Was I dead? I couldn’t tell. But surely I couldn’t be in Heaven; I was in too much pain. I must be in Hell. Or didn't people who committed suicide go to Purgatory?
My entire body felt frozen, as if the blood that ran through my veins had turned to ice, freezing me from the inside out. I couldn’t feel my toes, my fingers, or anything at all. There was a pounding on my chest, and something touching my face, but I couldn’t distinguish what.
I tried to open my eyes but I couldn’t see; there was only blackness, faded shadows that danced across my vision.
“I told you so,” a voice whispered in my ear. Lily.
Air suddenly rushed through my mouth and down my throat before the pounding on my chest continued.
I gasped then choked, rolling over as I coughed up mouthfuls of disgusting, icy water.
“Thank God,” Penn whispered.
“Are you okay?” another concerned voice asked, but I couldn’t work up the energy to look at who it was. Something touched my arm; I barely felt it since I was so cold.
Even if I wanted to see who it was, I couldn’t stop coughing up water and once I was finished my throat felt sore and dry, like sandpaper. I tried to speak, but nothing came out. I tried to clear my throat, but it only hurt more.
Turning my head, blinking through the light rain that was now falling, I looked at the person who’d spoken. I couldn’t see very well in the dark, and my vision was still too blurry, so I couldn’t make out much.
“Are you okay?” he asked again.
I only nodded, my teeth chattering uncontrollably as I looked around wildly. I saw Penn standing behind…whoever this guy was that apparently saved me…and relaxed slightly. I wasn't alone.
But the look Penn was giving me, one of pure anguish and hurt, made me feel guilty. I couldn’t say anything to him, not with this man here, but I gave him a look that was as apologetic as I could manage.
“Come on, we should get you out of the rain. My place isn’t that far from here, but I’m afraid you’ll have to walk,” the guy said, holding his hand out to me as he stood.
Normally, I would be wary of strangers in the dark asking me to come to their place, but I was far too cold to protest. I reached one hand up to take his, but my hand was too frozen to curl my fingers around his.
I trembled from the cold, and when he realized I couldn’t take his hand, he stooped down and picked me up. I curled into his chest, not caring if this was a complete stranger and possible murderer. He was, at the moment, one of few people who’d actually been kind to me in my entire life.
I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on his even walk, the slight swinging motion of his gait, to calm me down. We walked for what felt like hours before I suddenly heard someone gasp and a huge wall of heat hit me.
There were voices, but I couldn’t focus enough to catch the words being spoken. I was cold, so so cold.
The stranger tried to set me down but I clung to his shirt weakly with frozen fingers. Warm fingers gently pried my frozen ones off of him, and I felt myself being laid down on something warm and soft. I curled even further into a tight ball, trembling so much that I couldn’t even think straight. I welcomed the warmth around me, but I was still too cold.
Something heavy and warm fell around me, and I felt hands adjusting what ever it was so it covered me properly before I felt somebody pull off my shoes and socks. Whatever I was sitting on suddenly dipped slightly, as if a weight had been placed beside me. Something moved me, pulling me sideways as I felt two hands rubbing up and down my arms, trying to warm me up.
I didn’t even flinch; I just sat there, soaked and cold, shaking furiously as I tried to get warm in this house. I had no idea where I was or who I was with. I didn’t care. Nobody would be looking for me anyways.
I heard voices in the background, just a sort of hum over my chattering teeth and shaking body. For some reason I had trouble focusing at all, it was like I just shut down mentally and physically.
So I didn’t say a word, didn’t move, didn’t attempt to look around at my surroundings. I was numb, unfeeling. I closed in on myself until suddenly the words in the background started to get clearer and started to make sense.
“What happened?” a deep voice asked.
“I don’t know,” a familiar voice admitted from directly behind me, “I heard screaming and saw her falling into the water, and then nothing. She just disappeared under the water.”
There was a deep sigh from far away, “Well then, it’s a good thing you were there. But you should really change clothes, you can’t be anymore better off then she is.”
“I’m fine,” came the curt reply.
“You’re shaking almost as badly as she is,” the deeper voice said dryly.
“I’ll change after, right now she needs to get warm,” the more familiar voice said, sounding slightly annoyed.
“Fine, I’ll put on some tea. She’s going to want some later,” the deep voice said, and I heard footsteps receding.
Through the fog of my brain, I heard the words but it took me several minutes to understand them.
“W-w-w-w,” I tried, my teeth chattering too much for me to form words. Even my brain was too shocked; I couldn’t even form full sentences in my head.
“Wh-wh-” I tried again, gritting my teeth. I took a shuddering breath and relaxed my jaw, “Who are you?” I asked before my jaw started to chatter again.
The hands rubbing my arms paused for the briefest moment before they continued to rub my arms furiously again, “I’m David. Who are you?”
“F-F-Fay-” I made a grunting noise, annoyed at not even being able to say my own name.
“Fay?” he questioned and I shook my head furiously, curling tighter into a ball. “Take your time,” he advised calmly.
The minutes passed in silence while I continued to shake, but gradually the shaking lessened and I felt somewhat warmer.
“Here,” David, I think, said.
I struggled to open my eyes, seeing a steaming cup of tea in front of me and two strong hands holding it up. Since my hands were too frozen, and wrapped up inside the blanket along with me, he had to help me drink.
The burning hot tea ran through my body, spreading warmth from the inside. I shuddered, shifting as I moved my hands slowly from out of under the blanket.
My body felt weird, kind of like when you get into a bathtub full of scalding hot water and then you get out, your body is all red and tingly like its exuding heat. That’s kind of how I felt all over.
I flexed my fingers gingerly; they were stiff but fortunately functioning. I sighed and pulled them back into the warmth of the blanket before I looked down to my feet. They were a bright red color now, and I wiggled my toes experimentally. All functioning as well, but just as stiff as my fingers.
I wrapped my arms around my knees and rocked back and forth, looking ahead of me to see a large fireplace with a bright fire dancing inside. It was an old fashioned fireplace with a mantel and a brick wall behind it. I did a quick sweep of the area around me and saw more brick walls, wooden floors, an old looking recliner chair, a rocking chair and a bunch of other mundane objects. I didn’t dare look at the person sitting beside me, or rather behind me. I was sitting between someone’s legs, my back against their chest while their hands continued to move up and down my arms.
“Fayth,” I said hoarsely, my voice raspy as I tried to talk with my throat that, despite the hot tea, still felt like sandpaper.
“What?” David asked from behind me.
“Fayth,” I said again, “My name is Fayth.”
“Nice to meet you, Fayth,” he said, sounding amused, “Are you warm now?”
I nodded my head since it hurt too much to speak and he shifted from out of behind me, sitting next to me.
“I’ll be back,” he said and before I could even get a good look at him he got up and left. I was too tired to care about watching to see where he went, so I just sat, staring at the hypnotic fire dancing in front of me.
A moment later he came back, sitting down next to me with another cup of tea in his hands.
“Here, Granddad said you might want more to drink,” he said, extending his hands towards me.
I wasn’t even looking at the damn tea; I was looking at his face. He seemed about sixteen, seventeen years old with a strong, angular jaw, full lips, and a nice straight nose. In the dim firelight I could see he was slightly dark skinned, as if he was tanned from a summer in the sun even though it was the beginning of October and felt like winter had already arrived, without snow of course. I looked up, taking in his damp black hair and two wide blue eyes that were rimmed with long, dark lashes.
“Fayth?” he questioned, arching an eyebrow at me.
“Oh,” I looked down and pulled my hands out of the blanket to hold the hot mug in my hands, “Sorry,” I muttered as I turned to look at the fire, determined not to look at him.
“So…where do you go to school?” he asked casually, relaxing into the couch, slinging one arm on the back of the cough behind me.
I tried not to fidget at having his arm near me, considering I had been sitting between his legs before, but in my defence I had been too cold to care. But I wasn’t used to people coming near me, or being nice to me, or touching me. Especially not complete strangers.
“Um…” I pursed my lips, contemplating whether or not to lie. He was after all, a stranger.
He must have known what I was thinking because he chuckled, “I’m not a murderer or anything. I’m just making conversation.”
“Oh…” I trailed off, “Evergreen.”
“Cool, I start there on Monday,” he said.
I blinked and turned my head to look at him. He smiled at me.
“I just moved here,” he explained, “So what’s it like?”
I shrugged. I didn’t really care about school. I went through the motions simply because I wanted out of this town, out of my house, out of this life, not because I enjoyed it. On the contrary, I loathed it. I had no friends there, not that I wanted any. The kids at my school just thought I was a freak or an emo kid so they left me alone, only occasionally making jokes at me. So I spent my time alone…mostly. I mean, the students there may not come anywhere near me, but they did. ‘They’ being the ghosts.
“It’s alright I suppose,” I said finally.
“Any stereotypical jocks and cheerleaders?” he questioned with a smile.
I shrugged, “I don’t know, I never really noticed.”
That much was true. I was always trying to ignore anyone, of the human and ghost variety that came near me, so I sort of stuck to myself. After all, who knew if the person I was talking to was dead or alive? No need to draw anymore undesired attention to myself by winding up being the freak who talked to herself.
We lapsed into silence after that and I sipped the tea carefully, blowing the steam that curled upwards in wisps. I looked over the rim and was about to drink when I saw a familiar face next to the fire watching me.
My eyes widened for a moment, shocked, but then I composed myself.
Penn.
Penn was, is and probably will always be, my friend. I’ve known him since I was a child, but he’s never grown old or changed. He’s always been the same, always been there for me. He was dead of course, and has been since before I was born, and he was one of the few ghosts I’d met who had been nice to me.
He was an amazing guy…er…ghost with floppy brown hair and soft brown eyes to match. He was well built and much taller than I was, but he was a total sweetheart.
“So…” I said awkwardly, “Um…thanks for saving me I guess.”
“No problem, but can I just ask you something?” he said, and I turned to look at him while Penn walked (floated, what ever) towards us. He bent down and looked at David intently, pursing his lips.
“Um…I guess,” I shrugged, wishing Penn would stop going in David’s face since I was slightly weirded out about how close he was going without David noticing.
“What were you doing on the bridge? I heard screaming and saw you halfway through your fall but I didn’t see anyone on the bridge,” he questioned, giving me a slightly weird look.
I balked and even Penn looked at me sharply. I pursed my lips.
“Tell him you don’t remember what happened,” Penn advised.
I shook my head, “I’m sorry, I don’t really remember what happened. All I remember was hitting the water,” I said, feigning innocence.
I’m not sure whether David believed me or not because he stared at me long and hard for a moment and I tried not to fidget under the intensity of his gaze.
“Maybe you’ll remember better after a good night’s sleep,” he said finally, shrugging.
I exhaled slowly in relief, pretending to blow on my tea to cool it down while Penn did a little dance. I tried not to laugh because honestly, Penn was a terrible dancer, but a smile broke through anyways.
“What?” David asked, eyeing me curiously.
That wiped the smile off my face immediately, “Nothing.”
“You were smiling at nothing?” he questioned, arching an eyebrow at me.
“Busted!” Penn sang, grinning.
I tried not to glare at Penn as I answered David, “I was just thinking about someone,” I said pointedly. Penn caught the hint and stuck his tongue out at me.
“I see,” David said, pulling back a little bit.
I sighed in relief at the extra distance.
“Do you have anyone you want to call? Your mom or dad? Just so they know you’re okay?” he said, pursing his lips.
“No."
“Really? Not even your boyfriend?” he asked, sounding slightly surprised.
“I don’t have a boyfriend,” I muttered, sipping my tea.
“Even though you could have any guy you want,” Penn said under his breath. He was constantly nagging me to ‘get out there’ and ‘seize the day’ and a whole bunch of hallmark crap like that. But I was perfectly content with being alone with Penn as my only companion. He didn’t agree.
“Huh. Why not?” David asked.
“Because,” I huffed.
“Because what?” David prodded.
I exhaled in exasperation but didn’t answer; none of my answers would be sufficient or sane sounding to a normal person.
“Let me guess, bad break up? Forever scarred for life? Or just generally afraid of commitment?” David asked thoughtfully, stroking his chin.
“Wow, this guy’s good,” Penn commented.
I didn’t even care if David saw, I glared at Penn before I huffed and turned back to the fire.
“Wow, not much of a talker, are you?” David commented.
“Nope,” I said, sipping the last of my tea before I started to stand up. “Well, thanks for saving me and all your hospitality or what ever, but I really should be going.”
He jumped to his feet as I shrugged off the heavy blanket, shivering as I missed its warmth.
“Nonsense,” a deeper voice said from across the room.
We both turned to look and I saw an old looking man with wrinkles and the same bright blue eyes as David. His brown hair was streaked with grey, but as old as he looked he seemed pretty fit and mobile.
“You’ll stay the night,” the man continued.
“I really don’t think-” I started.
The old man rolled his eyes, “Honestly, it’s no problem. Besides, I’m not about to let a pretty young lady like yourself walk around in the rain at night by yourself.”
“But-” I protested before David put his hand on my arm. I flinched at his touch, unused to it.
He pulled his hand away, “Don’t argue. There’s no point; no one’s ever been able to win in an argument against my granddad,” he said, shrugging.
“Ugh, Granddad,” the old man muttered.
David grinned, “Sorry, but that’s what you are.”
“Well it makes me feel old,” the man whined before turning to look at me, “You can call me Antonio, my dear.”
“Um…okay,” I said uncertainly.
“You’re Fayth, am I correct?” Antonio asked, looking me up and down, not in a perverted way but simply, like he was studying me.
“Yes,” I said, frowning.
“Alright then,” he clapped his hands together, “You’ll take David’s room and David shall sleep on the couch, that’s alright isn’t it?”
“It’s fine with me,” David shrugged, looking at me briefly.
“I…” I looked helplessly, quickly, to the space beside Antonio where Penn stood. He shrugged, “They seem nice enough. I’ll watch them while you sleep if you want.”
I nodded, as if I were agreeing with Antonio and not Penn, “That sounds good.”
“Perfect! David, go find her some dry clothes so she can sleep comfortably,” he said before he turned around and went into what I’m guessing was the kitchen, since it had some old fashioned looking kitchen appliances.
“Come on, I’ll show you my room,” David said, walking around me and out of the living room. I followed him down short hallway while Penn scouted ahead; he was back a second later.
“Nothing suspicious to report, ma’am,” he said, saluting me.
I smiled and nodded my thanks at him as I continued to follow David. At the end of the hallway there was a door and he opened it, flicking on the light. He held the door open and let me walk through first before following me in.
“So, this is my room. Nothing fancy but hey, its home,” he shrugged, walking around me to a simple wooden dresser. I looked around his room; it had a sort of country feel to it, like a small cottage in the country, far from congested cities and traffic. The far wall that his headboard was against was a brick wall with a window, drapes covering the window, while the three other walls were wooden. There was an open door on the right wall which lead to a small bathroom.
His bed was relatively large with a dark red and brown blanket on it that looked thick and warm and incredibly inviting. The wooden floor was bare and cold under my bare feet, but I barely noticed.
“Here,” David said, and I turned around to see him holding out some clothes to me. I stared at it for a moment before hesitantly taking it.
“You can take a shower if you want, it's right through there,” he said, pointing at his bathroom. “I’m afraid since there are no women in the house you’re stuck wearing my clothes,” he said sheepishly.
“It's okay,” I mumbled, making my way to the bathroom.
“Fayth,” David said, and I stopped, turning my head to look over my shoulder at him.
“Goodnight,” he smiled warmly at me.
“Goodnight,” I echoed before I went into the bathroom.
“Penn,” I whispered as I turned on the faucet of the sink.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Penn whispered. I whirled around to see him standing on the other side of the bathroom, staring at me with sad brown eyes.
“I’m sorry, Penn,” I said, feeling tears burn at the back of my eyes, “I just couldn’t take it anymore.”
He exhaled slowly, crossing his arms over his chest, “I know, but killing yourself isn’t the answer.”
“I know,” I said weakly, “I’m sorry.”
“Just, promise me you won’t do it again, okay?” he said, walking towards me, holding out one hand.
I reached out my other hand so we were palm to palm. “I promise.”
Even though we couldn’t touch each other, sometimes we attempted it anyways. I felt a tingly feeling in the palm of my hand and I pulled away after a moment.
“You should really take a shower, you look like crap,” he said, chuckling.
“Thanks,” I muttered as I turned to look in the mirror.
“Yikes,” I winced. My normally pale skin was a sickly pale color with red spots across my cheeks, and my purpleish grey eyes were bright and wild. My blonde hair fell in lank chunks around my face, while my one black streak going through my hair was one solid wet chunk by itself. My black on black outfit was stiff and slightly wet. It itched and clung to my skin.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it. I’m going to go spy on Davy boy and granddaddy,” Penn said cheerily before he disappeared.
I sighed and peeled off my wet clothes before carefully stepping into David’s shower. I felt awkward and out of place; I wasn’t used to using somebody else’s shower or bathroom or what ever.
I took the fastest shower in history even though I really just wanted to stand under the burning hot water for hours, and as soon as I was done I wrapped a towel around me and stepped out of the shower. I dried myself off quickly, pulling back on my underwear and bra before putting on David’s clothes; a pair of black jogging pants and a big grey tee-shirt.
I held up the pants since they were too big and walked out of the bathroom with a sigh. I closed the bathroom light, and then made my way to the door of the bedroom, closing it quietly before I flicked off the light and slid into David’s bed hesitantly.
Penn appeared beside me, lying on the bed above the covers, head propped up on one hand as he brushed his ghostly hand across my hip and side.
“Goodnight, Fayth,” he whispered.
I felt tingles across the entire trail his hand had taken as I settled with a sigh into the bed more comfortably.
“Goodnight, Penn,” I whispered, closing my eyes.
I sincerely hoped for a better tomorrow, but right now, I just wanted to sleep peacefully. And I did. With Penn watching over me, I slept soundly but uncertain of what tomorrow might bring.
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Hey babes! Thought I posted this last night but I guess I passed out before I got around to it..oh well, here's chapter 2 and I hope you enjoyed it! I'm a bit tired and my eyes ache so I'm not gonna be chatting or anything tonight so gnight everyone! Happy November 1st! :D
Much love and good vibes,
xxLaura <3
Edit: Apparently I did post it last night lol I just didn't give it a title??? Wow I really was exhausted last night eesh