the truth. They believe in the after life and demons, so they'll probably just be disappointed in me that I got a Ouija board. They'll probably have a priest come in and do something to repel the demon," Amy said with a tinge of hope.

"Aren't spirits supposed to go back to wherever they came from if we're not using the Ouija board though?" I asked.

"It would have, if we had the chance to end it properly. We didn't though, because of the earthquake."

I hoped that the demon stayed in her room as we boarded it up with the broken wood we found leftover from the quake. Once we finished, Amy went back to the couch to catch up on sleep while I slept on my stomach in a sleeping bag.