Ghosts {Lynn Gunn}

Do You Remember?

Halloween was on Saturday, so as I began my walk to work, I noticed the many decorations on people's houses. It was my favorite holiday, and it always had been. I was wearing a black dress and tights, along with combat boots. I enjoyed my walk to work, feeling the cool air against my legs.

When I arrived at work, Lynn was already there, leaning against the counter. She turned to face me and grinned. "You look nice," she commented, giving me a look. I thanked her and set my bag down. "Aren't you cold now?" she joked. "Maybe a little, but I have you to keep me warm," I giggled, recalling the last weekend. She rolled her eyes at me and turned back to the register. I walked to the storage room and pulled out a box of classic vinyls.

Lynn helped someone in the front as I stocked them, lining them up next to each other. We had been getting more costumers recently, which was great. I had no idea why, but I didn't question it. We had a few vintage record players on display, and I noticed a broken record on the floor. "Fuck," I whispered, exasperated. I bent down and picked up the pieces, walking back to the front. I tossed the pieces into the garbage and took a seat behind the old register. "Did somebody break that?" Lynn asked, pointing to the remains in the garbage can. "Yeah," I confirmed, leaning my elbows against the counter. "That sucks," she stated. I sighed.

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When I got home, I dumped my bag on to the kitchen counter and walked down my hallway, heading to the bathroom, which was the first door on the left. I started the bath water, taking off my clothes. Once it was filled up a decent amount, I stepped in to the tub, sitting down slowly.

I was so tired, but it was only 8 P.M. and I had to stay up in case my mom tried calling me.

About ten minutes later, my phone rang and I groaned. I dried my hand off with a towel that was lying by the tub and picked up my phone from the floor.

"Hello?"

"Hey Ava, how are you?"

'Hey mom..I'm fine, just tired. What about you? How has everything been?"

"I'm doing great! Your father just got back from his business trip so we're having a dinner tomorrow night. Do you have anything planned for Halloween?"

"Oh, tell dad I say hi. And kind of, I'm going over to Lynn's to hang out."

"That sounds fun. What's she like?"

"She's pretty cool. She has a great music taste and she's just genuinely really nice. She just moved here from Massachusetts."

"Oh, wow. Oh, Ava, you should come to visit sometime."

"Yeah, maybe I could drive up."

"You better. How's work been?"

"It's been okay I guess. We've been getting a few more people coming in which is surprising, but I'm not complaining."

"That's good to hear. Okay, well I have to go. I love you. Call me soon okay?"

"Okay. Love you too. Bye."

I hung up and set my phone down on the floor, immersing myself in the water. I held my breath and enjoyed the peace underwater. I couldn't hear anything, couldn't really see. I closed my eyes and stayed there for as long as possible. I considered staying down there until I ran out of oxygen. To me, it didn't seem like a bad way to go. Quiet, peaceful. But I forced myself to come back up after a minute or so. I rubbed my face and wrapped my arms around my torso, leaning my head against my knees.

After a while, I got out and dried off, changing into sweats and a t-shirt. I brushed my teeth and walked down the hallway to my room. I flopped on to my bed and shut my eyes, ignoring my thoughts. Most of them were about Lynn, which frustrated me. I had been thinking about her a lot lately, but I just wanted it to stop for a second. I turned my head to the side and began tracing patterns on my sheets, moving my index finger in circles, over and over.