Page 30 of The Haunting of William Thorn

William almost laughed at the absurdity of it. That was if he had the ability to do more than tremble in silence. He felt the need to lean forward and apologise, but words failed him. If he spoke, it would be about what happened, but he wasn’t brave enough to have that conversation right now.

Not yet .

Edward didn’t ask questions, either. He didn’t even speak after his first declaration. He was a focused man, reaching for the brass handles of the tub, which he turned. The rush of water hitting the porcelain bath made William jump.

Edward kneeled on the floor before him, hands fumbling for the sodden clothes as he began peeling them from William’s body one item at a time.

William didn’t stop him. He didn’t ask questions. It was obvious what was happening between them, just as it was obvious what had happened in the hours leading up to that moment.

William had fallen asleep reading Robert’s journal. He’d sleepwalked beyond the manor, led to Robert’s grave by whatever malevolent energy lingered in Hanbury’s shadows. He’d then clawed at the earth as though that would free the corpse that was buried beneath the headstone.

It was easier for William to lose himself to his reality, to let it frighten him. To lose himself to the distress. But he wasn’t going to let that happen. So he did the only thing he could think to do: distract himself with the man before him.

William focused on how determined Edward was as he undressed him.

The lines between his brow, the clear tiredness that shadowed his rich eyes like pools of ink.

William didn’t even care that he was soon naked to the world before this stranger.

All that mattered was how gentle the brush of his knuckles was as they skimmed his cold skin, how – even though his clothes were ruined – Edward still took his time to fold them and lay them in a dirtied pile beside the bath.

Careful. Methodical. Two words that summed Edward up so perfectly.

Then, finally, Edward spoke again, his voice the most beautiful thing to grace William’s ears after hours of kneeling in mud listening to the wind and rain taunt him.

“Get into the bath,” Edward commanded. “And don’t think about coming out until every single one of your bloody bones are warmed through, okay?”

William gritted his teeth and nodded.

There was a part of him that wanted to pretend to ignore Edward just so he could hear his commanding tone again. But the promise of warm water was enough for him to lift a leg over the tub’s side and ease himself in.

The stark heat stung initially, but soon enough it evicted the cold from William’s bones. Just as Edward wanted. Although the bath was simple – no salts or fragrances – it was still the best William had ever had.

He thought he’d relaxed until Edward pushed away from the tub. Then, the panic returned with a vengeance. It had William lashing out like a serpent, striking out for Edward’s hand before it left the tub’s side.

His fingers dug into soft flesh, nails pinching it pale.

“Wait,” William gasped, surprised by his own strength. “Don’t leave me… I can’t… Please, just stay.”

Edward’s mouth drew into a harsh line, whereas his furrowed brow softened into an expression of pity and worry. “Trust me, William. I’m not letting you out of my sight again. You can relax, because I’m here and I have no plans of going anywhere else.”

Both men stared at each other soundlessly, yet their locked gaze seemed to say a million words. William was mesmerised by just how equally their hearts beat in tandem. It was then he realised that the dread he’d felt matched what Edward had suffered with.

Edward’s emotion was from believing he’d lost William. And that, the honesty of that realisation, made William ease back into the bath water, slipping down until he was submerged up to his chin.

More unwavering silence, and heavy stares.

“How – how long was I outside for?” William braved the question, preferring the sound of their voices to the silence between them.

“Only God knows.” Edward broke their eye contact, looking down to the ground as if the weight of the question was too heavy to bear.

“I was looking for you for close to an hour, maybe more. I checked every room twice, even the gatehouse outside. I kept shouting your name but you never… you never called back.”

Had he? William thought he’d heard his voice, but put that down to his delirium.

“Thank… you.” He was slowly warming up, but his jaw was still wrecked with trembles. Regardless of his physical discomfort, internal relief came thick and fast. “For looking. For not giving up on me.”

Like so many others had. Like I had.

“I just wish I got to you sooner.”

So do I.

Edward snapped his head back up, the worry set between his brow once again.

“I didn’t even hear you leave, Will. You must’ve walked right by me, opened the back door and closed it again.

I was in the kitchen, just getting some food ready to bring you up as my way of apologising.

Then, when I got to the room, you weren’t there. I – I couldn’t…”

William turned his body to the side, dirty water sloshing around him.

He leaned his chin against the lip of the bath, laying a softer hand on the back of Edward’s balled fist. Beneath his touch, his hand unfurled like a flower to the sun.

It was a strange feeling to recognise one’s power over another person physically.

William revelled in it. “You found me, and that’s all that matters. ”

“I did.” Edward nodded, although William could tell the words weren’t completely believed.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” William said. “About what I was doing.”

“I know.” Edward picked the flaky enamel of the bath rub. “I saw it.”

“You did?” William swallowed down the sudden urge to be sick. “Robert’s grave. Who would’ve thought it would… be here.”

“I had a feeling it would be somewhere on Hanbury grounds.” Edward suffered on his knees, getting into a more comfortable position beside the bath.

“When I first came to Stonewell, I spoke with the local vicar about Hanbury, hoping he’d have some answers about Teddy.

I asked him about the burial sites, thinking I’d find him.

I didn’t exactly expect Teddy to be buried there, considering his body was allegedly lost at war, but I asked anyway.

But I was surprised when the vicar told me that Robert Thomas wasn’t buried in the church grounds either.

All his family were, but not Robert. I suppose now we know where he was laid to rest.”

“It was… because Robert died by suicide,” William said, already knowing the answer as to why Robert’s remains were here and not in the church alongside his family. “Isn’t it?”

“I think so, yes.”

William was all too familiar with the reason why. “It’s callous, but someone once told me that when a person took their own life, they weren’t given the burial they deserved– not in the church’s eyes. The law changed in 2017 or something. I imagine suicide was frowned upon back then.”

William expected Edward to ask how William knew such facts, but he didn’t. If he had, the answer would’ve made Edward look differently towards him. William had personal experiences with suicide after Archie’s death.

“Sometimes, what we are told will give comfort, only turns its back on us when we need it the most,” Edward announced. “Those who preach tell us the doors to the Lord’s home is open to all… until those in charge of religion decided a person isn’t worthy.”

William felt sadness course through him at the sense of Robert’s family being refused a burial at the church.

Archie wasn’t exactly a religious man, and neither was William.

But his family had wanted him buried at the local graveyard site just outside of Essex.

There was a peace that came with the knowing that his remains were surrounded by those who came before him and those who’d one day follow after him.

But that wasn’t the case for Robert Thomas and his family.

“It’s safe to say, for someone who has never sleepwalked before, you certainly are very good at it.”

William admired Edward’s attempt to make light of the situation, but it missed its mark. “Are we going to pretend that what is happening to me boils down to something so mundane?”

Edward swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing vigorously. “Tell me what you think is happening, then. I need to hear you say it. I’m not one for putting things in people’s mouths.”

Heat burned somewhere north of William’s chest.

“I don’t need to. We both know what is going on here.” A shiver passed over William’s skin so powerfully that even the warm water couldn’t defend his body from the reaction. “There’s no more hiding from it anymore.”

“We do?”

William thought of the first time he sleepwalked. He’d followed a figure wearing Archie’s missing red coat outside the manor. The second time he’d woken outside of the locked attic door – the very room Robert took his own life. And this time, he’d been taken to Robert’s grave.

“Yes, we do.” William sat up, drew his knees to his chin and gathered himself in a ball.

“Clearly, something is very wrong with Hanbury Manor. And I want – no, I need it to stop.” William raised his voice a little in case the ghost was listening.

“This is my home now. I will not be driven out – or scared away. I’ve spent the last year of my life running, and frankly I don’t have the energy left in me to do that anymore. ”

The last word sucked the warmth from the room, so much so that William had to slip back beneath the water.

“Sometimes leaving terrible things behind you doesn’t equate to running away. What I mean is, maybe you should leave,” Edward whispered, eyes downturned. “It would be safer for you.”

Hearing his hopes aloud proved to William a thought he had already had. He wasn’t safe here. And he deserved to know why.

William turned his head around so sharply that the muscles in his neck ached. “No. I won’t.”

“But why?” Edward pushed on.

“Because If I don’t work out what it is, the next person will. I have to believe that Archie left me this burden for a reason.”

He’s given me a purpose. Whereas it felt more like a punishment, for William’s actions which led to Archie’s death. The latter seemed most likely.

Edward winced at the name of William’s ex, but made no comment on him. “And how do you want to do that? If you’re sure you want this… burden, a plan is required.”

William’s mind was a live wire, sparking ideas without rhyme or reason. “What time is it?”

Edward reached into his pocket and withdrew his phone. “It’s almost three o’clock in the morning. Whatever ideas you have can wait until the morning. You need to sleep – and before you say otherwise, I will be next to you. I will barricade the door if I need to or stay up and watch.”

There was nothing tired about William’s mind. He couldn’t speak for Edward, who looked exhausted and worried, but he also knew that he wasn’t ready to even try to sleep yet. He didn’t trust himself when he closed his eyes.

“I want to do something first,” William said. “And I’m going to need your help.”

“Anything,” Edward answered almost too quickly. “Whatever you ask of me, I’ll do it.”

William’s mind drifted to the Ouija board, and he couldn’t believe he was about to speak his thoughts aloud. “I think it’s time we attempt to reach out to whatever is lingering in Hanbury. Find out what it wants from me.”

Edward read between the lines and knew what William was referring to.

“Are you sure you want that?” Edward questioned, shock clear from the widening of his eyes and the parting of his perfectly carved lips. “You said you didn’t–”

“I know what I said, but that was before I just sleepwalked – or whatever happened – outside, found a bloody grave, and began digging it up with my own hands. If that’s what will happen to me every time I try to sleep, I want to know why.”

“Maybe it’s just trying to scare you out of the manor,” Edward said. “Like you said.”

Deep down, William knew that wasn’t true. If that were the case, he wouldn’t have been taken to the attic or Robert’s grave.

A message was hidden beneath what was happening, and William was determined to find out what that was.

“Set up the Ouija board, Edward,” William commanded, a chillness lingering in his tone. “It either works and we get answers, or it doesn’t. Then we can move onto other options.”

William hoped it wasn’t the latter. Because it was easier to believe in ghosts than the very real possibility that William was simply losing his mind.