G H O S T R U N N E R

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 © Amber Kalkes 2014

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She smells of too much perfume, Sam thinks with a crinkled up nose. He doesn’t like when girls wear so much smelly stuff but he can’t really complain. He’s lucky she was even interested in a guy like him. Since that IED had hit him during his tour in Afghanistan his number of interested women has gone down. The fucking thing had nearly made him lose a leg and an arm but doctors had been able to save it all but not without altering his good looks.

Before the incident itself he had been, as cocky as it sounded, a bit of a lady’s man. He had any girl he wanted whenever he wanted and though he still had the charm he’s been born with people went on looks. The left side of his body took the most damage; third degree burn scars marred his body from his left foot all the way up to his left ear. The scars stretched across his back and over his left pectoral as well. Healing had been hell but it also secured him a way back home where he could be with his family.

So like most things in his life Sam takes a bit of the good with the bad.

Much like this clingy bottle blonde on his arm giggling like she’s taken something that’d make you see fun colors. She’s annoying but she’s also pretty and willing. Taking the good with the bad.

The next morning while laying in his bed he’s relieved to see the blonde from last night has left but is annoyed to hear his phone going off so damn early. With a groan and too much effort for being eight o’clock in the morning he grabs his phone and unlocks it with his thumb.

“Yeah?”

“Sam, I need you to come by the house when you can.” His aunt, Mary-Anne says in her best no nonsense tone.

Sam sits up giving her his full attention, “Is something wrong? What did Kayla do this time?”

“What?” Mary-Anne questions at the mention of his troublesome younger sister, “No, nothing about Kayla. I just need your help with something but I need you to swear you won’t breath a word of this to anyone.”

He frowns at the phone as he replays her words, “You trying to get me worried? Because if you are its working.”

Mary-Anne laughs but it’s a bit high pitched, “No, no. Just need you to come over here later. Can you?”

“Yeah.” He drawls with more suspicion than worry now, “Do at least get a hint at to what you’ll need me to help you with?”

“Uh…I just need you to watch something for me while I run some errands.”

Sam sighs laying back in his bed, relieved, “Another stray animal, Auntie May?”

“Sort of.”

“What—“

“I’ll see you later, Sweetheart!”

And with that she hangs up leaving Sam bemused and worried for his aunt’s sanity. He’s been close to Mary-Anne or May as he calls her, since his parents died. He was sixteen and his baby sister Kayla was eight years old when they were killed in a drunk driving accident. Aunt May took them in and loved them the best she could along with his uncle, her husband, Butch. Butch ended up dying of a heart attack about four years ago and since Sam has been home he helps her around the house with things Butch would have been taking care of.

She was family and Sam was always about family being first. Now if she would stop being so vague and loopy he could fight the urge to call the crazy house to get her. Shaking his head chuckling at his own thought he crawls out of his bed grimacing at the stiffness in his leg. His arm is fine for the most part minus the look of it but his leg really took the bashing. It’s hard for him to believe it’s been two years since the incident and he’s still this bent out of shape.