Haunting

Chapter Fifteen

“Am I not enough for you?” Her voice was soft and vulnerable, not like anything Reggie had ever heard from Shannon before.

Reggie closed her eyes, “I could spend the rest of eternity with you,” a small smile grew on her face at the thought. She opened her eyes and looked deep into Shannon’s, imploring her to understand. “You can’t say the same.”

“Reggie…”

“No Shannon,” she interrupted. “It’s true. You are my entire world but I’m only a single component of yours.” She took a deep breath. “And I need to know what comes next for me.”

Shannon’s next argument got stuck in her throat. Reggie was right. She shouldn’t have to stay here. She should be able to be free to do whatever she wants.

Shannon was being selfish and uncaring. She didn’t even stop to think through any particulars before she did what she did. She had condemned Reggie to a lifetime of uncertainty for her own gain.

“I’m sorry,” Shannon whispered, her eyes wide in realisation.

“Why?” Reggie asked, confused by Shannon’s sudden change in attitude, from hurt to apologetic.

“Because it’s too late.”

“What do you mean?” Reggie asked and stopped her pacing, standing before Shannon in the centre of the room.

“I did something I shouldn’t have,” Shannon admitted.

She thought back to earlier in the day, the overwhelming happiness and elation she felt. She was supposed to have Reggie forever and not just as the beautiful shade of a girl haunting her bedroom. It was supposed to be giving Reggie a second chance at life and herself a second chance at love. Mutually beneficial had been the words she used to convince herself that it was the right thing to do, but they were just an excuse. And a bad one at that.

The ritual she used was simple, so incredibly simple. As the sun rose she had burned some herbs and muttered a few words and that was it. After that all she had to do was wait.

She hoped it would be worth it.

Shannon jumped when a cold wind whipped through her open window that looked out over the ocean pulling her back into the present. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered again.

The wind got stronger and stronger buffeting Shannon and focusing on Reggie.

Reggie looked terrified as her body dissolved into the wind, making her appear more ghost-like then she ever had been before. Reggie was at the heart of the small twister brewing in the centre of Shannon’s bedroom. Despite the chaos surrounding them the room was utterly silent. Shannon was biting down so hard on her fist that she was afraid she may hit bone and since Reggie was flashing in and out she couldn’t make a sound.

The wind was icy cold and was battering Reggie relentlessly but the sheet doubling as Shannon’s bedroom door didn’t even flutter.

Reggie’s eyes widened in fear, she couldn’t focus on anything around her; not Shannon, not the darkness, nothing. It was as though for a few short moments she didn’t even exist.

She didn’t know how long she was standing in the middle of the tornado in Shannon’s room but it wasn’t long before the pain started. She hadn’t felt pain since the night she died and she couldn’t help but welcome the sensation, even though it wasn’t an entirely pleasant one.

Shannon gasped out loud when the wind stopped and Reggie suddenly appeared back in her room. Reggie fell to her knees with a loud bang and Shannon hurried over to her.

Reggie was still wearing the night gown she died in but it was no longer the perfectly neat, white garment Shannon had become so accustomed to seeing on Reggie. It was torn and it hung in ragged strips of Reggie’s slender body. And it was covered in blood, lots of it. There was more blood than she had ever seen before in her life. Reggie’s long blonde hair was tangled and matted with blood and dirt and sat in a limp heap on top of her head.

Shannon was terrified. Reggie was hunched over and gasping in pain and Shannon didn’t know what to do. She reached out a hand and gently touched Reggie’s shoulder. The blood was icy cold so she didn’t think it came from Reggie but she had to be sure.

“Reggie,” Shannon said softly and Reggie whipped her head up so fast Shannon was sure she would have hurt herself.

“Shannon.” Reggie gasped and moved to cup her face in her palms. Her soft skin was so warm and soft. Reggie didn’t remember ever feeling something so perfect in her life. But then again it had been a long time since she remembered feeling anything at all.

Reggie held still and waited patiently for the pain in her body to recede. Which it did, slowly. It didn’t feel the same as being a ghost but it felt more natural. Until now she didn’t understand how wrong it felt to have no physical sensation at all.

Reggie closed her eyes and revelled in the feeling of the hard wooden floors digging into the skin of her knees, the cold wind on her skin and the softness of Shannon’s skin on her skin.

“Are you okay?” Shannon whispered and Reggie smiled.

“I’m… wow,” she said dazedly.

Shannon moved closer and put both hands on Reggie’s shoulders. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“Don’t be love.” Reggie slipped her arms around Shannon’s neck and pulled her closer. “I’m amazing.”