Jess grimaced at the light streaming through the crack in the curtains. It felt like someone was tap dancing on her skull. She smacked her cracked lips together and tried to swallow. She felt like something had died in her mouth and remembered throwing up as soon as she'd got in. Laura was still snoozing in bed, her arm thrown over her head as she softly snored.

If there was one thing Jess could have wished for, it would have been a few hours of sleep, but her parched throat was irritating. In the end, she gave up and trudged downstairs.

With every step, her vision shimmered, making it that much harder to make it to the kitchen.

She frowned at the half empty bottle of whiskey on the counter. A lone glass stood next to it, her shade of lipstick around the rim.

'This is why you shouldn't drink alone,' she criticised herself. No wonder her head felt like it was exploding. That was the good stuff that Laura usually reserved for her parents. She'd have to replace it before their next visit.

She grabbed a glass from the side, checked it was clean, and then filled it with water when it passed muster. She chugged it back before filling the glass again and taking a more leisurely sip.

The house was quiet, everyone enjoying a lie in before classes restarted on Monday. And yet Jess shivered.

She looked around, convinced that there was someone else lurking just out of sight.

'You're being paranoid,' she said to herself. Given her night, it wasn't surprising that she was jumping at shadows even when there was nothing more frightening than a saucepan containing a three day old carbonara.

But the feeling didn't go away, no matter how much she tried to convince herself. She contemplated going back to her room, but in the back of her mind, she worried that the feeling would just continue. And the last thing she wanted was to drag Laura into her craziness.

In the light of day, it was easier for her to dismiss yesterday as just a hallucination brought on by stress. Maybe she'd even been spiked. Anything would be better than what her sister had told her. There was simply no way that could have been possible.

Her hand rose to the necklace. It was one of the few tangible pieces of evidence that showed that last night was something more than a drunken episode that her mind had blown out of all proportions.

She didn't think about her next move as she pulled the necklace over her head, intent on throwing it in the bin.

'Piece of shit,' she muttered.

It wasn't even very pretty. The minuscule metal cage contained three different coloured rocks that rattled around, making the pounding in her head worse.

She popped the lid on the bin, but a tingle in her spine made her spin around. Her heart froze and her hand clutched the necklace to her chest, as though that would save her.

Charity stood in the living room, staring back at her. No. Not staring. She was glaring at Jess.

For one blessed second, Jess was relieved. Charity was alive and well and back in the house. But then, just like in the movies, the shot seemed to pan away, giving the audience a full view of what they were actually seeing.

Dressed in nothing but a conservative pair of cotton panties and white bra, Charity stood motionless. She didn't blink. Didn't breathe. Didn't make any sound at all. She just watched Jess with cold eyes.

Jess paled as she saw the thin red line across her neck. Dried blood covered the rest of her neck and the top of her chest. But the bruises on the rest of her body were plain to see.

'What happened to you?' whispered Jess.

But words only seemed to make Charity angry as her face contorted into one of absolute fury. Her image flickered and the next she was on the other side of the counter.

Jess flinched back. Charity's skin was chalky white, her lips entirely devoid of colour. But her eyes scared Jess the most. They were lifeless. There was no spark. No humanity. Just rage and sorrow.

'Who did this to you?'

Charity's mouth moved, but no sounds came out and she grew frustrated when she realised that Jess couldn't hear her.

Her body passed through the counter as she stalked Jess, her frustration mounting. Jess couldn't move. She couldn't look away from the image of the girl she'd seen alive less than 72 hours ago. There was nothing alive about her now.

'Jess, what the Hell are you doing?'

Jess glanced away from Charity to see Laura watching her with a frown.

'Laura, run,' she choked out.

'Run? What are you talking about?'

Jess shook her head frantically as Laura entered the room. She looked back at Charity and almost wept with relief when she saw that the ghost had disappeared. She wasted no time in putting the necklace back over her head, her hand shaking so much that it took twice as long as when she'd pulled it off.

It was only when it was back in place that she allowed her death grip on the knife she'd absentmindedly picked up to slacken. She jumped as it clanged off the metal sink.

'Are you okay?' Laura asked, as she flicked on the toaster.

'Hungover,' Jess muttered. She checked out the rest of the room when Laura wasn't looking, but there was no sign of Charity. The lingering sense of being watched had disappeared as well.

Laura picked up the bottle of whiskey and screwed the lid back on. 'Guess you and your sister didn't make it up then.'

'Not yet.' But Jess was already pulling out her phone as she said it, her sister's number on the screen in a flash. 'But I'm going to make things better.'

'Maybe...'

'What?' Jess asked, watching Laura pick at her toast.

'Nothing. Doesn't matter.'

Jess waited, wondering if Laura would say any more, but the girl just busied herself with buttering her toast.

'Okay,' Jess said. She hesitated for a few seconds, but still Laura kept her back to her. Sighing, she moved into the downstairs bathroom. If Laura wanted to tell her something, she'd eventually find the right words, but talking to her sister couldn't wait.

Her sister picked up on the third ring, her voice tired.

'What do you want, Jesse?'

'I need to see you.'

'Now's not a good time-'

'I saw Charity's ghost this morning,' Jess interrupted her.

Her sister went silent, though Jess could hear more rustling on the other side of the phone.

'I thought I told you to keep the necklace on,' Ash growled.

'I only took it off for a second, but she was right there. I need to talk to you. Really talk to you.'

'It's not a good time.'

'I just saw my housemate with her throat slashed, and you're telling me this isn't a good time?' Jess whispered harshly.

'You saw that?'

'The drying blood. Bruises. And a big fucking cut.'

'I can't come to you right now. Can you get here?' Ash rattled off an address quickly.

'Laura has a car. I can get her to give me a lift.'

'I'll see you soon.'

'Wait Ash. What's going on there?'

Ash didn't answer straight away, and Jess wondered if she'd hung up.

'The cops are here searching the Monster,' she answered finally. 'Get here soon, and we'll talk. The Deputy needs to know what you saw.'

'I'll be there soon,' promised Jess. 'And I'm sorry, Ash. I was drunk yesterday. I shouldn't have said those things.'

'It's okay Jesse. It takes more than that to hurt my feelings.'

There was more that Jess wanted to say, but she could hear someone calling her sister's name.

'I've got to go, Jesse. See you soon.'

She didn't have time to respond as the dial tone sounded on her phone. She left the bathroom, feeling guilt grinding in her stomach.

'Hey Laura, can you give me a lift?'

'Sure. Where to?'

Jess explained, and although she could tell Laura was less happy taking her when she knew Ash was the final destination, she still agreed.

There was a lot that she had to say to her sister. A lot to apologise for. But she was now certain of a few crucial points.

One, her sister had been telling her the truth.

Two, ghosts were real and she could see them.

And finally, Charity Artridge wasn't just missing; she'd been murdered and her killer was still out there somewhere.