First Soul

Chapter Fourteen

"Oh my god!" Deyna exclaimed, lifting her hand to her mouth in shock.

"What?" I asked looking around us just in case there was another attack.

The air around us stilled. I listened, careful to pick out any other sound apart from the crashing of the water as it tumbled off the cliffs edge. I couldn't hear anything.

"I remember now... my mother once told me and I looked it up in the school library. They say you murdered your wife, but I can't remember what else the report said. If you loved her then you wouldn't commit such a crime. You can't murder the people you love..." Deyna trailed off.

I rolled my eyes. I loved Deyna, but sometimes she couldn't see the house for the trees.

"Deyna, I've seen stuff on the news about people murdering their own kids." As I told Deyna this, I kept my eyes on Lester. I found that I was constantly keeping an eye out for a change in the ghost's features.

Lester was already shaking his head like he'd heard the thought pass through my head. "I would never lay a finger on my darling Marie. We lived a good, happy life together. We ran our little shop and ignored Lee Turner. We lived in our own little bubble of married bliss but for years, Lee Turner goaded me. He couldn't help himself, and I suppose I was an easy target. He made it clear that he wanted Marie, but she ignored him, much to his annoyance. Lee was the kind of man who was used to getting his own way.

"The episodes of irritation started with little things such as graffiti on my shop walls. Mean words that I could easily scrub off or paint over. I knew who it was but proving this to the local policeman was harder to do. Lee wasn't satisfied with my reaction, so his efforts worsened. Bricks would often fly through my windows late at night, despite this, we brushed the dust off our shoulders and tried to continue as if nothing had happened. We were determined that he would not bother us.

"I can't state when he started wooing my wife, or when she finally caved under his spell, but I remember that one day some flowers had appeared in a vase. Fresh flowers that could have been there for weeks, but I was busy with work I hadn't noticed. I hadn't given her the flowers and they weren't ones she'd have picked up herself, they were too elaborate. I knew who had given them to her, but I feared the answer if I asked the question. Hope is rather a dangerous thing. You're young yet, so you haven't fallen so deeply in love with someone that the fear of losing them is worse than death itself. For a time, I would rather ignore the gestures and believe that everything was fine.

"I ignored these little gestures, flowers weren't so bad. Over the following weeks I realised the flowers had turned to jewellery and elegant dresses. Ones she wore with great pride whilst around me. I knew she didn't intend to hurt me, but it did. I know she wasn't herself when she was around him.

"It wasn't until the early spring of 1974 that I started to see how Marie acted around Lee. In the beginning she'd dismissed his advances, but it was quite obvious to me that she'd been swayed by the young romancer. Feeling like I had no other choice, I confronted her and told her to make her decision. I knew who she would pick but I couldn't continue to live the lie when I knew she would turn to him for secret kisses."

"You should have fought for her," Phillip said angrily.

I hadn't realised Phillip was awake. His skin was a little pale, but his eyes glared with a heated anger, which was sending a much- needed blush into his pale cheeks.

"Yes, maybe I should have. That is another of my regrets, I have many..." Lester shrugged.

"What happened next?" Deyna asked, eager to hear his story.

"Marie moved out and went to live with her family. She told me that she didn't feel right living with me whilst she harboured affections for another man."