Julie Bane

Chapter Forty-Five

  "Well now you know it. I am real."

  "No. You're not."

  "Carlos! I am real!" She stands up and frowns down at me. "Now stop being an idiot and say hi to the girl who you haven't seen in two years!"

  "Hi." I say quietly.

  Sadie's 'ghost' never yelled at me like that, and scare me.

  Wait a minute...

  I stand up.

  "Ok, if you're real, then... what Adams middle name?"

  "Issac." She crosses her arms. I take my phone out and text him, asking if that's his middle name. Because I have no idea. Only Sadie would know, not me.

  Two seconds later he respond with he's.

  I gasp and look at Sadie.

  "Are you really real?" She nods. "You can't be." I shake my head.

  "Oh but I am." She pokes my nose with an adoring smile.

  I take her bare arm and rub it slowly, gently.

  "You feel real."

  "I am real, dummy." She rolls her eyes.

  "You're a ghost."

  "No."

  "Yes."

  "Am not."

  "Are too."

  "Am not."

  "Are to."

  She grabs the collar of my shirt and pulls me to her face, looking me dead in the eyes.

  "I am as real as that stupid face of yours." She mutters and I gulp.

  I feel like she is real. But I don't trust my eyes.

  She kisses my cheek and I scream, making her jump back.

  "You are real! You're a zombie and you're going to eat my brains!" I shout, running out of the room and down the stairs, screaming like a girl the whole time.

  As I run down the stairs, I trip and tumble the rest of the way down.

  "Ow." I groan as I lay on my stomach with my face on the floor.

  "What are you doing?" Dennis asks me.

  "Running from that zombie upstairs."

  "What zombie?"

  "Zombies aren't real Carlos." I hear Julie say.

  "Sadie. There's a Sadie zombie upstairs."

  "She's not a zombie Carlos. She's actually Sadie. The real Sadie."

  "That's not possible Mr Bane. Sadie is gone. She is in the unknown."

  "I am not dead Carlos!" I hear and sit up, looking towards the stairs.

  "You see her too, right?" I ask Julie.

  "Yeah. She's the girl who saved me from Jay." She nods. I look back to her.

  "Yeah. See? I'm real. Now will you stop running from me and hug me?"

  She runs down the stairs and jumps onto me, I groan.

  "Am I real, dad?"

  "Yes, Sadie. You're very much real. I still don't understand how, or why. But you are real." Dennis nods, staring at her.

  "Ok, come on Carlos." She grabs my hand and pulls me up to my feet. Did she get stronger?

  "Well, since you're somehow back. Don't you want to see your family?"

  "I already did. Yesterday. Now it's your turn to hang out with me."

  "What day is it?"

  "Tuesday. Twenty sixth."

  "You passed out and slept through the rest of the night, Carlos." Adam says.

  "Come on." Sadie pulls me to the door.

  "I need my shoes." I say, pulling on my shoes and grabbing my leather jacket.

  We get outside and I cringe at the bright sun. She pulls me over to a bright orange motorcycle.

  "Who's is this?"

  "Mine."

  "When did you get it?"

  "I don't know. Last year."

  "What all were you doing last year?"

  "You know. Stuff."

  "Stuff?"

  "We'll talk about it later."

  She gets on and I get on behind her.

  "You have a lot of explaining to do, got it?" I tell her before she drives off.