• Chapter 4: The cold lonelessiness

    Lilly returned back to her flat and after getting in she collapsed on the sofa in a heap. It had been a long day for her even though she got up late. But the only way she could deal with the long days she had working a full days shift was she thought about the money that she was going to bring in to pay for everything she needed for the house and to pay the bills that had began to come through the door. Happy with her days work she lent her head back against the back of the sofa and closed her eyes relaxing and enjoying the quiet of the flat rather than the busy hustle and bustle of the restaurant. Just as she managed to relax herself even the slightest her phone began to buzz in her pocket.

    Jumping a little she stood up and pulled it free of her pocket and looked at the name on the display. Kyle. She bit her lip trying not to get her hopes up about him offering to visit, she answered the phone. "Hello?" She answered into the phone in her usual polite manner she had.

    "Don't hello me. I've just heard, when were you planning on telling me. I asked you to the dance and you turn me down saying that you have the responsibilities of the flat and everything to deal with. Is that just a cover story because you don't want to go with me and you want to go with your bosses son so you can screw him and get more money?"

    Lilly blinked as she listened confused on what had gone on when it clicked in her mind. One of his friends also worked in the kitchen and he'd been in the kitchen somewhere when he'd asked her to the dance. Great, first a full day shift and now this crap to deal with. Typical, welcome to Lilly land. Sighing she took a deep breath and launched into what had happened and what she'd told Jake.

    "Don't lie to me. I've been told different and if you would rather date him then go ahead and date him. Your always working and always with him so why not go ahead and tell him that your free to date him because I've had enough of this. If it's not one excuse it's always another with you so it's over."

    Lilly felt the phone begin to slip from her hand as he told her it was over. The words wouldn't sink into her mind despite them echoing around her head. After a few moments it registered in her mind that she'd dropped the phone, she quickly bent down to pick it up but the line was dead. She slumped back into the sofa as the tears began to roll down her face as she sat with the phone in her hand. If it wasn't her only way for getting in touch with important people she would have thrown it. Instead she picked a pillow up and buried her head into it and began to scream and cry at the same time.

    Feeling dizzy from her screaming and crying rage she laid on the sofa with her head down trying to calm herself down when her phone in her hand began to buzz again. She glanced at the name that appeared, there wasn't none but the number was familiar. Sitting back up and fighting back her tears she answered the phone again. "Hello?" She asked hollowly.

    "Lilly it's Evelyn. I called about tomorrow. Are you ok?" Her voice was much more gentler than the previous caller and seemed more tender and emotional.

    "No not really Evelyn, personal troubles. What did you want? I can come in earlier if you wanted me to." Lilly responded with her mind almost working on automatic mode.

    "What's happened? Is there anything I can do to help you at all?" Concern was becoming more and more apparent in her voice as she spoke to Lilly.


    "My boyfriend just broke up with me. A member of staff in the kitchen is good friends with him and told him only half the conversation between myself and Jake and please, don't think I'm using Jake as the reason for the break up because it wasn't Jake. I've been expecting it for a while, but for it to happen... it just hurts." She answered as her voice cracked at the last words and her tears began to break free once again.

    Evelyn spoke on the phone with her, giving her advice that if he was using what other people said as a weapon rather than hearing out the story he couldn't have been anything special and agreed it was only a moment in time before their split was due to happen.

    "I'm sorry I got us both off topic." Lilly sobbed a little as she wiped at the tears that were still flowing down her face. "You wanted to know something about tomorrow. Is it something I can do to help out?"

    Evelyn went silent for a few moments and then answered. "Oh, I was wondering if you were willing to switch a shift with one of the girls. Have tomorrow off and work Thursday instead for me."

    "Yeah I can do that for you if you want."

    "Thank you sweetie. If you want to talk or anything hun I'm always here with an ear open for you. Don't think that because I'm your boss that's all I am, because I try to be a person too." She chuckled lightly to herself.

    "Thank you Evelyn, I have to get going now as my food is almost done so I will see you Thursday."

    "Oh ok then hun and thank you again." She said kindly. She said her goodbyes to Lilly and then hung up once again leaving Lilly in the silence of the flat except for the odd car racing by outside the flat block. Pretty much still working in automatic mode, she looked at the clock to see it was getting late. "She'll be upstairs." She muttered to herself as she got up and went back up to her room seeing her mother sat on the bed with her head tilted to the side.

    "Sweetheart..." The ghostly voice echoed around the room as she got up to walk over to her.

    Lilly walked over as the tears began to stream down her face yet again. She sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at the ghost woman. "It's all my fault he ended it with me. I wasn't a good enough girlfriend to him." She whispered sadly.

    The woman sat next to her. "No darling, it wasn't your fault. Before I came here, I went to his university place. He'd been cheating on you." She said quietly. "I wanted to know what was going on and why he was treating you like that."

    Lilly let out a groan. "That doesn't help, it just verifies what I just said." She threw herself on to her bed as she buried her head into the quilt as she sobbed more and more.

    The ghost woman sighed a little as she left the sleeping daughter who had cried herself to sleep. She knew that it was the first step of something bad happening and she didn't know what to do so she vanished as she went to find Evelyn.