Ghost Of You (Formally Titled Sebastian The Traveler)

Chapter Eight (REWRITTEN)

Sebastian and Avery fell easily into comfortable conversation. She realized quickly that she liked him. He was laid-back and mostly happy and she wondered if maybe she had known him in a previous life. She felt safe enough to be herself, something that she hadn't ever experienced with anyone else. She assumed it was because, essentially, she was talking with a subconscious projection of herself. Regardless, she enjoyed his company.

She was surprised to hear him squeal, almost in pure delight. "Say it again!"

"Say what?" She glared at him, one brow held high in puzzlement. What had he found so funny this time? The guy laughed at practically everything.

"Roof."

"Roof?"

"Yeah!" He chuckled, "Where are you from exactly? I know it isn't New York 'cause your 'r's definitely don't sound like 'a's."

She pursed her lips, "Indiana, but I don't know why that matters..."

"No! That makes sense!" He leaned back on his elbows and cocked his head to the side, "The two 'o's in 'roof' should sound like 'ew' or 'oof,' but when you say it, it sounds like 'ughf.' It's cute."

"Well, aren't you just the charmer," she scrunched her nose as if his compliment was distasteful in some way. She rolled her eyes, "A woman loves to be compared to a puppy or kitten."

He flashed her a wide grin, "I aim to please. Indiana is cool though. I spent some time there a little while back. The caves in the southern part are pretty neat! You can take a boat ride through a couple."

She hummed, disappointed she had no knowledge on the subject. If her and her family ever traveled, it was always outside the United States, her parents preferring more tropical, exotic regions. She didn't really care to admit to him that she knew very little about her home state, "I grew up in the east central part—mostly cornfields and an occasional cow or two."

"I have to go Julia, we got cows!" He laughed into the sky. After noticing she had not gotten the reference, he attempted to lead her to the punchline, "Ya know? From that tornado movie? In the nineties?" He had caught it on television at some random gas station as he was passing through. He ended up watching it in its entirety as customers came and went, never realizing they were literally walking through him. Unfortunately for him, she still had no clue what he was talking about. He eventually sighed, defeated, "You wound me, Avery. Rent it sometime, it's good."

She nodded that she would but knew that was a lie. She had lived through tornados, she didn't care to watch them portrayed the way Hollywood imagined them to be. She changed the subject instead, "So, where are you from?"

His features dropped almost instantly, that contagious smile turning upside down. So much so, that Avery wished she had never asked. Was it a sore subject? Sebastian quietly stared at the ground, rubbing the back of his neck before his eyes finally snapped to her's. "I don't know."

For a second she thought he was messing with her, but when he broke from her gaze, she realized he wasn't joking, "Really?"

"Yeah. The last place I remember is Colorado, but nothing looked familiar there, so I just kind of headed east, visiting every state... like maybe something would spark inside of me." He released a long, unintentionally held breath, "Nowhere did though. At least, not yet."

Avery wasn't sure what to say back to that. Condolences did not seem good enough, and she didn't have enough confidence in herself to think she could make him feel any better. It was such a unique situation, a Hallmark response was not going to help.

"Now, I'm stuck with you," he smirked.

The slight bitterness in his tone made her inwardly cringe, but she would never show it. "Lucky me," she croaked.

He shot her an award winning smile, "You should definitely buy a lottery ticket."

***

Avery awoke to Milo making biscuits on her back. His soft kneading soothing muscles she hadn't known were sore. Turning, she hazily ran her fingers through his short hair, thinking back on last night's dream and a joyful Sebastian. The feline purred beside her contently as she wondered if she could ever obtain that amount of happiness.

Her phone rang, pulling her completely out of her semi-sleep state. "Hello?" She answered gruffly, not bothering to check the caller ID.

"The hell, Avery? Are you still sleeping? It's 11:00 a.m.!"

The shrill voice at the other end pierced her ears, causing her to wince but at least she knew who had called her. That voice was unmistakable. "Yes, Tia. It is my day off." Not that she had intended to sleep in that late but she really had nowhere to be and nothing to do and after yesterday's fiasco with John, she thought she could use the reprieve.

"You got tomorrow off too, right?" Tia asked.

"Yeah."

"Awesome! Tara and I are going to the club, wanna come with?"

Avery silently groaned to herself. A night out with the twins, Tia and Tara, meant less ladies night and more hunting. She didn't want the headache that came with talking to men at the bar—they were a whole different species altogether. Nevertheless, she could use an outing. It had been a while since the last time she let loose, so she agreed to a night of frivolity. Hopefully. She knew not to set high expectations when it came to the twins.

The line disconnected as Avery's eyes fell on her empty canvas, waiting patiently in the corner. With Sebastian's face still fresh in her mind, she tumbled out of bed and headed to the still open dresser drawers.

Today, she would paint.