Ghost Story

Chapter 1

To be honest, I'm really nervous about this book. I knew I had to write it. I have big plans for this too, but please let me know what you think!

David and Mary Margaret Nolan stood in front of their new house. It was built in the 1830's, which made some people scared to buy it, especially if they look into the history of the property. But the Nolan's weren't frightened. All they wanted was to make sure that their daughter was happy.

Emma was at a summer camp with her friends, and she was coming home soon, and Mary Margaret and David wanted to be completely moved in by the time she came home. She was fourteen years old, your typical teenager.

The house was indeed old. There were two floors, and a basement. David brought in boxes while Mary Margaret unpacked them. She didn't want to waste anytime, both of them keen on surprising their daughter. Three hours later, most of the boxes were inside. He was putting things together upstairs, while she was putting things away in the living room. There was a faint sound of pots clanking together in the kitchen, but she hadn't noticed due to her intense concentration. Two days later, the house was unpacked and perfectly set up. David and Mary Margaret left to go pick Emma up, very excited about her reaction to moving to a bigger house than their cramped apartment.

"Do you think she's going to like the new house, David?" Mary Margaret asked, nervously twirling her wedding ring around on her finger.

"She definitely will. This neighborhood is safer. I know you've been wanting to move out of there ever since we had her, and now we finally did. She'll love all the space," David said and put his large hand over his wife's.

"I just want her to be happy. Ever since Neal broke up with her, she has just been so depressed. I see the fake smiles, David. I can see the pain in her eyes. But, I'm her mother, and I don't know what to do to make her happy."

"We've done it all. The cookies, the trips to the zoo, even the tears and the anger. She is going to get better. It's just going to take some time. Break ups can be hard."

"I know, but I don't like seeing her in pain."

At that moment, they pulled up to the campsite and waited in front of the building where all the other parents were waiting for their kids to come out. "I'm sure she forgot all about that bastard during summer camp. Once she starts school next month, she will have been completely moved on from him."

"I hope you're right."

They waited five minutes and then the doors swung open. David stood up and waved his hands, which caught Emma's attention. She ran over to the car with suitcases in hands, and a big smile on her face. "Dad!" She said happily and hugged him.

"Hi, Emma!" He squeezed her tightly. "We missed you so much!"

"I missed you guys too." She broke from the hug and went over to her mother and hugged her tightly too. "I just want to get home, take a shower, and go to bed."

"Well, we actually have a surprise for you. Get in. I'll get your bags."

Emma did as she was told, and buckled her seatbelt. "What happened while I was gone?"

"Well, we moved out of the apartment!" Mary Margaret squealed when they pulled back onto the main road. "We moved into a new house. One that is bigger and everything!"

Emma sat in the back seat in shock. She had secretly been wanting to move, but had never told either of her parents. She didn't want to force any stress onto them. "I can't believe it! This is amazing!"

No one said another word until they pulled up in front of the house. Emma's mouth was dropped to the ground when she saw it. It was beautiful! David carried her bags up and threw the clothes into the washing machine while Emma toured the house. Mary Margaret stood behind her, glad that their daughter was finally happy.

Emma went up to her room, and got the instant feeling of home. She loved it. She laid back onto the bed and looked up at the ceiling. Her eyes were starting to drift shut when there was a very very soft knock on the wall. She cracked her eyes open, but figured it was just the house settling. She sat up and grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom, and started the water for a hot, relaxing shower.

After dinner, Emma went back into her room and laid down. Summer camp had been a lot of fun, but it took a lot out of her. But, as it got later in the night, the depressing thoughts sunk into her brain. The thoughts of Neal and how he had told her that she wasn't good enough and that she never would be started to sink into her brain.

The lights had gone off downstairs hours ago. She knew her parents were asleep. The tears started to flow now. Right at the time she was deep in her thoughts about how she was never good enough for Neal, so who says that she was even good enough for her parents?

Emma curled up in the blankets and let her tears roll down her face and onto the pillow. Her heart ached, and she had no idea how to fix it. When her tears finally stopped, she was extremely tired, but still upset. The faint knocking sounds could be heard again, but she brushed it off once more.

She woke up sometime in the middle of the night. The moonlight coming in from her windows was the only light around. But, what scared her the most was the shadow in the corner. It was in the shape of a person. It was a masculine figure. She blinked, and it was gone. She laid back down onto her bed and clutched her pillow, thinking it was just her eyes playing tricks on her, because she was really tired. She drifted off to sleep again with no more problems.