Slamming Doors

  Jack mustered up a smirk in Tay's direction. Her soft hand was warm from holding her coffee mug. Tay's hand lingered on his for a moment longer and she found herself getting lost in the depths of his emerald eyes. " Thanks" Jack finally responded. " I feel guilty that I hadn't visited or even called to check on her. The only flimsy excuse that I have for it is being 'busy'. What kind of lousy brother goes that long without checking on his sister?" His brows furrowed as he chided himself. Tay was all too familiar with playing the blame game. "None of this is your fault, Jack. Cate loved you, and spoke often of you. She wasn't upset with you at all. Beating yourself up won't fix anything."

Jack cleared his throat. "So what happened the day she went missing?" Before Tay could respond, a door slammed upstairs. Footsteps stomped down the hallway and stopped just at the top of the stairs. "Who's that?" Jack inquired, quirking a brow. "That's...uh...Mr. Bellum.." Tay stammered the response out nervously. "Who?" Jack's questioning stare bore into her. "M-m.. Mr. Bellum" Tay looked down at the table as she whispered the name once more. She took a deep breath and continued in a hushed tone "He's a... former tenant." The stomping retraced it's steps back down the hall, and the door slammed once more.

"Former tenant? What's he doing upstairs, then? Has he been up there this whole time?" He fired his frantic questions rapidly. Tay slowly glanced back up at him through her thick lashes. "Yes, and no. He's a... he's a spirit". Jack absolutely could not comprehend the information he'd just been given. "You expect me to believe a ghost made those noises? Is this some sort of sick prank?" He had begun to raise his voice, and Tay shrunk in her seat. "I don't expect you to do anything. You asked a question and I answered it. What you do or don't believe is not my problem. Go see for yourself."

Jack placed his mug down and pushed back from the table. Tay just looked down as she drew her mug back to her lips. Jack stomped off toward the stairs, and continued his noisy steps up to the second floor. He began opening doors until he got to the one at the very end of the hall. It wouldn't budge. He tried the knob several times, and attempted to strong arm the door. The door simply would not open. The hair on the back of his neck and arms started to stand on end, and he felt something staring through him from behind. Jack slowly turned his head to glance over his shoulder. He didn't see anyone. As he turned around completely, the door began to creak open behind him. Jack couldn't run back down the hall and stairs fast enough. He heard heavy footsteps following behind him. 

Jack leapt down from the stair case, skipping the last four steps. He paused to catch his breath, hands on his knees. The door slammed shut once more. Tay leaned against the kitchen door frame, arms folded across her chest. "What do you believe now?" She sneered at him. Jack stood up straight and just stared at her for a moment. "What the hellwas that?" Tay shook her head. "I already told you." Jack began to close the distance between them and as Tay turned to walk away, he placed an arm on either side of her against the door frame. "How do you know it's name? What the hell is going on here, Tay?"