My Haunted House

Chapter 8

I woke up on Monday morning well rested. Ever since my mom and I burned that chest the activity in my house has decreased. My house still felt unnaturally cold. I couldn't see Abigail, but I felt as if she were plotting something. Maybe burning her chest wasn't the best idea.
I quickly changed into my favorite pair of blue jeans and put on a green shirt that used to belong to my sister. The shirt read, " Spirits can't hurt me." I remember a week after my sister's birthday my grandma took our whole family downtown to a small church to get the shirt blessed. I thought my grandma was being crazy when she said to my sister," Hannah, holy water scares off the evil spirits."
I just put the shirt on and I already felt safer. Why couldn't I get all my clothes blessed? Oh yeah, the priest would think that I was a lunatic. After I got dressed I headed downstairs to get some breakfast. Like always my mom was sitting at the breakfast bar, newspaper in hand. She turned around to look at me.
"Chels, did you sleep alright?"
"I slept great for the first time since we moved in."
" I knew burning Abigail's chest would get rid of her."
"Mom, Abigail is still here. I can feel her. The shirt that I'm wearing protects me from her. Grandma got it blessed."
"Oh yeah, I remember going down to that small church to get it blessed."
"Do you remember how Abigail died?"
"After my sister died I went into shock. I spent the next five months locked up in my room, only leaving to go to school."
"So you don't remember how she died?" I asked.
"No, I don't remember how she died. Your grandmother erased that memory from my brain."
"How? How did she erase that memory from your brain?"
"She took me to the doctors and they perscibed me medication to make me forget about the death of my sister."
"Mom, all find out what happened to your sister. It's part of my quest to find out what happened to her."
" Chels, good luck. I hope you find out what happened."
I took a couple steps closer to my mom. "Thanks mom." I said, wrapping my arms around her.
"Welcome. Now you better get going or you'll miss the bus."
"Yes ma'am." I said, heading to the front door.
When I got on the bus Tim was waiting for me. "Hey Chelsea, over here." I went over to where Tim sat and took my seat next to him. "Hey Tim, how was the rest of your weekend?"
"Alright. I asked my mom about the history of your house."
"And?" I asked
"My mom didn't tell me anything. She told me to mind my own business."
"I found some stuff out about the girl." I replied.
"Like what?" Tim asked.
"The girl's name is Abigail Nicely, my mom's identical twin."
"My mom said that Kara was an only child."
"Your mother lied to you. Abigail told me herself. And if you don't believe me you can ask my mother."
"I-I believe you. Did Abigail tell you what she wanted?"
My face fell. I felt a tear escape and fall down my cheek.
"That bad, huh?" Tim asked.
"Yeah. You have no idea."
"You can tell me." Tim urged.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and let it all out.
"Abigail wants my family's blood. She's jealous that my mom got to have a family and she didn't."
"That's awful. I'm so sorry Chelsea"
"Oh, it gets worse. Mr. Vander proposed to my aunt the day she died."
"You don't think he---
"No, I don't think Mr. Vander would do that."
" Than what do you think happened to her."
"I don't know. I was going to do some research at the library."
"You're in luck our class is heading down to the library at 9 o'clock."
"Tim, promise me that whatever we find out about Abigail that nothing will change between us."
"Promise." Tim said, as we got off the bus."

As I entered the library a feeling of nervousness washed over me. I couldn't even say hi to Mr. Vander this morning during homeroom. Tim walked up beside me. "Chelsea, you can do this."
"Thanks Tim." I said, heading up to the front desk.
"No problem." Tim replied, as he headed over to sit on a green polylog. Each step I took up to the front desk I got more and more confident. I stood about an inch away from an older lady with blonde hair, grey streaks running down the back. She had the fullest set of lips with bright red lipstick. She smiled at me, showing a set of fake pearly white teeth.
"How may I help you?" She asked.
"I'm looking for some information on the history on my house."
"Honey, what's the address. I should be able to help you out. I've been living in this area my whole life, sixty-two years to be exact."
"918 Pinewood drive." I answered.
The librarian's eyes got really wide.
"What?" I asked.
"I grew up with the couple that used to live in that house. Clara and I were best friends. George moved to Erie when he was 13. The two of them really hit it off. They were friends all through junior high, and dated all through high school. Ten years later I was a bridesmaid at their wedding."
"Miss um... What's your name?"
"Miss Smith." The librarian answered. "Well miss Smith, I'm Clara and George's grandaughter."
Miss Smith's face turned to suprise. "Kara had a child?"
"Two actually. My sister Hannah and I. My names Chelsea by the way."
"Chelsea. What a beautiful name."
" Thanks. I was wondering if you could tell me how Abigail died."
"Your mother never told you?" The librarian asked.
I shook my head. "My mother has no memory of her sister's death."
Miss Smith's eyes filled with sadness. "You sure you want to know?"
"Yes. It's my quest to find out what happened to my aunt."
"As you wish." Miss Smith replied, taking a deep breath.
"On the day that it happened it was a sunny spring day. I was planting crops in my garden like I always did in spring, when my telephone rang. I dusted off my hands and ran into the house to answer it. "Hello who is this?" I asked. A deep voice answered. "This is the police."
"The police? Am I in trouble? Did I do something wrong?"
"Are you a friend of the Nicely's?" The police officer asked. "Yeah why?"
" Abigail Nicely was found dead in her home, her boyfriend Mike Vander was lying injured by her side."
"Oh my God." I said to the policeman. "Do you know who did this?"
" No we don't know who did this. Did Abigail and Mike have any enemies?"
"Everyone that I knew loved them both. I can't imagine anyone wanting to hurt them."
"Well, someone did. If you remember anything, anything at all please come down to the police station."
"I will." I replied, hanging up the phone.
"Did the police find out who killed her?" I asked.
Miss Smith looked at me a minute before responding.
" Two weeks after Mike got out of the hospital he went down to the police station and told them what happened."
"What did happen?" I asked.
"Mike told the police that Abigail was home alone because her mom had taken her twin sister out to go shopping. He said that this would be the perfect time to propose to Abigail. He wrote a short note on the back of a picture and headed over to Abigail's house. When Mike got over to Abigail's house he rang the doorbell, and Abigail came running towards the door. He gave her the picture, she smiled, flipped it over and read the message. Abigail said yes to marring Mike, and he was overcome with joy."
"Then what happened?" I asked, eagerly.
"Mike and Abigail decided to go watch a movie. They went through a whole stack of VHS tapes until they found the perfect one. They were an hour into the movie when they heard a knock at the door. Abigail got up to see who it was. She looked through the peep hole and saw that it was Kara's friend, Teresa. She opened the door and Teresa pulled out a gun, firing it at Abigail's chest. Abigail screamed and fell to the ground."
I started crying. How could someone do something that cruel? Mrs. Hemlock seemed like a nice person. I guess the saying is true about how looks can be deceiving.
"Do you want me to continue on?"
I nodded my head yes.
"Mike came running to the door to see what happened. Teresa got scared and fired the gun four times. The first shot hit him in the left arm, the second shot hit him in the right arm, and the last two shots hit him in both of his legs. Teresa ran as Mike fell to floor. Mike crawled to the telephone and called 9-1-1. He crawled back to where Abigail layed, taking shallow breathes. He held her in his arms and she whispered her last words, I love you. Abigail then took her last breathe, and her eyes turned stone cold."
" Did Teresa get away with it?"
"The police found her, and she was sentenced to 15 years in prison."

All of a sudden I felt the urge to throw up. I sprinted out of the library and headed to the bathroom. I made it there just in time. As soon as I got in the stall I started throwing up everywhere. I had spit up on my favorite shirt. After I was finished I grabbed a paper towel, wet it, and wiped the vomit off of my face. I tried to scrub it off my shirt but it wouldn't come out. I hurried back to the library so that nobody would worry about me. As I entered the library a very worried Mr. Vander stood waiting for me.
"Chelsea are you okay?" Mr. Vander asked.
Mr. Vander's voice made me feel light headed. I fell to the ground. Mr. Vander yelled," Somebody get the nurse! Somebody get the nurse!" My vision blurred and I blacked out.

I woke up to someone hovering over me. "What happened?" I asked.
"You blacked out. You nearly gave Mr. Vander a heart attack. Do you know where you are?"
I looked up at the lady's clothes. She was in scrubs and a t-shirt. "The nurse's office." I answered.
"Very good. Now drink this." The nurse handed me a cup of water, and I gulped it down.
"Your father should be here any minute to pick you up."
Five minutes later I heard my father talking to the nurse. I heard the nurse say, "She right over here." The nurse pulled the curtain back and I saw my father standing there. "Chelsea thank God your okay. You worried me sick." I got off the cot and took a few steps. My legs wobbled and I started to fall. My dad caught me, and lifted me up into his arms.
When we got home my dad carried me up to my room. "You'll feel better tomorrow." My dad said, pulling back the covers and putting me in my bed. He took off my shirt, and went into my closet to get a clean one. I faught him as he hoisted a navy blue shirt over my head. "Chelsea, stop fighting me."
"Dad, that shirt protects me from Abigail."
"Don't be ridiculous. A shirt can't protect you against ghosts."
I didn't feel like arguing with my dad. "Dad, your right." I said, as he tucked me in. My dad smiled at me. "Get some rest." My dad said, shutting the door.
As I drifted off to sleep all I could think about was Abigail. The pain she must have felt when she got shot by that bullet. I also thought of Mr. Vander. The pain he must have felt watching the love of his life die right in front of him. The next time I saw Abigail I was going to tell her how she died. Maybe then, she would go after Mrs. Hemlock instead of my family. I was awful for thinking that, but she is a cold-blooded killer and she deserves to suffer for what she did.