What You See Isn't Always What You Get
Chap.6
"Annabel Lee…" The call was soft, yet still there. Slowly, Maddie turned to see Terri. "Remember when I'd always call you that?"
Terri's mental picture of Maddie was refreshed now, and he wanted so badly….
"Terri, you're dead. Please just accept it." Maddie begged him. Terri gestured to the mirror.
"Maddie, look! Look!" He called. In the mirror, Maddie saw a young red haired teenaged girl in jeans and a yellow top, a black haired boy hanging over her shoulder, gently kissing the yellow ribbon in her hair. "Don't you want it to be like this again?"
"Terri…."
"What do you mean Mom's in danger! Terri loves her! He's gonna save her from whatever danger that is!" Danny snapped.
"I'm afraid he can't do that, Danny. You see, Terri is that danger."
"How?" Sam was curious.
"Terri wants to rest in peace, and also to keep his promise to Maddie to always stay by her side. Apparently, he's figured the only way to do both is to take her with him to the afterlife."
"Which means….?" Tucker rolled his eyes at Brett.
"He's going to try to kill Maddie."
"Kill….? Step on it, Brett! I don't care if you have brake or not now, just get to my house now!"
"Maddie, look." Terri waved about. The house looked like the neighborhood when Terri was alive. "It's the ice cream parlor where we met." They were in the parlor. "Remember? I was working part time as a waiter….and I spilled a milkshake on your dress. We ended up sharing the one I brought to replace that one."
"Yes….we did." Maddie's memory of the present was becoming blurry, being lost to the world around her, the world that was when Terri was alive.
"Remember how we'd always talked about getting married?" Suddenly, Maddie was in a wedding dress, a bouquet in her hand and Terri at the other end of the church carpet.
"Yes…."
"Do you want to make that old dream a new reality?" Terri extended a hand.
"Yes….I….d-"
"MOM!" Brett's car crashed through a window, and Danny jumped out. "Mom, don't do it! He's trying to trick you into joining him in the afterlife!"
Maddie's head was clouded, and she hardly heard the voice at all.
"You have to come back! Come back to me…and Dad…and Jazz! But most importantly, Dad!"
Why did she want to go back to Jack? Terri was wiser, smarter, and much nicer than Jack ever was. Terri noticed her, he took care of her, he recognized her achievements. Why would she go back?
"Maddie, don't listen to him. He's just a kid, anyways. Don't you want to relive those moments we'd dreamed of?" Terri asked. Maddie reached out a white gloved hand.
"Mom, no!"
"I…." He hand tried to grasp Terri's ghostly one.
"No, Mom, no!"
"I do."
