Status: Complete
My House is NOT Haunted
Layney's Past
Layney spent the next morning before school pestering me about Brandon and Jason. Apparently, it was a slow week on gossip. I got curious. She never talked about her human life. When I asked her about it, her face hardened, and she replied, “I can’t remember anything of my human life, Kelly.”
Not wanting to make her even more upset, I picked up my bowl and dumped it in the sink before grabbing my bag and heading to school. When I got outside, Jason was leaning against my car, staring into space.
“What are you doing?” I asked. He jumped at the sound of my voice.
“Oh, I need a ride again, sorry,” he mumbled.
I chuckled. “I don’t mind. Why didn’t you get a ride with Whitney? Why don’t you fill your own car, anyway?”
He shrugged. “Truthfully, I think it’s just easier to carpool, and Whitney left early to meet one of her friends for coffee, or something.”
I sighed. “Ok, get in.”
I spend the ride to school thinking about Layney. I couldn’t exactly talk to Jason about her. And if she can’t remember anything about her human life, she won’t be any help either. I was going to find out what happened to her, alone, apparently.
-----
During free period, I headed to the library to look into Layney’s death. Sure, I didn’t know that much, but I had to find out.
I stared at the screen for a moment, not knowing where to begin. I typed in “Layney” and a whole bunch of pictures came up, but none of the right person. Well, it was worth a shot.
Then something clicked in my head. Layney didn’t remember anything about her human life, right? So, Layney might not be her real name. Jason had insisted that she was Amber.
I quickly typed in ‘Amber Foster.’
A picture of a girl, about sixteen, came up, and I swear my heart almost stopped. Layney. Quickly, I read the article beneath the picture.
Sixteen-year-old Amber Blaire Foster was reported missing September 2, 2006. It was said that she was two months pregnant, however, that has yet to be proven true. Her decaying body was found August 25, 2007, in an abandoned mansion, almost a year later. The body showed signs of beating, suffocation, and it was revealed that a fatal head wound was present. There are no leads as to the suspect of this case.
I froze. I knew the body hadn’t been in the best condition, but I had at least thought it didn’t show signs of such a brutal murder. As I stared at the screen, the words jumped out at me. Beating. Suffocation. Head wound.
A sudden urge to throw up made itself present. Before I could let it take over, I shut down the computer and hurried to my next class. When I got there, Brook was already sitting in her seat, staring at a book like it was in Greek, or something.
She noticed I was looking, and she laughed. “It’s my Trig book… Whoa, are you ok? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
It might have been rude, but I just laughed. “Brooke, you have no idea.”
She just shrugged. Then a thought came to me.
“Um… If you don’t mind me asking… what do you know about Amber Foster?”
She stared at me. After a moment, she snorted. “You know, you might not want to talk to anyone else about that. People are still sensitive about it. Personally, I didn’t know her that well.”
“Oh. But… who would hate her enough to murder her?”
Brooke shrugged. “You’ve got about as good a guess as I do. Everyone liked Amber.”
Yeah, that’s helpful. My mind reeled with people that would kill this girl, but none of them made sense. Jason wouldn’t, he missed her too much. Brandon didn’t, I knew he wouldn’t hurt a fly.
Rich walked into the room then. His eyes darted around the room, and when they landed on me, they intensified. I wondered what was going on. But instead of coming over to talk to me, he went to the other side of the room and sat in an empty chair. Weird.
----
Jason’s P.O.V
Sunday night was torture for me. Sure, the food was great, and the sunset was cool to watch. It would’ve been better, though, if I had spent it with Kelly.
As far as my relationship with the Queen sisters, well, I was extremely confused. I mean, I liked Kelly. A lot. But, I also liked Whitney, although I wasn’t sure how much at the time. But Kelly was going out with Brandon, so it didn’t really matter.
Why does Brandon always have something to do with girls I like? I mean first Amber, now Kelly?
As I thought about Amber, I wondered for the billionth time who would do something like that to her. As far as I’d known, everyone liked her. Brandon seemed to be the only person with something against her. But I keep trying to tell Kelly that, and she won’t listen.
Monday after school, Kelly drove us home again, seeing as Whitney had cheerleading practice. Truthfully, I just kept saying my car was empty so I could spend more time with her.
When we got to my house, her mom and dad came running out of it. Her dad, who always seemed more outgoing, for some reason, ran over to the driver’s seat window and knocked on it furiously until Kelly got out. She did, and shut the door behind her.
I didn’t bother getting out, since she would have to get her books, anyway. Well, maybe I’d get them for her. I reached for her bag, and a piece of paper fell out. I picked up, and gasped when I read it. It was about Amber.
My head shot up toward where Kelly was standing. Her dad was talking to her quietly, so I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I figured it wasn’t good, since Kelly’s face blanched.
With a stiff nod, her dad walked away, and Kelly stood frozen outside the car. I stuffed the paper into her bag and grabbed my own. When I brought it to her, she looked like she’d seen a ghost. I waved my hand in front of her face to get her attention. She seemed to snap out of a trance, and stared at me with big green eyes that were wide with fear.
“Are you ok?” I asked softly. Well, I knew she wasn’t ok, but it seemed fitting to ask.
She shook her head slightly. “No,” she croaked.
“Do… do you want to tell me about-”
Before I could finish me sentence, she grabbed my wrist and started to pull me inside. Well, she wasn’t pulling me, since I’m so much bigger, but you get the idea.
She led me up to her room, and I sat on the bed while she paced in front of me. I’ve noticed she has a tendency to do that. She finally stopped directly in front of me, and whispered, “The corpse is gone, and someone else is missing.”
This time, my face went white. “W-who?”
She looked down at her feet. When she looked up, tears were streaming down her face. I got up and hugged her. She sniffled and took a deep breath. She said one word, barely loud enough for me to hear.
“Whitney.”
Not wanting to make her even more upset, I picked up my bowl and dumped it in the sink before grabbing my bag and heading to school. When I got outside, Jason was leaning against my car, staring into space.
“What are you doing?” I asked. He jumped at the sound of my voice.
“Oh, I need a ride again, sorry,” he mumbled.
I chuckled. “I don’t mind. Why didn’t you get a ride with Whitney? Why don’t you fill your own car, anyway?”
He shrugged. “Truthfully, I think it’s just easier to carpool, and Whitney left early to meet one of her friends for coffee, or something.”
I sighed. “Ok, get in.”
I spend the ride to school thinking about Layney. I couldn’t exactly talk to Jason about her. And if she can’t remember anything about her human life, she won’t be any help either. I was going to find out what happened to her, alone, apparently.
-----
During free period, I headed to the library to look into Layney’s death. Sure, I didn’t know that much, but I had to find out.
I stared at the screen for a moment, not knowing where to begin. I typed in “Layney” and a whole bunch of pictures came up, but none of the right person. Well, it was worth a shot.
Then something clicked in my head. Layney didn’t remember anything about her human life, right? So, Layney might not be her real name. Jason had insisted that she was Amber.
I quickly typed in ‘Amber Foster.’
A picture of a girl, about sixteen, came up, and I swear my heart almost stopped. Layney. Quickly, I read the article beneath the picture.
Sixteen-year-old Amber Blaire Foster was reported missing September 2, 2006. It was said that she was two months pregnant, however, that has yet to be proven true. Her decaying body was found August 25, 2007, in an abandoned mansion, almost a year later. The body showed signs of beating, suffocation, and it was revealed that a fatal head wound was present. There are no leads as to the suspect of this case.
I froze. I knew the body hadn’t been in the best condition, but I had at least thought it didn’t show signs of such a brutal murder. As I stared at the screen, the words jumped out at me. Beating. Suffocation. Head wound.
A sudden urge to throw up made itself present. Before I could let it take over, I shut down the computer and hurried to my next class. When I got there, Brook was already sitting in her seat, staring at a book like it was in Greek, or something.
She noticed I was looking, and she laughed. “It’s my Trig book… Whoa, are you ok? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
It might have been rude, but I just laughed. “Brooke, you have no idea.”
She just shrugged. Then a thought came to me.
“Um… If you don’t mind me asking… what do you know about Amber Foster?”
She stared at me. After a moment, she snorted. “You know, you might not want to talk to anyone else about that. People are still sensitive about it. Personally, I didn’t know her that well.”
“Oh. But… who would hate her enough to murder her?”
Brooke shrugged. “You’ve got about as good a guess as I do. Everyone liked Amber.”
Yeah, that’s helpful. My mind reeled with people that would kill this girl, but none of them made sense. Jason wouldn’t, he missed her too much. Brandon didn’t, I knew he wouldn’t hurt a fly.
Rich walked into the room then. His eyes darted around the room, and when they landed on me, they intensified. I wondered what was going on. But instead of coming over to talk to me, he went to the other side of the room and sat in an empty chair. Weird.
----
Jason’s P.O.V
Sunday night was torture for me. Sure, the food was great, and the sunset was cool to watch. It would’ve been better, though, if I had spent it with Kelly.
As far as my relationship with the Queen sisters, well, I was extremely confused. I mean, I liked Kelly. A lot. But, I also liked Whitney, although I wasn’t sure how much at the time. But Kelly was going out with Brandon, so it didn’t really matter.
Why does Brandon always have something to do with girls I like? I mean first Amber, now Kelly?
As I thought about Amber, I wondered for the billionth time who would do something like that to her. As far as I’d known, everyone liked her. Brandon seemed to be the only person with something against her. But I keep trying to tell Kelly that, and she won’t listen.
Monday after school, Kelly drove us home again, seeing as Whitney had cheerleading practice. Truthfully, I just kept saying my car was empty so I could spend more time with her.
When we got to my house, her mom and dad came running out of it. Her dad, who always seemed more outgoing, for some reason, ran over to the driver’s seat window and knocked on it furiously until Kelly got out. She did, and shut the door behind her.
I didn’t bother getting out, since she would have to get her books, anyway. Well, maybe I’d get them for her. I reached for her bag, and a piece of paper fell out. I picked up, and gasped when I read it. It was about Amber.
My head shot up toward where Kelly was standing. Her dad was talking to her quietly, so I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I figured it wasn’t good, since Kelly’s face blanched.
With a stiff nod, her dad walked away, and Kelly stood frozen outside the car. I stuffed the paper into her bag and grabbed my own. When I brought it to her, she looked like she’d seen a ghost. I waved my hand in front of her face to get her attention. She seemed to snap out of a trance, and stared at me with big green eyes that were wide with fear.
“Are you ok?” I asked softly. Well, I knew she wasn’t ok, but it seemed fitting to ask.
She shook her head slightly. “No,” she croaked.
“Do… do you want to tell me about-”
Before I could finish me sentence, she grabbed my wrist and started to pull me inside. Well, she wasn’t pulling me, since I’m so much bigger, but you get the idea.
She led me up to her room, and I sat on the bed while she paced in front of me. I’ve noticed she has a tendency to do that. She finally stopped directly in front of me, and whispered, “The corpse is gone, and someone else is missing.”
This time, my face went white. “W-who?”
She looked down at her feet. When she looked up, tears were streaming down her face. I got up and hugged her. She sniffled and took a deep breath. She said one word, barely loud enough for me to hear.
“Whitney.”