I nod. “His grandpa, Jack.”
She frowns, and I begin to remove dead roses from Mum’s vase. “Grandpa?”
“Yes.”
“He wasn’t old enough. It says here he was twenty-three.”
I laugh. “It can’t be. He told me it was his grandpa. He told me all about him. One of the few things he actually talked about.”
“Andi, look for yourself, it says Jackson Nyx. Aged twenty-three.” I stand and move to the grave, staring at the words. “Maybe he had a brother?” Beth’s words seem far away, and everything suddenly goes muffled.
I drop to the ground and squeeze my eyes closed. “I don’t understand, Nyx. Where are you? What’s going on? I don’t understand.”
“Andi, are you okay?” Beth crouches beside me, but she still seems so far away. I begin to rock and cover my ears. Why isn’t he here? He’s always here when I am.
“Beth, you need to go,” I say. Nyx is only ever around when I’m alone. Maybe he won’t come over because she’s here. “Please go.”
“I don’t want to leave you like this,” she says, glancing around.
“You have to. He won’t come otherwise.” I begin to cry. “Please, you have to go because I need to see him. I need him to explain this!”
“But he isn’t here, Andi.”
“He will be, somewhere. He watches until I’m alone. I have to see him, Beth. I need him.”
“You’re scaring me. Let’s go home and see Mum.”
“No. I just need him. Go. I’ll come over later.”
“You’ve had some shocking news. We should stick together.”
I begin to push her away and cry harder. “Just go.”
CHAPTER NINE
Ilay my head on the cool soil. It’s dark now. It’s been an hour since Beth left and Nyx still hasn’t come, but he will. I know he will because he always visits his grandpa. A torch light blinds me, and I cover my eyes. “Hey, there you are.” It’s Sue. I sit up and blink a few times. “It’s getting cold, sweetie. Let’s get you home.”
I shake my head. “No. I’m waiting for someone.”
Sue looks around. “I know, but maybe he’ll call tomorrow?”
I look around too and nod. “Maybe. He could be at my house,” I suggest, and she helps me to stand before wrapping a blanket around me.
“Let’s go and see.”
But Nyx isn’t at my house. He isn’t in my bed. He’s not anywhere. “What if something bad has happened?”
Sue smiles sympathetically. “Do you know his full name so we could ring the hospitals?”
“Here,” says Beth, turning her laptop towards me. “Is this him?” she asks. Nyx’s smiling face beams at me from his profile picture on social media. I smile too, nodding. Beth looks at Sue nervously. “He’s been coming to visit you at night?” I nod again.
Dad takes both my hands. “Sweetheart, he couldn’t have. This man is dead.”
Everyone’s eyes are on me, and my heart beats wildly. After a few minutes, I pull the laptop back to me and stare at the screen. I move the cursor until his information comes into focus. There are messages of condolence, message after message, dated five months ago. “But I spoke to him,” I whisper, frowning. “He got me that,” I add, pointing to the sewing machine.
“Sweetheart, you bought it,” says Dad. “Look.” He places the delivery note before me and my details are all there. “This is your bank details,” he adds.
“He sat with me at Mum’s grave,” I say, tears pouring down my cheeks. “He’s real.”