CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
Finally, Carly seemed to catch on.
'Oh, my god!' she whispered, looking frantically from Shane to me. 'Is he here?'
I nodded. Carly's face blanched again. She looked around the room frantically, her gaze passing right through Chris. Panicked at the presence of an invisible enemy, she slowly backed herself against the wall.
'Please don't let him hurt me,' she begged.
Shane wasn't listening. He was glaring at Chris, who was leaning smugly against the car again. Shane gave a disgusted grunt. 'That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Chris, I know you suck at biology, and I'm a scholarship student, so let me explain it to you. To be twins you've got to have the same parents,' he said in a deliberately patronising voice.
Chris laughed mirthlessly.
'You still haven't worked it out. I always knew I was the smart twin.' He turned to me in contempt. 'And it took you long enough to work it out.'
I felt the hairs prickle on the back of my neck. I mean, I do have a life. I've got better things to do than research his family history. And he hardly made it easy for me when he was doing helpful things like lying to me and, oh yeah, trying to kill his brother.
'Haven't you ever wondered why your mother ran away when you were two?' Chris asked Shane disdainfully.
'Of course I know why, you stupid numbskull,' Shane said viciously. Chris had obviously touched a nerve. 'Because your dad is a selfish prick who ruined our lives. He tricked my dad into buying Home Wizards after he'd siphoned all the money out of it. My mother couldn't stand by and watch while my father worked himself to the bone, spending every cent he earned to pay back your father's debts, so she left us and never came back. Thanks to your family I had to grow up in poverty, without a mother, while your family rolled like pigs in your stolen wealth, oblivious to the suffering of my family,' Shane spat.
Suddenly I understood Shane's desire to hurt Chris—why he'd bullied him at school and purposefully stolen every girlfriend Chris had ever had. Shane had barely known his mother before she ran away, and he blamed Chris' family for it. He hated living like a pauper while Chris' family flourished.
To my surprise, Chris ignored Shane's insults and nodded his head in agreement. 'You're one hundred per cent right about my dad being a selfish prick,' he acknowledged. Shane raised his eyebrows in surprise. 'The thing is, my dad isn't who you think he is,' Chris finished.
Shane looked annoyed. 'What the hell are you talking about?' he demanded.
'Do I have to spell it out for you?' Chris jeered. 'Your dad is our dad. My mum is our mum. Your dad and my mum had an affair. My mum got knocked up. With twins. You and me.'
It took a moment for this information to register on Shane's face. Then he crumpled to the ground.
'I don't believe you,' Shane whispered. However, it was obvious from his face that something about Chris' story made sense.
Chris glared at him stony-faced. 'How do you think I felt? You have no idea! Suddenly finding out that the guy who bullied me at school for all these years was actually my twin. Do you know how angry I felt when I realised that the reason my mum always neglected me was because she was pining for you, my jerk twin brother? How betrayed I felt, when I found out that my father wasn't even my real dad? That my real dad wanted nothing to do with me, wanted nothing to do with his son? And that the reason the father I'd grown up with hated me but doted on my brother was because he wasn't even my father at all?' He began to pace around the garage, as his rant gathered wind.
'For years, my mother made me feel worthless. She'd forget my birthday. She was completely distracted. She never hugged me. She showed no interest in my life. She was always depressed—crying, moping. Some days she wouldn't even get out of bed. No matter what I did, no matter what I achieved, she was indifferent. She just couldn't get over losing Shane. I remember the day I told her I got into the rep rugby team. She didn't even respond. She was totally indifferent until she realised that Shane was playing in my team too, and it would be a chance to see him. On the rare occasion when she came to my game she never even looked at me. She was too busy staring at her Shane.'
Shane shook himself out of his reverie to take a stab at Chris.
'Maybe that's because she knew you sucked at rugby, and that you were only a reserve anyway,' he muttered.
Chris flew at Shane and delivered a sharp blow to the side of his head. Shane cowered in pain. Carly, seeing Shane's head suddenly fly to the side from an attack by an unseen enemy, screamed.
I motioned for her to be quiet. The last thing we needed was to set Chris off in a rage again. Carly stifled her scream and looked fearfully from Shane to me.
'But it wasn't just her,' Chris continued. 'My so-called father wanted nothing to do with me either. My mother was a heartless, cold, shell. So, stupidly, I would turn to Dad for support. But he was no better.' Chris laughed mirthlessly. 'Unfortunately, he wasn't cold like my mother. He was as hot-blooded as they come. He'd fly off the handle when I tried to complain to him about Mum's emptiness. Completely psycho, crazy, anger. You couldn't even imagine it.'
I fought the instinct to roll my eyes. Had he forgotten the beating he'd given me in the past half an hour? Maybe he was related to his father after all.
Chris continued. 'Dad was a complete nutter in his fury. He'd yell, then start throwing things … and then he'd get violent. It was no wonder I couldn't keep up at rugby.'
Pfft.
Shane, ever the slow learner, grunted disbelievingly. Chris' nostrils flared in anger. There was a flash as Chris flew at Shane again, delivering a second sharp blow to Shane's head, painfully connecting in the same spot as last time. Again, Carly saw the sudden jerk of Shane's head. She clamped her hands firmly over her mouth to stifle a scream.
Shane cradled his jaw gingerly. He glared at Chris, through his one good eye—the one that wasn't half closed due to a swollen eyelid.
'Moron.' Shane addressed Chris bravely (or foolishly, to be more realistic). 'Just because your parents recognised you to be the annoying dumbass that you are, doesn't mean they're not your parents. It just means you're the defective offspring they wish they'd never had, and you'd be hopeless at rugby, no matter who your parents are, because you're a dumbass.'
I hoped that Shane's criticism of Chris had been worth it because, in a flash, Chris had delivered another almighty blow to Shane's head, in the same spot. I winced. Carly stifled another scream.
'It had nothing to do with me!' Chris yelled. Wow, Shane had really touched a nerve. 'It was your sleazy father's fault! If he had just kept his hands off my mother … I wouldn't have to … I wouldn't be … My mother would be alive…' Chris choked.
This was good. If I could just keep him talking, maybe we'd have a chance.
'How do you know all of this, Chris?' I asked him gently.
Chris was sobbing now. I would have felt sorry for him, except for a few minor problems I had with him—like, you know, how he took advantage of my sister, bashed me up, and was currently trying to kill me.
'I read it in Mum's journal after she died,' he sniffed. 'Sharelle, the interfering witch, was throwing out everything Mum ever touched. I rescued it from a pile of garbage.' Chris wiped away the ghostly tears that were forming in his eyes. 'Mum committed suicide, you know. She just couldn't stand the guilt over losing Shane.' The thought of Shane quickly dampened Chris' sobbing. His face hardened again.
'That's the worst thing. The thing I just can't stomach. Mum killed herself, over Shane! Yet she didn't give enough of a damn about me, her other son, the son she lived with, to stick around. How can a mother do that to her own flesh and blood? It's just not natural. Shane did not deserve that sort of love! I deserved it! I earned it!' Chris roared.
This topic was not going anywhere good. I had to distract Chris before he started using Shane's head as a punching bag again.
'That's such a sad story,' I faked empathy with Chris. Hopefully, he would think the trembling in my voice was from sadness rather
than the pure adrenaline that was coursing through my body. For the first time in my life, I wished I'd chosen drama instead of home economics as my elective. 'So how did you and Shane get separated?' I asked Chris, tentatively pushing on despite my lack of acting skills.
Chris seemed to buy it. He shook his head at me dismissively. 'For the same reason that my so-called dad does everything. Money. Revenge. When Mum found out she was pregnant, she wanted to keep us and hide the fact that we were illegitimate, but Mr Harris, being a brain-dead moron, insisted on doing the 'honourable' thing. He confessed to Dad about the affair. Oh, he thought he was so good, so high and mighty. He didn't stop to think about the consequences his little confession would have! To my mother, to me. His little easing of conscience ruined our lives! When Dad found out what had happened, he was furious. He beat Mum senseless. Dad left her in such a bad state that she almost miscarried us!' Chris paused to let the impact of this hit home. Somehow the thought of Chris never being born didn't seem to bother me right now. I faked a gasp of horror anyway. Keep him on side, and he might not kill us, I reasoned.
Chris snickered. 'I bet he was disappointed when we pulled through. He didn't want to raise two bastard sons. All he wanted to do was punish Mr Harris.' Chris began to pace again. 'Unfortunately, Dad didn't like to pick on people his own size. He didn't dare punish Mr Harris with his fists, like he did Mum. Not to mention the complication of their business. The company was at a critical point. Without Mr Harris, the creative partner, the one who actually did all the work, they would go under.
'So Dad came up with a plan. He would pretend to forgive Mr Harris. He'd even insist that Mr Harris take one of the babies. That way, Dad punished Mum, by separating her from her child, and Mr Harris would be in eternal debt to Dad.'
Shane shifted angrily on the ground. He looked like he was going to say something, but obviously thought better of it.
Chris snarled at Shane. 'The plan worked like a charm. Your stupid dad continued to slog away at the business, my mum was heartbroken, and all the while Dad was secretly siphoning away the money, until your dad got left with the bill. I believe your family of paupers is still paying it off.' Chris said snidely to Shane. Shane's nostrils flared angrily in response; however, he took a deep breath and clenched his teeth before speaking.
'What's any of this got to do with why you're trying to kill Alan?' Shane said evenly.
Chris roared with maniacal laughter.
'Patience you fool! Of course I couldn't expect you to understand the intricacies of my plan. You've always been stupid. That's why it was so unfair that I, the superior twin, should die. While you, the foulest scum to walk the earth, should live!'
I could see that Chris was heading for another one of his violent rages. Once again, to distract him from attacking Shane, I tried to change to the topic.
'So how did you die?' I asked Chris gently.
Chris gazed into space, and was silent for a moment as he reflected on the circumstances of his death. When he spoke, his voice was deathly calm.
'It was the night that I read Mum's journal. Finally, after all those years, everything made sense. Everything that was wrong with my life wasn't my fault. I'd been made to feel worthless by everyone: Mum, Dad, Shane, even Alan with his indifference. And none of it was my fault! And to find out that Shane, my most hated enemy, was my brother? It was overwhelming. It was just too much to handle. I felt like my head was going to explode. I didn't know whether I should be happy, sad, or angry. My thoughts were racing around my head. All the suffering I'd experienced in my life felt like nothing compared to the confusion and betrayal I felt at that moment. To know I'd been living a lie, to know my mother's death could have been prevented!
'I spent a fitful two hours in my room—screaming, crying. Naturally, no one in the house cared enough to check on me. Sharelle was unconscious as normal, Alan was indifferent to me, obsessively playing with his bike, or whatever else he liked to do, instead of paying attention to me, and Dad, well he was probably enjoying the sound of my suffering.
'After a while, their cold indifference started to drive me crazy. I could feel it oozing into my room. I was having a full scale mental breakdown, and no one even stopped by! What did I have to do to get their attention? It was the final straw. I couldn't take it anymore. After years of being the perfect son to no avail, I decided to break free. I went straight to the liquor cupboard and sculled everything I could find. The harder, the better. It tasted filthy, but I didn't care. I wanted to be bad. I wanted them to realise I wasn't just going to sit back and let them walk all over me anymore.
'I don't remember too many of the details. I have a vague recollection of spilling rum all over the carpet, and laughing hysterically at the thought of Dad's reaction. Then I remember a strange desire cutting through my haze. I wanted to trash Dad's pride and joy—his Ferrari. So that's what I did. I grabbed the keys and took his precious car out for a spin. It was awesome. The wind blowing in my face. The speed. The adrenaline. I even threw up on his leather seats! For the first time in my life, I felt alive. I was finally living! Doing what I wanted! I was in control of my life! Then next thing I knew, I ploughed into a tree, and I was dead.'
Ouch. We'd known the punch line to the story before he'd started, but still it was a confrontingly abrupt ending. Shane and I stared at Chris, speechless. One minute, Chris had been alive, the next he was dead. One small … er … large … error of judgement, and he was dead. Just like we would be dead any moment now if we played this wrong.
Chris was now glaring at us with a steely glint in his eyes. He smiled evilly. He didn't seem to be as shocked by sudden death as we were. I guess when you're a ghost, mortality doesn't scare you anymore.
'I'll tell you one thing,' he continued. 'That car trip certainly did clear my head, because after I crossed over, I no longer felt confused. You can't feel confused when you have only one emotion: rage.' Chris chuckled. The sound reverberated coldly in his throat, but his eyes were glowing again with hot, sinister malice.
It seemed that the effect of my attempt to distract him was the opposite of that intended. It had reminded him of exactly what he needed to do. I opened my mouth. A brilliant piece of manipulative psychology was supposed to pop out—something that would trick Chris into changing his intentions and save the day. Nothing.
Chris didn't even notice my gaping goldfish mouth. He continued his explanation.
'Finally, everything was crystal clear,' he turned to glare at me. 'I needed revenge. I knew exactly what I needed to do. But where could I start? There were so many people I wanted to see pay for ruining my life. Trashing Dad's car had been child's play. He had hardly noticed; he'd just replaced it with a brand new Ferrari. No, I had to do something much worse. Then I realised, I could get revenge on everyone in one fell swoop; and killing Alan was the key. I began to poison him slowly with a lethal concoction of Sharelle's sleeping tablets and Shane's painkillers. His death would wreak havoc across everyone's lives. My bratty half-brother be punished for stealing the attention I'd deserved. Dad would be devastated that his only flesh-and-blood child was gone. He would finally feel the pain of losing a loved one, like I did when he drove Mum to suicide. Dad, ever vengeful, would insist that Alan's death be investigated. Pretty soon, the police would find out that Alan had been poisoned. Their investigation would expose Shane and Sharelle's affair. Dad would be humiliated. Not only had he lost his beloved son, but his wife was making a mockery of him.
'The lab work would prove that Shane and Sharelle had been the ones poisoning Alan. They would rot in jail. Shane would have seduced his last slut. Carly would be off limits to him forever. And, being a smooth, pretty boy in prison would only reward him with degradation worse than what he subjected me to for years at school. Sharelle would never torture stepchildren again. She'd have real trouble being a gold digger in jail. Not to mention, Shane's spineless father would be crushed when Shane went to jail. Just like he crushed my mother by taking away her child an
d leaving her to the devices of her abusive husband.
'Oh, it was all so perfect! Foolproof! And no one could pin it on me, because I'm dead!' Chris boasted, his voice climbing with feverish excitement. He paused to catch his breath. Shane and I glanced at each other in fear.
Chris narrowed his eyes, and his voice dropped in volume. 'There was only one problem. The whole plan rested on the fact that the police would investigate Alan's death as a murder and uncover Shane and Sharelle's affair. I figured, I'm dead, I had nothing to lose by trying, so I started poisoning Alan. Man, it was frustrating!' Chris shook his head in annoyance. 'The stupid, healthy punk took ages before he even started showing side effects. The watching and waiting for something to happen was killing me. Then something amazing happened.' Chris' face lit up as he grinned at me maliciously. 'I met your sister.'
I clenched my teeth, trying to stifle the angry abuse I wanted to hurl at him. I mean, fair enough that he was a psycho with a screwed up family, but how dare he drag my sister into his mess. Ella had never even had the chance to live to three years old, let alone eighteen years like Chris had. Now Chris was trying to ruin her time as a ghost as well. Just because he'd stuffed up his own life.
'Makes you mad, doesn't it, when someone screws with your family?' Chris taunted me. I took a deep, slow breath. Stay calm, stay calm. I wasn't going to let him make me angry. The only way I was getting out of here alive was to keep my head.
Chris didn't let his disappointment over my non-reaction curb his enthusiasm. I was getting the distinct impression now that Chris had been busting to tell someone about his brilliant master plan for a while now. He seemed almost … pleased that we'd messed it up, and given him this opportunity to vent.
'Your sister was the perfect addition to my plan. I'd heard whisperings amongst the other ghosts that your sister had connections to the living side, that she could make things happen. I figured if I could convince Ella to ask you to investigate Alan's strange behaviour, you could speed up the whole process. By poking your nose around, hopefully you'd discover Shane and Sharelle's affair. You'd be able to point the authorities in the right direction when Alan finally carked it. And the fact that your sister was totally hot and single—well, that was just icing on the cake.'
I felt a surge of rage rush through my body. How dare he use Ella like that? And me!
Shane snickered. 'Wow. You wouldn't have stood a chance with a girl like Ella while you were alive. Dying could have been the best thing that ever happened to your love life.'
Chris moved so quickly that all I saw was a blur. A flurry of shimmering movement flashed around Shane's head, which was jerking from side to side. Chris was pummelling Shane with his fists. Shane groaned and cowered, covering his face.
Carly whimpered quietly. Her eyes were transfixed on Shane's lolling head. Blood started to ooze off Shane's arms, as he tried to protect himself from Chris' attack.
Finally, the blur stabilised as Chris ceased his brutal attack. He hunched over, catching his breath, with his fists clenched in anger. After a moment, he lifted his head. His eyes were flashing darkly with intense rage. My stomach dropped even farther. I was petrified. He really meant business now.
His voice dripped with poison. 'I've had enough of talking to you fools. It's time for you all to burn. I'll make sure it's painful!'
With that, he disappeared.
The Ghostly Grammar Boy Page 27
