Talking to Dead (The Banshee Series Book 1) (8 page)

“Azalea… you look nice,” Daniel said and she blushed a bit. Anny left the room quietly not disturbing them.

“Thanks,” Azalea said and soon they left the house.

“So where are you taking me?” Azalea asked once they were driving away.
“It’s a surprise. I already told you,” Daniel answered and Azalea giggled.

“What kind of surprise is it? From what I read in those romance novels, all dates are in the evening and in some cosy restaurant. The girl is usually dressed up in some beautiful dress and prettied up. Here we are in the middle of the white day; I’m dressed up in my skinny jeans and a sweater.” Daniel chuckled and shook his head.

“I’m taking you somewhere where it’s better to be in the daytime.”

“Oh, okay,” Azalea said smiling.

Half an hour later after a lot of scenery changes, they finally arrived. When Azalea stepped out she realized he’d taken her to the cliffs. She always liked the photos of them and now that she was here she took everything in with awe.

“It’s beautiful,” She whispered and Daniel who was now standing next to her smiled and agreed.

“It’s my favourite spot and I come here when life becomes too stressful and confusing. It’s peaceful,” Daniel replied and grinned. Taking her hand he led them closer, where a blanket and a basket were waiting for them. They sat down and he took the food out and offered it to Azalea.

After some silence Daniel asked. “So how do you like Ireland?” Azalea smiled and answered truthfully.

“I think it’s the most beautiful place. It has a rich history and its legends are very interesting. I also like the people around here. They’re very nice and their accent is awesome.” Daniel laughed at the last sentence and looked at her.

“So you like me?” He asked and for a moment Azalea was lost. “You said you like the people around here so that means you like me, right?” Azalea couldn’t help but laugh at his question.

“Sure I like you.” Daniel greened and then they talked some more.

****

“So… Can we repeat this sometime?” Daniel asked stepping on the porch. Their date had been great and Azalea couldn’t imagine spending her first date differently.

“Yeah… I guess we can. I really had a great time today. Thanks Daniel.” Azalea said smiling and Daniel grinned at her answer.

“I had a great time, too, and thanks for even giving me a chance.” He said and then leaned closer. Azalea knew what was going to happen next and once she felt his breath on her face she closed her eyes and prepared for the kiss.

“Azalea! Come inside!” Franz yelled and broke the moment. Azalea apologized for her grandfather and told Franz she’ll be right in.

“So… I guess I should go. Goodnight Azalea,” Daniel said and left.

“Goodnight!” Azalea yelled and waved then went into the house. Closing the door she grinned and sighed happily.

“So… did you have fun?” Franz asked with a wicked grin on his face.

Chapter Seventeen - Finally Normal, not

 “Hey girlfriend,” Daniel said and pressed his lips against Azalea’s. Azalea grinned and greeted him back. It’d been two weeks since their first date and they had gone on two more dates. On the third date Daniel asked Azalea to be his girlfriend and she agreed. Azalea’s friends were very happy for her and so was Franz. The only problem was Lucas. He seemed to hate the fact that his best friend was dating his sister’s best friend. Azalea didn’t care about Lucas’ feelings but Daniel hated how snobby Lucas was acting.

Anny’s giggle woke Azalea up from her trance and Azalea just rolled her eyes.

“Good morning Anny,” She said sarcastically and Anny giggled again. 
“You’re being silly,” Anny said and then looked at Daniel seriously. “My brother really doesn’t like the fact that you two are dating.”

“I know. He hasn’t spoken to me since I told him I started dating Azalea. He acts like he’s jealous and I wonder why,” Daniel said and Anny nodded.

“He does. I mean I caught him once or twice glaring at Daniel when we were in the cafeteria. But still, when he’s home the only thing we hear from his room are very disturbing noises and every evening there’s a new girl eating dinner with us,” Anny said and Azalea cringed when she realized what Lucas was doing every afternoon. It bothered her that a guy was doing something so disgusting.

“I doubt he’s jealous. He probably just doesn’t like the fact that Daniel found better company for himself,” Azalea said, rolling her eyes. After saying that she went to her locker, took her books and went to class.

****

Daniel took Azalea out after school. They went to his house even though Azalea was skeptical about it at first. She didn’t want to meet his parents yet. Daniel promised her that they wouldn't be at home and after some convincing she finally agreed.

Arriving at his house Azalea was surprised by the house in front of her.  The house was very big and old looking. It looked like a medieval kind of building even though it was obvious the house had been renovated years ago. She looked at her boyfriend with a grin.

“It’s beautiful. I love old buildings,” Azalea said still grinning. Daniel returned the grin and took her inside. They stepped inside and Azalea was shocked by the change. The house had  very modern decorations and it looked completely different from the house she saw outside.

 “So what are we doing?” Azalea asked and Daniel just shrugged. 

“I don’t know. I just wanted to spend some time with you.”
“Okay,” Azalea said grinning. Finally she felt like a normal teenager with a boyfriend and two best friends. Life was finally normal, she thought with a grin. 

 Daniel took her to his room and she plopped down on his bed. He went to the DVD player and chose a movie and then played it. Daniel sat next to Azalea and they started watching the movie. At some point Daniel’s hand sneaked behind Azalea and hugged her shoulders. At first Azalea tensed but then relaxed and snuggled closer to him. The next thing that happened was a small kiss on her temple and then a butterfly kiss on her neck. Azalea looked at her handsome boyfriend and smiled a bit.

The brown hair was falling over his eyes a bit and those brown eyes were looking at her with an unknown emotion. “What?” she asked but Daniel just shook his head and laughed lightly. 

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured and Azalea blushed. He bent down and brushed his lips over her. Azalea felt a wave of confidence rush through her as she pressed her lips closer to his. He returned the kiss and at first it was slow but soon turned rougher. She locked her hands behind his neck and his hands sneaked from her waist upwards. Soon the kiss turned into a make out, a heavy one. They would probably have continued but the house bell rang. Daniel pulled back and grinned down at her.  

The bell rang again and Daniel groaned. 
“I’ll get it,” he murmured and left Azalea in his room. After a few minutes alone in his room Azalea left it. She walked downstairs and found Daniel calming Lucas down. Lucas looked like he was having a panic attack and Daniel looked really concerned about his best friend. 

“What’s going on?” Azalea asked and Lucas and Daniel looked at her. Before Daniel could say anything, Lucas answered.

“Anny has gone missing again.” Azalea’s eyes widened and she felt dread filling her.

“What do you mean by that?” she asked confused.  
“She has gone missing again. I came home expecting her to be there already but the house was quiet. After checking the rooms and finding them empty I called Ruby. She said Anny was on her way home when she left school and she hasn’t heard from her since then. I came here to see if she’s here but now I see she’s not. She disappeared again.”

“What if she went to a store or something?” Azalea asked but Lucas shook his head. She left her purse at home along with her wallet. I tried calling her but she’s not answering and her phone goes straight to voice mail,” Lucas explained in a panicky voice.

Azalea quickly left the room since she needed some air. The second she entered the kitchen she noticed a person standing there looking at her. A young girl about nine years old was staring at her in wonder. She looked pale and almost transparent. Azalea realized what she was seeing. A ghost.

She opened her mouth and almost screamed when the girl spoke. 
“I can help you. But you need to help me, too.” This time Azalea did scream. She screamed bloody murder and turned around trying to escape. The air shimmered and the girl was in front of her again. This time Azalea was trapped. 

“I won’t hurt you. I can’t even touch you but I can help if you help.” Azalea felt a wave of dizziness hit her and just before she passed out a thought passed through her mind. 
Life is definitely not normal.

The second Lucas heard the fear filled scream he jumped to his feet and Daniel followed. They both recognised the scream as Azalea's and dashed towards the kitchen. They found Azalea lying on the floor passed out. Daniel being the caring boyfriend quickly kneeled next to her trying to find out if she’d hurt herself. Lucas just stood there and tried to figure out how it had happened. He knew that Azalea didn’t get scared easily because he remembered how she rescued his sister and didn’t care about the smell of blood or even the sight of the blood on those walls.

“S***!” Daniel cursed and Lucas looked over at him.
“What?” Lucas asked and Daniel showed him his hand covered in blood. “S***!” Lucas cursed too and walked over to them. He lifted Azalea’s head and noticed a wound.

“She probably got hurt when she passed out and fell on the floor. We should take her to the hospital and have the doctor check that out. She may have a concussion or something,” Daniel asked and without hesitation Lucas nodded in agreement. Daniel picked her up slowly and Lucas helped him get her into the back seat of his car.

While Lucas was driving, Daniel pressed a cloth against Azalea’s wound.
“Can you call the police? Anny is still missing and I’m worried,” Lucas said to Daniel and Daniel did just that. Sadly the police said they couldn’t do anything unless the girl had been missing for 24 hours. Since Anny had been missing for just three hours they couldn’t report her as a missing person yet. Lucas cursed again and hoped Anny was going to be okay.

Arriving at the hospital, Daniel carried Azalea inside while Lucas searched for a parking spot. Once he found one he rushed inside and looked for Daniel who was talking to a nurse. Azalea must be with a doctor; Lucas thought and walked over to them. Daniel nodded to the nurse and she walked away.

“Where’s Azalea?” Lucas asked and Daniel sighed.
“The doctor took her and is checking her up. I don’t know how she is,” Daniel answered.
“Oh, okay.”

After a while Lucas was getting anxious.
“Shouldn’t we call her grandfather?” he asked and Daniel nodded.
“We should but I don’t have his number and Azalea’s phone died a little after we arrived at my house.” Lucas nodded and then walked over to the nurse at the desk.

“Hey, can you call Azalea Monday’s grandfather? I believe he would want to know what’s going on,” Lucas said to the nurse. The nurse looked at him with a bored look but at some point nodded and called Franz. Lucas went back to sit down just as the doctor walked towards them.

“I have news about Miss Monday but I believe the policy says I can only tell this to family members and you’re not family, right?” The doctor asked and even though both boys wanted to lie, they didn’t. They shook their heads and looked down. The doctor smiled reassuringly and walked away.

“Do you think it’s bad? I mean they always say that in movies when something is really wrong with the patient,” Daniel asked concerned but Lucas looked at him like he was crazy.

“I’m sure she’s fine. Something scared her but I’m sure she’s fine.”
“Okay…” Daniel said and let it go.

****

Waking in a white room with the stench of disinfectant isn’t pleasant. Besides the stench Azalea’s head was throbbing and she groaned. At first she was confused about where she was but she soon realized that she was in hospital. The annoying machine beside her was constantly beeping and all Azalea wanted was for it to stop. She looked around and found a pale person looking at her. This time it was a guy dressed in a military uniform and the uniform was ripped and covered in blood. The guy’s face was scratched and half of his arm was missing. Azalea’s instinct told her to scream but the pleading expression on the guy’s face stopped her.

When she opened her mouth but then closed it without making a sound the guy’s mouth broke into a grin. She wasn’t sure if she just imagined it or she actually heard it but the guy thanked her. When the door opened she quickly looked away from the guy ignoring him. A doctor walked in and when he noticed Azalea was awake he smiled.

“It’s good to see you awake, Miss Monday.” He said and looked at his clipboard.  “How’s your head?”

“It hurts a bit but I’m fine,” Azalea answered. The doctor frowned but then nodded.

“We stopped the bleeding and stitched the wound but it’s expected to hurt a bit. We can give you some painkillers, if you want?” The doctor said and Azalea nodded. The doctor left the room to get the painkillers and Azalea couldn’t help but look back at the guy.