Ghosted. (Cole Brookstone x Reader, Book 2)

Changes

(author's note~ hiiii I'm doing more fun facts and questions this book because i like interacting with yall. this fun fact, my favorite tv shows are 9-1-1 and this is us. whats urs?)

{First Person POV}

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me."

My heart caught in my throat. No way is he here right now. This has to be another mistake. 

"Who is this?" I asked defensively.

"Hi, (Y/n). It's... It's Cole. I wanted... I'm... Can we talk?" He stuttered out.

"You have some nerve coming here," I said, my anger rising.

"I know, I know. But I can explain everything if you'll just open the door," he pleaded.

"And why should I? You ghosted me! I have nothing else to say to you."

"Okay, and I understand that. Look, everything will make sense if you just open the door. Give me five minutes." I stayed silent, pondering his request. "Please, (Y/n). I'm so sorry I never answered you. And I'm sorry I never told you why. But I'm here to explain. Please, (Y/n)."

I unlocked the door slowly. "Just five minutes," I said before swinging open the door.

I gasped at the sight of him and let out a small scream. He was... translucent. I looked at him like a deer in headlights.

"I didn't know how to tell you this through a letter..." he mumbled. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again, willing this to all be a dream. It was not.

"Cole... What happened?" 

"I'm gonna need more than five minutes to explain that part. I just said that so you'd let me in," he admitted. I stay silent, still looking at him wide-eyed. This was so weird. The boy I kissed after we ended the war was now see-through. And tinted an eerie green color. I nodded and stepped aside, letting him walk in. 

"I'm gonna ask again. Cole, what happened?" 

"The last letter I wrote to you. I told you about us going to the Temple of Airjitzu, that I wouldn't be able to write you for a little while. Something... something happened at the temple. I didn't... make it out in time," he explained very vaguely.

"Cole what does that mean?"

"The temple had Airjitzu Master Yang's spirit inside of it. He cursed the temple. If you don't make it out of the temple by sunrise, you'll be turned into a ghost. We had the scroll in our hands. We had it. But then we dropped it. So I went back inside for it and... I didn't make it out in time," he said again. His voice sounded different, almost as if there was a reverb to it, and like it was coming out of a speaker rather than a person.

"So, this is permanent?"

"Yes. Again, I'm so sorry (Y/n). I just didn't know how to tell you on paper. So I stopped writing back all together. I got all of your letters, and I read every single one of them. I have them hanging up. I didn't forget about you."

"Stop," I whispered.

"What?" He asked, since he didn't hear me.

"I said stop. It hurt. I've been through a lot. Especially recently. But... I don't know. I guess I understand why you didn't wanna tell me over paper. That doesn't mean I'm not still hurt, or that I'm just gonna forget about it. But... wow. This is a lot," I admitted. 

He began to reach for me, then pulled back. "I'm sorry, (Y/n), I hope you can forgive me."

I just nodded. A long silence ensued as we just looked at each other, and suddenly all I could focus on was my bare neck where his necklace used to be. I suddenly felt guilty for taking it off.