In an effort to try to earn favour with Mum – and to get out of the house and clear my head, since it just kept trying to work out how to get the ghost out of Melanie – I took Tilly for a walk. There were a few parks nearby, so I chose Tilly’s favourite.
It was your average early morning, with not that many people out beyond dog walkers. I didn’t really blame them. The weather was definitely colder than usual in the autumn. Or was that because it was a town full of ghosts?
I let Tilly off her iron lead and she ran off, did a couple of loops, then carried on walking near me as I ambled along the path. I always carried her iron lead in my pocket because it was inconspicuous but good for warding off evil.
It was one thing to know that Melanie was possessed. It was something else to try to free her. There was also the moral dilemma of if it was worth it. Ghost or no ghost, she was a bitch. Was it really worth the effort to help her?
It didn’t help that her bestie was my arch nemesis. Who was right in front of me.
I tried to change course, but she spotted me and made a beeline for me. Frazzle.
Tessa got right in front of my path. Tilly stood by my side like a guard dog, ready to pounce on Tessa at my signal. What she thought she’d do as a walking teddy bear I had no idea, but it was cute that she thought she could protect me – and that she realised I needed it.
‘Can I help you?’ I said to Tessa, since she refused to move.
‘You know, you and Josh won’t be friends forever,’ she said.
‘Why?’ The longer I stood in front of Tessa, the more my throat constricted, and the more I hated myself. What was it about her that made me implode?
Tilly growled, but from her it sounded more like a purr.
She scoffed. ‘Look at you. We both know guys like Josh don’t bother with girls like you.’
‘Then you don’t know Josh,’ I managed to say before my throat closed up again. I’d wanted to finish with ‘as well as me’ but my throat had had other ideas.
Tessa reached out and pushed me over. I landed backwards, hitting my head on a rock behind me. She gasped, then ran away. Fucking brilliant.
I put my hand to the back of my head. Blood.
‘Are you all right?’ said a kind, female voice. I looked up to see a young mother in her twenties standing beside me with her son next to her, licking a lollipop.
‘You should be ashamed of yourself!’ she shouted after Tessa. She didn’t reply, just carried on running away. How did she still have friends?
The young mother reached out and helped me up. ‘Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.’
‘Th-thank you,’ I said in between cries. At least I hadn’t applied makeup that morning. Who needed it to walk the dog?
The lady guided me into the toilets nearby, her son and Tilly following us. She sat me on the edge of the sinks, then used some paper towels to dab at the back of my head. ‘It’s not too deep. Just a surface scratch by the looks of it. How do you feel?’
‘Fine.’
I didn’t have it in me to tell a stranger that I was utterly mortified and wanted to die of embarrassment. It seemed like she knew, though, because she gave me a look that said she’d totally been there.
The little boy sat on the floor, playing with Tilly and giggling. She always was good with kids, and he seemed like no exception.
I turned back to the mum. ‘How much blood is in my hair?’
‘If you give it a couple of hours before you wash it, it should be fine,’ she said. ‘You’ll want it to dry out first and be gentle with yourself when you do wash it.’
‘Are you a nurse?’
‘Just the first aider at work. First time I’ve used my skills since my training five years ago,’ she said with a laugh.
‘Well, thanks,’ I said, smiling. It wasn’t often total strangers helped each other anymore.
‘Of course. If someone saw a bully do that to my Peter, I’d hope they’d step in and help him, too.’
I hoped so, too. He seemed like a nice kid.
‘Grrrrrrr.’
I looked back at Tilly and Peter. Tilly was standing in front of Peter, growling at something by the door. Gulp. The good thing about dogs was that they could always see ghosts. Even if they made themselves invisible to people like me. Sometimes it was like dogs could sense a ghost before they became visible. That’s why Tilly often growled before Mum or I knew what she was growling at.
But this ghost was perfectly visible. And looking straight at me.
He was dressed in dungarees and wore a yellow hardhat with a smug grin on his face. I met his eyes and his smile grew. He flew at me, causing a gust of wind so powerful it slammed the toilet door. I jolted forwards, falling into the kind woman who’d helped me and almost grabbing her boob. The ghost disappeared. Panting, I leaned on my knees. Tilly jumped up at me, scratching at my legs.
‘I’m OK, Tills,’ I told her. ‘Sorry,’ I said to the woman, brushing myself off and jumping off the side.
‘What happened?’
‘The wind caught me off guard. That was some gust, huh?’
‘But what upset your dog? She looked like she was trying to protect Peter from something.’
I shrugged, faking a laugh. ‘You know dogs. Think everything is out to get them. Especially when they’re this small. Typical westie. Thinks she’s a guard dog.’ I swooped Tilly up into my arms. ‘Thanks again for your help!’ I said, scurrying off without looking back.
*
I felt bad leaving her like that, but she was starting to ask questions I didn’t have time to answer. And ones I wouldn’t be able to answer, since they’d involve responses like ‘don’t worry, it’s just a creepy ghost flying in my face.’
Still feeling shaky, I sat on the grass for a minute and hugged Tilly. She could tell I was still shaken, so she hopped onto my lap and licked my cheek. She was a terrible guard dog but a great nurse.
The sound of laughter carried through the park and caught my attention. I looked over to see Josh sitting on a bench, taking to Tessa. She’d gone from trying to kill me to flirting with my friend in less than five minutes. Psychopath.
Josh saw me and gestured me over. I tried to shake my head no, but it hurt too much.
When Tilly spotted him, my decision was made, as the traitor dove out of my arms and ran to him. He picked her up and hugged her.
‘What happened? You look rough,’ said Tessa as I reached them.
I didn’t say anything, just glared. She looked at me all innocent.
Tilly wasn’t so quiet about what had happened. Still in Josh’s arms, she growled at Tessa again. I looked at the dog, then back at Tessa. Could she sense something that I couldn’t? Was Tessa possessed too? Or did she just think Tessa was a bitch? Both were possible.
‘Something’s obviously upset Tilly. I should get her home,’ I said.
I grabbed Tilly from him, then ran off without giving him a chance to reply.
*
‘Mum!’ I shouted as I ran in the front door. Tilly came in behind me, skidding to a halt at my feet so that I could unfasten her lead.
‘Garden!’ she called.
I went out and found her sanding down a kitchen chair. She put the sander down and took off her safety mask. ‘What’s wrong?’
I looked down at Tilly, who’d followed me outside. She lay by the back door, oblivious to what she’d done.
Mum walked over to me and picked up a lock of my hair. ‘Is that blood?’
‘I, uh, I’m fine. That’s not the point. Tilly and I saw a ghost while we were out!’
‘What kind of ghost?’
‘The creepy kind that tried to cause a scene in front of someone who can’t see them,’ I said.
Mum sat down on the patio bench and wiped at her brow with the back of her sleeve. ‘Fiddlesticks. What did Tilly do?’
‘Try to warn me. Not that it mattered. She couldn’t do anything. He flew at me and slammed the toilet doors, but that was it. No damage.’
‘And the blood?’
‘I slipped.’
Mum raised an eyebrow. ‘Did you really?’
‘Mum, focus! I’m fine. This isn’t about the blood.’
‘Of course it’s about the blood!’
‘No, it isn’t. I saw a ghost in the park. We need to do something about it! It’s our—’
‘It’s our nothing. We don’t owe it to the world to help them every time there’s a ghost.’
‘What if it’s a mean ghost?’
‘Is that how you cut your head?’
Why wouldn’t she let that drop already? The cut on my head was nothing compared to what was happening!
I stared at the pile of sawdust on the floor, so that I didn’t see Mum’s reaction. ‘Tessa pushed me. It’s no big deal.’
‘When I get my hands on that little—’
‘This isn’t about me, Mum! That’s why I didn’t want to tell you! What about all those other people we could help?’
Mum looked taken aback, but I didn’t care. All she ever seemed to think about was stuff that affected her and her little bubble. If it didn’t concern the people she cared about, it didn’t matter to her.
But the world was so much bigger than that. If the people who could see ghosts and had the power to stop them didn’t try, what hope did anyone else have?
‘The only reason I care is because it’s my job to protect you. If Tessa is bullying you—’
‘Ugh. Will you ever get it?’ I walked back inside the house, ignoring her protests to get back there. I was so done talking to her.