Gosh, ya'll! I'm not gonna bother with much of a side note on this chapter because I like it so much! Spent all of yesterday afternoon writing it and...ugh...the feels! Let me know what you think! :D
Keira awoke in her bed the next morning with a start, yanking the blankets to her chest in an attempt to block away the still burning pain that lingered there. And like before, she had woken up with tears running down her face.
"Lucille! You've…got to tell me what's going on!" She cried out, burying her face in her comforter.
Why?
Lucille's defensive voice pounded in her head and Keira squeezed her eyes shut against the blanket pressed to her face. Suddenly a wave of nausea came over Keira and she threw the blankets off of her as she dove across the room to her bathroom.
Several minutes later, Keira's trembling hand closed the toilet lid after finally puking her guts out. She sat on her bathroom floor with her cheek pressed against the cool porcelain of the lid, her arms wrapped around her middle.
What's wrong? Can't hold your alcohol, Keira?
Lucille laughed at the sick girl. Keira was too weak to let her anger get the best of her.
"What are you doing to me?" Keira whimpered.
I didn't do this to you. You just went out with Matt again last night.
Lucille's voice feigned innocence and Keira could almost hear her smirk.
"You…you mean you went out with Matt again last night." Keira breathed as she placed a hand over her eyes. She peeled herself from the toilet and used the sink next to her to pull herself upright. She glanced at the trash can beneath the sink as she stood and squinted at the plastic bottle that lay on top of it. She planted both of her hands firmly on the sides of the sink before raising her gaze to the mirror.
Her long blonde hair was now black. From root to tip, dark curls rained down around her pale face. And as she'd feared, her lack of sleep had left her with shadows under her blue eyes. She blinked and saw a flash of green in them.
Mmm…lovely, don't you think?
Keira's heart sank as she took in her ghastly appearance and her knuckles turned white as her grip on the sink tightened.
"It's your death, isn't it?" Keira blurted out loudly, causing Lucille's laughter to grow silent. Keira stared at herself in the mirror waiting for the ghost's answer.
What are you talking about?
"The dream I keep having. It's your death that I keep seeing, isn't it?" Keira said. Lucille was silent for a long moment.
It's no dream, Keira. It's very real. Every time I take over, you're sent back to my last few living moments.
Keira felt her heart skip a beat as she continued to stare wide-eyed at her reflection.
"Then how-"
Keira was cut off as a sharp knocking sounded at her apartment door. She flicked her gaze back towards her bedroom and then looked back at her reflection in the mirror. She was in her pajama pants and t-shirt, what she usually slept in, and she quickly ran a hand through her newly colored black hair before rushing to the door.
Keira paused at the door, her hand on the knob as she looked through the peephole. It was Matt. She opened the door and let the relief wash over her as she collapsed into his arms.
"Matt! You're not going to believe this…you have to help me!" She cried as she squeezed him tightly. She felt his hands on her shoulders firmly push her away and she withdrew slowly as she realized he wasn't returning her embrace.
She stared up at her fiancé as he took in her disheveled appearance. His eyes were bloodshot which Keira took to mean that Lucille may have been telling the truth about going out drinking with him the night before. His brown hair was messy and he looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep either. His eyes landed on her hair and he scoffed a little.
"What did you do to your hair?" He asked, not really expecting an answer. Keira blinked and self-consciously tugged at a strand of her new dark colored hair. She studied him, confused at his sad expression.
"Matt…what's wrong?" She asked, feeling her heart twist at his cold gaze. He blinked and looked at the ground for a long moment.
"I…I've been thinking. About what happened last night…" He started. He shuffled his feet and shoved his hands into his pockets. Keira recognized both of those things as signs that he was nervous. He'd done the same thing when he'd proposed to her months ago.
"Matt…let me explain…" She said but he closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. She stopped and felt her throat tighten as tears welled up in her eyes.
"I don't need you to say anything. It,..It'll be easier if you just let me do this." He said. He opened his eyes and looked at her sadly, his deep blue eyes shining. "You've been acting…different lately and at first…I kinda liked it. But now I realize…that's not the person I fell in love with. You're not the same as what I'd originally thought you were."
"Matt...please…it's not me! It's-" Keira's voice faltered as Lucille quickly overtook her body. Keira still could see Matt's pain-filled eyes as he bit his lip and stared at her.
"What? What is it then, Keira?" Matt asked, crossing his arms in front of him. Keira felt herself smile halfheartedly.
"It's not me so…it must be you. Maybe I was trying to please you this whole time, and I just…got tired of it. And when I finally show my true colors, you don't appreciate it? I…I'm sorry." Lucille said. Keira internally shook her head in disbelief.
Outwardly, all Matt could see was Keira standing with her chin raised, tears streaming down her face. Her eyes were a cold green color as she stared him down fiercely through the shine of tears. He sighed as he looked at the ground once more.
"There you are again with your multiple personalities. I just don't know what to think anymore, Keira. Maybe this was a mistake." He said as he turned away. Lucille stared after him, her mouth tilting up into a slight smirk.
"…Matt!" Keira choked out as she mentally pushed herself forward. She could sense Lucille's surprised anger welling up inside her chest.
Matt slowly turned back towards Keira, hope in his eyes. Keira took a step forward and was suddenly shoved back by a painful shock as Lucille once more took control over her. Keira's mental strength was gone and all she could do was watch as she felt herself slide the blue engagement ring from her left hand.
"…You might want this back." She heard Lucille say softly in her voice. Keira choked back a sob as she unwillingly watched him take the ring gently from her outstretched hand. He nodded sadly at her once before turning away and walking down the hall.
Lucille…why…
"That's one thing out of the way." She heard Lucille mutter in her voice. She turned back to Keira's apartment and closed the door behind her. Lucille let Keira fall forward as she retreated to the back of her mind and the girl collapsed weakly to the floor, shaking with pained, silent sobs.
You're weak, you know. Just like I was.
Keira clenched her hand into a fist and squeezed her other arm around her middle as an empty feeling sank over her.
"What do you mean? Why do you keep torturing me like this?" She asked. Keira expected to hear Lucille's belittling laugh, but instead there was silence.
You're just like I was, Keira. I had a fiancé, I had a life. I was happy. And then it was all taken from me.
"…By who?" Keira asked through her tears. She could feel a throbbing pain in her chest where in the dream she'd been stabbed. Only, according to Lucille, it wasn't a dream. It was Lucille's memories.
You must have seen.
"…John? Y-your fiancé?" Keira asked. She felt a flash of pain as Lucille projected her feelings into her mind.
Yes. We were never supposed to be in that alley. But he took me down there and those two thugs came…it was an act though. When I came back, my own fiancé was the one to kill me.
"And that's why you're haunting me? To avenge yourself?" Keira asked, trying to put everything together. Lucille paused and then laughed quietly.
No, of course not. I'm fixing things back to the way they were. I'm going to have a second chance, thanks to you.
Keira froze as the ghost's words sank in and then she leapt to her feet as she felt Lucille's cold presence creep over her once more.
"No Lucille! I'm not letting you do this!" Keira cried as she ran to her room for the phone by her bed. She picked it up and quickly dialed, trying to remember the commercials she'd seen.
You can't stop me.
"Maybe I can't…but I know who can." She said, gritting her teeth and mentally shoving Lucille away. She heard the ghost growl in her growing anger.
"Ghostbusters." Keira heard a woman answer the phone after several rings. Keira paused for a moment before she quickly could form words.
"Can you tell Dr. Stantz that Keira Jackson is calling? It's an emergency." She said. The voice on the other end of the line sounded bored.
"He's not here right now, they're all out on a call. Can I take a message?"
Keira bit her lip and could feel Lucille struggling for control. The hand Keira held the phone with shook and slowly started to pull away from her ear.
"I'm on my way over. If I'm not there soon…then they should know what happened." Keira said as Lucille caused her to throw the phone across the room, ripping the cord from the wall in the process.
No one will know a thing!
Lucille's infuriated scream caused Keira's slight hangover to grow in intensity. She pressed her hands to the sides of her head, and kept mentally pushing the ghost back. After a long moment, she heard Lucille's sour laughter.
You're going to give in. You're only running on adrenaline now. But I can feel you weakening each time I take over.
The frigid cold sensation seeped around Keira's arms and down her forearms. Keira lashed out and grabbed a pocket knife from her nightstand where she'd stashed it for emergencies. Without thinking, she flicked it open and sliced it quickly across her left wrist.
Keira froze as she dropped the knife and covered her mouth in horror at what she'd done. She stared at the deep slice she had made and then screamed as, instead of blood, black liquid started to flow from the wound and down her arm. Her vision blurred as she felt Lucille creep closer to taking control.
Stupid girl. You think you can get rid of me that easily?
Keira made herself stumble to the front door of her apartment and out into the hall where the tenants surrounding her were opening their doors to investigate. Lucille's laughter echoed in her mind as people saw the cut on her wrist and scrambled to help her.
"911's on the way!" Someone shouted over the uproar in the hallway.
Keira's vision wavered and she felt the icy cold presence of Lucille as she attempted to pull Keira away from the crowd. Keira's spirit hovered towards the back of her mind as Lucille's anger took over at the people who were dragging her towards the paramedics rushing up the stairs.