The Ghost Whisperer

Part One - Chapter Four

The next few days for Anthony were blending into each other, but not in the same way they had been since his mother went missing.

This was mainly because of how Kiera kept reappearing in front of him. Much to his annoyance, of course. But for whatever reasons, the more they met up, the more used to it Anthony became. Not that he liked it. He just got accustomed to it. Like it was an ordinary routine.

During this time, he had almost forgotten a couple of times about the stress he’d been feeling over the past few weeks. About his questions on whether his mother will return home safely. About the toll it had all been taking on both himself and especially his father whom he barely got to see anymore since he spent every day working in the garage. Still, it didn’t make it just go away. Because it always came back somehow stronger than the last time whenever he leaves Kiera and heads back home. He was definitely not taking a liking to her, was he? She was just his ticket towards feeling better during the day while his family life is rusty.

Then one day, when he returned home, he got a huge surprise.

He walked into the kitchen to grab a snack before heading into his room, and in there he found his father. Showered, shaven, had a rested face, and was even smiling. The man was totally different than what he had been over the past few weeks.

He was cooking. Anthony remembered how his father loved to grill and barbeque, and that his steaks were incredibly delicious, some of the best he’s ever had. And that’s exactly what he was making on the stovetop.

Anthony was shocked at first, but that shock was replaced by a wave of happiness washing over him. For he thought things were now starting to get back to normal, or at the very least, his father was finished with whatever stressful project he had been working on for so many days on end. Also, since he had been feeding himself mostly soup and cup noodles, mainly things not so substantial, this was a nice change.

As he walked further into the kitchen from the doorway, his father finally took notice of his presence and said with a big grin, “Hey there, champ. You’re just in time.”

Then he carried two full plates for their dinner over to the table in the middle of the room and sat down two of the biggest, bloodiest steaks his son had ever seen. But as he eyed them more, they looked kind of different. Not bad, but just different.

Mr. Neville sat down in his seat quickly and started tucking into his steak straight away. Anthony didn’t want to make the moment awkward by just standing there frozen and looking worried, so he forced his body to move, sat in his chair across from his dad, and start eating his steak as well.

It was a bit tough to chew, but other than that, the seasonings and flavors made it just fine and seem otherwise normal. It wasn’t long after till both of them had finished eating and both steaks were all gone. Neither one of them wasted a bite. At this point, Anthony was feeling pretty full and satisfied.

After he swallowed one last bit of meat, the boy put his fork down and then looked away from the table and towards the one window in the kitchen. It was dusk outside now. It kind of reminded him of the evening he first met Kiera. A nostalgic moment, indeed. Not knowing when he’d be getting a feeling like this anytime again, Anthony held onto the moment to try and savor it. But he was immediately cut off by something his father said in that very instant. Something that made the boy’s skin crawl.

“I doubt they’ll ever find her body.”

The thought instantly came to Anthony that he was taking about his mother. There was no doubt about that. But strangely, his voice didn’t sound sad when he said it, and his face didn’t change from his content expression. Why was that, though? Didn’t he care about the whereabouts of his own wife or if she was even still alive?

Anthony didn’t say anything. Just stared at his father with a horrified look. What he had said sent shivers down the boy’s spine.

As he thought about it more, he looked down at his plate where traces of juices from the steak he ate were left behind. That’s when it struck him like lightning. A horrible theory based on those very steaks and the long days his father spent in the garage along with his weird behavior.

‘Did he feed me her body?’ Anthony thought inside his mind.

He didn’t even know that his jaw had dropped slightly, enough for his father to notice and ask his son, “Is everything okay?”

Once again, he didn’t sound upset or worried, and he kept the same pleased demeanor.

‘If he did, then that would mean he…’

He trailed off his trail of thought, unable to comprehend or willing to accept the possibility of the situation.

Then he felt a hand be placed on his shoulder, which shocked him out of a daze. He looked up to his father who was still smiling contently and once again asked if he was alright.

“Y-Yeah…I’m, uh…I’ll just be going to my room now,” Anthony stuttered, trying to sound as natural as possible.

He excused himself from the table and left the kitchen. When he entered his room, he shut the door behind him and started to feel dizzy. He didn’t know if it was from stress or he was coming down with a cold, but he stumbled his way towards his bed and belly flopped down onto the sheets. He didn’t bother to pull the comforter over his body as he was already drifting off.

But he couldn’t sleep now. He had to figure this whole thing out. Before it gets out of hand.

‘If he did it, then…No way! There’s just no way!’

This was the last of his thoughts before a deep sleep dragged him under.