The Ghost of RoseBurn Mansion

Chapter 4: Meeting 'It'

    I sat on the bed. Waiting for the police to leave so I could try and escape. Minutes turned into hours. Daylight was going to come anytime now. I closed my eyes for a little bit. Trying to relax and wait. It was ridiculously hard to do this. My body wanted to run. The only thing keeping me here was the ghosts of this house. Something cold touch my shoulder. My eyes shot open. It was a dark figure. I screamed and fell off the bed, sliding into a corner. I couldn't stand being in this house...

Alone.

My eyes searched around the room. It looked like the shadows were moving. Closing my eyes, I tried to pretend that I was dreaming all of this up. That I was really at home. Sleeping softly in the bed. Opening my eyes, a man stood there. I screamed. He waved his hand. "It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you." I stared at him, not really able to see his face. He wore dark clothes. Button up jacket, nice slacks and shoes that shined. The way he spoke though, made me feel safe. Like I already knew that I wasn't in any danger. He held out his hand. I gave him a puzzled look. "Do you want to get out of here or not?" He demanded, not having much patience. It wasn't a trick question. I NEEDED to get out of here. I nodded and took his hand. He helped me to my feet. My body began to shake. Not from fear, but from it being cold. Maybe the a/c had kicked on? I was relieved that he found me. "I'm Lizzy." I stuttered out. When did he show up though? I didn't hear any footsteps.

He smiled at me. "Nice to meet you." He had a nice accent. It was like from one of those old movies where the character is from the 1920s. We headed down the hallway. "Aren't you going to tell me yours?" He looked back at me. He didn't say a word. He's very odd. Wasn't he going to ask me what I was doing here? This late? They headed down the staircase. I grabbed his arm. "Please tell me your name." I didn't like that he wasn't speaking to me. I had been hiding in that room for the last few hours. He was the first human I've seen. He stopped a few steps before the bottom. His eyes met mine. "Thomas." He continued down the stairs. We reached the front door. He was about to open it. I stopped him. "Wait!" Thomas froze. I looked out the window. Nobody was there. It was dead outside. I looked at him. "Your friends left hours ago." He spoke up.

I paused. "Why didn't you find me sooner?"

He shrugged. "I had no idea you were even here. You're not supposed to be. The tours start at 10am."

I looked away. "I'm sorry. We wanted to see a haunted house at night. Well, we did and got scared. I couldn't get out. Then the cops came, and I was locked inside. I had to hide till the cops left."

"The cop looked through the window and left after 10 minutes. You could have come down and let yourself out." His eyes looked puzzled. I couldn't tell what it meant. I knew it wasn't my imagination that I couldn't get out. I was purposely kept inside.

"Thomas, do you believe in ghosts?" I asked shyly. It sounded stupid. But he kept quiet. Why wouldn't he speak to me? He just stared at me like I was a freak show.

"You should go, before the owners show up and find you. I hope you're not too scared to come back during normal hours." He opened up the front door for me. He was very stern about me leaving so quickly.

I shook my head. "No." I smiled a little. "But I hope I can see you again." That threw him off a bit. His eyes widened a bit. Then he looked away from me. Why was he acting so strange? Did he work here? Maybe he didn't want it to look like he let someone in without permission. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be rude. I know you work here, and you want to keep your job. I don't want this to look bad for you."

He shook his head. "I don't work here. I'm not even the owner of the house." Then what was he?

He looked at the ground. "You won't see me after tonight. This will be the last time." His voice was stern.

I frowned. "Why are you acting so strange? You can trust me."

He sighed. "I can't trust anyone. You need to leave." He gently pushed me towards the porch. I quickly turned around and shut the door behind me. "Please." I begged him. Thomas groaned. He tried opening the door. I pressed my body up against it. His fingers grasped my chin firmly to get my attention. He had it. "If I tell you, you'll run away. Just like the rest of them. Now please, I helped you out. You can go. They're not here anymore."

I raised an eyebrow. "Who's not here? What are you talking about? You haven't been giving me straight answers since you found me. Can you just please answer me?"

"STOP. STOP, STOP!" He spoke loudly. I stayed quiet. He rolled his eyes and sighed deeply. He ran his fingers through is hair. "I believe in ghosts. Demons trapped you in the house. They wanted your soul, that's why you couldn't leave with your friends. I chased them away. I won't get in trouble either. Anything else that I have missed on your long list of questions?" He seemed very annoyed with me now.

My eyes looked away. "No." I spoke softly.

He took in a deep breath. "Good. Now, you may help yourself out. I'll lock up behind you." I jumped into his body. My arms wrapped around his neck tightly. I had shivers going up and down my body. Thomas wrapped his arms around me slowly. I wanted to hug him. At least as some kind of thank you.

"Why can't I see you again?" I could feel his body shifting. Like he didn't want me to touch him. But he couldn't break away. I wanted to visit him. Maybe he needs a friend.

"Lizzy, I'm sorry. I can't tell you. You will get scared." Thomas was trying to be nice. He pushed me off of him. I saw the look on his face as my hand touched his cheek.

"Please. I won't run away. I won't get scared. Just...." I had no words to say. It seemed like nothing I said or did was going to change his mind. His eye twitched a little bit. Thomas couldn't stand it anymore. "I'm dead. I'm a ghost. That's why I believe." I backed away a little bit. I was a little in shock to hear that. He wasn't alive! He was a real ghost. The mansion was haunted after all. He rolled his eyes and chuckled. "I knew this would happen. It always does. I've been at this house since the early 1900s. I died of a disease when I was 24 years old. I know you are scared now. So, feel free to run out the door. Most people who see me don't ever come back." He seemed miserable telling me. I felt bad for him. It just didn't make sense. I was able to hug him...

I shook my head. He was with me for about twenty minutes. He's the same like us. Except not breathing and no heartbeat. "I'm not scared. I touched you. You're real. Almost like your alive."

He shook his head. "I'm using up most of my stored energy from over the years. If I came up to you as a ghost, you probably would have had a heart attack. Just go please." His voiced sound like he was in pain.

I placed my hands on his chest. "Don't push me away. Please. I'll be your friend." He studied my face. His hands grasped mine then looked around.

"It's too dangerous. I can't let you put your living soul on the line for me. You haven't fulfilled your life." His accent came in.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm only 19. What am I supposed to do?" College wasn't going to help me in the afterlife. So, what was the point of that?

He shrugged. "Lizzy, I prefer it if...we didn't see each other again."

The way he said it gave it away. "You're lying. You haven't talked to a human being this long in years. Talk to me. I'll listen." I didn't want to be pushed away now. He was trying really hard. Me pleading with him, was getting to him.

Thomas opened the door forcefully. "You have to go. Now. They're coming back."

"Promise me, I'll see you again." I quickly said. Thomas gave me a dirty look. "Promise me and I'll leave."

"Lizzy get out before..." I grabbed his hand. He yanked it away. I crossed my arms. He groaned. "Fine. I promise. Go. Now." I walked out the door. It locked behind me. I took in a deep breath. I met a ghost. Thomas. If I saw more of his face...I could remember what he looked like. He was so mysterious. And pushy. He was afraid of something, what was he so scared of? He saw or knew something else was there. Demons? I was a little nervous to find out what they even looked like. I couldn't drop this. I wanted to know more. After tonight, my view of the world has changed. Nothing was going to stop me from figuring out who Thomas was, who else is in that house and why he hasn't moved on. It may take a lot of work. But I needed every chance I got to do this. And I just remembered, I haven't studied at all for my test tomorrow.