Phantom [h.s]

Forty two

Nate's eyes focus on Harry and a look of pure shock contorts his features. He takes a staggering step back, blinking as if not believing what he sees.

"Harry?"

Harry walks toward him. "Surprised?"

"What are you doing here?" Nate asks shakily. "I...I watched you die."

Oh my God.

Everything falls into place. It was Nate all along. Nate, who had been in Harry's shadow just as Max was, having to be the odd one out in their group of three with Harry and Max being closer to one another than they were with him. Nate, who is the father of Ava's baby. Nate, who has Paranoid Personality Disorder. Nate killed Harry. Nate is the murderer.

"You killed me, and I have unfinished business," Harry says. "So I'm stuck here until I can cross to the afterlife. Because of you."

"So...what are you?" Nate asks, eyes wide.

"A phantom," Harry says, his voice strong, his mouth curving into a smirk.

I suddenly look frantically at him, remembering that he's supposed to cross once he finds his killer, but he doesn't leave. He's still there, standing beside me.

"Harry," I say. "Why aren't you...why aren't you crossing?"

Harry moves his eyes from Nate to me slowly.

"Wait," I say, shaking my head. "You...you knew."

He looks down. "When I went into that room-my father's old study, I began remembering things. And then I reached down to touch the blood stain on the floor and...everything came back to me. I remembered who killed me and mostly everything that happened that night." He pauses, looking into my eyes. "I also realized that my unfinished business was not simply to find my murderer, but to in fact seek revenge on them."

I try to swallow, but my throat is dry. "What kind of revenge?" I ask slowly.

Harry's eyes burn with an emotion I can't place, and I see his old personality shine through, the one I did not like.

"Answer me," I say. "What kind of revenge?"

Nate looks from me to Harry. "I know," he says, eyes locking with Harry's. "He's here to kill me."

Everything I thought I knew about Harry crumbles as I take a step away from him. "You lied to me," I say. "Why did you lie to me?"

"If I told you I was going to kill the one who killed me, would you have agreed to continue helping me?"

"So you manipulated me," I say. "Why would you need me after the breaking into the room, then? Couldn't you have come here yourself?"

Before Harry can answer, Nate speaks up, malice building in his eyes.

"You really haven't changed," he says to Harry. "Manipulative in life and manipulative in death."

"You haven't known me in death," Harry replies, glaring at Nate.

"I know you now. Look at you. Using a girl who had nothing to do with this before to help you find me."

"Why'd you do it?" Harry asks. "What did I do that was so goddamn horrible you had to kill me?"

"Where do I begin? Oh, right. Let's start with the fact you made Ava abort the child. You never loved her, why would you care if she had the baby or not?"

"I didn't make her do anything," Harry spits. "She didn't even abort it in the end. She had a miscarriage."

"That was my child!" Nate shouts. "And you had the nerve to scream at her when she told you about it. You had the nerve to degrade her like that!"