Spiritus

Spiritus (Chapter Two)

Mila's POV

"Mila, could you come down here, please?" My mom called from below the stairs. I pulled myself off my bed, adjusting my blonde pony tail. Dragging myself out my door and to the top of the stair case wasn't one of the simpler things I'd ever done. It felt like my head was going to split in half, it was pounding so bad! The hang-over quality head ache I had gotten Monday morning still hadn't found it's way out of my brain yet. I was sure I had taken every last pill we had in the medicine cabinet, yet all of it gave me about five minutes of relief before my little friend came back.

"What is it mom?" I groaned once I reached my destination.

"Cooper's parents set the date for the funeral. It's tomorrow."

"What?! Why didn't they tell me sooner?"

"Well, sweetie, they have a lot on their plates right now. It slipped their minds." Right. I had to remember I'm not the only one this was affecting. Cooper hadn't shown up since Monday morning, when I'd first seen him, and I was starting to believe that I'd dreamt it all up. Without another word to my mother, I turned around and headed back to the safety of my own personal sanctuary. That's how I looked at my room. I'd barely left it the five days that Cooper had been dead. A shudder ran through me at the memory of his lifeless body laying on the damp grass, so pale and cold.

"Cheer up, Cooper is here!" A perky voice announced. I nearly had a heart attack once I saw Cooper's foggy figure appear beside me, yet at the same time; relief flooded in because I knew I hadn't been dreaming on Monday.

"Where have you been?!" I demanded in a hushed tone so my mom wouldn't hear.

"Sorry, My-my, I was checking in on my parents to make sure they weren't giving me a lame funeral. It kind of comes in handy that they can't see or hear me, 'cause I was yellin' at 'em about what they're dressing me in. Let me tell you, it's the geekiest thing I've ever seen!" A sigh escaped my lips as I listened to him rant for five more minutes about the geeky suit his mom and dad were apparently putting him in. It didn't matter to me what he wore, he's still look as gorgeous as ever.

Whoa, no, no, no, Mila! He's your best friend, and dead now! Don't go there. I scolded myself. So what if I developed a mini-crush on him the last two years of our friendship, it's not like I could control my attraction.

"You'll look fine, Coop." I assured him, noticing he looked a little more solid from the last time I saw him.

Hmm...that's odd...

"Yeah, easy for you to say, you don't have to wear it. At least I know I won't die from humiliation. That knife beat my emotions to it." He joked. Somehow, I didn't find that amusing. Leave it to him to make a joke out of the most sensitive topics. It wasn't always a bad thing, though, it meant he could find away out of even the touchiest subjects. A dull ache still lingered in my heart from losing him. Even if he was still right there with me, it would never be the same. I couldn't hug him anymore, or punch him when he was being a jerk.

"I miss you, so much." A tear slid down my cheek, emphasizing the break in my voice.

"Mila, no, don't cry. Please." Cooper reached out to brush my cheek. I jumped a little when I realized I actually felt something. Only a feather light, cold as ice rush of air, but that was something compared to the nothing I had felt before.

"Whoa." My voice was barely above a whisper, and my brown eyes were wide as I gaped at him.

"Did you actually feel that?"

"I...think so..." the air rushed out of my lungs as I exhaled quickly, trying to make sense of his changes. "Is it just me, or are you looking a little less misty and a little more...solid?"