Haunting of Lily Frost (3 page)

And then a door opens somewhere and I breathe again. It's probably just Mum going to the toilet. Quietly, I slump back down in the chair so if they look in here, they won't see me straightaway. I couldn't bear to get caught by Mum. She'll make such a thing about it, she'll assume it means she's won me over, and I don't feel like dealing with her smugness.

Now that I'm sitting here alone in the dark with a picture of the house in my head, it all seems unreal. My parents have never expressed any great desire to live in the country. I didn't even know they liked the country. They like being able to walk to a café and meet friends for breakfast, or go to the movies, and do all the other things they can, now that Max and I don't have to be babysat. What are they going to do two hours out of Melbourne? Chase koalas down the street? Join the local fire brigade? Hold community meetings? I can't imagine how that's going to work. And I'm going to have to walk into a new school, see a whole bunch of kids who've grown up together, then try to smile and be friendly in the vague hope someone will be nice to me. I hate making friends.
That's why I've got Ruby. She's my friend and she's nice to
people, so they think I am too. But without her around to
look after me, or talk to me –

Hello, lonely girl.

3

the attic

If you haven't been to Gideon, you're lucky. It's this boring little town about two hours from the city. There are fifteen shops. I counted them when we drove in. Mum keeps going on and on about how pretty it is, but all I can see are trees. And trees are fine, but you can't go shopping in them and you can't eat them. Not unless you're a possum. And I'm just a girl being dragged along after my parents, because Dad's lost his job. Gideon's one of those towns you go to to die. There's a swamp they call a beach (the locals' idea of a joke), a dead end they call a main street (again, hilarious) and a classroom they call a school (yep). Maybe it's a good place for a daytrip, but not to move to. Not to sell our fantastic house in the city for, or pull us out of school and leave all our friends for. That's deranged.

So today we're driving to Gideon just to see our new house. And then we have to go back to the city, pack up our old house, put it on the market, and move to this dump of a place in a couple of weeks.

At least Mum and Dad let Ruby come this time – to shut me up, probably. And I'm really glad they did. I've got nothing to say to my parents, so she's talking for both of us. In fact I've barely talked at all over the past week. After I realised nothing I said would stop them from making us move, I've avoided them altogether.

They tried to get me to clean up my room for a real estate agent and a photographer who came to take photos, but I went to Ruby's instead. When I got back, Mum had clearly made some sort of effort to pack things away, because my room was neater than I'd ever seen it. I hate the idea that someone was in there without me, taking shots of all my things, so they can advertise
our
house.

Everyone at school knows we're leaving. Must have been Max, because I certainly haven't told anyone except Ruby. The few friends I've got want to have a party, but I just want to slink away in the night without having to say goodbye to everyone. Ruby made me a map, where she stitched a red line between our houses. She calls it the 196 map because there will be exactly 196 kilometres between us. I know it's kind of her, and that she's trying to make me feel better about moving, but I don't want to feel better; I want to be pissed off.

And now we're
seconds away from the house and I'm starting to get a headache. As Dad turns the corner into Simpson Street, Max rolls against me, bumping his sweaty arm against mine.

‘Ew!' I say, pushing him back onto his side, angry about how cheery he's being. Not that I expect him to agree with me, but a bit of solidarity would be nice.

Simpson Street is one of those weird long streets that only have about twelve houses. So the street goes on and on, but there's just empty land where the houses should be. It's a sure sign people came to their senses about living all the way out here. Without even seeing the number, I know which one's ours. It's the looming grey number at the end of the street, the last house that makes my stomach start to go at a crashing pace. The photos on the website don't give any real sense of how huge and imposing it is.

As Dad drives up, a large Alsatian dog runs out onto the middle of the road. Dad jams on the brakes, swerves to miss it, and almost hits the kerb instead. The dog has stopped right in the middle of the road, like he's daring anyone to come nearer. Dad toots at him and he snarls back, refusing to move. He's creeping me out.

Dad makes a joke about the locals, just as there's a loud whistle from the other side of the road. The dog pricks its ears and bounds off. I look around to see who whistled, but there's just a kid riding off on a bike.

As Dad parks the car outside, Ruby grips my hand. She whispers in my ear, ‘It's massive.'

All I can do is nod.

My brother already has his seatbelt off and is getting out of the car as Dad turns off the engine.

‘Looks haunted,' says Max. I glare at him for saying what I'm thinking, and refuse to be drawn into his childish ten-year-old world. ‘Don't be stupid.'

He half punches me as he launches out of the car. Ruby and I don't move as Mum and Dad follow Max. Ruby is still gripping my hand, tightly. In fact if she grips it any tighter, my fingers will break. ‘We should get out,' she says, making no attempt to.

She doesn't let go of my hand and I wonder if she's thinking there's something sort of strange about this place, too. For some reason I don't want to talk about it with her. As if by saying it aloud, it'll be true.

I guess there's only one way to find out. I lean across her lap and open the door. Then I nudge her, and climb out after her. Mum's sniffing a pink rose in the front garden and Dad and Max are kicking a deflated old basketball along the path, as Ruby and I walk up. Even my family seem suddenly odd.

The little round window in the attic is almost obscured by the overhang of the roof, but I still look up at it, like it'll provide me with some answers. And as I do there's a sudden movement behind the window. I'm sure of it. A shadow or grey sketchy shape that looks like a face. I know this is weird, but it looks a bit like my face.

Dad told us on a camping trip about this friend of his who'd been filming outside an old mansion and when they were editing later, in the windows they found a figure that hadn't been there. I'd laughed, because we were sitting around a campfire with sleeping bags zipped tight up under our chins and telling spooky stories, but now it doesn't seem so funny.

I grab Ruby's arm.

‘Ow! That hurt, Lil.'

‘There's someone up there, Rubes,' I whisper so my parents can't hear.

Ruby looks straight up to where I'm pointing. ‘Where?'

‘In that little window.'

‘Probably birds or something. It's an old house. Anything could be living there.'

‘Yeah. That's what I'm worried about.'

Sensing the fear in my voice, she takes a proper look. ‘There's nothing.'

‘Really?' And when I look up, I see that she's right. There's nothing there.

‘Didn't think you believed in ghosts.'

‘I don't,' I whisper. But I can hear my voice shaking.

With one last glance at the now empty window, I step up to the front door where Dad is waiting for us all. ‘Ready? Isn't this exciting?' He's got this goofy grin on his face.

‘Yeah. Riveting.'

‘Give it a—'

‘Chance? Yep. Heard it all before.'

He looks disappointed in me. I don't want him to look at me like that; I just want him to understand how I'm feeling.

Max is obviously not feeling the same way, because he tugs on Dad's arm. ‘Come on.'

Smiling again, Dad puts the key into the lock and starts carrying on with his ridiculous ceremony. ‘Hello, house. Have you been waiting for us?'

But before he can open the door himself, the door just sort of swings open on its own. He laughs nervously.

‘I guess the answer's yes. What a great welcome.'

‘Looks like no one bothers locking their doors in Gideon,' says Mum. ‘That's the nice part of being in the country. All that trust.'

‘Yeah. Or the estate agent just forgot to lock the door.'

They both glare at me like they can't believe I'm still trying to bring everyone down. Mum shrugs and Dad goes back to rallying the troops.

‘Come on, everyone, let's go and see our new home.'

Max pushes past all of us and rushes inside. Mum and Dad follow, but Ruby and I hang back. As we finally step into the hallway, a dank smell wraps round us, like no one has been here for a very long time.

Behind us the door shuts quietly and the house kind of seals us in. I can't help myself. I step back and check that the door will still open, before I can relax enough to explore any of the rooms.

Ruby notices. ‘Lil, there's no such thing as ghosts.'

‘Yep. I know that.'

‘So what's wrong with you?'

‘Other than the fact that I don't want to move to Gideon?'

‘Yeah, other than that.'

‘There's something strange here. Something creepy,' I say.

‘Well, in Chinese culture the number 4 is pretty unlucky,' she says.

‘It's more than unlucky.' I raise my eyebrows. ‘It's spooky; that's what it is.'

Ruby almost smiles at me then. There's definitely something she's not telling me, but I guess there are things I'm not telling her either. Like I've already looked at the house online, I know it's got an attic and I know the attic is a place I'm scared of, but also somewhere I really want to see.

So I hurry to the stairs, and as I take one step, my heart starts to race and my skin gets clammy, like whatever's up there is waiting for me. ‘Rubes? You coming?'

‘Yeah, in a sec. I'm going to find the toilet.'

I should wait for her. I don't want to go up alone, but I also don't want to be in this house any longer without seeing the attic. It's like knowing you shouldn't look at something horrible, but you actually can't look at anything else.

The stairs creak as I tread on them. They feel like they might snap under my feet and let me dangle. If I die on the staircase today, at least I'll be spared the joys of Gideon. As I reach for the banister, an electric shock zaps me. Like when you touch a slide after someone else has slid down it. I jerk my hand away. I pass the landing to the second floor of rooms, and keep going up.

There's a red door at the top of the stairs. It's a glossy, bright red and I wonder who would paint a door such an intense colour. It's like a warning and I'm not sure why, but my heart's beating crazy fast as I turn the metal handle and push the door open. Then it's like something jumps me, kicks me from behind. I feel myself going down, crashing through the doorway and hitting the floor.

And that's all I know.

I come to, gasping for breath as the dirt on the floor fills my nose and mouth and makes me cough. The smell is old and strong, like an op shop filled with junk. I want to pull myself up, but I hurt and I can't move my legs. Everything feels glued to the floorboards. Slowly I can roll over a bit, so at least I can see around the room. There's a tall antique-looking mirror standing on a frame in the corner. I want to go to it, but I can't move. I'm pinned to the floor, trapped.

The ceiling's slanted sharply on both sides, so you can only stand up properly in the middle.

‘Lil –'

Banging on the door. Ruby's outside somehow. She must be wondering what's going on.

‘Lil! The door won't open.'

‘The door's jammed.'

This is possibly the first time I've ever lied to my best friend. I try to make myself feel better by pretending that it's not really a lie, because the door might be jammed on this side too. But I haven't actually tried it. I'm just stalling her. It feels like I've been in this room before and I want to stay in that feeling for as long as I can, because when she comes in, it will disappear. Rooms can have that effect. But this is not like any feeling I've ever experienced. It's like the room knows who I am.

Before I can stand up and investigate a bit more, a draught blows, chilling me as its icy fingers touch my bare skin. I can feel my heart tearing away, and I tell myself it's just an old house, and old houses are cold, because no one's been in here for a long time, so the temperature of the air means nothing. But still the feel of it, the incredibly cold pull of it up and down my legs, makes me shiver. My teeth are chattering and I'm freezing.

Ruby knocks again. ‘Lil, are you okay?'

‘Yeah. I think I can open the door. Just a second.' But before I try, I walk through the cold air towards the mirror. And as I walk to it, I can see the top of my head come into frame, because the mirror's tilted on its axis. Then my shoulders appear. My middle. And as I step right up, I move the mirror down, so my whole body is present, but something moves behind me. There's another shape in the mirror. I whip around to find it, but the room's empty. I realise the cold has gone and I'm not shivering anymore.

For the first time since we drove into this stupid town, I'm almost excited. This will be my new bedroom. In this room I can cope with Gideon and all its trees and swampy beach and no shops and a one-building school. Because this room holds secrets, and even if they are of the dark-frightening type, I love secrets more than anything else.

Ruby's knocking brings me back to what now seems like any other room. Has it all been in my head?

As soon as I touch the door handle, it springs open and Ruby crashes in. ‘You okay, Lil?'

‘Yeah, I am. I'm good. Let's go downstairs. I want to see the rest of the place. This is a boring old room.'

‘Really? You sure?'

‘No, I'm not, but I don't know what to say about it, so let's just go and explore.'

She looks at me closely before she lets me turn her around. She can tell something's up, but I'm not ready to talk about it. I want to understand what's going on first.

As Ruby and I wander through the town, we pass a creaking old sign that says Gideon's population is 1,489. Like it's proud or maybe just totally amazed that this many people would actually choose to live here. My high school's got more than 1,489 students, so I'm stunned to know we're moving to a place with fewer occupants than my school has students.

The 1,489 unlucky people live scattered around Gideon in a grid of streets off the main square, where there are a few shops, the local school, police station, and football/cricket/netball/basketball clubs. It's not hard to find your way around. You just walk out of number 4, (I'm still refusing to call it our house), down the street to the right and you hit the corner where the milk bar, the Chinese restaurant and the fish and chip shop are. If you turn left, you reach the pub and the school and that's pretty much it. It's taken Ruby and me about nine minutes to walk right round the edge of town, and now we're doing a lap round the school. Well,
they
call it a school. I call it a dump.