A Fading Memory

Stella's Point of View

I was sick of it. I was sick of standing outside the school gates looking fresh out of college with all the mothers judging me and all the fathers checking me out. I'm not, and I repeat: not a single mother. I wasn’t even a bloody mother to begin with! I was just a normal girl trying to get a job whilst trying to care for my family. If Mam was here I'd still be in University right now. I'd probably be living on campus with a hot guy and some girls. I liked that life but everything is out of my control. Mam and Dad were dead, Sean and Jay were left with me and this new house we had was awful. It was the cheapest thing on the market, and for sinister reasons. There were still blood spatters all around the house. I put posters over the ones in Sean and Jay's room, but the one in the bath refused to budge. Hopefully the boys hadn't worked out what they are. If the blood wasn't enough, I’d found a stack of photos. They were all of children, young teenage boys. All Sean's age roughly. They scared me, I imagined that the young man in the picture was Sean. If anything like that happened to him I'd never live it down. The boy was quite sweet, soft red hair and black eyes shaped like little pearls. His skin was like porcelain, he looked so breakable.

A man was walking towards me, snapped me out of my daze. He was quite tall, mousy brown curls covering his forehead. His eyes were dark and a little mystic, full of love and shining like a puppy's. His whole face reminded me of Daniel Radcliffe. Don't ask why. Tight blue jeans were clinging to his legs for dear life, his white shirt hanging from his slim build. A leather jacket with funny feathery bits lay draped over his broad shoulders. As he came closer, he flashed a smile of shiny white teeth.

"Aled Phillips, pleasure to meet you!" he stated confidently. I blushed and smiled back, suppressing a giggle.

"Stella Smith, the pleasure's mine." I replied before I registered what I’d said. Great Stella, the first hot guy that walks your way and you go and flirt like a bitch. Very clever. Aled smiled again, something behind his eyes lighting up.

"Are you new to the area? I'd of thought I'd remember a pretty face like yours." Aled asked. I smiled, blushing at his comment. I couldn't remember the last time somebody called me pretty. I remembered the times that Matt did - but that was just a joke.

"Yeah, we moved in a few days ago," I replied. "From Merthyr."

"Aye. Why did you move?" He asked. Nosey bastard.

"Family problems. Mam and dad are still in Merthyr." I lied. Well it was only a half lie. Having your house burned to the ground in an arson attack and losing your parents is a problem. Mam and Dad are still in Merthyr, only their bodies were charred beyond recognition and had been buried 6 feet beneath the earth. I didn't want to tell Aled about what happened. I didn't want him to have sympathy for me. I needed to stay strong for Sean and Jay, being reminded of all the shit would only bring back the harder memories. Aled nodded, rubbing my back soothingly.

The school bell went and a crowd of screaming kiddies flooded out of the school. Jay came running up to me, hooking his little arms around my knees. Jay was beautifully sweet. He looked a lot like Sean did when he was a youngster, though much louder. Sean was quiet and reserved, you'd be lucky if you can get Jay to shut up. He always wanted to tell you about how his day went and how much fun he had. He was the apple of Dad's eye. It was hard to admit, but Jay was obviously their favourite. Sean and I would never compare. I almost fell into Aled as Jay smashed into my knees.

"Stella Stella Stella!!" Jay screamed, shaking me by the knees. I chuckled, stroking his messy blonde hair away from his cute face. He was coated in paint - again. I picked him up and sat him on my hip so our noses were level. "We painted!" he beamed.

"Mhmm, I've noticed!" I giggled. I turned back to Aled, and smiled at him. He smiled back, and a strange feeling rushed through my body. The way Matt made me feel. Matt made me feel like the only girl in the world, but the alcohol didn't let me understand. He never did care about me after all.

"So, Stella, I'll be seeing you here tomorrow, yeah?" he asked. A little girl skipped over to him and slipped her hand timidly into his. They looked remarkably alike. She looked towards Jay and blushed, waving shyly towards him. He hid behind me. Aw, childhood sweethearts!!

"Yeah, see you round sweetie!" I replied. I was a shameless flirter, no wonder I got hurt so often. Aled smiled again, leading the little girl away. Yup, lovely arse. I led Jay back to our car, strapped him into the back and set off to our disturbed little house.

"Hiya Sean." I sighed as we walked through the front door. He was sat on the stairs, thinking hard. He looked up, a small smile on his face. Sean was more like me. He was quiet and tall. He has always judged for the way he looked. He found love in the wrong place, like I did. Ah well, maybe Aled could change that. No, not after Matt. "You alright?" I let go of Jay's sweaty hand and sat down by his side. He sighed.

"I think I'm going crazy." he breathed.

"Oh, Sherlock! I'm so glad you've arrived, we were all lost until you turned up!" I teased. I was the crazy one in the family. In fact, when the house caught fire I was the first suspect. I'd been in jail once for arson when I tried to set fire to the family car. I was on my period, and only now when I’d lost everything did I realise how serious arson was.

"I think I'm seeing dead people or demons from the past." he elaborated. "I saw this kid in school today - but I know he's dead. Either that or he's at least 30 years old. Every time I see him he looks about 16, he's also with this kid with bright red hair. No one notices them, which is odd because you'd think you'd notice a guy with bright red hair, making out with a guy covered in bruises and cuts. What does this all mean, Stella?" He looked up at my, swelling hazel orbs brimming with tears. It means he was crazy.

"It means you need a good meal and some sleep. You're probably just taking this quite hard. How about you spend tomorrow and Friday here with me?" I suggested. I only went to college three days a week. Sean's face lit up at the idea of staying home. "You can help me clear out some of the stuff in the basement if you want. Maybe you can tell me more about this guy."

Sean pondered the idea of telling for a moment. He took a deep breath, biting his bottom lip. "His initials are C.M, and that's all I know about his identity. He's quite tall, really skinny, but really hot. He's got ginger hair that honestly looks like silk and his eyes! Oh god his eyes are so cute! They're this funny black, brown colour. He's always covered in bruises though, he gets beat up at school a lot. His got really sharp cheekbones, like swords on his face. His collar bone's all smashed up, but the red head seems to think it's cute or something. They make a cute couple, really." ah Sean - my babbling, horny, teenage brother.

Suddenly it dawned on me. The boy Sean described seemed oddly familiar. I remembered seeing the initials C.M in the paper in Merthyr, on a tiny little article about a teenager who committed suicide. I remembered it distinctly saying the boy's adopted family only wanted him known as C.M to protect him. He killed himself on Christmas day 1998, just 4 days before Sean was born. The description was familiar too. The smashed in colour bone, silky ginger hair, black brown eyes, surely you'd remember a boy of that description? He sounded extremely handsome.

"Sean - if you ever see this boy again you must tell me where and when and if he ever tells you to do anything you don't ever listen to him. If he tells you anything about himself you must tell me straight away." I warned, a sudden panic beginning to brew in my stomach. What if Sean was crazy?!? We'd be even less of a normal family.

"He won't hurt me, Stella, he's just like me." a sinister smile etched its way across Sean's face. I shivered. No, I didn't like that C.M lad at all. I sighed, standing up to leave. "But, I think I may have made him up to hurt myself." he added.

A realisation crossed my mind: the family photos. Not all of them were burnt, there were plenty still down there in the basement. C.M - he must be the lad in the photos! The description fitted him perfectly! What if Sean got hold of one of those pictures? They reminded me of the film Sinister: it starts off all cute and family like but the mysterious tapes in the attic soon turn out to be key evidence in a brutal murder. I don't believe in the things I cannot see. What if C.M was real and was out to get my babbling, horny, teenage brother?