A/N: Hey. First of all, thank you for your reviews!! You rock. I didn't
really like this chapter as much as the others, but I promise there are
juicier chapters coming. Not that this chapter isn't juicy, I mean, there
is a little bit of juice. But not as much as I would like. If you're really
thirsty, though, any juice is good. Especially if it's "you" juice. Oops,
I'm getting off track. Enjoy!
Susannah:
I don't know what it was. But it wasn't good. Maybe those old mediator instincts at work again, but I had a bad feeling. A feeling that something was wrong, very wrong, with Jesse.
I must have dialed Father Dom's number 20 times, but he never picked up. Not once. As I was dialing again, I heard a loud knock on the front door, and a voice I recognized asking to see me.
"Suze!" My mother called. "Cade is here to see you." So I set the telephone down and jogged up to the front door. Cade was standing there looking really sweet in his black combat boots and a black vintage t-shirt that said Cougars in bold white letters, smiling at me in this sympathetic way.
"Hi, Suze," he said. "I came over last night but you were asleep. And I was worried about you after you ran off like that. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah," I said. "It's just that...well, I ..." It's just that Paul is a freaking jerk and I can't possibly believe that you are related to him. That's what I should have, and was about to, say. It was just that my mom was standing right next to us listening intently.
"Um," I said to my mother, while giving her one of those get-out-of- here looks. "Do you think you could let us talk? Alone?"
"Oh, yeah of course, Suzie." She said and hurried away to join Andy, who was watching ESPN in the living room.
"So," I said, "Do you think we could take a walk or something?"
"Sure," he replied lightly, and we stepped out onto my front porch. The sun was blazing down on the rooftops, and I was getting really warm, on account of my dark hair. I hadn't taken the time to get dressed this morning, because I was so busy trying to get a hold of Father D, so I was still wearing a pink tank with my denim skirt from yesterday. Although Cade didn't seem to notice, and if he did, he didn't care enough to mention it.
"Yeah, well, it's just that Paul went to my school, back in Carmel. And, well, we don't really...get along." I said, choosing my words with great care. I should have told him why we don't get along. And about how he exorcized my boyfriend, but then he might have thought I was crazy.
"Oh," he said, then changed the subject and said, "I know that we've only known each other for a few days, but I really like you Suze. You're not like any girls around here. You're beautiful, and smart, and independent. I like that."
But before I could tell him that I wasn't any of those things and that he couldn't possibly like me because I have a dead boyfriend back in Carmel who needs me, he kissed me. Right there in broad daylight, too. It was a nice kiss. And I'll admit it, I kissed him back. But only until I remembered Jesse--which really only took me about 3 seconds--and stepped back.
"Cade," I said, feeling my face heat up with embarassment. "I really like you, too, but I don't think this is going to work out." I know. I know. I should have told him about Jesse. But I couldn't. And I already told him that I didn't have a boyfriend, so he'd just think of me as a liar. And I didn't want that because I really do like Cade. Just not in the same way he likes me.
"Why not?" Cade wanted to know as we stepped into my driveway. I had already turned around a while back so we were back in front of my house.
"It's just that, I kind of--" But I didn't get the chance to tell him about Jesse--even though I was so close to really telling him--because my mom opened the front door and said, "Oh, Suze, you're home. Father Dominic is on the phone. He wants to talk to you."
Oh, God. Father Dominic. Jesse. Right.
I said good-bye to Cade and was already rushing inside when he grabbed my wrist. I turned around and looked down on his big hand clutching my wrist, and up at him.
Then he said, in this deep voice, "Think about what I said," and walked away, his hands in his jean pockets.
As I approached the door, my mother held the phone out to me and whispered, "He sounds upset. What's wrong, Suzie?"
I told her that I would tell her later, even though I probably wouldn't, and held the phone to my ear.
"Father Dom?" I said, taking a seat on the swing on my front porch. "What's going on? I called you like 50 times! What happened to Jesse? Why'd you hang up? Is he okay? What happened? Was it Paul?" I'm not even sure of what I said, I just blurted out everything that was on my mind, which was a lot, by the way.
"Susannah." Father Dom said. "You must calm down."
"Alright. But what's wrong?"
"The reason I dropped the telephone was because Jesse sat up. But then the strangest thing happened, Susannah. He asked me who I was. I think he has lost all memory of us, Susannah. He then ran out of my office, and...Susannah? Susannah are you there?"
When Father Dom mentioned the part about Jesse not knowing who he was, I pulled the phone away from my ear and just stared at it. Like I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Because I couldn't.
"Yeah... I'm here." I said, in a faint voice. Jesse didn't recognize Father Dom? That means...he wouldn't recognize me. He wouldn't remember that he loved me. But why? Why?
"Well," Father Dom said. "Susannah. I think that...I don't know how, but I believe Jesse is alive again. I watched him as he walked out into the courtyard, and the students could see him... Susannah? Susannah, are you still there?" But I wasn't. Not entirely. Because it was my turn to hang up.
Jesse...alive. Jesse, my Jesse, is alive. Living. That means we can finally be together. Finally.
But then I remembered that he is on the other side of the country. And even if by some miracle we do see eachother, he won't even know who I am.
Frozen inside without your touch
Without your love, darling
Only you are the life among the dead
Jesse:
I read the headstone over and over again, yet it still would not sink in. This must be somebody's idea of a sick practical joke.
Yes, that's what it was. A joke. Something my good friend Jose set up just to scare me. His idea of a joke. That was it.
I tore my eyes away from my head stone and hurried back to the priests office, hoping he could explain to me what was going on. I ran carelessly, bumping into people and not bothering to say sorry. At least that was what I was doing until someone I bumped into said, "Whoa, de Silva, what's your problem?"
He knew my name? Who was this? I turned around to look at him. He looked about my age with curly brown hair, but I didn't recognize him.
"Who are you?" I asked him. But he just looked at me like I'm crazy. And when I walked away to find the priest, he followed me. I just ignored him and everyone else who was staring at me and strutted into the priest's office.
"Jesse," he said as he saw me entering the office. "Mr. Slater. Please sit. I think we need to talk." We both wordlessly sat down in the wooden chairs across from him. "Jesse, you don't know who am, do you?"
I shook my head.
"I see," he said. "First of all, I am Father Dominic and this is Paul Slater." He motioned toward the boy sitting next to me. "Jesse, I know that this might seem hard to believe, but you are...a ghost. Well, you were a ghost. I don't know how it happened, but you are alive again." He then stopped, and seemed to be waiting for a response. But I was speechless. He really expected me to believe that I was a ghost? That is the craziest thing I have ever heard.
Actually, the more I thought about it, the less crazy it seemed to be. How else would you explain the graveyard? And I know that Jose could never pay someone to make all that strange clothing for all of these people.
But that still didn't mean I was a ghost. I mean, that's just crazy. This was probably all a dream. No, a nightmare.
I think the priest noticed my skepticism, because he said, "Jesse, I hope you realize that I, being who I am, would never lie to you."
"I don't know..." I said, still not believing. "How can I know that someone didn't put you up to this?"
"Because," I heard the boy, Paul, say suddenly. "Your name is Hector de Silva. You were engaged to your cousin, Maria de Silva, but broke off your engagement because you heard some nasty things about her and a certain slave runner, Felix Diego. Then when you were staying at a boarding house Diego murdered you, buried your body in Suze's backyard, and then married Maria." I couldn't help wincing at the part about Diego buring my body.
Then I blinked at him. "How...how did you know about Maria? And Diego?" I understood everything about Maria, and Diego. But I was lost when he began about the boarding house, and the person named Suze and my body being in her backyard.
Paul sighed, exasperated. "Because. What Father Dominic says is true. You were a ghost. Now, what do you remember?"
"What?" I said, still trying to comprehend everything he had just told me.
"What I think he means is," Father Dominic said, "what do you remember before you came here?"
"Well," I said, thinking very hard about what had happened. "I remember...a girl. She had very green eyes. She had a very bright object in her hands. Then I woke up in my bedroom, and my father took me to Maria's house. He asked me to marry Maria. But I couldn't, because, like Paul said, I heard rumors about her and Diego. Then the next thing I knew, I was here."
"Very strange," said Father Dominic. "Green eyes, you say. Very strange. And what was this light like?"
"Look," Paul said. "Jesse is alive. There's really no point in trying to figure out why. He just is. And I suggest that he changes into some more modern clothes because he is attracting a lot of attention in those."
I looked down at my shirt and pants. "What...these? What's wrong with my clothes?" I asked Paul.
"Well, for one thing," Paul said. "You look like a freaking p--"
"I think," said Father Dominic loudly, "That Jesse should change. So why don't you two stay here and I will be back in no more than half an hour." He then grabbed his keys and coat and scrambled out and into the courtyard.
"So," Paul said to me. "You know Suze? Or Susannah?"
That name. It sounded familiar, but I had never met a Susannah. "No," I told him, "I don't know her. Who is she?"
"Oh," said Paul casually. "She's my girlfriend."
A/N: Bad Paul. Stupid Paul. What is he thinking? I don't know. But please tell me what you're thinking by reviewing!!!!!! Love, Luna.
Susannah:
I don't know what it was. But it wasn't good. Maybe those old mediator instincts at work again, but I had a bad feeling. A feeling that something was wrong, very wrong, with Jesse.
I must have dialed Father Dom's number 20 times, but he never picked up. Not once. As I was dialing again, I heard a loud knock on the front door, and a voice I recognized asking to see me.
"Suze!" My mother called. "Cade is here to see you." So I set the telephone down and jogged up to the front door. Cade was standing there looking really sweet in his black combat boots and a black vintage t-shirt that said Cougars in bold white letters, smiling at me in this sympathetic way.
"Hi, Suze," he said. "I came over last night but you were asleep. And I was worried about you after you ran off like that. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah," I said. "It's just that...well, I ..." It's just that Paul is a freaking jerk and I can't possibly believe that you are related to him. That's what I should have, and was about to, say. It was just that my mom was standing right next to us listening intently.
"Um," I said to my mother, while giving her one of those get-out-of- here looks. "Do you think you could let us talk? Alone?"
"Oh, yeah of course, Suzie." She said and hurried away to join Andy, who was watching ESPN in the living room.
"So," I said, "Do you think we could take a walk or something?"
"Sure," he replied lightly, and we stepped out onto my front porch. The sun was blazing down on the rooftops, and I was getting really warm, on account of my dark hair. I hadn't taken the time to get dressed this morning, because I was so busy trying to get a hold of Father D, so I was still wearing a pink tank with my denim skirt from yesterday. Although Cade didn't seem to notice, and if he did, he didn't care enough to mention it.
"Yeah, well, it's just that Paul went to my school, back in Carmel. And, well, we don't really...get along." I said, choosing my words with great care. I should have told him why we don't get along. And about how he exorcized my boyfriend, but then he might have thought I was crazy.
"Oh," he said, then changed the subject and said, "I know that we've only known each other for a few days, but I really like you Suze. You're not like any girls around here. You're beautiful, and smart, and independent. I like that."
But before I could tell him that I wasn't any of those things and that he couldn't possibly like me because I have a dead boyfriend back in Carmel who needs me, he kissed me. Right there in broad daylight, too. It was a nice kiss. And I'll admit it, I kissed him back. But only until I remembered Jesse--which really only took me about 3 seconds--and stepped back.
"Cade," I said, feeling my face heat up with embarassment. "I really like you, too, but I don't think this is going to work out." I know. I know. I should have told him about Jesse. But I couldn't. And I already told him that I didn't have a boyfriend, so he'd just think of me as a liar. And I didn't want that because I really do like Cade. Just not in the same way he likes me.
"Why not?" Cade wanted to know as we stepped into my driveway. I had already turned around a while back so we were back in front of my house.
"It's just that, I kind of--" But I didn't get the chance to tell him about Jesse--even though I was so close to really telling him--because my mom opened the front door and said, "Oh, Suze, you're home. Father Dominic is on the phone. He wants to talk to you."
Oh, God. Father Dominic. Jesse. Right.
I said good-bye to Cade and was already rushing inside when he grabbed my wrist. I turned around and looked down on his big hand clutching my wrist, and up at him.
Then he said, in this deep voice, "Think about what I said," and walked away, his hands in his jean pockets.
As I approached the door, my mother held the phone out to me and whispered, "He sounds upset. What's wrong, Suzie?"
I told her that I would tell her later, even though I probably wouldn't, and held the phone to my ear.
"Father Dom?" I said, taking a seat on the swing on my front porch. "What's going on? I called you like 50 times! What happened to Jesse? Why'd you hang up? Is he okay? What happened? Was it Paul?" I'm not even sure of what I said, I just blurted out everything that was on my mind, which was a lot, by the way.
"Susannah." Father Dom said. "You must calm down."
"Alright. But what's wrong?"
"The reason I dropped the telephone was because Jesse sat up. But then the strangest thing happened, Susannah. He asked me who I was. I think he has lost all memory of us, Susannah. He then ran out of my office, and...Susannah? Susannah are you there?"
When Father Dom mentioned the part about Jesse not knowing who he was, I pulled the phone away from my ear and just stared at it. Like I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Because I couldn't.
"Yeah... I'm here." I said, in a faint voice. Jesse didn't recognize Father Dom? That means...he wouldn't recognize me. He wouldn't remember that he loved me. But why? Why?
"Well," Father Dom said. "Susannah. I think that...I don't know how, but I believe Jesse is alive again. I watched him as he walked out into the courtyard, and the students could see him... Susannah? Susannah, are you still there?" But I wasn't. Not entirely. Because it was my turn to hang up.
Jesse...alive. Jesse, my Jesse, is alive. Living. That means we can finally be together. Finally.
But then I remembered that he is on the other side of the country. And even if by some miracle we do see eachother, he won't even know who I am.
Frozen inside without your touch
Without your love, darling
Only you are the life among the dead
Jesse:
I read the headstone over and over again, yet it still would not sink in. This must be somebody's idea of a sick practical joke.
Yes, that's what it was. A joke. Something my good friend Jose set up just to scare me. His idea of a joke. That was it.
I tore my eyes away from my head stone and hurried back to the priests office, hoping he could explain to me what was going on. I ran carelessly, bumping into people and not bothering to say sorry. At least that was what I was doing until someone I bumped into said, "Whoa, de Silva, what's your problem?"
He knew my name? Who was this? I turned around to look at him. He looked about my age with curly brown hair, but I didn't recognize him.
"Who are you?" I asked him. But he just looked at me like I'm crazy. And when I walked away to find the priest, he followed me. I just ignored him and everyone else who was staring at me and strutted into the priest's office.
"Jesse," he said as he saw me entering the office. "Mr. Slater. Please sit. I think we need to talk." We both wordlessly sat down in the wooden chairs across from him. "Jesse, you don't know who am, do you?"
I shook my head.
"I see," he said. "First of all, I am Father Dominic and this is Paul Slater." He motioned toward the boy sitting next to me. "Jesse, I know that this might seem hard to believe, but you are...a ghost. Well, you were a ghost. I don't know how it happened, but you are alive again." He then stopped, and seemed to be waiting for a response. But I was speechless. He really expected me to believe that I was a ghost? That is the craziest thing I have ever heard.
Actually, the more I thought about it, the less crazy it seemed to be. How else would you explain the graveyard? And I know that Jose could never pay someone to make all that strange clothing for all of these people.
But that still didn't mean I was a ghost. I mean, that's just crazy. This was probably all a dream. No, a nightmare.
I think the priest noticed my skepticism, because he said, "Jesse, I hope you realize that I, being who I am, would never lie to you."
"I don't know..." I said, still not believing. "How can I know that someone didn't put you up to this?"
"Because," I heard the boy, Paul, say suddenly. "Your name is Hector de Silva. You were engaged to your cousin, Maria de Silva, but broke off your engagement because you heard some nasty things about her and a certain slave runner, Felix Diego. Then when you were staying at a boarding house Diego murdered you, buried your body in Suze's backyard, and then married Maria." I couldn't help wincing at the part about Diego buring my body.
Then I blinked at him. "How...how did you know about Maria? And Diego?" I understood everything about Maria, and Diego. But I was lost when he began about the boarding house, and the person named Suze and my body being in her backyard.
Paul sighed, exasperated. "Because. What Father Dominic says is true. You were a ghost. Now, what do you remember?"
"What?" I said, still trying to comprehend everything he had just told me.
"What I think he means is," Father Dominic said, "what do you remember before you came here?"
"Well," I said, thinking very hard about what had happened. "I remember...a girl. She had very green eyes. She had a very bright object in her hands. Then I woke up in my bedroom, and my father took me to Maria's house. He asked me to marry Maria. But I couldn't, because, like Paul said, I heard rumors about her and Diego. Then the next thing I knew, I was here."
"Very strange," said Father Dominic. "Green eyes, you say. Very strange. And what was this light like?"
"Look," Paul said. "Jesse is alive. There's really no point in trying to figure out why. He just is. And I suggest that he changes into some more modern clothes because he is attracting a lot of attention in those."
I looked down at my shirt and pants. "What...these? What's wrong with my clothes?" I asked Paul.
"Well, for one thing," Paul said. "You look like a freaking p--"
"I think," said Father Dominic loudly, "That Jesse should change. So why don't you two stay here and I will be back in no more than half an hour." He then grabbed his keys and coat and scrambled out and into the courtyard.
"So," Paul said to me. "You know Suze? Or Susannah?"
That name. It sounded familiar, but I had never met a Susannah. "No," I told him, "I don't know her. Who is she?"
"Oh," said Paul casually. "She's my girlfriend."
A/N: Bad Paul. Stupid Paul. What is he thinking? I don't know. But please tell me what you're thinking by reviewing!!!!!! Love, Luna.