The Figure

Chapter Three - Family Reunion

I was woken by the sound of someone knocking at my door. I stayed in bed under my covers hoping that whoever was trying to get my attention would get the hint and leave me alone. However, the knocking did not stop. It had been a few days since the episode with Lara and the dark figure but I was still feeling a bit cautious of my surroundings.

I groaned as I got out of bed and looked at the clock. It was seven in the morning. Why was anyone knocking on doors at this time? I put on my dressing gown and headed to my door. Looking through the peep hole I saw two very familiar faces.

I opened my door and was greeted by my two younger siblings, Teddy and Milly. Teddy was getting taller every time I saw him. He was now 16 while Milly was 14. I opened the door for them to come in knowing that this was not just a casual visit. They both looked exhausted.

When we were all in the safety of the living room, they turned to me and we shared a very long overdue embrace. They both had tears in their eyes and knew something was wrong.

“Charlotte…. Can we stay with you for a while?” Milly was the first to speak before she burst into tears. I pulled them both into another hug before ushering them towards the couch.

“What happened? Where is Mum?” I asked them as they sat there trembling.

“She’s in the hospital, she has been for a while now. Greg hasn’t been home for over a week and we don’t know what to do” Teddy again broke down in front of me. I consoled them the best I could under the circumstances. A part of me was annoyed that I was only finding out about this now but I mainly felt guilty. I wish they felt they could have come to be sooner. I know they wouldn’t have wanted to bother me with all that happened back home. But I would always have a place for them.

I set them up in my guest room. I had two single beds in there just in case something like this happened. I was always prepared.  I realised that the two of them had no luggage with them so they would not have a change of clothes. Something felt seriously wrong.

Teddy stepped out of the guest room and sat next to me on the couch “about a month ago, me and Milly were on our way home from school. Mum would usually pick us up but after waiting for a while we assumed she got caught up with work so we decided to walk. We got home and Greg was screaming and practically tearing the place apart” Teddy paused and looked in my direction as if to ask permission to keep talking. “we found mum in bed. She looked as if she had been there all day. We brought her food and she would not eat, we could not even get her to talk. After about three days her work started to ring. After a while, I answered and told them what was going on. They rang someone to come and check on her but they called an ambulance and she has been gone ever since”. He seemed to shuffle uncomfortably and looked towards the guest bedroom door before continuing. “Milly started freaking out. Gary went crazy and just started to smash the house up. I managed to keep me and Milly upstairs away from him but eventually he disappeared too. The electric went off after a few days so I couldn’t charge my phone to contact you or I would have called you sooner. I’m sorry Charlotte”.

I put my hand over his to reassure him that everything was going to be ok. He looked relieved. He always knew I was a woman of few words so he understood my small gestures.

“We will go by the house this afternoon and pick up your belongings. You two can stay with me for as long as you want. I was starting to miss my little cherubs anyway” I chuckled trying to cheer him up a bit. He just pulled me into another hug and went back to the guest room. I pulled out my phone and tried to call Gary. We had not spoken in over a year after what happened at home. He was too angry for his own good and took it out on anyone who stood in his path. Unfortunately, a lot of the time it was me.  After a few rings the call went to voice mail, I decided to text him.

‘Gary? What is going on?’ short and simple I thought. I doubted I would get a reply so soon. 

Gary: ‘give me your address so we can talk’

Me: ‘no, tell me what is going on. I am coming to the house this afternoon. If you want to talk you can talk to me there’.

I knew better than to give him my address. This flat was my little place of safety. The kids were welcome here but Gary was not.