"Okay, thank you." I say to Jay's mom, "I had a good time and the food was really great. Thanks for having me, especially on such short notice."

"Anytime, my darling. I'm glad you liked it." Jay's mom smiles at me warmly, "Girls, say goodbye to our visitor, please."

"Bye. Will you come again, Nikki?" The twins chorus. After getting over the shock of seeing me in their home, they had interrogated me about every aspect of city life and what it was like to be me. Then they had insisted on showing me their rooms and what they liked to do in their spare time. Jay had to rescue me in the end.

"Bye, girls. Thank you for showing me your things and I'll try to come again." I smile down at them. I didn't have to try to smile at them, they were genuinely cute. "You're welcome. We like you, that's why we showed you our things." Katherine tells me, taking her sister's hand. I chuckle and try not to let the praise go to my head like it's tempted to do, "I like both of you too. You're cute, you know that? I'd better get going now, it's getting daek and I need to get home."

"Jay, walk our guest home." Jay's mom orders Jay in an icily cold way that has an underlying tone, 'Go or else...' Sighing at his mom's look, Jay gets up and then holds the door open for me like a gentleman. We walk down the lane silently and into town. Jay sighs, "And that was my crazy, weird family. They've probably put you off me already."

"No, they didn't. They're cute. The way you all fight, the way your mom threatens you, I find it so... homely. It's cool." I pull my jacket tighter around myself.

"Cool? They make me claustrophobic."

"You have family. Value it... while it lasts." I ignore the spasm of constriction in my heart and continue to put one foot in front of another, no matter how hard it gets. Jay doesn't speak for a while and then he says, "You know, your parents would be really proud of you." When I don't reply, he just continues.

"They would be proud of you for moving on and letting go."

"Please. Can we not talk about this? It's kind of a sensitive subject." I plead, shoving my jands in my pocket, "Anyway, we need to walk faster. My aunt doesn't know I'm out here." Then I suddenly remember something, "Listen, Jay, I need to ask you something but you need to answer truthfully."

"Go ahead. I'll tell you the truth." Jay shrugs.

"Erm.. do you know if there is anybody called Trevor living at the house?" I ask, hoping for a true answer, "Please don't the subject. I really need to know this."

"Don't you mean 'lived'?" Jay says, looking at me with confusion and complete bewilderment.

"Huh?" I frown.

Jay clears his throat and looks around cautiously, "I'm not really supposed to talk about this, no one is. But... I'll tell you. Twenty years ago, your aunt and uncle had a baby. They called him Trevor. On his fourteenth birthday, he got drunk on something. Your and uncle told him off about it, he got grounded. I think it was the fact that he was intoxicated but he went up to the attic and threw himself out of the window. He died. No one has been to the attic since. We don't talk about Trevor at all."

I stare at him, my heart thudding in my ears. Oh my god. Trevor's dead?!

"What do you mean by that?" Jay asks.

"Huh?" I look at Jay, "Did I say that out loud?"

"Er, well, yeah." Jay looks at me, concern glinting in his blue eyes, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Do you believe in ghosts, Jay? In... presences of a person after their death?" I ask him, ignoring the pointed question.

Jay shrugs, "Yes... in a way. I don't believe in the white cloth things you see in cartoons, though."

"Well, I have spent time with Trevor." I say, biting my lip, waiting for his reaction.

Jay actually steps back and stares at me conservatively, "You do realise he's dead, Nikki?"

"I do. I'm not lying. I'm not crazy. My aunt and uncle... they told me not to go into the attic. I got curious and I went up there. I met him in the attic and we talked, like, every night. Then just recently he told me he doesn't want to talk to me... and then I got attacked. I'm not lying, trust me."

"Nikki, you realise how this sounds, right? And how difficult it is to go against common sense here?" Jay says.

I nod firmly, my jaw clenched, "Yes but if I was lying, would I have this on my leg?" I lift up my jeans leg to show him the darned hand print, "I got it when I was being attacked. The stupid doctor said it's self-inflicted. Like I would do that to myself for attention! Trevor... Trevor told me that he was trapped in the attic. That he couldn't leave from there, no matter how much he tried. Now I'm being attacked."

"If what you're saying is true..."

"It is." I interrupt.

"Then..." Jay continues, "Your house is haunted by the spirit of your aunt and uncle's dead son."

I stare at him in disbelief, my mind reeling with shock, "Are you trying to tell me that Trevor was the one who attacked me? Who did that to my leg? That I've been talking to my cousin's ghost these past two weeks?!"

Jay sighs, "I'm afraid so. Wait a minute. Were you... alone when Trevor attacked you?"

"How does that matter?" I screech indignantly. I've been talking to a ghost.

"Just answer the question!" Jay snaps, his eyes blazing angrily.

I shake my head to clear it, "Yes, Aunt and Uncle went out for something. I don't know what. They... I was on my own."

"So that means that whatever Trevor's doing to you, he wants to make sure no adults find out about it or believe you about it. He's trying to make you look crazy in front of them!" Jay looks at me alarmed.

I sigh, "Why, though? What have I done to him that has made him so angry towards me? I've spent time with him... He's a nice guy, well, until he attacked me."

"If I'm right, spirits get angry quickly and become unpredictable. They have a really short fuse and it's not entirely difficult to blow it. To fix it, however, is one of the most difficult things in the world." Jay looks at the ground thoughtfully and then his face lights up, "I've got it! We need to get your aunt and uncle out of the house somehow and we need to put Trevor's soul to peace. I know it sounds cliché and stupid and like what happens in the films but I don't have a better idea and I doubt you do. I have to research on how to put a soul to peace, though. Meet me tomorrow?"

"Yeah, definitely. Same place?" I suggest.. Jay nods and we approach the Tower. The gates are closed. "Crap. I'm in for it." I mumble.

"Why?" Jay asks, his eyebrows pulling together and his mouth dragging down in a frown.

"I climbed out of the window to leave the house... they'd didn't actually know I left."

"Want me to come in with you?"

"Would you?" I plead. Jay shrugs. "Thanks. I owe you one big time." I push the gates open and walk into the house. Aunt and Uncle are sitting at the table in the kitchen, looking anxious and troubled. They look up when we come in and Aunt stands up, knocking the chair over. "Where have you been?" She demands and then looks at Jay. Her features knit together in confusion, "Jay? What are you doing here?"

"I went exploring." I cut in, "And I met Jay in town. Jay's mom told me to come and have tea with them. She insisted so I went with her out of politeness. Jay was walking me home and he wanted to see you to... say hi."

"Hi." Jay says, smiling.

"I see. Hello, Jay. Why didn't you tell me before going?" Aunt glares at me.

"Well... I wasn't sure whether you'd let me go and I really wanted to clear my head so I went. I realise I should have told you." I say, shrugging off my jacket.

"Okay, as long as you realise your mistake. See Jay to the door, Nikki." Aunt retakes her seat, mumbling to Uncle. I sigh with relief and then Jay and I walk to the door.

"Okay. Be careful tonight." Jay says as he leaves.

I nod gravely, looking him in the eye, "I will."

Once he's left, I go upstairs into my bedroom but I stop in the doorway. Trevor is standing in my room, holding my parent's picture in his hands. He looks up at me, "Who are these two?"

"They're my parents." I say, slowly moving forward, my eyes locked on the picture, "That picture means a lot to me. It's the only one I have. Please put it down, Trevor."

"I will, but on one condition. You have to answer a question. If you get it right, the picture will be put down. If you get it wrong, well..." Trevor smacks his lips together, his eyes darkening, so cruel that I can't believe I didn't see it before.

"Okay." I nod, "Ask me the question."

"What do the people downstairs mean to you? What I mean is, who do you want them to be to you?"

"Nothing. My aunt and uncle. Nothing more, nothing less." I answer truthfully.

Trevor's mouth curls up in a sneer, "Wrong answer." He lets go of the picture and it clatters to the ground, the frame shattering in two. I gasp, tears rolling down my cheeks. I start forward, but Trevor holds a hand up, "I'm not done yet." He picks the picture up, brushing away the glass. As I'm watching, he rips the photograph in two. Then he's gone. The pieces of my parents' memory float to the ground. I collapse on the ground beside them, reaching into the drawer and getting masking tape out, attempting to salvage what I can with tears racing down my face.