by Paula Bianchi –

“Dad!” Emma called out from the front door of their yellow, Victorian house. “We could sure use your help in here.”

“Coming!” Michael responded, as he slipped Justin’s unopened paraphernalia box back into the pocket of his blue jeans then he headed for the door.

Lucy felt crushed. If only Michael had opened the box, he would’ve finally discovered their son’s secret. At least she knew it was just a matter of time now. She felt confident in knowing that he would open it soon, so she and Dobson quickly followed him into the house.

When Lucy entered, she saw the house was left in utter chaos. Broken glass was everywhere along with tossed furniture, pictures that were thrown from the walls, and magazines were left shattered here and there.

The kitchen was a complete mess after the poltergeist stormed through it like a tornado emptying almost every cabinet and spilling the contents across the floor.

Kat and her team stayed behind to clean everything up, and with their help, it didn’t take very long for the house to look somewhat tidy again.

It was after 3am when Nick put their last case of equipment into the van then he joined everyone on the porch as they were saying their good byes.

“I can’t thank all of you enough.” Michael said, as he shook all of their hands. “I want you to have this.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a folded bundle of cash, and he tried to give it to Kat.

“No. We can’t except that.” Kat pushed Michael’s hand away. “You guys were in desperate need of our help, and we learned so much from this investigation. I feel it was a plus for both of us.” She smiled warmly.

“Please, Kat, I must insist. Use it for some new equipment.” Michael placed the cash in her hand. “I’m forever in your debt. Please accept this. It’s the least I can do.” He grinned his most charming smile back.

Lucy could never resist him when he used to smile at her like that. She wished more than anything for him look at her that way again.

“Thank you.” Kat blushed as she accepted the money and put it in the back pocket of her pants.

The team quickly got into their cars and drove away.

Michael glanced at Kat. “Aren’t you leaving too?” He asked.

“No. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to stay awhile and help Emma sprinkle tar water on all of the windows, front and back doors, and your fireplace. That will help keep Carl from coming back.” Kat explained, as she handed Emma a small bottle of liquid.

Within an instant, Lucy felt aware that Kat had another reason for staying, but she couldn’t tune into it. She could only feel that there was something else keeping her there.

“How does tar water help keep him out?” Emma asked.

“It will seal the entrances into your house from all the negative spirits who want to enter. Tar water is very powerful.” Kat shared. “You go and sprinkle it on the windows upstairs, and I’ll do the ones down here.” She instructed.

Emma left to do as she was instructed, and Dobson happily followed behind her.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Michael asked.

“Nothing left for you to do.” Kat answered. “How do you feel about everything that happened tonight?” She asked, as she sprinkled tar water on the living room window then she mumbled a few words before moving on to the next one.

“If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I would have never believed anything like that could really happen.” Michael said, running his fingers through his black hair. “When Lucy was alive, I used to give her and Emma such a bad time for watching all their ghost shows.” He shared.

“That’s an understatement.” Lucy laughed. “He’s teased me and Emma about them all the time.” She sighed from the memory recognizing that he wouldn’t be teasing her anymore.

Kat giggled.

“What’s so funny?” Michael looked perplexed.

“Lucy just said your understating your comment because you used to tease her and Emma about their ghost shows all the time.” Kat shared what she had heard.

“So, Lucy’s here right now?” Michael gazed around the room, but his eyes drifted past his wife.

“Yes. She is.” Kat answered, walking past him and into the dining room.

Suddenly, Michael’s phone began to ring. “Who can be calling at this hour?” He took his phone out of his pocket and swiped the screen with his finger. “Hello. Yes, this is Michael.” He fell silent for a few moments but his body language spoke volumes. “Yes, Officer. I’ll be there to pick him up soon.”

“Who was that, Dad?” Emma asked, as she came rushing down the stairs.

“It was the police station. Justin’s been arrested for stealing a car.” Michael said, in stunned disbelief.

Emma instantly fell silent. She knew her brother had been hanging out with the wrong crowd, but she never would have imagined Justin choosing to break the law.

“Justin’s stealing?” Lucy couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Dobson suddenly materialized in front of Lucy which startled the heck out of her causing her to drift away from him.

“I wanted to tell you, but you wouldn’t let me.” Dobson said. The sadness in his voice hung heavily in the air as he continued to stare at his feet.

“No worries, Dobson.” Lucy lifted his chin, so she could look him in the eye. “I’m not mad at you, but we should talk about it later.” She said, putting her finger to her lips to quiet him so she could listen.

Michael’s anger began to bubble up from within which made him begin to pace around the room. “What the hell has gotten into him?!” He exclaimed.

Emma started to cry because she knew she was going to have to tell her dad the truth about Justin. A part of her wished she had told him a lot sooner.

“Please, Kat, tell Michael to open the box before Emma says anything.” Lucy had felt her daughter’s pain and wanted to take that responsibility away her, so she wouldn’t be saddled with the guilt of telling on her brother.

“Michael.” Kat said, in a stern voice to get his attention. “Lucy wants you to open Justin’s box.” She relayed the message.

Emma held her breath as her father slowly pulled the box from his pocket.

Lucy floated over to her husband and placed her hand on his shoulder as she tuned into him. Michael had a hunch of what the small wooden box contained, and when he opened it, he was horrified to learn he was right.

They all peered into the box and saw a small baggie of white powder sitting on top of a short glass straw, a razor blade, and an inhaler of some kind which was made of painted blue metal with a small knob on its side.

“What’s this?” Michael picked up the baggie of white powder. “Heroin? Coke? Meth?” He asked, holding the baggie out in front of him.

“It’s Meth.” Lucy answered, wishing Michael could hear her.

“Lucy said it’s Meth.” Kat tucked her red hair behind her ears as she repeated what she heard.

“Did you know about this?” Michael fixed his gaze on Emma.

“Yes.” Emma whispered, wrapping her arms around herself to soothe her guilty soul.

Lucy could feel Michael’s anger growing once more, and she knew she had to do something to keep him from lashing out at their daughter.

“Quick, Kat, say something before Michael takes his anger out on Emma.” Lucy pleaded.

“I know this is a lot to take in.” Kat stepped closer to Emma and put her arm around her. “Let’s just all go into the living room and sit down, so we can collect our emotions before they get the best of us.” She suggested.

Michael was little taken aback, but he followed her anyway wondering if his emotions were really that clear.

Lucy hovered above them with Dobson by her side. She wished she could read Kat’s thoughts, but she couldn’t. Every time she tried, it felt like she was hitting a brick wall.

“Now, Michael, let’s listen to what Emma has to say before we let our emotions get the best of us.” Kat turned to Emma. “Please tell us what you know about Justin’s truth.” Kat placed her hand on Emma’s knee for moral support and gave it a little squeeze.

The tension in Michael’s face began to melt away when he realized how upset his daughter really was, so he gave her a reassuring smile as he put Justin’s box down on the coffee table.

“It all started after mom died.” Emma began. “That’s when Justin began hanging out with the wrong group of kids at school.” She took a deep breath then she forcibly blew it out, just like Kat had taught her to do, in an attempt to calm her nerves. “He doesn’t play basketball anymore because he was kicked off the team.

“Now I hear he’s in pretty deep with some new people he met through his girlfriend, Cheryl.” Emma grabbed the pillow from the couch and hugged it to her chest. “She’s really bad news, Dad.” She said, squeezing the pillow tight. “You should know Justin has spent all of his savings on drugs and other things to impress his new girlfriend.”

Michael raked his fingers through his hair. “I wish you would’ve told me all of this sooner, honey, but I understand why you didn’t.” He sat back with exasperation and stared at the ceiling. “So, what am I supposed to do? I haven’t got a clue on how I should handle this.”

“I do.” Kat said, her voice heavy with sadness. “My brother was an addict, and he died from his addiction to heroin.” Her voice trailed off.

“I’m so sorry, Kat.” Michael leaned forward with concern for his new housekeeper as his mind swirled with a hundred questions for her.

Lucy floated over to Kat and whispered in her ear. “I’m sorry too, Kat.”

“Thank you.” Kat sounded grateful. “It’s been more than ten years since he overdosed while he was home alone in his apartment. At the time, my family didn’t know how to deal with his addiction, but now after years of therapy, I believe I know what you should do that we didn’t do.” She looked at Michael with confidence.

“How can I help my son?” Michael asked, trusting that she would have the answer.

“You have to tell him about Lori.” Lucy insisted.

“There’s something else you should know about Justin.” Kat tried not to sound too alarming. “Lucy has told me he has the spirit of a 17 yr. old girl attached to him, and she was an addict before she died.”

“What do you mean he has a spirit attached to him?” Michael asked, sounding quite confused.

Come back next Tuesday and see what happens when Michael learns about Lori. Thanks for the visit. Bye for now.

Email: Remyel@hotmail.com

Picture courtesy of: Pexels

If you’d like to read Lucy’s story from the beginning, click on this link: Lucy in the Afterlife: The Beginning.   There’s a link to the next installment at the bottom of each episode. Hope you’ll come follow Lucy through the afterlife.