Noelle (Babysitter’s Club 4)

Or when he walked to this bedroom door and walked straight through to his balcony. Unlike mine, his had a table and chairs out there.

Noelle

I stood in the doorway looking back into the deep darkness of his room where the biggest bed I’ve ever seen took up most of one wall. I’d never been in there before even though I’d been tempted more than once to go snooping.

As I looked back at the mahogany monstrosity where wisps of moonlight highlighted the angels and cherubs that were grafted into the headboard, my mind drifted.

My heart raced and my body grew light as that strange feeling overcame me. The way it does in my dreams. My fingertips itched and tingled as if reaching for something and before I knew it I had taken a step back into the room.

His voice broke the spell and I jerked around like I’d been caught doing something I shouldn’t have. “I’m sorry what did you say?” He looked at me peculiarly for a second before answering.

I had to read his lips this time since there was a ringing in my ears. A leftover from the spellbinding effect.

“I said the night air seems to have calmed her down a little.” I looked down at the baby in his arms before moving to take the seat next to his. The baby was in fact on her way back to sleep, unlike the night before.

We sat in silence looking out over the lawn and trees in the distance. It was another one of our comfortable silences, broken only by the sounds of the night.

And then I saw it. Something ,or someone, moving across the lawn almost dreamlike. I strained my eyes to see, thinking that it was Trudy.

But the more my eyes adjusted the more I realized it couldn’t be. Trudy can’t walk on air can she? I think I opened my mouth to scream in horror, but his hand came down on mine.

“It’s okay, I see her too. There’s nothing to be afraid of. She can’t hurt you; I won’t let her. I won’t ever let anything hurt you again.” I looked at him sharply.

His words made no sense and yet they had a very calming affect. What did he mean ‘again?’ I don’t recall telling his mom what Jack had done to me to send me into hiding.

I brushed it off as just a figure of speech, and since his hand was still covering mine, felt myself settle, his words playing over and over in my head.

By the time I looked again the specter was gone and I marveled at the fact that I was still sitting there and not running next door to get packed. I think I’ve just seen an actual ghost.

In another time and place I would’ve been scared out of my mind. But he’d been so nonchalant about the whole thing, and it is a fact that between Ella’s stories and my own ethereal experiences, I half expected the place to be crawling with ghosts.

But who was she? He seemed to know even though he didn’t mention it again. I imagine he’s seen his share, living here his whole life. Maybe now I have an explanation for the crying children I keep thinking I hear.

It seemed like we sat there for hours, both gazing off into the darkness, neither of us speaking. While the baby’s little chest rose and fell with each breath as she nodded off in her daddy’s arms.

“Come!” Once again his voice shook me out of my reverie as he took my hand and helped me up from the chair with the baby held snugly on his other arm.

There was a loud screech coming from beyond the trees as we walked back inside and my hand trembled in his. He squeezed it reassuringly and I relaxed as my eyes fell once again on his bed.

We went together to the nursery to put the baby back to bed. We stood together in silence, looking down at her after he pulled the light summer blanket over her little butt.

The air in the room grew heavy and I could hear our breaths, his and mine, in the stillness of the room. My body tingled in anticipation, almost as if I knew what was coming.

And when I felt his eyes on me and looked up, it felt like the most natural thing in the world to stand still as he lowered his head slowly, tentatively, to mine.

Time stood still and my breath caught as I waited for that first brush of his lips against mine. My eyes drifted closed just as the warmth of his palm cupped my cheek.

And then I felt it. Almost as if I’d been waiting a lifetime. His lips touched mine, like butterfly wings in passing and I felt that rush of fire beneath my skin.