I walk through the festival with my friends and the whole world stops as I see her walking towards me, my fiancée Emma she gets to me and gives me a quick peck of the cheek and says “you having fun Julia” I reply “yes, you ready to go home?” she smiles and takes my hand and we head home.
20 Minutes later we arrive at the home we have shared for a year, my family has met Emma on many occasions but I still have yet to meet hers, Emma brings me out of my daydream by bluntly asking me “ do you want to meet my family Julia?”
My heart flutters at this question and excitement bubbles in my stomach “YES! I’d be more than happy to”
3 Days later we are on a 4-hour car ride to get to her parent’s house she told her parents that we are coming and they said their excited as am I. Along the way, we play some car games like eye spy and kiss, marry, kill. We get to Emma’s parents, I step outside the car to see the most beautiful old-looking mansion I turn and say to Emma “you never told me you are rich?” She replies “I am not my family is” I shrugged “you go on ill get the bags” I nod and start walking up to the old concrete path, after about 2 minutes I get to the door and give it 2 hard knocks a woman who looks like an older version of Emma answered “Hello?” I hear her ask “hello I’m Julia! Emma’s just at the ca-“ Before I finish my sentence she interrupts “is this some sick joke!?” I am shocked did Emma not tell her we were coming?
“I’m sorry, did Emma not tell you we were coming?”
Her eyebrows point down “Who are you? Someone from the newspaper?”
“no… I’m Emma’s fiancée”
She goes pale “Emma’s been dead for 6 years”
I go into shock my eyes wide and my mouth ajar
“she’s literally at the car right now”
She rolls her eyes “if you insist she’s at your car bring me to your car” We walk back down the old cracked cement to the car I smile smugly and point and I then realize that Emma’s not there. I know that her stuff was in the car so I open the boot and all there is in there is my luggage. There’s no sign of Emma at all no clothes, shoes… Nothing I start stuttering until Emma’s mother says “that’s what I thought. I’m calling the police.”
She walks back up to the house and I stand there in utter shock, I get my phone out to prove that I wasn’t lying and show her photos of me and Emma… But as I look for photos there’s just me alone in the photos I’m so confused… 5 minutes later the local police show up Wow, they got here quickly, well I mean it is a small town not much is happening here.
They bring me to the station me and a male cop sit down he starts asking questions about who I am and why I’m here all I can say is “me and my fianceē Emma are here for me to meet her family”
The policeman tells me the same thing as Emma’s mother (Alexa) told me that Emma has been dead for 6 years.
I tell him that I’ve been with Emma for 2 years and we have lived together for a year and if he doesn’t, believe me, they can get someone to check our apartment and talk to my family and that is exactly what they do and about an hour later the policeman comes back looking smug. He tells me that there is no sign that Emma lives there and that my family has no idea who Emma is and for the 3rd time today I was gobsmacked.
That is until Alexa walks into the station demanding to talk with me which they agree to. She sits down at the other side of the table I put my hands on the table and intertwined my fingers nervously she looks at my hand and sees my ring She asks me “where on earth did you get that? It’s Emma’s ring she was buried with it” I look down at my engagement and realize that it was all I had and that Emma was alive.
Alexa gets up and goes to the policeman and demands that her daughter’s body gets dug up and that I should stay with her until all this had been sorted out, he agrees.
I get my personal belongings back and I get to Alexa’s car to see a young girl about 17 sitting in the passenger seat she looks like Emma as well I get into the back of the car and smile at the girl she smiles back and turns back to her phone, Alexa gets in the driver’s seat and introduces us “This is Erin, Emma’s younger sister.” I reply with “hello” And she just smiles again Alexa smiles “I’m sorry I should have said, Erin has traumatic mutism she has since Emma died they were close”
I look at her and she looks so sad.
“Anyhow let’s get home” About 10 minutes later we’re at the house, I go to my car and grab my stuff, Alexa escorts me to the guest bedroom I look across the hallway and I see what I think may have been emmas old room.
Alexa tells me that I’ll be staying here and that dinner will be in about half an hour, I thank her for her hospitality and she leaves. I get changed and head downstairs and dinner is ready on the table about half an hour later I say that I’m going to hit the hay and that food was amazing as I get to the guest rooms door I hear a floorboard creak I turn around to see Emma’s old bedroom door open and the light on… Curiosity took over and I walked over to the room, the floorboards creaking with every step that I take I peek into the room
I see a boy around 14 years old standing in the middle of the room looking down at his feet.
“Hello? Are you okay?” I ask and what he says back to me makes the hairs on my neck stand up
“mother did it”
I ask “your mother did what?”
I hear a creak in the floorboard behind me but before I could react I was hit over the head with something… To be continued