A/N: I am so, so, so sorry for the delay of this chapter. I had such a terrible case of writer's block, but to make it up to you all, I made this chapter a bit more longer than I intended to. I want to thank everyone for being so patient, and those who read/reviewed the last chapter, and added it to their favorites/alerts - big thanks! Anyway, on with the story!
Chapter Four:
Reaching Out to The Beyond
"… so, then, after that, I finally confessed to the police and told them that the bodies were in the basement, and now I'm on the run 'cause I don't think I look particularly good in orange or stripes."
I yawned, tiredly. "That's nice," I agreed, distractedly, that is, until some part of my brain that was still alive and alert replayed the last bit he'd said, and I backtracked, staring at him as if he'd just grown a second head or something. "Wait - what? What the hell did you just say?"
Eddie raised an eyebrow and shook his head slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned back in his chair. "Well, if you had been listening, Scatterbrain, you'd know, wouldn't you?" He chided gently. "What's the matter with you?" He asked, but not unkindly. "Usually you at least pretend to listen to me when I'm rambling on."
Guilt. "Hey, I do listen," I protested, halfheartedly, but then he raised his eyebrow, if possible, higher and I faltered. Damnit! The eyebrow always got me. "It's nothing really," I dropped my gaze down to the hot, steaming Styrofoam cup in my hand. "Just thinking, got a little distracted. Sorry."
He cleared his throat. "Wanna talk about it." He asked, sounding mildly interested.
No, thanks, Dr. Phil. I'm straight. "Not really," I told him, looking around. We were sitting at one of the tables in a corner of the cafeteria, beside a window, during our coffee break. I just wanted to drink my damn coffee before I had to go back and face the elderly… more specifically Mr. Patterson. I shuddered a little. "You'd laugh at me," I added.
Eddie looked affronted. "What? When have I ever laughed at anything - wait," he cut himself off before I had the opportunity. It was my turn to raise an eyebrow at him, and he leaned forward in his seat, rested his forearms on top of the table. His facial expression changed and had taken a slightly guilty look to it. I wanted to laugh. "Don't answer that. I promise I won't laugh, cross my heart and hope to die."
I titled my head to the side, giving him a look that clearly stated that I wasn't buying what he was selling.
He pouted. "What, you don't believe me?" He asked, and then held out his hand to me, closing it into a fist but leaving a finger out. "Want to pinky swear on it?"
This time I did laugh, but only a little. "It's stupid," I warned him, hoping that would at least scare him off the subject, but he listened on. Damnit. The one time I didn't want him to listen…. "Do you, um, do you believe in ghosts?"
He blinked and then raised both his brows. "Ghosts?" He repeated, saying the word like he didn't understand the meaning of it. He scratched the side of his face and, being paranoid, I watched him to make sure he wasn't laughing at me. "That's, uh, that's a bit random and totally not what I expected, but, um, I don't know, really. I can't say that I do, can't say that I don't. You know me - seeing is believing," he answered, what I thought was, truthfully. "Why?"
I shook my head, dismissively and looked back down at my cup. I pouted - I was almost out of coffee, I knew I'd have to get up soon to get more. "I was just curious," I elaborated when I looked back up and found that he was staring t me, almost, expectantly. "Told you it was stupid."
"What?"
I hesitated. "Okay, hypothetically speaking, if I told you that I thought I'd seen a ghost, what would you say?"
"Char, are you trying to tell me that you saw a ghost?" Eddie questioned and I couldn't tell whether it was amusement or skepticism lacing his voice. I decided not to dwell on it.
And it was no use trying to hide the question in a 'hypothetically speaking' situation. "I'm not sure. I think I did, but it's weird," I replied, eyeing him wearily. I couldn't understand why it was so hard for me to just get it out and tell him what I thought I had seen. "Well, it started after Mal come home…" and I jumped into the story, telling him everything from the eyes I thought I saw in my car's rearview mirror to the incident with the stereo to the figure standing in my kitchen and everything in between that I thought was related. "And that's it," I told him, finishing in a rush.
I felt better now that I had told someone.
Eddie sat up, slowly and looked unsure of what to make of my situation. "That is weird," he greed, nodding and rubbing the back of his neck. "But…" ugh, how did I know there was a but?! "you know there's probably a good explanation for all of that, there always is --"
I frowned. I didn't feel so good anymore. "Look, if you don't believe me just say so, don't go beating around the bush, that's not helping," I snapped, feeling slightly humiliated and annoyed that my best friend didn't believe me.
And then a tiny voice in the back of my head reminded me that I barely believed myself and I was there!
Stupid conscious.
"I'm not saying that I don't, okay?" He defended. "I'm just saying that it's weird and there might be a plausible explanation."
I sighed, slouching in my seat with my arms crossed over my chest. "It's okay if you don't believe me, Ed." I reassured him. "And I'm sorry I snapped at you, I'm just --" I yawned again, "--really tired. I haven't been sleeping well lately," I smiled, tiredly.
"It's fine," he waved my apology off. "Look, if you think you saw something, then I believe you. Okay?" I nodded, feeling a little grateful. "Have you told Mal?"
I shook my head, chewing on the inside of my lip. "No, I haven't," I confessed. "He doesn't believe in that… supernatural stuff. He'd probably just think that the jobs getting to me."
Eddie nodded in agreement and took on a thoughtful expression, then his face lit up and I knew that he had an idea. Oh, someone was about to get seriously hurt…. "You know, my Nana was into this type of stuff. She lived for it," he said, eyes softening a bit as did his tone of voice. He always got a little sad whenever he spoke of Grandmother, who'd passed away nearly a year ago and left him the house he was currently living at in her will. He didn't like talking about it but I knew that he never really got over her passing. "If you think you've got a ghost lingering around your apartment, we could try to communicate with it," he finished, sort of bouncing in his seat with excitement.
I furrowed my eyebrows. "What, you mean like a séance?"
"Exactly," Eddie nodded with a grin. "Got a Ouija bored that belonged to her stashed somewhere in her room. I could swing by and get it after work and head over to your place?" He offered and a part of me was weary about messing with one of those.
I wasn't very superstitious or anything like that, but my mom, well, she was. I remember wanting to buy one as a kid and then having to sit through a half hour lecture on why I shouldn't mess with things like it. She had said that using a Ouija board was dangerous because you never knew who it was that you were talking to and any spirit could just come on through and possibly posses you if it wanted. Of course, I just laughed and called her crazy behind her back… but what she had said stayed with me for a long time after and I never touched one. Ever.
Damnit.
I shrugged and then remembered something. "Didn't you say that you had a date with Steven tonight?"
Eddie's eyebrows shot up in half surprise, half amusement. "Ah, so you were listening," he teased. Big surprise. "I'll cancel it," he shrugged. "I'm sure he can survive a night without my manly-self around."
I rolled my eyes, huffing a chuckle. It was decided then. "Okay, fine. Tonight. My place." I fought the urge to add: be there or be squared.
"Great," he grinned, again, clasping his hands together and I stood up from my seat, stomach growling all of a sudden. "Where are you going?" Eddie called out, confused.
I looked over my shoulder at him, quickly. "To get something to eat," I told him in a tone one would have expected a duh attached to. "I'm starving," I half whined and began to look for something. My eyes lit up a little when I did and I made a beeline for the cashier. Lucky for me, and my stomach, the line was short and I was back in my seat in under five minutes.
Eddie stared at me. "Is, is that pie?" He asked as I stuffed my face.
I chewed, nodding. "Been craving it all week," I laughed a little, taking another bite. "Want some?" I offered when I noticed he'd been staring.
"I thought you didn't like pie," he said, sounding as confused as he looked.
I wanted to tell him that a girl had a right to change her mind whenever the hell she wanted to, but I didn't because, you know, he was right. I hated pie. "Guess I do now," I shrugged, taking another bite and wondered if I could convince Eddie to get me another cup of coffee.
"Is all of this really necessary?" I asked, fidgeting a little as my eyes wandered my candle lit living room and the shadows they cast on the walls, nervously. I hated the dark, could barely see a damn thing even with all of them lit, and it wasn't just the dark that was making me nervous - the candles were too. The thought of one tipping over and causing a fire kept replaying in my head, making me somewhat paranoid.
Twenty-one-years-old and your still afraid of the dark? You're such a baby , my brother would say if he knew, with an evil, stupid smirk on his face. And I'd tell him what he could do with the remote control. Whatever.
"Wouldn't it be more convenient if we kept the lights on, you know, to see better?" I suggested, nonchalantly, and hoped I didn't sound so obvious about wanting them on.
"Candles set the atmosphere," he grinned, pearly whites shinning so brightly - even in the dark for crying out loud! - I almost felt blinded. He took a seat on the floor, across from me and placed the Ouija board in front of us, and then lit the candle beside us. I stared at the flame for bit. "Besides, it's much more fun in the dark."
"That's what you think," I muttered, under my breath, and then loudly, I added: "I'm really beginning to wonder why I agreed to do this."
Curiosity, a voice in the back of my head whispered. I silently wondered if I was going crazy.
"Because you were desperate for answers," Eddie relied. I kind of liked his answer better. "And, you love me enough to give this a try."
I scoffed. "What's love got to do with it?" I asked, and quickly reminded myself to stop quoting song lyrics from Tina Turner. I crossed my arms over my chest, eyeing the darkness. "I might have been desperate, but I'd rethink the whole thing about me loving you," I joked, trying to push all scary thoughts from my head. Joking was good. Joking made me feel better.
"Oh, hush puppy, you love me - I complete you."
"Sadly," I muttered with a sigh, and dropped my arms to my lap. "So, let's get on with this, yeah?" I dropped my voice a little and said, "Before Mal gets home and wonders what the hell we're doing." I really didn't need my older brother thinking I was crazier than he thought I already was.
"Okay," Eddie rubbed his hands together and looked from me to the board and then back. "So, what you want to do is put your fingers on the pointer - that's the heart shaped thing with the clear glass near the top -" I frowned at him. I may not have known how to use a Ouija board properly, but I wasn't stupid. "- lightly to allow it to move freely, and when you ask it a question, you gotta be serious about - Char, don't laugh!" He scolded suddenly.
I tried to contain my laughter. "I'm sorry," I sobered up quickly, feeling slightly guilty. "I'm sorry. You know, for someone who doesn't believe in ghosts and shit, you sure are getting into this," I pointed out.
Eddie went silent for a moment, just staring at me, then he blinked and sighed. "I never said that I didn't believe in 'ghosts and shit', I specifically remember saying something along the lines of seeing is believing," he reminded me and I found myself nodding in agreement. "After Nan died, I wanted to believe in all of this. I wanted to believe that there was more to this - life after death, but I never found proof to prove she wasn't crazy. I want to believe, Charlie, I really I do."
I nodded again, not knowing what to say to him. I had never lost anyone close to me before, so I didn't know how to handle a situation where I had to comfort someone who did.
I'd only met his Nan a couple of times. She was a sweet old woman, wouldn't call her crazy, maybe a little on the eccentric side, but that was it. She had this thing about… salt, though. I remember asking her why there was salt spread across the window sill once. Her reply was that it was to ward off evil spirits, demons, things like that. And then I remember, as I walked away, thinking how the hell did one fight off those things with a condiment?
So, instead of saying something stupid or cheesy to Ed, I gave him a sad smile, and said: "Let's get this bitch started."
He returned the smile, brightening up as he sat up straight. "All right, but remember: no jokes -" I pretended to zip my lips and throw away the key, or however that stupid saying went. "-and one of us is going to have to ask the questions. You want to do the honors?" I shook my head and thought how funny it was that I could barely talk to strangers and was now being asked to talk to ghosts? Yeah. Pass, por favor. "Okay, I'll do it then," he paused for a bit before he began. "Is there a spirit in the room that would like to communicate with us?"
I stared at the Ouija board, unblinkingly - nothing. My eyes stung.
"Is there a spirit in the room that would like to communicate with us?" Eddie repeated, staring at the board with concentration. He was really getting into this, I thought, worriedly.
Nothing.
I shook my head. "Ask it something else, Ed," I suggested, not really liking the silence all too much.
"Is there a reason why you're haunting this apartment?" He asked, eyes darting around the room now. I felt a little fidgety at the word 'haunting'.
I sighed, closing my eyes. Maybe I wasn't concentrating hard enough. I repeated his question in my head, hoping it would help some, at least, but it didn't. Groaning a little, I opened my eyes. "This isn't working," I told him, discouraged. "And I'm starting to feel a little stupid about all this, now."
"Just give it a little more time," he insisted, and then moved on to his next question, which was actually his first. "Is there a spirit in the room that would like to communicate with us?"
I suddenly felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand as a chill ran through me, I fidgeted. "Eddie…"
"Shhh" he shushed, eyes closed now.
I bristled. Where the hell did he get off shushing me?! I opened my mouth to yell at him, but stopped when the candle beside us started flickering.
I blinked, still staring at the flickering flame. "Ed -"
The ringing of a cell phone caused me to jump in my seat.
Eddie opened his eyes, and reached inside of his pocket. "Damnit," he muttered, quietly. "I thought I had turned this thing off. Hello?" He greeted whoever it was on the other line with a singsong voice. "Hey, yeah, actually I am sort of busy - oh… no way."
I suddenly got the sinking feeling that he'd be leaving soon, not that I really minded. Not really.
"Okay, okay. I'll do what I can," he said, hanging up. He looked at me, an apologetic look on his face. "Listen…"
I smiled, already knowing. He was leaving. "It's okay," I reassured him. "Go ahead. This," I motioned to the candles and everything else, "Wasn't working out anyway."
He stood up, and I followed, walking over to the light switch as quickly as possible to turn it on. I felt much better with them on, and starting blowing out the candles.
"Do you mind if I leave the Ouija board here?" He asked. "I'll pick it up tomorrow."
"Sure."
"Thanks, I'll see you tomorrow," he walked over to me and kissed me on the cheek. "Bye, honey."
I rolled my eyes and watched him go. When he closed the door behind him, I began to gather all the candles and place them on top of the dinner table.
What a waste, I thought with a sigh. So much for reaching out to the beyond. I wasn't sure if I was glad or disappointed about it, though.
When I was done putting out the candles and gathering them, I looked over at the Ouija board with my hands on my hip. A part of me screamed for me to put it away, the other half was telling me to give it another shot… what was the worst that could happen?
Getting possessed, that's what could happen. Or worst… finding out that I really was crazy and I had imagined the whole damn things.
Eventually, though, the part of me that wanted to give it another shot won, and I sat down on the floor near the coffee table, placing my fingers on the pointer with a sigh.
I wondered how I should start …
"I'm not so sure how to start this," I said out loud and felt a tiny bit stupid. "I, um, my name's Charlie, but you probably already know that…." I trailed off, shaking my head a little. "Look, I just… really need to know that you're here and I'm not crazy, okay? Now, is there something you want to tell me, something you couldn't in front of Eddie?"
I sat quietly for a moment, the suddenly my hands felt cold, icy and the pointer started moving. It pointed to the word yes. Yes. I gasped a little, startled, wanting to move my hands away. I hadn't really expected it to move and wondered if I should put it away.
I didn't.
"Is there… something you want to tell me?"
The pointer moved a little, away from the word yes and then moved back to it. Yes.
My heartbeat increased. "Do you want to tell me what that is?"
Nothing happened for a while, and then suddenly the pointer started moving.
N-O-T.
Not.
C-R-A-Z-Y
Crazy.
Not crazy. It was telling me that I wasn't crazy?!
I laughed out loud, a little more hysterical than I would have liked and stared at the board. It had spelled out that I wasn't crazy. I couldn't believe it.
Shaking my head, I sat up straight, feeling a bit more confident. I started to ask another question when the lights started flickering. Startled, I jumped to my feet and went stiff as it continued. I held my breath. And then, it stopped, like nothing happened.
I shook my head again, deciding that I no longer wanted to mess with the board and stuffed it in my closet, hoping Malcolm wouldn't find it.
It had said that I wasn't crazy, I thought with a sigh, but then why hell did I feel like I was losing my mind?
