On the Flipside.

Chapter seven

Deciding not to tell Ella about his imminent meeting with the woman whom, from the note that had been left with the picture, Kane presumed was named Annie, hadn't been his intention all along. He'd gone into the cafe with full intentions of telling her absolutely everything. But that hadn't happened. When she'd advised him to ignore her, his bottle was lost and, to save an argument, kept that little tidbit of information to himself. 

Before meeting Ella in the cafe, he'd given Annie a call and was immediately on high alert. Of course, answering the phone with 'hello, Kane Kidman' was bound to give him the jitters. 

"How did you. . . You know, I'm just going to add that to the list of things to ask you. RIght under 'how do you know about my coin' and 'how do you know about. . . The bear.'" He'd been about to ask her how she knew about his sister, but even now, after nigh-on eighteen years, he still couldn't bring himself to say her name. 

"You mean Jacky?" she responded with a hint of question in her voice and Kane huffed. 

"Stop it, alright? Just stop it. You're freaking me out and I've had enough. I just want answers."

"I can't help you."

Kane's head snapped up and he gripped the phone tighter. "What?"

"I said, I can't help you."

"Yes, I heard that. Why not?"

There was a pause on the other line before she told him with determination, "You have to go home."

It hadn't been easy understanding what she meant. The woman talked in riddles and Kane didn't have the brain power for the mind games she played. He'd told her so and in the end had pulled the meaning from her. He had to go back to the house. 

So here he was. Standing outside in the street and looking up at the building before him, his stomach clenched and the contents of his stomach swirled. Annie stood beside him, her usual smirk plastered on her face. Kane wondered how she could look so satisfied, so pleased with herself in bringing him back here. If she knew why he couldn't stand to be here, why did she choose this place? Why not the park? Or the Zoo? Something considered more 'mutual ground'? This house was home to the worst six years of his life and if she knew this, why didn't she understand?

Maybe she's a sadist, he thought to himself. But as he stole a glimpse at her out of the corner of his eye, he shook his head. She didn't look like a Sadist. It's always the unlikely ones. 

"Tell me what you see." She interrupted his thoughts. 

Shaking his head, he heaved a sigh. "Why here, Annie? This place, it just . . . It's too much for me. I haven't been back here in twelve years and you bring me back twice in one week. Why?"

She ignored his question and asked again, "The house, Kane. What do you see?"

He huffed and looked. "Walls." He grunted. "Windows and doors." 

"No, no, no. I want you to look. To really look. Look deep in the further echelons of your mind and think about it. What do you see?"

Kane closed his eyes and breathed deeply, taking in the unfamiliar smells around him. A picture of the old house formed in his mind and he jumped back, his eyes snapping open. "I see the house. Not this one. Well, yes, this one. But not. It's different now. I see the old one."

"Good." she probed. "What else?"

He closed his eyes again and immediately the picture came back into his mind. The street was quiet and empty, the trees swayed in the light breeze and the sun shone brightly. From the side of the house, two young children came running into the front garden followed by another slightly older boy. The two younger children screeched and laughed. The older was chasing them with a water gun. Their screams could be heard as they looped round the garden and ran back the way they came.  

"It's me." Kane mumbled. "With . . . With . . ." a tear streamed down his cheek. "With her. Mark's here too. He's running after us with his new water gun. But Ella's not here. I remember why, too. She'd fallen over and hurt herself on the pathway in the back garden and was inside on the sofa with a bandage on her knee. She was only um . . . She was about five years old, I think. . . She's beautiful." He mumbled absentmindedly. 

"Ella?" Annie wondered. 

Kane shook his head. "Ha- . . . Yes. Ella." He opened his eyes to see her looking at him curiously. Her hands were overlapped in front of her and her head was cocked to the side. "What?" He asked. 

"Say her name." She ordered. 

"No."

"Go on say it. Hannah. Hannah, Hannah, Hannah. Scream it from the rooftops like you know you really want to. Hannah."

"No." He growled. "I can't."

Shaking her head, she disagreed. "No, Kane. It's not that you can't. You just won't. What are you so afraid of?"

He didn't reply. Just turned and walked away.