Free The Haunting of Emily Stone by Amy Cross

Emily said hello to a few of the other residents before reaching her mother, who didn't seem to have noticed her arrival.
    “Hey, mum,” she said finally, setting a pot of flowers down on the table. “I brought you something.”
    No reply.
    “It's a nice day out there,” she continued, putting her coat on the back of a chair and then taking a seat. “If you like, I can take you into the garden for a while. Would you like that? It'd be better than sitting in here.”
    She waited.
    Nothing.
    “I spoke to Stan, he said he'd be along to see you tomorrow.”
    Again, no reply.
    “I think...”
    Taking a deep breath, Emily paused for a moment to check that no-one was close enough to overhear them. Turning back to her mother, she saw that the old woman was still staring out the window with pale, milky eyes.
    “Lizzie's starting to say that she can see things in the house,” Emily continued finally. “I need you to tell me what it was like for me, when I first started to...” She paused again, trying to find the right words. “I know it's probably nothing, but I'm worried about her. Mum, please, can you just look at me for a moment? This is important!”
    Joyce sniffed, but she made no effort to even acknowledge Emily's presence.
    “Some of the things Lizzie is saying,” Emily continued, “remind me of things I remember from when I was her age. I can't talk to anyone about this, because they all just think I'm a liar, but I need you to help me work out what was real and what wasn't. It's all kind of muddled together in my head, and I can't sort it out. That's your fault, you know. You put so many lies in my mind, I don't even know what really happened.”
    She waited.
    Silence.
    “Mum, please...”
    Silence.
    “The very start of it all,” Emily said with a sigh, “that was real, wasn't it? I remember it being real, but it's hard to really sort things out. There was something in that house, wasn't there? It stopped when we started with the hoax, I don't know why, but...”
    She waited.
    No reply.
    “Is it possible,” she continued, “that it might have returned? That it might have, I don't know, woken up or stirred? Maybe after all these years, it's back, and this time it's going after Lizzie.”
    Again, she waited.
    Again, no reply.
    “Or was it all bullshit?” she asked finally. “Come on, at least tell me that. I remember things happening, but is that a lie? Was any of it true?”
    Sighing, she reached over and grabbed the side of her mother's wheelchair. Before she could turn the chair to face her, however, Joyce reached down and slapped her hand away.
    “Mum!”
    “Did you bring my ciggies?” Joyce asked.
    “Mum, this is -”
    “Where are they?”
    “You're not allowed cigarettes here,” Emily reminded her. “Please, can we just -”
    “Lot of fucking use you are, then,” Joyce replied, pointedly turning to look away. “Can't even bring me the one thing I actually enjoy.”
    “Mum -”
    “It's alright for you. I can see you're doing alright. You've put on weight, you know. Wouldn't be surprised if you get a double chin soon.”
    “Can we talk about Lizzie and the house?”
    “After everything I did for you, you can't even bring me some Marlboros.”
    “Was it real?” she asked. “Mum, I just need to know this one thing. The way I remember it, is that the very first few times, something actually happened. Everything after that was you trying to get a big payday from the papers, but right at the start...” She waited for a reply. “Please. Just tell me whether I'm right or not. If there was really something in the house back then, it might come back now and go after Lizzie.”
    She waited.
    “Or am I imagining things?” Emily asked. “Mum, I'm really struggling here, I don't even know what's real and what isn't. Am I mis-remembering what happened all those years ago? Was the whole thing a hoax, from start to finish? Please, I'm not angry, I just need to know the truth. I have so many