Loving A Phantom

Chapter 4: Warned.

Margaret waited and waited. Each day she stood up to look out her window. He wasn't back tommorow like he said, or the day after that or the day after that.

Suddenly she heard a knock at the door. She stood up abruptly, at least one third excited, and two thirds filling with fury preparing to fight with a phantom.

She opened her mouth to give him a couple good words, "Who do you think you are showing up to my-!!?"

Her jaw dropped when the door swung open, "...Dad!!?" She screamed, deeply shocked.

"Who are you fighting with?" Asked her father.

"No one...come inside." Margaret said real softly, confused, "What are you doing here?"

"The realtor called, told me what you said, told me what you did. I was highly embarrassed by your behavior, especially for a thirty one year old young woman." He said.

"I'm twenty nine, Dad." She looked up at him bothered by the fact that he didn't even know how old she was.

"You're thirty one Margaret, have you forgotten?" He was so naive.

"I know my age Dad, I have my birth certificate right in the drawer if you want me to bring it-"

"No, that won't be necessary. I know my own daughter's age." He chuckled ignorantly. She became really upset.

"He told me that you selfishly said you weren't going to help me because it was my decision to sell and it was not pertinent to you...I was very disappointed. So I've come to stay here until the property gets sold and I will personally give the realtor the tour of my lovely property." He said frowning at her.

"Dad, you can't switch around things like that, I won't have a place to live if you sell the property. Otherwise I would be happy to help you sell." She said, frustrated.

"Why that's not a problem with me at all, you see your stepmother and I have cleared out the storage room back in Texas so you can stay with us. I was going to have a moving truck come pick up your stuff. Let's face it, your not easy to live with but it has been eight years. I haven't seen you in so long and I miss you pumpkin." He smiled.

Margaret smiled suddenly, "...You really miss me?" She said softly.

"Yes. I don't want you to worry any more about this property or your life here. You've got nothing left here." Said her father, his name was Mason.

"What about your wife? Wouldn't that cause problems if I move in with you again?" She asked. "I don't know her, she doesn't know me. We may not get used to having eachother around." Said Margaret.

"You don't cause problems Margaret, all you do is knitting."

"Well that's not all I do, I-" She tried to speak with him but he cut her off.

"No more thinking sweetheart. No more thoughts about it." He smiled, and he kissed his daughter's forehead.

Margaret's smile faded, "...Okay." She missed him too, and she loved him beyond measure but he never listened to her, to her likes, to her dislikes, to her wants, he never knew anything about her. In his eyes she was his precious daughter, his princess, but...she was nothing more. She wasn't even his world. Sometimes she felt in like he didn't even know her.

He looked at Margaret and a big grin spread on his face, "You're coming with me to Texas!" He exclaimed but she never agreed. It seemed she didn't have much of a choice.

"...When you left to Texas, you told me you needed space from me and from my brothers." Said Margaret. "You don't honestly want me to move back in, and if you did, you would kick me out wouldn't you?" She asked.

"Oh don't be ridiculous my dear." Said Mason. "You're my daughter, I was young and ignorant and chasing some silly dream."

"But you found it didn't you...? You found what you were looking for?" Asked Margaret.

"...I did." He admitted. "I'm one piece again. First I was like a scattered broken mug all over the kitchen title. I was a lonely man Margaret. I know you blame me for leaving, I blame me too...but I just could not cope with your mother leaving me. She left me to chase a dream, to soar the skies like a bird she said. No career is worth giving up a family for. I tell you Margaret that I was the most rewarded one because I got to raise you and your eight brothers and to this day your mother is sending sweaters not knowing that they will never make up for the lost time. I did the best that I could to raise you nine children and I know I shouldn't have left eight years ago but I knew that you guys were old enough to take care of yourselves. I needed to find true love and I'm happy now, I just wish you would be happy for me." He said to her, venting.

"...Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you come to visit me?" Margaret's eyes became slightly watery. She didn't want to reveal the truly deep sorrow that she felt.

"I guess I just got so caught up with my new life over there, I was so distracted, I didn't even think you'd be upset with me." Said Mason softly, feeling guilty now.

"I've just been so...oblivious." He sighed, "I'm sorry, Margaret."

"Don't be sorry Daddy, you had to do what you had to do to be happy." She said losing herself in thought remembering that she was still waiting for the phantom to come back. Suddenly her heart leaped within her thinking about Robert and now she thought for a minute that perhaps she understood her father.

"You wanted a wife." Said Margaret, "Someone dependable, someone you could count on to always be there."

"I'm so glad that you understand me honey, you are absolutely going to love Jessica. She's exactly that, she's dependable, she's lovely, she's light hearted, she has a good humor, she's not uptight or defensive like other women, she's one of a kind!! When I met her I asked her, 'Where have you been all my life!?' and she's convinced that's what made her fall in love with me!" Said Mason.

"...Where did you meet her, daddy?" Asked Margaret curious.

"At a comedy show we went to see, we had our seats together...coincidencially. She and I are going on four yea-"

"That's great Daddy." Margaret cut him off a little bit distracted, and disappointed because Robert had not returned. She stood up and walked away.

"Hey, where are you going?" Asked her father.

Margaret opened up the fridge, "I'm just going to prepare something for us to eat."

She heated up something in the microwave and when she came to the couch to eat with him, suddenly all the lights went out, and the electricity.

"Hey..!" Exclaimed Mason. "I thought you said you didn't have any electricity..?"

"Why you're right, daddy." Margaret said unsurprised like if she had been, but she couldn't exactly tell him that a phantom brought electricity a few days ago and that it's lasted for days, until now that it went away without reason.

"But it appears it's dark again." Said Margaret.

The night came, and the hours passed and she laid awake on her couch in the dark wondering where Robert was.

She finally stood up at about midnight and walked to the front door and looked outside, worried that something had happened to him.

She couldn't stop thinking about the magical Friday with the phantom.

She knew her father was sleeping in his old room and she was careful not to make noise with the door. She did not want to wake him. She took off her shoes and tiptoed out of the house and shut the door quietly.

When she was on her front porch, she put the slippers on her feet and she walked out into the night, into the trees, looking in every direction, searching for him desperately.

"...Robert?" Her voice was low and soft at first because she was afraid, but even though she was afraid, she began to call him louder, "Robert!!?" She began screaming.

Suddenly she heard something, it was a bit loud, and she became silent by the fear, "...is that you??" She asked real softly, she was hardly breathing.

Suddenly she saw a very bright blue glow, "Why do you request to speak with Robert?" The voice sounded angry.

"Because...he saved my life in the car accident...I just...I just wanted to thank him!!" Margaret exclaimed terrified pausing a thousand times, stuttering, unsure what she ought to say.

"Do not continue to search for him, or any of us. You don't want to know what will happen if you do." The other phantom warned her.

"Ahhhhhhhh!!" Margaret was afraid, and she hid her face with her sleeve and she turned around and ran away.

Margaret heard footsteps following her all the way back, and the more she hurried, "Get away," she screamed, "get away from me!"

Then suddenly she heard it, "...Are you sure you want me to leave?" a familiar voice.

"...Robert?" She asked softly, "Let me see you."

Suddenly he began to glow a dim green.

"It's me." He said softly, "...What happened? Why were you out looking for me?" He asked gently.

"Because I am not yet cured from the love I feel for you!!" She exclaimed bluntly.

"Love!?" He became altered, terrified, "You cannot confuse one thing for another-" He tried urgently to defend his fate.

"I am not confounded!" Screamed the woman, "I will never be confounded about you, I know what I feel!!" She screamed, "You are the one who is confused! My constant longing is for you!"

Margaret leaped towards him and stretched out her neck to kiss his lips and she did, even though she could never touch him, she did.

"...but I feel like I cannot reach." She felt left rather empty.

The phantom reached back to kiss her, then he drew his steps away from her, "...I cannot allow myself the pleasure or the confusion. It will be a void that we will never be able to fill if we allow ourselves to love eachother." He was become sick to the soul.

"I don't need to feel you Robert, I just need to know that you're going to be here every single day, that you'll be here in the morning, and in the evening and that I can depend on it! I don't care what we don't understand about the laws of love, you may be a phantom but you are more of a person to me than anyone I know!! I just want to love you Robert! I just want to hear your voice!" Margaret exclaimed.

"But what if we're risking too much?" Asked Robert.

"What could we possibly be risking?" asked Margaret.

"It will bring problems in your world and mine." Said Robert.

"Then we'll keep it a secret." Said Margaret, she knew that even though Robert was afraid to admit it, that he felt the same exact way as her.

"We were warned not to see eachother Margaret." Said Robert whispering softly to her, and making himself invisible from her again.

Margaret's eyes seemed to want to weep, "Won't you be brave, for me?" She lowered her head, in disappointment.