The Haunting, Sarah McClure [best ereader for manga txt] 📗

Chapter 1

The heat surrounded me as soon as I stepped outside of the airport. I guess that's what California does to you. I had always lived up North, in Maine. Not as cool as New York but definitely beautiful. My mom squeezed my arm and said "isn't this so cool?"
"Yeah, I'm having fun already" I replied sarcastically. My mom lightly hit my arm and squealed about 'going to the beach every day' and 'meeting new friends' during the whole taxi ride to our new "home."
"Oh Andy! You're going to love your room! I did it all up when I was on a business trip and I had downtime." If my mom was happy I decided to be happy, too. There was hardly anything out of the ordinary going on in Maine and since my mom is one for action, she decided California was the best place to be. Oh, also on account of she was an actress. I'm not going to lie. All those celebrity's kids are like "I wish I could be a normal kid, oh boohoo. I have so much money I could swim in it but I want to have a regular life." Yeah right. Being a celebrity's kid definitey has it's benefits.
The taxi driver stopped in front of a 3-story house. "Mom, really?" I asked as we got out of the taxi and headed up the steps to our house.
"What, I thought you liked history?" Mom said excitedly, making her voice very high when she said history.
"Yeah, well I don't like places that smell like history." I replied, mocking her high-pitched last word. She sighed as she unlocked the front door.
"You could at least try to be happy."
"I am, and it's a lot harder than you would think it was." My mom walked silently into the huge house in her newest high-heeled outfit.
"C'mon, I'll show you your room," she called as she began climbing the stairs.
"Way to change the subject, Mom," I grumbled under my breath, as I reluctantly followed. She flung open the door to a room on the far right of a second-story hallway.
"Tada!" She said and her voice echoed through the huge house. I looked into the room. It was awesome, I have to admit. The walls were painted completely white and the furniture was modern, white and sleek. The main focus was the comforter on my King-sized bed whih was completely white except for a splatter of turqouise paint in the middle. There were black and white pictures on the walls and as my mom walked me into my bathroom, I was even more awestruck. It was as white and modern as my bedroom except the window had a beautiful stained-glass design in the same color of the paint splatter on my bed. "What do you think?" she asked nervously.
"I-I-I love it. It's awesome!" I looked back into my bedroom and gasped at a handsome figure sitting on the polished, white windowseat. The smile faded from my mother's face.
"What's wrong?" She asked after seeing my look of horror.
"Nothing, I just... can't believe you put so much work into it. That's all."
"Oh," my mom said, looking relieved. "Well, I'll leave you to it, then." She gave me a kiss on the cheek and then clomped out of my bedroom and down the hall. As soon as I was sure she was downstairs, I turned to the boy.
"Who are you and what do you want?" He glanced up, seemingly surprised that I was talking to him.
"Oh, hello there. I expect you are Andy?" He looked at me straight in the eyes and smiled.
"Why are you in my bedroom?" I asked, ignoring his question.
"Simple, this was my house, where I lived."
"But why are you still here and who are you?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Jacob." I gave him a once-over. He wore boots, jeans and a loose, white button down. His hair was a beautiful black-brown and looked soft and his eyes were as green-blue as a rippling pool. I guessed he had lived in around the 1850s. He was probably killed in this house, due to the fact that he was still hanging around here.
"Why are you here?" I questioned, trying not to get lost in his eyes.
"I don't know. I never passed on, I guess."
"You need to get out," I told him.
"But I was here first, wasn't I?"
"That's not the point. I am alive and you aren't. I am in control here." He grinned at me, revealing white, stick-straight teeth.
"Oh you are, are you?"
"Would you please just leave?"
"Why would I ever do that?"
"When I get back you better be gone, ok?" He just smiled as I turned and walked off.
"Goodbye, Andy!" he called after me. "Lovely meeting you!"


Chapter 2

When I got back to my room after a beautifully prepared dinner form our cook, I had completely forgotten about Jacob. Now, before I tell you anything new, I thought I would explain myself. Jacob is not alive he is a ghost. I am different from most people. I can see ghosts, I mean. To be more clear, I am a mediator. I help ghosts move on from their past lives. And if they don't want to leave, I excorcise them. Before you ask, my mom is not married. She had me in high school, right before she graduated. My father was an asshole and right after graduation he went off to college way far away from my mom's and she never heard from him again. Anyways, back to Jacob. I flicked on the light in my bedroom and walked inside.
"Oh there you are! You're back!" I almost screamed until I remembered the dude that had been in my bedroom.
"I thought I told you to leave." I said through clenched teeth.
"So you must be a mediator." he said, changing the subject.
"That is besides the point." He sat up and smiled at me.
"What is your real name, Andy?"
"Get out." I said the words slowly, as if he couldn't understand me.
"Anabelle, who are you talking to?"
"Just myslef, mom." I called down the staircase. Jacob stood a mere 6 feet in front of me with a smug look on his face.
"Anabelle, huh? How did that turn into Andy?" I sat down on a cushioned white stool and sighed.
"My mom called me Anne and I hated that name so she started calling me Annie and someone misheard her and called me Andy. I liked it. So it stuck. Now get out of my bedroom or I'll kick you out." I have a tendancy to get violent with ghosts. I just can't stand a lot of them. He came closer and held his hand out, as though he wanted to shake mine. I put my hand out, too but when he reached for it, I grabbed his hand and pulled until he came closer to me. I grabbed his collar and whispered threateningly into his face "Listen, Jacob. I don't know why the hell you insist on staying here but I suggest you get out." To my surprise he chuckled and freed himself from my grasp easily. "As you wish, Princess," he laughed and disappeared. I immediatly calmed down and stood. All of a sudden, he was back and I gasped and stumbled backwards. He was still laughing. "Oh, and one last thing." He said to me. I raised an eyebrow expectantly from my bedroom floor. He burst out laughing. "Goodbye." He breathed and disappeared. I stood up, muttering and grumbling under my breath as I righted all the furniture I had knocked down in my wake. After I had finished, I stood and looked expectantly around the room for something to do. I changed into my silk pajamas from France and snuggled into the huge King-sized bed facing an almost-blank wall. On it was mounted a flat screen TV almost as long and tall as the bed I was laying in. I grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels, looking for something to take my mind off Jacob. I was lonely up in my bedroom all alone. Suddenly, I heard a gush of wind like some one had come into my room from outside. My eyes lit up and I glanced toward the windoe but no one was there. I sat puzzled until my mother knocked on my door. I was startled until I realized she had been standing there all along. "Oh, sorry Mom." She laughed and it reminded me of Jacob's gigglefest in my bedroom earlier. "It's fine Andy. I'm heading to the store, though. I'll probably be back aroung 11:30." She said impatiently tapping her fingernails on my door. "Why are you heading out so late?" I asked, extremely confuzzled. She sighed and gave me "the look." Which was really just saying 'Why do YOU have to know?' I thought I was supposed to be the Mom here." She said, glancing at the hallway behind her in her utter urgency to leave. "yeah, whatever." I whispered. "Bye. Be Safe." My mom said as she quietly closed the door and made her way out inbto the hallway. I waited until I heard the front door slam and then looked around my room expectantly, as if Jacob would appear just because I wanted him to. "Well," I said to myself. "I guess I really am all alone now." Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dark figure. It crept toward me in the dim light of my room and I stayed very still not really thinking. Maybe it was a thief, I thought. Maybe he was here to kill me. "Suddenly there was a face over mine. "Boo." Said Jacob. I let out a little scream and he exploded into fits of hysteria. I turned on my lampon the bedside table and sure enough, there he was, rolling around on the plush white carpet of my bedroom floor. I sat up in bed and muted the television. "What do you want?" I asked in my most indignant voice. He stood up tall and wiped tears from his eyes. He cleared his throat and then composed himself. "Please excuse my behavior. I came because I was under the imression that you wanted me to." I flopped back onto my pillows and turned off the TV. "Well, then you definitely got the wrong