Honest by Ava Bloomfield Read Free Book Online

when
something came crashing down from the ceiling. I screamed, falling back against
the sink unit as the thing clattered and rattled on the floor, until eventually
it stopped moving and lay still.
    My stick was
now in the centre of the floor.
    My knees shook
as I glanced slowly up at the ceiling where I was so sure it had fallen from.
Nothing looked untoward. I stuck out the foot of my good leg, hooked the stick
and drew it towards me, my blood running cold. I hobbled in a daze from the
room to the front door.
    I couldn’t get
out of there fast enough. I couldn’t explain what had happened, not even to
myself who had experienced the whole thing. But I just told myself that David
would know, and he’d reassure me, and he’d make me feel safe again. He had to.
     I grabbed my
bag from the table in the hall and flung myself out the front door. The car had
already pulled away and was ambling down the hill, its windscreen wipers going.
    I panicked, my
hands trembling. All I could think was that I had to get David’s attention or
else he’d never see my dress and know I was better than this Lauren girl, and
I’d miss seeing Peter’s grave, and I’d be stuck in that house all alone, and
before I knew it It’d be night time and I’d hear that rapping on my bedroom
door.
    ‘David!’ I
called out, waving my free hand up in the air. ‘ DAVID! ’
    I put a wet
hand over my brow and squinted through the rain, which was soaking my lovely
dress, and I could swear that the car was actually driving faster now.
    I realised,
then.
    He just
couldn’t hear me.
    I had no
choice but to start hobbling after him, waving my free hand, hoping beyond hope
that he would spot me just in time. My knee began to throb but I didn’t care,
and I didn’t even care about the rain hammering down on me, or the waves
crashing against the harbour wall. I threw my stick in front of me faster and
faster, half walking half staggering, until I came within shouting distance.
    I lurched down
the final few yards, stubbing my toes on the cobble stones, until I was finally
within reach.
    ‘David!’ I
cried, waving frantically.
    The lights
came on. The car was about to pull off.
    I slapped the
back of the car repeatedly, huffing, my lungs heaving inside my chest. Relief
came over me when the passenger door was opened. I laughed and hurried around
to it, soaked through to the skin, knowing everything would be okay now. I was
alone with David, in his car, and he could help me.
    I slammed the
door and tucked the sopping wet strands of hair behind my ears. David gave me a
nervous smile, his hands glued to the wheel.
    ‘You nearly
went off without me!’ I said, laughing a little too shrilly for such a small
space. I was so worn out and shaken that I almost forgot what I’d been so
afraid of before, back in my kitchen.
    ‘Sorry,’ he
said. ‘I thought you must have been out.’ He looked me up and down. He was
admiring my outfit. ‘You’re soaked,’ he said.
    ‘I know, silly
me, I didn’t want to wear a coat today. I hope it hasn’t gone all see–through.’
    ‘It hasn’t,’
he said, going pink. His fingers tapped the steering wheel. He watched the road
and took an opportunity to pull out, before snaking the car down the lanes and
out onto the road towards the cemetery.
    I sighed,
wiping the rain from my face. ‘David,’ I began, trying to make my voice sound
less shaken and more upbeat. Thinking about the incident with the stick in the
kitchen was making my hands shake again. ‘Have you ever seen a ghost?’
    He frowned,
keeping his eyes front. ‘No,’ he said. ‘There’s no such thing.’
    ‘Oh. It’s just
the funniest thing happened back at the cottage. Well, a few funny things
actually. Something’s wrong with the taps,’ I said, my voice quavering. I
cleared my throat. Keep your composure , I told myself. You’ll make
him think you’re weird .
    ‘Sounds like
it might just be a plumbing problem,’ he said.
    I nodded.
‘That’s