The Third Word

Chapter 75

Elijah

Park-

I had a hunch to follow Gwen and Edwin since he couldn't be trusted with her safety, but with Ethan by her side, I didn't have to worry. I stood up and took a taxi back home.

Grandma had told me that Ethan was a weak spirit. That meant he couldn't show himself, talk or even throw things at Gwen. I had to lie to her, just in case she said something hurtful to Ethan. To me, he was still alive. Even though he couldn't really do much, he could easily possess people if  they allowed him to.

Dad had been waiting for me in his room just to know whether Gwen had agreed or not. We couldn't talk about it on phone, since there were chances of our calls being tapped. Had anyone known any of the secrets we were hiding, be it doing a fake cremation of Ethan's body, preserving his body in the basement of the city hospital and most importantly, about him becoming a spirit, we would've been in big trouble. 

I entered dad's room where he was sitting at the table and just staring at the floor with his chin resting over his interlocked hands. He shot up a glance as he noticed me and asked," What did she say?"

"She went to the prom," I paused," With him."

"That's a relief." He sighed and chugged down a glass of water. 

"What did the doctor say?" I asked, remembering that Ethan's fresh and correct  forensic report's results were to be given that day.

"I guess we aren't that lucky." He buried his head between his palms.

"What happened?" 

"Nothing happened and it seems nothing will happen." He said.

"Are you giving up?" I asked," Because I'm not. And I won't. You know he's probably watching us right now." 

"I shouldn't have left you to live with your grandmother." He shook his head.

"She didn't teach me wrong. He's real." I said.

"No offence. I'm not saying he doesn't exist. I just believe in what I see." 

"How can you not trust your own mother?" I questioned. It was only Gwen who had believed me and that too because she felt his presence. I don't get why people cannot believe in something like afterlife when they care so much about being yeeted to heaven or hell. 

"I don't trust anyone but myself." He chuckled and I looked away with boredom. He wasn't letting me in whatever the doctor said about the reports anyway.

"Get Gwen to meet me tomorrow and I'll tell both of you everything then." he stood up to leave, gathering his long coat and a pile of documents.

"Where are you going now?" I asked.

"Dinner with Mr. Miler and this time I'm determined to get that thing." He said and left.

"Knife. Blood. Fingerprints. Knife. Blood. Fingerprints. Knife. Blood-" A knock on the door interrupted me as I laid on my bed, still trying to figure out what new we had found, or what we were missing in the reports. The reports came clean the last time, but they had been meddled with. The cops weren't given permission to alter the crime scene and Ethan's family locked his room because no way in hell did they want it to be exposed to the media. They consoled themselves that he was depressed and killed himself and even transferred his therapist so that no one could find her and investigate. 

But it was a very normal behavior of a millionaire dad to handle his son's death which wouldn't alter his business. Business was all he cared about.

Nothing in the media, about Ethan's father not going to work or not eating well was true.