Love In The Wrong Dimension (Romantic Ghost Story) (27 page)

“
Susie, will you stop going on about it? I’ve got a headache.”

“
Ghosts don’t get headaches!”

“
Oh for gods sake, Susie, will you just leave me alone,” snapped Jemma, and vanished from the kitchen, leaving Susie looking bewildered, and more than a bit hurt.

Jemma found herself at the forest, not far from Claire’s bench, and for a minute she considered going somewhere else to be alone. There must be hundreds of forests, she thought, she could try somewhere different for once, where no-one would know her. But now that she was there, she thought, she might as well go and ask Claire what she knew about the wormholes. She was beginning to wish she’d never tried so hard to persuade Tom to leave, it would have been so easy just to leave things as they were, and she would have had her happy ending. She could see Claire, sitting in her usual place, and felt a hint of irritation. When was she going to realise that Robert was never going to come for her?

“
Hi,” she said, as she approached the bench, “No sign of him yet, then?”

“
Hello, dear,” smiled Claire, looking genuinely pleased to see her, but there was a moment’s hesitation in her voice as she continued, “No, dear. Not yet.”

“
Oh.” Jemma wasn’t sure what else to say, other than ‘get real, woman, the bastard has deserted you.’ But she liked Claire, and didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so she kept quiet.

Claire watched her for a moment. “Are you alright? You seem a bit distracted.”

“
Oh, Claire. I’ve just upset Susie, and I feel awful. I told her that I’m leaving after Christmas, and now she thinks I don’t care about her.”

“
Are you leaving? Why? I thought you were happy, now that you’ve found love with Tom.”

Jemma shrugged, this was getting harder. “I am, but there are reasons why I have to go back. I wish I hadn’t been so abrupt with Susie though, it’s not her fault.”

“
Why were you abrupt with her?” probed Claire.

“
Because she wouldn’t stop asking about it,” Jemma knew it sounded lame, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say. Claire obviously agreed.

“
But why shouldn’t she ask about it? It’s a big thing for her, she’s very fond of you, so it’s only natural that she would be upset.”

“
Oh, don’t you start,” groaned Jemma, feeling increasingly trapped. The truth was that she was happy, very happy. She had Tom, Susie and Claire and, now that she had got used to being a ghost, she quite enjoyed the freedom that not having a body gave her. But she sounded pathetic right now, and she knew that Claire didn’t believe her.

“
Jemma?” asked Claire, gently. “What’s wrong?”

“
Nothing. I can’t say...” Jemma felt herself weakening. She desperately wanted to tell Claire everything, to share her grief at losing Tom in a few days time. If only it wasn’t for bloody Max.

“
Jemma, if there’s anything you want to talk about, you can trust me.” Claire spoke with complete sincerity, which made Jemma feel even worse.

“
It’s not you, Claire. I do trust you, it’s just... Well, it’s Max, actually. I know you’re his friend, but....”

“
Jemma. Max is my friend, yes, but so are you. Whatever you tell me would be in strict confidence. I wouldn’t betray your trust. Not even to Max!” she smiled.

Jemma felt a wave of relief wash over her. It would be so good to talk to someone else, and get an unbiased opinion. Of course she could trust Claire, she realised, so she took a deep breath, and started unburdening her problem.

“
It’s not me going back, Claire, it’s Tom and Susie. I found out that Susie is desperately unhappy and that she desperately misses her mum, but then I found out that due to the accident that killed her, Tom would have to go back as well. I finally managed to convince Tom that he had to go back for Susie’s sake, but the trouble is I can’t tell Susie because she’ll blab. If Max finds out that Tom is planning on leaving, he might just decide to take that revenge that he’s been planning for so long. Please, Claire, you mustn’t say anything to either of them.”

“
Of course I won’t, dear, I gave you my word. So does that mean you’ll be leaving as well? I suppose that once Tom has gone, there’ll be nothing to keep you here.”

Jemma stared at Claire, and suddenly she understood why Claire might have been waiting for Robert all these years. “I’m not leaving, Claire. If I go back, I’ll forget Tom, it will be as if he never existed for me, and I need to remember him because he’s the only truly good thing that’s ever happened to me.” Claire nodded her understanding, as Jemma asked, “Is that why you’re still waiting for Robert? Because you’re worried that you might forget him?”

Claire’s face clouded over, and she shook her head sadly. “To be honest, dear, I don’t know why I’m here. When I first arrived, all I knew was that I had to wait for Robert, but now... I don’t know, Jemma, I just don’t know.”

Jemma reached out and took Claire’s thin, delicate hand, and gave it a squeeze. “Well, whatever happens with Robert, I’ll still be here for you. We can help each other.”

“
Thank you, dear. But I think you’re making a mistake by not going back. No-one here is meant to be here, that’s exactly why we’re here.” They both laughed at the absurdity of her words, but they both silently acknowledged that they were true.

“
Well, I’m staying, so you’re stuck with me. We do need your help though, Claire.”

“
Oh?”

“
You mentioned a while ago, that you knew a bit about wormholes and stuff. Well, I was going to ask Max, but I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

Claire chuckled, “You’re right about that, dear. We must keep this from Max at all costs, so we’ll talk about it as if it’s you going back. Max isn’t a bad person, Jemma, but he has got a lot of bitterness in him, and he’s looking for someone to take it out on.”

“
I still don’t understand how you two can be friends,” frowned Jemma.

“
Like I said, dear, he’s not a bad person, we’re helping each other, and I suppose you could say that we’ve established a mutual respect. Now, let’s not talk about Max. You need to find a wormhole. Do you know what a wormhole actually is?”

“
Er, something to do with space/time?”

“
That’s right, dear. As you know, space and time are actually the same thing. It is possible to go back in time through space, but it’s impossible to go into the future. A wormhole is literally a tear in space/time that links one point of space/time with another. A bit like a tunnel linking two islands together. The problem with wormholes is... well, there are several. First, they’re very small which is why solid matter can’t pass through them. This also makes them very hard for us to locate. Another problem is that they are very unstable and can collapse at any time. And of course, you then have to find one that links our point in space/time to the point where you were before you died and, I’m sure you can see, the chances of that are near impossible.”

Jemma felt her head spin more and more with every word Claire was saying. This was going to be a lot harder than she had imagined. It hadn’t occurred to her that it might not be possible to find a wormhole for Tom, and she couldn’t help but feel a guilty flicker of hope that if it wasn’t possible, then Tom would have to stay.

“
But,” continued Claire, “it is possible to manipulate an existing wormhole enough for you to get to your specific destination, or even create a wormhole yourself.”

The flicker of hope vanished again. While there was any chance that they could do this, they had to give it a go. “What do you mean, create a wormhole?” she asked, curiously, vaguely remembering that Tom also mentioned something about this.

“
It’s very hard, dear. You need enormous amounts of energy, best taken from the sun, and focus it on one particle, compressing it until it collapses and forms a mini black hole. The weight of that black hole will then cause a small tear in the fabric of space/time, thereby creating a mini wormhole.

“
Oh, right!”

“
The trouble with creating your own wormhole is that you need such a huge amount of energy that most people who try, don’t succeed. No, I think you’re better off finding an existing one, and manipulating it to go where you want. Now, it’s important to know a couple more things about them. Firstly, you can only travel one way through a wormhole, so there’s no going back. Secondly, while it remains open, you will be in control and will remember everything, even once you’re through it, but as soon as it collapses you’ll forget everything.”

“
Oh,” said Jemma, brightening up. “Does that mean that I could go back and somehow stop the wormhole from collapsing, so that I don’t forget everything that’s happened?”

“
No, dear. I’m afraid it’s impossible to keep a wormhole open for more than a few seconds. What it does mean though, is that the second Tom is through, he’ll have to stop the accident that killed Susie from happening again, because if he’s not quick enough, the wormhole could collapse and he won’t remember what to do. Then the same thing will happen again, and he’ll be back where he started.”

“
Right, so he needs to be quick once he’s through. So how do we actually locate an existing wormhole and manipulate it to go where we want?”

“
I can show you that when the time comes. I know we all believed that it was near impossible to leave this place, but since getting to know Max, I’ve learnt that it’s not as difficult as we had first thought. Max just isn’t very keen to share his knowledge, for obvious reasons.”

“
But how does Max know?” asked Jemma.

“
Apparently he tried to leave himself once, years ago, but because of his bitterness over his death, as soon as he tried, he found himself back here. It really is only possible to leave if it’s for the right reasons, it seems.”

“
Well, I think Tom has cleared the way for him to leave, he now knows that his mother regretted her actions before he died. Also, the fact that his ashes are now with his father has given him peace. And I think that the fact that he doesn’t feel the burden of guilt over Susie’s death anymore, will also help.”

“
Jemma,” Claire reached out and took Jemma’s hand, “It’s important that Tom knows that there are risks involved with travelling through wormholes. They’re very unstable and, like I said before, they can collapse at any moment, and if one were to collapse while Tom was still inside, he would be trapped forever. There’s no escape...ever!

Jemma wandered along the sandy beach in Norfolk looking for Tom. They had arranged to meet by their sand dune later that day and, although time didn’t exist where they were, they still used references such as mid afternoon or late morning when making arrangements. It was now late afternoon, and she was the first to arrive at their rendezvous point. They had hoped to watch the sunset, but it was a grey, dark and cloudy day, so unfortunately there would be no brilliant orange and red sky tonight. Making the most of the time she had alone, she lay back on the dune, closed her eyes and thought about what Claire had said earlier. There were risks, big risks. What if Tom did get trapped in a collapsed wormhole? Not only would he be trapped there forever, but Susie wouldn’t get back either and
both she and Susie would have to remain where they were without Tom, knowing that he would have met his terrible fate because of them.

She didn’t know how long she lay there, but she suddenly became aware of movement next to her, and then a wet tongue started lovingly licking her face.

“
Sandy!” she cried, joyfully, as she sat up and stroked the dog’s soft head. He gave a little yelp of delight and immediately did a little dance for her, chasing his tail round and round, sending sand flying through the air. She laughed as she watched and, when she heard his owners calling him, she said softly, “Better go back, Gorgeous Boy. Bye bye.”

“
Gorgeous Boy?” Tom’s voice greeted her as Sandy bounded away. “Have you replaced me already?”

Jemma always felt a rush of pleasure when she heard Tom’s voice. It was deep and smooth, and very sexy. Like his looks, it had a hint of Johnny Depp about it.

“
Did anyone ever tell you that you look a bit like Johnny Depp?” she asked, dreamily.

“
Who?”

“
You know, Jack Sparrow.... Oh, of course not, he wasn’t famous when you were alive.”

“
So is this Johnny guy good looking then?”

“
Hmm,” she said, with a smile, “yes he is, actually, and you look a bit like him, especially your smile. You have the most gorgeous smile.”

He laughed, “Don’t stop. What else do you like about me?” He was sitting close to her now, she could feel the energy from him touching her, and it felt good.

“
Oh that’s about it,” she joked, and planted a kiss on his divine lips.

“
I think you’ve pissed Susie off,” he said, as soon as his lips were free to talk again. “She was stomping around the house earlier calling you all sorts of names.”

“
She’s not pissed off as much as she’s hurt,” said Jemma, sadly. “She asked me if I was going to stay, and I told her that I was going to go back. So she started questioning me about it, understandably, but I got really defensive and shouted at her. I didn’t mean to, but I just didn’t know what to say. I feel awful now.”

“
I know, but you did the right thing by not telling her the truth.”