The attic - Chapter 6

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Moira and Billy stopped for a milkshake at the diner on their way back from the river.  It was as if nothing ever changed between the two of them and they felt like teenagers when they shared a milkshake at their favorite table.  

They ended up chatting about old times, and the day was over before they realized.  Neither of them wanted the day to end and when Billy dropped her off, she was reluctant to let him leave.  She invited him for dinner but he had to take a rain-check as he already promised Vera that he would help her with something that night. 

Moira was disappointed but she understood.  She couldn't expect Billy to put his life on hold, just because she came back to town. 

Moira watched as he drove off, and immediately felt the pain of being alone. She needed to keep herself busy as the loneliness was driving her insane. She saw the packet of cigarettes on the porch and sat down feeling very sorry for herself. She lit one, and only took one drag before extinguishing it and throwing the rest of the cigarette in the flowerbed in front of the porch.  

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself Moira. It is your own stupidity that you are stuck in this awkward situation. You don't need anyone to entertain you."

She went inside and started cleaning the kitchen. It was nearly six o clock and she was hungry again.  She didn't feel like cooking so she made herself a salad instead and went into the living room to go and eat. It was no fun eating alone, but there was no one else.  She was alone. Billy had his own life, and she had to learn to cope on her own.  

She ate half the salad and went to put away the dish, and poured herself a glass of wine.  She decided to take a bath and opened the water. Within minutes she was inside and more relaxed than she felt earlier. 

She lay thinking about everything that happened during the day and was impressed with how much they had done in the attic that morning. It would be the excellent space for a bedroom, and she had been playing with the idea in her mind, of opening a bed and breakfast.

"I wonder what Billy would think of this idea. It might be the perfect way to bring in a salary and she wouldn't need any help as she could do the cooking herself."

It was the perfect house with five spacious bedrooms, and if she could change the attic into another room, that would make six.  There were already two bathrooms, and she was trying to figure out in her head, how to add more bathrooms. She felt quite proud of herself for coming up with this idea, and she couldn't wait to tell Billy when she saw him again.  

She put on her pajamas and grabbed a pencil and paper to write down some of her ideas.  She was just about to pour herself another glass of wine when she heard that funny sound in the attic again. She dropped everything and within a minute she was upstairs in the attic. This time Vincent was unable to hide. 

As she stepped in she looked him straight in the eyes. 

She froze and all that kept playing in her head was Billy saying: 

"I don't want you going up there when there is no one here." 

She could kick herself for not listening, but now she was faced with an intruder in her house, and she had no way to get out.  Vincent moved around her quickly and stood right on the door.  She was trapped. 

Vincent pulled one of the boxes onto the door, so that there was no way in or out.  Moira could hear her own heartbeat, and she didn't dare to move.  

Vincent was just as surprised as she was, but he knew that she would phone the police if he let her go.  The kept on staring at each other without saying a word, and then Moira started sneezing.  Her eyes teared up and Vincent couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He took a step forward to hand her a tissue he had in his pocket, but she was too afraid and walked backwards and stumbled over the heap of clothes lying in the middle of the floor.  She lay there not knowing what to expect.  

"I'm not going to hurt you.." Vincent said softly and he felt just as scared as she was.   

"Who are you and what are you doing in my house?" Moira shouted with the hope of someone hearing.  

"I'm Vincent. I didn't mean to startle you."

"Well, you are intruding! This is my house, and you have no right to be here."

"I know, I'm sorry, but this was the only safe place for me to hide."

"So you thought that it was convenient to just move in here. I'm going to phone the police as soon as I get out of here." She realized that her phone was not with her, but stayed adamant, and tried to look as angry as she could. 

"Please don't, I don't want to go back there...." 

Vincent shivered when he said that and she could see that he was terribly traumatized. 

"Where exactly is there, and why don't you want to go back?

Vincent sat down in front of her. He looked sad and lost all at the same time. Moira could see his face clearly now and realized that he was actually a boy, not older than fourteen. She wondered where his parents were and if they were not worried about him. She felt a little more relaxed now that they were on the same level, and felt assured that he was not going to hurt her. 

Vincent told her that he was hiding from a man called Richard. Richard took him from his parent's house a long time ago, and he was forced to stay with him. He tried to escape many times, and only manage to escape a few days ago. Probably just the day before she moved back in.  

"Well you can't stay here.  I need to phone someone that can help us find your parents." 

"Please don't phone the police, please don't... they will take me back there." Vincent started crying.  

"Nobody is going to take you anywhere, let us go downstairs so that you can eat something and then let's get you all cleaned up, and see what we can do to get you back home to your parents. "

Vincent looked as if he trusted her, and stood up and pulled away the box from the trap door. He climbed down and stood there waiting in the hallway for her to come down.  

-To be continued-

Chapter 1 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/the-attic-chapter-1

Chapter 2 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/the-attic-chapter-2

Chapter 3 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/the-attic-chapter-3

Chapter 4 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/the-attic-chapter-4

Chapter 5- https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/the-attic-chapter-5