My brow quirks and a slight smile curves one corner of my mouth as she shakes her head and quickly retrieves her keys from the door. My stomach is in knots and I take a steadying breath to calm myself before I accidentally make somethingbreak and scare her off. Gabbi has never acknowledged me before, and after going so long without someone to watch, even that small interaction has me feeling less alone. I rub my hands on my pants as if they were clammy as I wait for her to give me any clue as to why she’s here.Please, let it be someone interested in my house, please.I cross my legs at the ankles and gently shake my top foot with impatience.
Gabbi pauses to turn the lights on and then leaves the door open as she walks toward the island while wrestling with her keys. She unclips my house keys from her key ring and gingerly sets them down on the counter. Her phone chimes and she jumps, clutching her chest with her free hand. I frown and lean forward as she pulls her phone out of her purse. Before she’s even got her screen unlocked I’m behind her, floating far enough above her that she won’t feel my presence and get spooked, but close enough to see her screen. I watch as her delicate fingers swipe open her phone and pull up her messages.
Trissa Wilde: Pulling up on the place now
Gabbi takes in a breath and nods as she slides her phone into her pocket.
Trissa Wilde. I don’t know why, but I like her name. I wonder if it’s another little old lady like my Kathleen. My chest aches with the hope I’m afraid to give into. I frown slightly and wrinkle my nose. Hopefully this one doesn’t have a hovel of cats.
Gabbi bites her lip, looking uncertain as she glances around the kitchen while she backs up toward the still open door. She clears her throat and her brow pinches as she speaks, “J-just… just be gentle with this one. Please”.
I tilt my head and watch as she walks out, leaving the door open slightly. That’s strange. And slightly offensive, as I’ve never done anything malicious to any of my people. Well… except that one a few years back, but he deserved it, so that doesn’t count. Ilook back to the island counter where the keys to my house are resting. She’s never done that before, especially not on a walk-through. My curiosity is at an all-time high as I float over to the window to try and get a better look at what’s happening.
Gabbi is standing between her car and a sleek black one I’ve never seen before. The dust from my driveway is still settling as the driver’s side door opens. I hold my breath. Well, not really, but my ghostly body can’t help indulging in the familiar. I frown as a man steps around the car. My heart sinks. This is Trissa Wilde? Maybe it’s another couple? I sigh at the disappointment that it’s not an older person. Younger people tend to be out more than they stay home, which makes my days that much more boring.
It doesn’t help that this guy looks like a tool. My eyes search the passenger side, but come up empty. Huh. I’ve never had a bachelor before. The man smiles salaciously at Gabbi and I feel myself tense up as a small growl escapes me. He’s about 5’9 with short bleach blond hair that looks freshly cut and a patchy goatee. He’s tan and I grudgingly admit that he seems well-muscled. I look down at my own, much leaner frame and frown. Something about him makes my hackles rise. His smile is charming and predatory, and I silently urge Gabbi to send him packing. Why would she want me to be nice to this prick? The man looks to the rear passenger side door and rolls his eyes while letting out a loud, obnoxious laugh. I hate him. Great.
Gabbi looks uncomfortable and smiles tightly as her eyes wander first to the car door that Captain Douche is reaching for, and then my window.I can’t help you out there, hen. Gabbi shifts slightly closer to her car and says something to the Cap as he reaches into the backseat. He fumbles around for a moment before lifting something out of the back of the car. I lean in until my nose touches the glass. Not something—someone.
If I had a heartbeat, my heart would be racing. I watch as boy wonder swings around with my new person in his arms. His hold on her is sloppy at best, and he sets her down haphazardly, only reaching out to help hold her up when she stumbles. He curses and Gabbi gives him a scathing glance before rushing forward to help support the girl. I feel my lip curl in anger at his carelessness, but it’s half-hearted. I can’t take my eyes away from her. I haven’t got a great view of her yet, but what I can see leaves an impossibly dry feeling in my throat.
Where Gabbi is tall and slender, this woman—I’m assuming the real Trissa, is slightly shorter with enough curves to get lost traversing the beautiful landscape of her body. A small whine escapes my throat as my eyes trace her form. She’s got on worn Converse, leggings, and a form-fitting tee that says, “I got 99 problems… no, seriously. Help”. I huff out a little laugh at that. Her head hangs kind of limply forward as Cap pulls her toward my house. Her medium-length hair is loosely braided off to one side and shines a vibrant blue. I’ve never seen anything like it in person, and I’m mesmerized. That bright blue hair would look stunning against the pale of death.
I pull back from the window in shock. What the fuck is wrong with me? I’ve been dead for fifty years, and in all that time I’ve never… I mean, I would never… I’m not that kind of ghost. I’m not exactly thrilled with my lot in life, or death, I suppose. That doesn’t mean I would wish this existence on anyone else. Especially not her.
I float over to the door as they get closer. I’m telling myself it’s because I’m worried about her, and not because I need to be closer to get a better look. It’s a semi-convincing argument, especially since I am concerned about why it’s taking two people to help her walk into the house. Is she ill, or maybe hurt? My chest feels pinched as I hear Captain Douche let out a loud sighas he comes into the kitchen sideways, pulling Trissa and Gabbi behind him.
“Triss, c’mon baby. Let’s go, huh? I don’t have all day.” My skin crawls at his familiarity and use of endearment.
“Take it easy on her Kyle, you know this is her first time out in almost a year,” Gabbi sounds a little breathless and her cheeks stain a wine-toned blush over her warm espresso-colored skin. I stare at her— at the vibrant colors. I want to run my hand over her blush and feel its warmth. It’s funny the things you miss when you’re dead, but Gabbi has always been respectful of my house, and I don’t want to scare her. Plus, she’s not mine.
Kyle grunts and rolls his vapid, beady eyes as he tugs Trissa through the kitchen into the sitting room. “Let’s put her on the couch, she’s heavy as shit.”
Gabbi gasps indignantly and clucks her tongue but lets go of Trissa long enough to pull the dust sheet off before he slumps Trissa onto the couch. I float forward, almost as if she’s pulling me to her. Her head is resting against the arm of the couch while her body is strewn lengthwise, except for one leg, which Kyle, the prick, didn’t bother to move. I glare back at him over my shoulder as he follows Gabbi back into the kitchen. I want him to get the fuck out of my house. I’m torn as I watch him with Gabbi in the kitchen. I want to stay with my new person, but I feel uneasy leaving that asshole alone with a clearly uncomfortable Gabbi.
A soft moan sounds from in front of me, and my head swings back around to stare down at Trissa as her head slides against the back of the couch. I feel a little guilty as I decide to stay here, with her. She moans again, and damn me straight to hell, because my cock bobs at the sound. That’s new. I glance down at my crotch briefly before dropping to my knees and gently lifting my hand toward her face. My skills with manipulating matter are not the strongest, but if I concentrate I can usuallymove small things. My house is easier to manipulate. Anything I touched while alive responds to me much easier.
I lean in over her and gently smooth her sweeping side bangs away from her face. It feels like the breath catches in my throat as her eyes flutter open. A shiver races through my whole body as I look into her glassy blue eyes. My skin feels magnetized and heat like I haven’t felt since before dying rages through my veins. Trissa smiles weakly and reaches a hand out toward my face, and I feel a tightness in my chest that leaves me feeling breathless and weak. Well, most of me feels weak. My cock didn’t get the memo as it pulses to life and strains against the material of my pants. What the fuck is happening to me? Nothing like this has ever happened before and I’m equal parts elated and terrified. This is the most alive I’ve felt in fifty years.
Trissa’s small pink tongue reaches out to moisten her lips and she tries to croak something out. Her throat must be dry because her brow pinches in discomfort and she swallows before trying again. “Y-you have… the most hauntingly beautiful green eyes”.
My brain doesn’t register her words right away, but my cock does as it pulses painfully against my pants. She thinks my eyes are beautiful? Wait…
Trissa’s hand finally reaches my face and her fingers brush gently over my cheek and… holy fuck. Color explodes behind my eyes and a wave of euphoria washes over me. I hear this incessant thumping like racing horses. What is that? Everything feels like its spinning but I’m not moving. I glance around trying to find where that damn noise is coming from so I can silence it and try to concentrate on what the fuck is happening.
I feel moisture on my crotch and look down in horror to see that I came in my pants. I whine in confusion as I try to slow the spinning of the room and the swirling of the colors behind my eyes enough to focus. The thumping gradually slows down and I gasp as I realize it’s… my heart? I have a heartbeat? How the fuckdo I have a heartbeat? I’m panicking now and my eyes dart back to Trissa, desperate for answers.
Her electric blue eyes meet my bottle-green ones and I feel something shift. She’s looking at me. She’s not looking past me, or through me. She… she can see me. Feel me. She’s still smiling lazily at me and I notice movement out of the corner of my eye. I glance toward it and choke as my eyes trail her arm into her leggings. I can see the dampness against the light pink material and desire surges through me like a punch to the gut. I shudder and gasp when my hand connects with her thigh.
Three things happen at once. First, I realize with a growl of possessiveness and more than a pang of depravity that the drugged-looking nymph that is moving into my house, for whatever reason, can turn me corporeal. Second, the urge to ravish her and take absolutely everything is so overwhelming that my grip on my morals is terrifyingly loose. And lastly, there was a faint gasp just now coming from the kitchen.
It’s the gasp that finally shuts down whatever this was as Trissa breaks eye contact and looks toward the kitchen. All of the feeling rushes out of me all at once and I’m back to my usual state. Trissa flushes so prettily, and I want to stay and make her look at me again, but my sanity has been returned enough now that I know I don’t want her pleasuring herself to me in front of Captain Douche. Rage slams through me at the thought and the cabinets in the kitchen fly open menacingly. Gabbi gasps and covers her head with her arms, cowering. Shit. I don’t want to scare her.
“K-Kyle I think maybe it’s time you head out, yeah?” Gabbi’s eyes are sweeping the area around Trissa. She looks terrified… like she’s seen a ghost. I move slowly back to the corner of the room before floating back up to my attic, my eyes on Trissa the whole way. I feel clammy and off balance. My mind reels as I try to tamp down the panic that is still running heavy through myveins. I have absolutely no idea what just happened… but I may know someone who does.
The trouble is we aren’t exactly on good terms. Not since I called them as useless as a cheap party trick and kicked them out of my house. Those first memories I have after dying flit through my mind and I flinch. Annoyance at my own hesitation breaks through the panic long enough for me to make a decision. I take a deep, steadying breath and close my eyes.
“DEATH! I summon you, show yourself!” I open one eye to see if it worked but I’m still alone in my attic. “Damn it. DEATH, I SUM—”.
