I wake up to the light of the sun beaming through the window beside the bed. The clock on the nightstand is small and black in color. I pick it up and the clock says that it's ten o’ clock in the morning. Crap, I didn’t realize that I slept so late. A yawn is released as I sit up and find Damian sitting on the end of the bed. Where did he come from?
“Morning.” He says with a small smile on his face.
“Morning. Dude are you like a ninja or something?” I ask.
“You always this sassy in the morning?” He replies.
“I’m sassy all day every day. Especially in the morning.”
His laughter brings a small smile to my face. Damian is so sweet that it’s unreal. If you ask me, his kindness is one of his best personality traits. I remember coming to Spanish class one day and before the bell rang I was in the bathroom crying because I got an F on a test that I studied really hard for and on top of that my friends totally dissed me out of everything. It was like I wasn’t even there. My makeup was probably running down my face and I didn’t have time to wipe it up. Once the teacher was done yapping away he passed me a note. It read:
You okay? I don’t know if you noticed but you have black lines running down your face..
-D
I figured it would be running down my face. So I flipped the note over and wrote:
Yeah I noticed, thanks for the reminder. I’ll be okay. Just not having a good day and some people really drive me insane.
-M
“What are you thinking about?” Damian asks.
The memory fades away and I look back at Damian. “Spanish class. I completely forgot all about that class. No offense. But, I am glad that I forgot about Mrs. Bernard.”
“None taken. Do you know when you have to be back? I can’t believe I’m saying this but I don’t really want you to leave. It gets pretty lonely around here.” He blushes and it’s so adorable. Since his cheeks are already rosy so when he blushes they just become more and more cute. To top it all off, he has dimples. Dimples!!! You have to admit, anyone with dimples is just adorable.
“Honestly, I don’t want to leave either. I don’t have to be back at any specific time, just not at night would be preferable. Have you eaten breakfast yet? I’m starving.”
“No not yet, I woke up only a few minutes before you. I can make some scrambled eggs or we can go to Dunkin Donuts or-”
“DUNKIN DONUTS!!” I yell while lifting my hands in the air with joy. “I mean I’m sure you’re scrambled eggs are to die for but I haven’t had Dunkin Donuts in like a year!!”
“Dunkin Donuts it is then. I don’t think I’ve ever met a person so perky in the morning. I’m literally a sloth in the morning.”
“Anyone who doesn’t get excited about having Dunkin Donuts for breakfast is missing out.”
“This is going to be a fun day.” He says.
“Oh yeah? And why is that?”
“Well, from the looks of it, you are already perky and it’s only ten o’ clock in the morning.”
“If it was six o’ clock in the morning then it would be a different story.”
“Oh I’m sure it would be.”
We walk out into the living room and sit down on the couch. I realize that I have no clothes to change into, and I might need a shower considering that I probably smell like dirt.
“Hey can I take a shower? I haven’t taken one in a couple days.” I awkwardly ask.
“Yeah sure. Oh you don’t have any clothes to change into huh?”
“Yeah..”
“No worries, my sister stays over a lot and she leaves clothes here so she doesn’t have to drag them back and forth. You’re more than welcome to them.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem. The bag of clothes are in my bedroom closet and the bathroom is the next room over.”
“You, my friend, are the man.”
I walk into his bedroom and shuffle through his closet and find a big duffle bag of clothes. After picking through his sisters horrible taste in clothes, I find a white Fall Out Boy (I love that band!) t-shirt, a pair of light denim jeans, and a pair of white converse shoes. As I get up to hop in the shower I see a phone next Damian’s bed. Call him, I say to myself. I poke my head around to see if Damian is close by or listening, and he’s not. I pick up the phone and dial his number off the top of my head. The phone rings and goes to voicemail. Dammit. Well, it was worth a try.
I walk into the bathroom and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to take a shower. As I’m in the shower, I sing a little bit and I hope Damian doesn’t hear me. The t-shirt, jeans and shoes fit perfectly. When I open the bathroom door Damian is standing right there, like he was waiting for me.
“Can I help you?” I ask. He holds out his hand and I notice a brush.
“Figured you might want to use this.”
“Probably. Can’t go out to Dunkin Donuts looking like this now can I?”
“Just hurry up so I can get my breakfast.”
“Quick is my middle name.”
It must have taken me at least forty-five minutes or more to brush my hair because Damian was knocking on the door like mad.
“You almost done?” His voice had the slightest hint of aggravation that was extremely noticeable.
“Coming out now! Hold your horses.” I set the brush down on the sink and open the door. My hair is dry now so I don’t even bother drying it. He opens the door and smirks at me.
“Well it’s about time.”
“We getting breakfast or what?”
“Well, considering the fact that it’s eleven thirty, we will be getting brunch.”
“No need to get all fancy on me. All I asked for was Dunkin Donuts.”
“And Dunkin Donuts you shall get.”
When we get to Dunkin Donuts I get a coffee and a Boston Kreme donut. We sit in the parking lot and I start to eat. I devour the Boston Kreme donut in five minutes or less. If you were dead for a year and all you wanted is junk food, you would understand.
“Did you even taste that thing? Or did you just take one bite and then you were done?” Damian asks.
“Listen sassy pants, can I just have a napkin to get this chocolate frosting off of my face and hands?”
“And you’re the one calling me sassy.”
I wipe off my face with the napkin and look in the mirror to make sure that I didn’t miss anything. For the first time I notice how green my eyes actually are. They’re like emeralds on a long piece of white silk. My eyes find Damian’s and a smile creeps up on my face. Why am I so giddy around him? I mean, I’m like this with Liam but with Damian, I guess you could say that it’s different.
The clock says twelve o’ clock. Thomas Young probably isn’t home so I might be able to go over. I wish I didn’t have to leave. Not just because of Damian but because I don’t feel like talking to Thomas Young. Yes I understand that he’s my father and everything, but that doesn’t mean that he’s a great father.
“Hey Damian?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think that you can drop me off soon?”
“Sure. You want to leave around twelve-thirty?” Disappointment spreads across his face like wildfire. His eyes fall and so does his expression.
“Okay. Thanks again.”
“Anytime.”
We drive back to his house and hang out on the couch for a little while. He tries to put his arm around me and I let him. His hand finds my shoulder and he caresses it lightly. What is it about him that makes even sitting next to him on the couch so comfortable? Is it how charismatic he is? How he is so kind without even trying? Or his eyes that remind you of clear ocean water, that makes you want to dive in?
Unexpectedly my head starts pounding and my ears start ringing. My hands go numb as I clutch my head. When I look up at Damian in front of me I see transparent wispy figures surrounding him. Damian’s face becomes a blur really fast and then all I see are the same figures walking on air as everything goes dark.
~
I wake up in a hospital room and I feel like someone drugged me with some sort of sleeping medication. Nurses are squished in my room. One of them is typing on the computer and a few others are trying to get equipment for something. One of the other nurses notices that I’m awake and rushes over to my bed.
“Hi honey, my name is Aurélie and I’ll be taking care of you today. How are you feeling?”
“Aurélie? What are you doing here?”
“Do I know you?” She asks.
“I’m Maddie, one of the girls that you took care of down in San Clemente. I tried to commit suicide and you were my nurse, remember?”
“Oh goodness! Maddie! I didn’t even recognize you! I’m a traveling nurse now and this is my new assignment. I like San Clemente better.” I smile.
“Do you know who brought me here? Everything is kind of a blur.”
“A boy named Damian brought you here. He seemed pretty worried about you.”
“When will the doctor come see me?”
“Shortly. Would you like anything?”
“Can I actually have the phone? I want to call someone.”
“It’s right next to you on your table.”
“Thanks Aurélie.” She smiles and walks out the door.
I sit up and I am in total shock. So, now I can see ghosts, even though I was a ghost? But, how would that be possible? Are there like different types of mediums or something? Wait, Liam could see me so maybe I can ask him if he knows anything that can help me. I call Liam and I’m about to hang up when he finally answers.
“Hello?”
“Liam? It’s me, Maddie.”
“I’m sorry but there must be some kind of mistake.”
“Liam, I’m serious it’s me. I know this sounds crazy, but I’m alive again. After I got really mad and left, I woke up in my coffin and I felt my pulse and now I’m alive.”
“Oh my god, it is you! Wait, you’re ALIVE?”
“Yeah I know it’s crazy, but I need you to do meet me at my friend Damian’s house. Please, I need to talk to you about how you saw me when I was a ghost.”
“Okay, I’ll be there. Where are you?"
"I'm at the hospital in San Francisco."
"Okay. Call me when you get out of there okay?” The doctor walks in and I realize that I need to let Liam go.
“Yeah, I gotta go.” I put the phone back on my table and look at the doctor. She's tall and sickly thin with dark brown hair hanging over her face.
“Hello Ms. Meyer. My name is Doctor Thompson.”
“Hello.”
“I’m going to look over your chart to see if there is anything in your previous history that would have caused you to black out. Is there anything that I can get you?”
“No thank you, I’m okay right now.”
My charts? That means they’re gonna find out that I’m dead. Well, was dead. And that I tried to commit suicide. I have to get out of here. My eyes scan the room to find a patient belongings bag. I pull the curtain shut, quickly change, throw the bag away and storm out of the room. I walk out into the waiting room and spot Damian. He walks over to me and I grab his arm.
“We need to go.”
“What’s going on?”
“Look, there’s something I need to tell you, but I’ll explain it all in the car.”
“I hate when girls say that to me.”
“I need you to take me back to your house, a friend of mine is going to meet us there.”
“I hate Mondays. Is everything okay?”
“It’s a lot to explain.” I say.