A Spirit's Touch

Fifteen. Ghost Aware

"Shit!" Judith hissed. "Shit, shit, shit!" She jumped out of bed, wiped herself clean and darted for the wardrobe to find just about any outfit that did not need ironing.

The doorbell rang again.

"Coming!" She shouted out of the open door. Judith still felt flustered from the amazing sex she had just received from a ghost and lost her balance several times while in her haste to get dressed. Her legs were still worn and achy from being spread for a long period. Her body had not fully come down from its high just yet and the stairs proved to be a bit of a challenge because of it.

Judith reached the door on the third ring, she tried her best to put on a straight face of someone who had been sat reading all afternoon.

"Hi!" She beamed as she opened the door to Rose.

"Hey, babe," Rose pulled her into a very tight hug. "You look," she leaned in closer to Judith again, "And smell like you've just been having sex."

Judith blushed and pulled away, "Maybe I have," she winked then let out a short laugh.

"If you have a handsome hunk hiding upstairs then I want the details. Above all, I want to meet him." Rose pushed passed Judith and went straight into the front room.

"I've just woken up from a nap, let me just run upstairs and spray," Judith lied as she ran up the stairs to find her deodorant. She walked back into the bathroom and stared at the shower cubicle as she reached for her cloth by the sink. She pulled her trousers and underwear down and gave herself a quick wash and stared at the cubicle once more as she left. Memories of the steamy encounter invaded her mind.

"Much better," she smiled and descended the stairs to meet Rose again.

"Are you sure he can't come down to play?" Rose joked.

Judith laughed in response. "There's no one up there," she said honestly.

"Pity. Leave it to aunty Rose, I'll find you a date. You must definitely need one by now."

"I'm doing fine, thank you. I don't need a man in my life right now," Judith said firmly. "Sorry, I'm a little tired. Had too much wine last night."

"That's the fiery spirit we miss back at the office. Are you looking forward to starting your new job tomorrow?"

Tomorrow? Alarm bells rang in Judith's mind. How did I forget. She paused for a moment too long, "Erm, yea, looking forward to getting out of the house a bit more."

Shit, I've completely lost track of the days. Jersey better leave me alone later to get some sleep.

"That's great, babe. Psyched for you. Now where is the gorgeous specimen that has left you looking flustered?" Rose looked over Judith's shoulders. She saw Judith blush once more, "Joking, just trying to catch you out."

"I'll put the kettle on," Judith replied and walked into the kitchen.

"Good idea," replied Rose as she shuddered involuntary. "It's cold in here."

"Yes, sorry, we- I get a bit of a draft through these seels. Windows may need replacing at some point." That last bit was also aimed at Jersey who Judith had a feeling was hanging around the front room studying her friend.

Rose was sat on the sofa with her handbag next to her when Judith returned with two cups of coffee. Rose was inspecting Ollie the owl and smiled pleasantly when her friend sat the coffee cups down, but Judith could tell there was a burning question waiting to be asked.

"Everything ok?" She asked. Her focus was not entirely on Rose as she was trying to work out where Jersey could be positioned in the room. She had a quick image cross her mind of Jersey having their way with her friend. It made her nervous because it was something she feared Jersey could be capable of. She just hoped that her connection with the spirit was strong enough that Jersey would not do anything like that to hurt her or her friend.

"I'm worried," Rose replied. "You don't quite seem yourself and I'm concerned about your safety."

"Is this going back to my ghost?"

Rose nodded.

"I don't know why you are so worked up over that. The house is haunted, I'm sure of it, but I am fine." Judith continued to look around the room which caused a confused look from her friend.

"What are you looking for?" Rose asked with real concern.

Judith sighed heavily, "I think Jersey is in the room with us now. I just don't know where."

"You're scaring me now, Jude," Rose said nervously. "You need to get of this house more... And its name is Jersey? How do even know that?"

"I named them Jersey. It really is a nice ghost," Judith replied confidently.

"You named it? Lemme guess, you slept with it too?" Rose said sarcastically but the returning blush and half smile from Judith soon turned her tone into one of fear. "Y-You had sex with a ghost? How is that possible?"

Judith grinned, "I don't know but it was amazing!"

Rose look startled, "I love you, babe, but now you just sound insane." She laughed nervously. "It's all quite clear now. I had obviously interrupted something."

"You believe me?" Judith asked, a little stunned.

"When it comes to you I don't know what I believe anymore. I had a bad dream that you were seriously hurt and somehow, I knew it had something to do with the spirit."

Judith placed a hand on Rose's arm. "Well, I promise you, Rose. I am doing ok. Yes I still feel down at times but work will do me good."

"I do hope you feel better when you back in a work routine, Judith." Rose reached for her handbag but it was gone, "Where is my bag?"

"I don't know, it was right there," replied Judith. After much searching around the carpet she saw it propped up against the front door. "You left it by the door."

"No I did not, that bag cost way too much to leave on the floor. What is going on?" Rose jumped to her feet. She jerked her head back towards the coffee table as the sound of two knocks appeared to come from the wooden owl. "Is your friend here?"

Judith responded by speaking directly to the knocking, "Please be nice, Jersey if that's you."

A single knock reply.

"Fuck," Rose whimpered as the realisation struck.

"Don't be scared," Judith tried to sound reassuring.

Rose took a deep breath and tried to relax. She was about to take a seat again until her arm jolted and she pulled it closer to herself. Judith could tell Jersey had somehow touched her.

"What the fuck!" Rose screamed. She paced to the front door and grabbed her bag. She took another deep breath to compose herself. "I'll call you in a few days to see how you're getting on at your new job." Then she left.

She handled that better than I did, Judith thought. "Why did you do that?" She said angrily.

Jersey put a reassuring arm on Judith.

Judith pulled away. "No, thank you. That's not going to work. You scared my friend she may never come here again."

Judith could feel Jersey's presence leave the room. Did Jersey mean to scare off rose? Is this the possessiveness I was being warned about?

It was time to find out more about the spirit's past and how to ensure her safety, Judith decided.

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Word count- 16146