Souls Apart (Book 1 in the Lost Souls Trilogy) (11 page)

He turned around. “I need you too.”

“I love you,” I said, wondering why I still did after
all he’d done.

“I know. So why are you leaving me?”

I didn’t know what to say.
 
I felt, sometimes, that it was him who was
psychic not his gran. He seemed to pick up on my thoughts somehow and it
unnerved me.

“I told you. I’ll come back at the weekends. We’ll
sort something out.”

“I don’t mean that.”

“What do you mean?” I was starting to get nervous.

“Why do I get the feeling this is the last time I’ll
ever see you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 
I looked at him
and he remained still; gazing into my eyes. And then I felt it; a wave of
shivers engulfing my body. I saw an image in my head; like a movie on a big
screen. It was Eddie.
 
He looked so
gorgeous and he was on his knees, begging me not to go. I wasn’t Emily. I don’t
know who I was. I sat down next to him and we hugged and I felt such raw
emotion it made tears start to form in my eyes. It was pure love. I think this
must have been the first time I left him. When Eddie was good; before he
started to murder. There was innocence and trust in his eyes. Eddie had been
good once and I’d destroyed that.

“I’m so sorry, Eddie,” I said, apologizing for
everything I’d done in all of my lives with him.

“I’m tired, Charls. I’m tired of all of this.
 
It ends now. I don’t want anything to do with
you in this life or in any others. It ends now.”

“How does it end?”

“By me walking you home and leaving your life forever.
You keep on hurting me. I need a new soul mate; someone who actually wants me.”

He held out his hand and I took it. This had been much
easier than I’d thought.
 
As long as
Amber was sticking to the timings everything would already be in place. I felt
a sense of calm as we walked through the cemetery.
 
I couldn’t believe it was this easy. I really
thought he’d go mad and try to attack me or something.

“Can we go to Emily’s grave one last time?” he asked.

“Why?”

“So we can both say goodbye; put the past behind us
once and for all.”

“That sounds good.”

It was difficult to find it in the dark but he knew
where it was from memory.

As we stood gazing at it, Eddie spoke. “I’m sorry for
being so obsessed with you,” he said to the headstone, “it’s time to say
goodbye once and for all.” Suddenly he darted towards me and grabbed my
shoulders. He pushed me face down onto the ground; I was lying on Emily’s
grave. I’d fallen so hard that some soil had gotten into my mouth. I noticed I
was still wearing that cursed ring. Worms were wriggling near my fingers and
then I felt something hard on my back. It was Eddie’s foot. “You’ll never leave
me you cheating whore!” he shouted. I remembered the vision and I knew he was
going to hit me on the head with something. I tried to turn around but I
couldn’t move, his foot was too heavy. Too late. I felt it. Pain shot through
me for a split second - and then darkness…

-20-

I felt so light; it was as though I’d lost three
stones in weight. Where was I? It was misty. I could see two shadowy figures
coming towards me, yet I wasn’t scared. Was it Amber and the police? Had they
arrested Eddie?

One of the figures stopped but the other carried on
walking towards me. As it got nearer I could see it was a woman. “Charls,” she
said. Oh my god, it was mom.

“Mom?”

“Oh, Charls. It’s not time for you yet, sugar. You’ve
got to get back.”

“Back where? Where am I?”

The other figure approached. It was a man. He came
behind Mom and placed his arms around her shoulders. She looked up at him and
stroked his cheek.

“Dad?”

“Charlie. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

“Oh my god, Dad!” I ran over to him and gave him the
biggest hug I could manage. Then I suddenly remembered they were both dead.
“I’m dead, aren’t I?” I asked. “Eddie’s done it again.”

“You need to go back and finish it this time. He
hasn’t won yet. You can still beat him, once and for all,” Mom said, holding
onto Dad’s hand.

“It’s payback time,” Dad said smiling.

I was happier than I’d been in ages and I wanted to
stay with my parents but I saw them starting to fade and there was a loud
buzzing noise in my ears and head and I wanted to cry out with pain. I closed
my eyes and when I opened them it was as though I was overcome by noise and
commotion. I saw flashing lights and I recognized Amber’s voice. “I think she’s
coming round,” I heard her say. “I’ll go with her in the ambulance.”

I was on a stretcher. I could make out the shapes of
people carrying me and then I saw a flash of red hair; Amber.

“Amber,” I mumbled.

“Charls, I’m so glad you’re ok. We got here just in
time. He was just about to bury you.”

I started to cry. “Where is he? Did they arrest him?”

“We’ll talk about that later. You need to rest.”

We held hands as the ambulance drove me as fast as
they could to the emergency room. I heard the sirens as we travelled. So much
had happened in the last few weeks. All I knew was that things had to change
once and for all.
 
It was payback time.

-21-

It feels good to be someplace different. I have my own
room and it has a much better view than my old house.
 
I can see out onto the football pitch and so
I get to eye up the hunky guys. Not that I’m interested in having a
relationship at the moment. I’m going to find it hard to trust another guy
after my recent experiences.

I’m looking forward to learning about the criminal
justice system and preparing for the time when I can finally become a lawyer
and help victims of crime to get the justice they deserve. I want to get
justice for Emily Gray and for Mom.

That night when I almost died, Amber and the police
had come looking for me just as we’d planned and when they got there they saw
Eddie digging up the soil and they saw me slumped next to the plot. When the
police shouted to him to put his hands up they saw a huge flash of lightening
and then he was gone. Amber said it was the weirdest thing she’d ever seen. The
police think he had some sort of flash grenade or something but Amber and I
think it’s something much more sinister. The police found his hut but it was
empty. There was no trace Eddie ever existed. I know he did and I want to know
who or what he really is. That’s what I’m going to find out. Amber has said I
can go to her house at weekends and we’re going to do some investigating of our
own. The whole experience has made Amber reconsider her career options and now
instead of going to college to study journalism, Amber has taken the police
entrance exams and she is about to start training.

I believe things happen for a reason. Maybe it was
Mom’s time to go. She seemed happy to be back with dad again. She waited until
I could look after myself, I guess and I know she’ll be watching out for me up
in heaven, along with dad. I’ve seen a lot more than some people will ever see
and I know there is a heaven and I know there is something evil too. I’ve come
face to face with it and survived. I’ve got so much strength now. Eddie thinks
he’s seen the last of me. Well, the next time he sees me he’ll be begging me to
leave. Only I have other plans.

End of Part
One

Find out what happens when Charlie and Amber start
delving deeper into Eddie’s past. Will they meet Eddie again? Find out who or
what Eddie really is.

Will Charlie be able to destroy Eddie without being
destroyed herself?

Book 2 in the Lost Souls Trilogy – “Demonized” out
soon.
 
For a chance to win giveaways and
to be informed of future releases then email me: [email protected]

Other books by Anna Pescardot…

Always the Bridesmaid -
a romantic comedy. Nicole is fed up of dating losers who don’t want to
marry her, so she enlists the help of her zany best friend, Patsy and together
they use cosmic ordering to conjure up a husband for Nicole.
 
When Nicole’s love life suddenly gets
complicated she starts to think it may not have been such a good idea after all.

Old-Fashioned Romance – a short romantic story about
Becky, a girl who wants an old-fashioned gentleman who will stare into her eyes
during a date and not at his mobile phone.
 
She starts writing to a man in Ireland and they arrange to meet
up; but does it go to plan?

Getting Him Back – Terri, angry at being dumped two
weeks before her wedding, vows to find out more about the girl she was dumped
for so she can compete against her rival and win her fiancé back. They say life
happens when you’re busy making plans. Will Terri realize she has the chance
for something better? A feel-good novella about love, revenge and the twists
and turns of fate.

Callie’s World – extracts from Anna’s blog;
chicklitsoap.blogspot.com, Callie is a 23 year old journalist who works for her
local paper, tracking down weird and wonderful stories – the weirder the
better. It deals with her real-life experiences from her dating dilemmas to her
family, friends and career.

Demonized – Part 2 in the Lost Souls trilogy. A
paranormal mystery thriller, following on from the paranormal romance, “Souls
Apart”.

Coming soon…Part 3 in the Lost Souls trilogy “Final
Cut” and another romantic comedy “I.T. Girl”.

Follow Anna on Facebook, Twitter or her blog –
Annapescardot.blogspot.com

Thanks for reading,

Anna x