Play No More (Player Next Door sequel) ✓

28 | Ghost of ex-boyfriends past

Heyo, I'm coming in with an early chapter this week! This poster is by @johnnyfavess. I have a question though - what drink is he holding?

Chapter 28: Ghost of ex-boyfriends past

I walked with the box in my hands. I had dug it out of my back garden and sprayed it with some perfume. The stench was intolerable.

What was I doing?

This was madness. I was a one-person funeral procession.

I texted Luke: I'm giving Roger back

Luke was with Chris Hayes, so I didn't expect much of a response. A life chat with his rival is something I wish I could've seen. Before that street fight, they could barely be in the same room together. Now they were... friends?

I'll never fully understand boys.

I found the house. Number 34 is what Nicole had told me. The curtains in the windows were flowery and there was a pale pink doormat at the entrance. The garden was overgrown and in bad shape. Flowers had wilted by the house.

I rang the doorbell and waited.

I waited for a minute that turned into two. I rang the doorbell again. I didn't want to leave the box at her doorstep. It didn't feel right.

A lock unbolted, followed by a second and a third. Finally, the door opened.

A frail old lady in a colorful dress opened the door. She was very old, and her gray hair was part wispy, part curly.

Blackmailer, is that you?

The kind old lady said, "What do you want?" 

"I'm very sorry to disturb you," I apologized, "And to be the bearer of bad news."

"What's in the box? I told the girl scouts not to come," she said, grappling hold of an umbrella that was beside her door. Did she think I was threatening her? 

"I'm not a girl scout. Scout's honor," I joked and regretted it instantly. "I really don't want to be the bearer of bad news ma'am, but I was told that you had a cat-"

"Winnifred! Have you found her?" she opened the door wide and looked around, hoping to see her cat playing in the grass in her front lawn.

I slowly presented the box to her, "Please don't open this. We found Winnifred in my backyard. Someone had... killed her."

"What are you talking about?!" she screeched at me, "Winnifred is alive! She's not inside that thing."

That's partly true. To be fair, we thought Roger was in there.

The old lady was staring at the box like I was carrying poison.

"I'm so sorry," I lowered my head in shame, "I don't know what happened. We found her like this and-"

"What have you done to her?!" the woman shrieked, "Tell me this is a prank! Where is Winnie?"

"I'm so sorry-"

She grabbed the box out of my hands but didn't open it. I don't think we both could've stood through that. 

She stared down and read the name that I had carved onto the side. "Who's Roger?!" 

"Winnie had many lives," I explained, "But we want to find who did this to her. Do you remember anyone near you on the day-"

"You young kids don't care about lives anymore! You watch your TV and play your video games and you think that violence is a game. What did a cat ever do to you?!"