The Ghost Story

Chapter 3

Around 7 am, Remington and Sebastian both wake up. Emerson sits up in the bed and glances at them briefly before looking away. His eyes were tired looking, as he hadn't slept that night. His brother beside him gets out of bed, shirtless with his usually spiked up hair in a mess. Sebastian was already awake before him and slipping on one of his coats. Remington slips on a shirt and his chain necklace, grabbing some hair gel and a brush, "Today is gonna be a great day. We're gonna go home and have tea and-". Sebastian cuts him off, "D-mnit, it's too early for your chatter. Hush.", He hisses. Remington scoffs in response, walking to the bathroom. This was a normal thing so Emerson isn't so worried about the bickering. His body feels weak and his eyes feel a little heavy but he knows that even if he tries to sleep now, he probably won't. He feels a hand on his shoulder and looks up, his eyes meeting Remington's brown ones. "Hey Em, you're looking rough over there. Did you sleep ok?", His brother asks, a little bit of worry in his tone. Emerson just shakes his head, "I couldn't sleep much last night... there's a lot on my mind I guess.". His brother sits beside him after grabbing a makeup bag from his backpack, "Wanna talk about it? I'm sure Seb would like to hear it too.". As he watches his brother apply makeup to himself, he gazes at Sebastian, who has a concerned look. What was he supposed to tell them? A lie? He doesn't want to lie to his brothers but he knows they'd think he was crazy if he told them anything. "I guess I've just been worried about home..", he says, knowing he lied. His elder brothers look at each other briefly before they gaze at him. Emerson glances over to the side for a moment, Clockwork is out of sight. His eyes now focus on his two siblings before he looks down. "Hey, why don't we go walk around the town for a bit before we leave, that should be fun, right?", Sebastian asks, a patient look in his eyes. For a moment, he doesn't answer his brother. But suddenly he speaks as if there wasn't just a moment of silence, "Sure why not.". After maybe an hour, the three brothers leave in their van and check out of the hotel. Sebastian is at the wheel and Emerson stays in the back with Remington. Once they get to town, they get out and walk around. The pirate-like sibling wanders behind his brothers, they pass many shops and cafes and other small establishments. The glass next to him shines light in his eyes as they pass an abandoned shop and he stops, his brothers walking ahead and not realizing they walked away from him. Something about the building feels off, he gazes into it and sees his reflection. It looks horrid, as if he just crawled out of his grave. His arm is on one side and is torn off, half his face looks mauled away with a missing eye. His skin is bruised up and decaying in the glass, there's a large bite in his shoulder it looks like as well. "W-What..is that me..?", He asks in a quivering, hushed tone, "Am I j-just seeing things..? Am I..that tired..?". The reflection in the mirror smirks a twisted grin. This makes Emerson step back a few inches, terrified of the image. The reflection suddenly turns normal, tears well in his eyes and he dashes down the sidewalk. His brothers are looking for him up ahead, he stops before rushing over to Sebastian and hugging him. Sebastian hugs him protectively, "What happened?! Did someone hurt you?!". Remington quickly goes over with concern. Loud sobbing escapes Emerson as his body trembles, "I-I wanna go h-home! I wanna g-go home! Please! Take m-me home!". Sebastian glances over at Remington before he lifts Emerson's face. "Alright.. we'll go now if you want to go so bad..", he says. The younger sibling senses alarm in his two brothers but that might be because they suspect he really just wants to go home. He does, but not for the reason they're probably thinking of. Both of them take Emerson to the car, he wipes away mascara from his pale cheeks. Maybe what he saw wasn't real, maybe his exhausted mind was just playing tricks on him. As they enter the van, they all get buckled and Sebastian starts driving home. Emerson adjusts his hat before drifting and resting his head on Remington's shoulder, falling asleep maybe 20 minutes after leaving the town.