Souls Apart (Book 1 in the Lost Souls Trilogy) (4 page)

“I guess we’ll
have to meet at some point but let’s just leave it for a little while, yeah? I don’t
think I could handle another rejection tonight.”

I gave him a
kiss on the cheek and the shy look on his face made him seem so much younger
than his years.
 
I wanted my mom to meet
him so much.
 
I knew she had to love him
as much as I did.
 
Why couldn’t anyone
else see how perfect he was?

-8-

I knocked for Amber the next day but she’d already
gone to school.
 
She’d moved desks too,
preferring to sit next to the class dork, Mindy, rather than in her usual place
next to me.
 
She avoided eye contact as I
pulled out my chair to sit down.
 
What
was wrong with her?
 
I caught up with her
at break. “Ambs, what’s going on? Why didn’t you sit near me today?”

“You won’t listen so there’s not much point in me
saying anything.”
 
She put her books in
her locker and tried to walk past me.

“Ambs, we’re friends. Please, tell me what’s bothering
you.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Ok. I know you’re madly
in love with him and everything but I got the worst feeling about him, Charls.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t explain it.
 
It was like he was evil or something.
 
It was like that time I sat in that car and I had to get out because I
felt that horrible dread inside…”

“I don’t understand why you think that, though.”

“Trust me, Charls.
 
He’s bad news, but I knew you wouldn’t listen so I wasn’t going to say
anything.”

“Why are you avoiding me, though? We can still be
friends, can’t we? Eddie hasn’t done anything to you.”

“I don’t know how we can be friends now. You’ll choose
him over me, that’s what happens.”

I laughed. “I’ll never put him first. You don’t have
to like him as long as we can still be friends.”

She sighed. “I’m
so glad you said that, Charls.
 
I was
worried this was going to ruin our friendship.”

“Nothing will ever come between us.
 
We’ve been mates since we were toddlers!”

I gave her a big hug and I sensed a weird feeling
between us.
 
It was as though it would be
the last time we would be close.
 
I
pulled away slowly and noticed a strange expression on her face.
 
It was as though she pitied me.

“Are you ok?”
 
I
asked.

“Yeah, sure.
 
I
guess I’m just a little worried that you’re still going to be seeing him. I
don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“It’s ok, Ambs.
 
He doesn’t scare me.
 
I love him
and he loves me so it’s all going to be all right, you’ll see.”

We started walking towards the gym and for a split
second I thought I saw Eddie; just standing there, leaning up against the
wall.
 
I’d not been sleeping very well
lately and so I put it down to that.
 
After an enjoyable session of cheerleading practice Amber and I went to
lunch.
 
I was surprised by what Amber
said next. “So what was Eddie doing standing by the gym before?”

I almost choked on the hamburger I’d just bitten into.
“What?”

“Didn’t you see him? He was acting all cool, leaning
against the wall like he owned the place or something.”
 
She took a sip of her cola.

“Was that Eddie?”

“So you saw him too then?”

“I thought it looked like him but it couldn’t have
been.”

“Why not? Maybe he’s started stalking you.
 
He hasn’t got a proper day job has he?”

She was right.
 
He worked from home so it could have been him; but why would he come to
school? Was he spying on me? And why didn’t he call my name or wave or
something? Maybe Amber was right.
 
There
was something not quite right about Eddie.

-9-

I loved Christmas.
 
Mom had outdone herself this year.
 
The real fir tree reached towards the ceiling and I loved smelling the
branches, which she’d sprayed with fake snow.
 
Each branch was decorated with a colorful piece of tinsel and a gold
bauble and a garland of flashing fairy lights was wrapped around the tree;
turning it into a glittering tower.
 
Underneath were lots of presents wrapped in red, silver and gold shiny
paper and she’d hung strips of colored crepe paper across the ceiling.

As usual, she’d switched on the radio so we could
listen to Christmas carols as we unwrapped our presents.
 
She loved the jewellery I’d bought her from
the attic sale and I was pleased to receive a new pair of knee-high leather
boots. After opening our presents we got in the car so Mom could drive us to
church.
 
It was starting to snow and so
Mom switched on the wipers.
 
The
windscreen was steaming up and as we pulled into the church parking lot I thought
I saw Eddie again; just standing there, leaning up against the church wall, but
when we both got out of the car he was gone.
 
I thought he may have gone into the church but apart from a few regulars
the church was practically empty. I enjoyed singing the carols but I always got
a little sentimental when Mom and I lit a candle for Dad.
 
“Merry Christmas, Dad” I’d say, before giving
Mom some space to say a few personal things to him.

I felt the snowflakes wet my face as I waited outside
for Mom.
 
I saw the figure again.
 
I was so sure it was Eddie, yet his face was
sombre and expressionless.
 
He didn’t smile
or wave or acknowledge me in any way.
 
It
was like a vision, somehow.
 
Sometimes
when people lose loved ones they think they see them in crowds and this was how
I felt watching the figure.
 
I started to
worry that perhaps he’d died or something as I hadn’t seen him for two
days.
 
I’d bought him a Christmas
present, a watch.
 
I was going over later
to give it to him but now I started to have a weird feeling inside me, like
butterflies.
 
Could this be the feeling
of dread Amber had talked about?

Mom came up behind me and made me jump half out of my
skin. “Mom, you scared me!”
 
I said half
laughing.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost!”
 
she said pinching my cheeks. “You’re pale as
anything. Come on we’d best get you home.”

***

I was relieved to see his silhouette waiting for me at
the top of the hill. He started to run down it when he saw me.
 
He had a gift in his hands. “Here, this is
for you,” he said. I took it and gave the watch to him. “Thanks,” he said, “I don’t
usually get any presents.”

I found that hard to believe.
 
He was gorgeous, kind and romantic.
 
Why was he so alone? We started to walk to
his hut, where he said he’d arranged a surprise. “I hope you like your present,”
he said. “I didn’t know what to get you.”

I smiled. “I’m
sure
it will be perfect. Anyway it’s the thought that counts isn’t it?”

We held hands as we made our way through the
forest.
 
It was so beautiful; the trees
were covered in snow and I loved the way it made a squelching noise underneath
my new boots.

I was surprised to see that he’d decorated the hut
with tinsel and balloons and he’d got hold of a battery operated radio which
was playing carols.
 
He opened a box and
took out a plate of mince pies – my favourite- and a bottle of Baileys. After he’d
poured two glasses he started to open his present.
 
I swear I could see tears forming in his eyes
when he saw it. He threw his arms around me and hugged me tightly. “Charlie, I
love it, thank you.”
 
He put it on his
wrist and gazed at it.
 
His eyes seemed
to change shade to a lighter blue.

“Open yours,” he said like an eager child.

I peeled back the wrapper and saw something gold.
 
I pulled it out of the remaining bit of paper
and noticed it was some sort of notebook. It had a gold cover and inside the pages
were different colors. “Thanks,” I said, wondering why he felt a journal was a
good gift for someone like me.

“You don’t like it do you?”
 
he said, averting his eyes towards the floor.

“I love it.”

“I wish I could have bought you something expensive like
the watch, but you know I don’t earn much m—”

I placed my finger on his lips. “I love it.
 
I don’t care how much money you earn.
 
I love you.”

“I love you too.”

As we kissed I started to wonder why I’d been so
worried earlier about him being dead or worse still, being evil. When the kiss
was over he reached for his glass and started to take some long sips. I took
the opportunity to ask him about the strange visions. “Were you at church this
morning?” I said, picking up my goblet.

The expression on his face changed and I saw the color
drain from his cheeks.
 
His eyes seemed
to darken again and for the first time, I noticed a lack of warmth or feeling
behind them. “Why would I go to church? You know I don’t believe in all that
stuff.”

“You’ve never told me that before.”

He started to sneer and then stood up; his huge gait
looming down over me, just like the old mansion house loomed over the village.
“I shouldn’t have to tell you everything.
 
There are some things about me that you should just know.”

I started to feel nervous. “Like what?”

He began to pace back and to and it made me feel
anxious. “I can’t believe you. You claim you know me but you don’t know me at
all.
 
Church is the last place I would go
to.
 
If there was such a thing as God
then why did he let my parents die? Why was I left to fend for myself?”

I’d never seen him so angry. “You weren’t left to fend
for yourself, Eddie, you had your grandparents.”

He shook his head and began to sneer even more. “For a
while, yeah, but they were old.
 
I’ve got
nobody now, have I? Look at this.” He pointed to the walls of the hut. “This is
me fending for myself, Charls.
 
I lost
faith in God and church a long time ago.”

I was going to ask him why he celebrated Christmas but
I expected he was just doing it for me. I took another sip of my drink and felt
better as it warmed me inside; helping me to forget about the shivers running
down my spine.

“Shall we change the subject?” I asked, eager to get
things back to normal.
 
It was obviously
not him at church this morning. Maybe he had a double?

His dark blue eyes peered into mine and I felt like he
could see inside my soul.
 
“I don’t know
what else I can do,’ he said, turning up the music on the radio; it was a piano
version of Hark the herald angels sing. I tried to let the music relax me but I
had the horrible feeling he was going to end our relationship and I knew I
couldn’t cope if he did.

“You’re scaring me now, Eddie,” I said.

He looked at me again; still without warmth or
feeling. “I thought you would recognize me.
 
I thought you got me.”

“I do get you. What do you mean recognize you? Have we
met before or something because I’m sure I’d have remembered you.”

He came nearer to me and held out his hand.
 
I took it and he pulled me off the bean bag
and towards his chest.
 
His hands moved
around my waist and rested on my lower back as he gazed at me; this time with
feeling; passionate feeling. “We have met before; a long time ago.
 
I remember.
 
I hoped you would too.”

“I’m sorry, Eddie.
 
I would never have forgotten you had we met before.”

He smiled and started to push some of my curls from my
face. “I’m going to tell you something now.
 
You might not believe it but it’s true. But first…” He moved his head
nearer to mine and started to kiss me; gently at first and then harder and
deeper.
 
He bit my lip and made me pull
away.
 
It started to bleed. His eyes were
wild now and his hair was the most dishevelled I’d seen it. “We have met
before, Charls.
 
In fact, we’ve met
several times over hundreds of years.”

He placed his hands around my waist again. “We’ve been
together so many times.
 
You’re my soul
mate.
 
Don’t you get it? I’ve been
searching for you for so long and all the time you were living around the
corner.”