HAUNTED BY THE HANDSOME GHOST

Chapter 8

"What is it? Are you alright?" Hans asked Maddie who looked uncomfortable with her food. She smiled a little and tried to gulped down the tasteless food down to her throat.

“I'm fine, thank you…” Maddie hardly speaking and almost spat it out, thank God it didn’t happen.

If she did, they maybe thought her as a freak and no one would want to be friends with her anymore.

At least that what she thought.

It had been a long time since Maddie had friends at school. Even though it felt awkward but she felt a little happy that someone wanted to sit with her. Moreover considered her as one of their friend.

At least nobody here thought she was a weirdo. Or those who think she is jinxed and stay away from her like a disease.

“Maddie, tell me if you go shopping to prepare for the party! We'll go together, okay?" Loren wiggled her brows excitedly.

“Okay…” Maddie nodded and smiled. Wow, she’ll hang out with a friend!

She was also curious. What's the party like?

“Eh… Maddie?” She turned towards Hans who called her softly. But the young man still looked down, playing with his food without looking at her.

"Yes?" She answered him.

Now not only her, the others was also changed their attention to Hans, who looked like he wanted to say something but was shy.

“Err… I suddenly forgot. Hehe… When I remember, I'll tell you…” Hans scratched his head in embarrassment.

“Tsk!… You just make me curious.” Thomas hit Hans on the shoulder jokingly. The two of them were already close to each other because they went to the same high school.

"I want to say something to Maddie, why are you the one who's so curious?" His ears red from embarassment made Loren and Hans teased him even more.

"Hey... come on, tell me what’s that all about? Oh, when is the party going to be held?" Loren asked with a laugh.

They still poking and teasing him as Maddie watched them and shaking her head at their childishness.

“ About a couple weeks from now…” Thomas answered while giving Loren eyes code. He shifted his gaze between Hans and Maddie.

Maddie didn’t notice how Thomas wiggle his eyebrow at her and Hans because she was busy looking at her bland food.

At least back home, she thought it felt delicious like usual…

**

When she finally went home, it was already late in the afternoon. She got a call from Trisha, that the cleaning service were on their way. She expressed her thanks and hung up the phone.

Even though it's late, Maddie was still grateful, because after all she really needed a lot of help if she wanted to clean the house quickly. There were several places or furniture that she has not touched at all.

Maddie rushed upstairs and immediately took a shower.

Thirty minutes later, a man and woman in their late thirties came at the door. She greeted them politely.

“Miss Madeline, right? We are the house cleaning service ordered by Mrs. Gilbert." Said the woman politely. They were indeed seen carrying cleaning equipment and wearing full clothes and gloves.

Maddie smiled. “It’s Maddie, come in!”

“Thank you Maddie, I'm Ken and this is my wife, Joan. We're sorry for only being able to come now, yesterday our schedule was full…” Ken said as he brought their equipment inside.

“I'm glad you guys could come, I really need help cleaning this place…” Maddie smiled warmly.

Ken and Joan seemed to smile awkwardly.

“I need to praise you for you bravery living in this house alone. If someone else did, they won’t…” Joan didn't have time to finish her sentence when her husband immediately poke her with his elbow.

“Eh… Maddie, we'll just go ahead shall we? Because after this there is still another house waiting…” he said quickly while laughing awkwardly.

Joan nodded and smiled with a guilty face.

Maddie wanted to ask Joan about what she said earlier. But it seemed they were in a hurry and she didn't want to interfere with other people's work.

"Oh Please. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me, and for master bedroom, no cleaning required. I already did the work." She said to them.

After nodding and saying that they understood, the couple got to work. While she went to the kitchen to prepare her dinner.

**

Maddie climbed into bed carrying a small photo of her family. She was getting ready for bed after checking all the doors and windows were locked.

Joan and Ken didn't take long to clean the whole house because she already did some rooms. Before leaving, they gave her lots of room fresheners as a bonus and there were some sticks that she recognized as incense. At first she was confused as to why they gave her that. But Joan and Ken seemed in a hurry and left immediately after giving her the bonuses.

After all was done Maddie returned to the bedroom to call it a day and hoping she would get the rest she needed.

**

Maddie woke up startled because someone yelled and it was very loud.

“Wohoooooo! We won again! Yes yes yes!”

She immediately got up and sat up in a shock. Her eyes opened wide when she heard someone else's voice in the room. Turned out it wasn't the only sound that had taken her by surprise. But also her surrounding that made her heart beat faster.

This was the room she had dreamed of back then. It's the same room where she sleep, but also very different.

And that guy over there… It's him again.

The mysterious man whose face she still couldn't see was now wearing a sport shirt.

No, Maddie… It's a basketball uniform. she reminded himself.

“Yes, indeed the god of fortune is on our side, but good players and best tricks also some of the factors.…

…..We must celebrate!”

Said the young man again while rubbing his wet hair with the towel around his neck.

Maddie just sat frozen in place not daring to do anything. Was she dreaming? Why did it feel so real? Why this place feel so bright yet foggy at the same time?

“Yeah… that's right…I mean we should celebrate if we have won the final round later…I believe we win… Just watch…”

He's on the phone again.

Maddie watched him quietly, her body seemed to be attached to the bed and she couldn’t move an inch.

Now he turned his back to her while continuing to talk with the receiver attached to his ear. She could see his tall figure and well-built stature. It was clear that this man likes sports. It can be seen from the shape of his arm muscles, broad shoulders, that are quite sight for a young man his age.

If she guessed correctly, then the young man in front of her wasn't that much older than her. Dark hair. Like hers. It was cut neatly and short. she could see the man brushing his bangs to the back several times. He also wears piercings in both of his ears.

Her brow furrowed in dissatisfaction at not being able to see his whole face. Whatever this situation, whether it's a dream or she's delusional, didn't she have the right to know what his face looks like?

"Here, of course…I'm serious, who can stop us? Nah, he is busy.”

Maddie heard the last sentence said curtly.

Suddenly the hairs on her neck stood, because he suddenly turned around and seemed to stare at her.

"That woman? She never came. She would never come back here…. What does she care about me?"

Maddie’s heart beat drumming in her ears. Were they looking at each other? She didn't know. But she did have a strong feeling that the young man was staring back at her.

**

Maddie woke up, startled, and panting. She immediately thinking about what dream she just had. Every time she fell asleep she would woke up in the same dream. More precisely, in the same house, the same room, the same bedroom. But the atmosphere were much different.

And the same young tall man was always there. She would see snippets of his daily activities in this house. There was even one dream that showed him cooking fried eggs in a mess and they burned.

Whoever this person was, even though she never saw his face. She believed that he can’t cook at all.

And In every dream, Maddie could never see his face. However she approached him and tried to dispel the fog that covered his face. She never succeeded. But the longer she saw the dream, more curious she was

At first she felt confused and a bit scared.

But over time the feeling of confusion and fear turned into confusion and curiosity. Who was that man? Why did he always come in her dreams?

A dream that felt so real. And all his activities take place in this house.Was he the previous owner of this house? She was very curious and started paying attention to the details in her dreams.

**

It's been one week since her first dream and Maddie started paying attention to every activity and sentence that the man said. Everything seems to lead to a clue.

Maddie knew that this man probably younger than her. Because she had heard him talking on the phone about the most boring subject in high school. And he lived alone in that house.

From what Maddie could tell, he didn’t have a warm relationship with his parents either. But that's just speculation that can be taken from the snippets of this chat on the phone.

Today, Maddie hoped that she would get even more specific clues. What was this person really trying to tell her?

Was she communicating with a ghost?

Maddie shook her head. She seemed a bit stressed from living alone. Tomorrow, she would ask Loren to go shopping. She went to sleep on a soft bed after a long day on campus.

**

As expected. This time she woke up in this dream. But this time, she woke up in the next room.

She looked around looking for the whereabouts of this mysterious man and found him in front of a wooden cupboard in the corner of the room. She got up from the bed and rushed to him from behind.

He seemed to be looking down while holding something.

“Heh… D, apart from being a farmer, you seem suitable to be a photographer…” He said.

Maddie didn't have time to see what kind of thing he put in one of the drawers. But she was sure he did put something in there.

When he turned her head and seemed to be looking at her directly. Maddie woke up from her dream...