Ghosts - part 3

Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part three of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!

"Peter! Peter open this door!" I yell, banging my fist against the wood so hard that it rattles. "I know you're in there!" I shout. "You had better come out right now or - "
The door opens and I find myself face to face with Peter's mother.
"Michelle," I say. "Thank goodness you're here, I need to talk to Peter..."
"He can't talk to you," she says.
"Oh yes he can," I say, making to push past her.
Michelle puts herself in the doorway, blocking my path. "No, he can't, Belle. He told me what happened last night. Believe me, it's safer that you stay away from him."
I shake my head impatiently. "I don't know what he's going on about, but I need to talk to him, that's the only way we're going to sort this out."
Michelle closes the door in my face.
I am so shocked that I stand there for almost a minute before bringing movement back to my limbs. Michelle has always liked me. Whatever Peter said to her, it must have been very convincing.
"Right, we're going to do this the hard way, then" I mutter, walking around the other side of the house, remembering the scene from last night. I am half wondering by now if I didn't just imagine seeing the pale ghosts all around Peter, my scream as one of them looked at me. I remember Peter kissing me just before he knocked me out and dragged me to the woods. I don't know what he thinks he's keeping me safe from, but he's not going to get away with keeping me in the dark.
I make straight for the tree outside Peter's window, planning to climb up and jump in, as I have so many times before. When the tree comes into sight, I am brought up short. It has been chopped down so that only a stump is left.
Wondering just how far Peter will go to keep me away from him, I turn around, fuming, and go back to the front door. Peter can't stay inside forever. He'll have to come out sometime and when he does, I'll be waiting.
This strategy is easier said than done.
It is hours before there is any movement. In the early afternoon, Michelle comes out, locking the door behind her, pretending as though she can't see me sitting a few feet from her. A short while later, she comes back with some food from the market. I glare at her, but she doesn't meet my eyes. I am getting very hungry and thirsty - not to mention sore from sitting on the hard stone in front of the door - but I dare not leave in case Peter comes out when I am gone.
As evening creeps closer, my eyelids start to droop. I fight it, knowing that Peter could sneak out as soon as I am asleep. It is a losing battle, though. Everything is blurring...
In the dream, I am sitting on the edge of a well. There is no one else around, but I can hear voices from somewhere. The sun is just setting and as I glance towards it, I see a glowing white shape. I stiffen, watching.
The shape moves closer to me, it's bright blue eyes boring into mine.
"Belle. You are ours, now," it says. It is the shape of a woman, though no living woman I know looks like this, pale and transparent. I know what I am seeing: a ghost, just like I did at Peter's house last night.
I jump up and run around to the other side of the well. She just looks at me, seeming almost to pity my fear. "It won't be so bad," she says. "You will do  small tasks for us. Only if you fight will it be unpleasant."
I turn and run, but something brings me to my knees. I clutch my head as pain cleaves through it.
All at once, I jerk awake, panting. A second later, I am sure I am still dreaming. The bright white figure is crouching next to me.
"Don't resist, Belle," she says softly. "It will hurt very much if you do."
Pain lances over all of my body, as though I am being cut with invisible knives. Screaming, I try to get up and run, but I can't move. Before I can do anything else, though, the ghost has disappeared and I am left alone in the night.
"Belle! There you are - what are you doing here? I TOLD you that you're not to see him."
Usually, in as deep trouble as I surely am in for being seen outside Peter's house, I would cringe at the sight of my mum. Now I fly into her arms.
"Let's go home," I say.
"What's wrong?" she asks, holding me at arm's length, examining my face.
I hesitate, but don't want to tell her about what just happened. All I want is to forget about it.
"Please can we just go?" I whisper.
She looks at me for a moment more before putting her arm around me. "Ok, Belle. Come on."
My mum leads me down the dark street back towards our house. As we go, I glance around me, searching for any trace of white.

To be continued