A Neverending Story

Chapter Five-A Temporary Truce

Paint peeled from the old, cracked ceiling that hung over my head. I stared it, briefly wondering where I was, before recognizing the familiar tiles. I mentally traced the pattern in my head, the same pattern I had always stared up into nights, when I was alive, when lay awake not sleeping.

I rolled over and glanced at the digital alarm clock that now occupied the bedside table. Technologies such as these were foreign to me, but I managed to figure out what time it was.

One thirty.

I sat up abruptly and found a dull ache in my side, once again reminding me of the past night's events. I momentarily blocked the memories out of my mind. Frantically, I looked around, searching everywhere for…

Jesse.

Where was he? This was his, room, right? What was he doing adventuring around somewhere else? Right now I needed to talk to him, needed to ask him what had happened last night. The last thing I remembered was a piece of wood sticking through my stomach like a stake…and blood, oh, lots of blood.

Now, don't take me for a…what do they call it nowadays? Oh yes. A wimp. I wasn't, by any means. Just because I'm dead doesn't mean I don't get woozy from that much blood. Ghosts bleed, but they just heal faster than the living. I mean, judging from the fact that I only had a slight ache in my abdomen, I was pretty much healed. Still, a few blood stains on my shirt remained, but I was sure they would fade in a couple of hours.

I carefully got up off of the bed that I had been lying on and started pacing. By now, I had figured out that he was probably at school, but that didn't cure my case of uneasiness. I glanced over at the bed again, and my eyes widened.

The realization struck me. It was his bed I had been lying in! So…not a big deal, right? Well, it was for me, as a girl who had been born in the 1800s. I had barely been in a man's bedroom outside of my family, let alone on his bed. I mean, I was a lady! I didn't exactly go lying in men's beds all the time.

As I was thinking that, I also noticed something I hadn't before. Lying on the pillow next to where I had previously been lying was a blank white sheet of paper, folded neatly in half. I stared at it curiously and then made a move to open it. Unfolding it carefully, I saw a small, carefully written note lettered in black ink:

Susannah-

I hope you have recovered from your wounds and are in better condition than you were last night. I'm at school, so I'll explain everything to you when I return home.

Jesse

I looked at the note, astonished. Despite my first impression of the guy, he seemed to actually be kind of…thoughtful. Besides, he had cared for me after I was hurt, even after I had been so rude to him. Maybe it was time to give him a second chance.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­The chance came around three o'clock, when he arrived home from school. I was sitting on the window seat, staring out at the ocean like I had done so many times before he had arrived. I turned when the door to his room opened, but he didn't seem to notice me at first. He walked in, his backpack slung over his shoulder, and kicked off his shoes, and dropped his backpack next to them. I finally cleared my throat to get his attention.

He glanced at me, and then looked surprised. "Susannah! I didn't see you there," he said. For some reason, he looked slightly embarrassed. I didn't say anything.

"So, it seems that you've recovered? I'm glad. You seemed to be in pretty bad shape last night," he continued, ignoring my silence.

I just looked at him. Why was he being so…nice? I had yelled at him, said that I could deal with Heather alone, and then fainted because of a few splinters. Okay, maybe slightly more than just a few splinters, but all the same, I had left him to deal with a murderous ghost all on his own. Wasn't he the least bit angry with me?

"Aren't you…upset?" I asked testily. Predictably, he looked surprised, once again.

"Upset? Why would I be upset? It wasn't your fault that you were stabbed the way you were, which caused you to pass out like that," he said.

"No, I mean about earlier. How I treated you. How I said that I would be the one to deal with Heather, when you're the mediator now. I guess I just wanted to be…I don't know…useful, I guess," I explained.

Jesse's face softened. "Its okay, querida. I know that you were just trying to help me out, but believe me, I am more than capable to handle ghosts, even ones as violent as Heather."

His words were kind, but although I had said that I would try harder to be friends with him, I didn't fully trust him.

"What does that mean?" I asked, more sharply than I had intended.

"What…what are you talking about?" he said. He sounded nervous.

"That word! What did you call me?" I knew he was trying to be nice, but I don't like being called stuff in Spanish. Especially when the words could be potential insults.

"I didn't call you anything," he said simply, but before I could ask him more, he took one of his books out of his backpack and began working on his homework.

I sighed inwardly. Fine. If he wasn't going to tell me anything, then I wasn't about to ask. But I really just wanted to know…

"Er…Jesse? What…what happened after I…you know, fainted. With Heather, I mean. Did she…um…do anything else to you?" Hey, I know, not my most articulate, but he could deal with that.

He looked up from the problem he was working on, and said plainly, "Don't worry, I had it under control. She won't be bothering us for awhile."

Seeing that this answer satisfied me, he went back to his homework. I once again stared out the window, but truthfully I was lonely. I wanted his company. I hadn't had anyone to talk to for 150 years, and when I did have the chance to have a conversation, he's sitting there doing his homework!

But…I had one more question nagging at me, so I decided to interrupt him for a second. I mean, was homework that important that he couldn't answer my questions? I hesitated for a second, unsure of whether it was alright to ask my question. Before I could change my mind, I blurted it out.

"Um, Jesse? I just wanted to know…why did you come down to help me with Heather? I mean, I can't die, that's for sure. So why? You knew she was dangerous, but you came anyway," I said in a rush. Surprisingly, he looked embarrassed, but I wondered why.

"Well…" he started, "you may be a ghost, but you are still a young girl. Or the spirit of a young girl. And I wasn't about to see you get beaten to a bloody pulp for doing nothing wrong in the first place." I stared at him, into his deep, dark eyes, and he stared right back. Our gazes locked, and I swear I saw something flicker on his face. He opened his mouth slightly, as if he were trying to tell me something, but the door to his room opened at that precise moment.

"Hey, JESSEEEE! Get your butt down here, its dinner! I've been callin' ya for like 10 minutes!" the girl shouted. His sister, who appeared to be around 13, whined to him unpleasantly while standing in the doorframe, her hands on her hips in a stern pose.

He quickly looked away from me and said to his sister, "No, you were not calling me, I would have heard you. But yes, I will be downstairs soon. Just wait a second, I have to finish this problem," he said, motioning to his half finished worksheet. His sister rolled her eyes but disappeared from the doorway.

Jesse seemed to be avoiding my gaze. His eyes still downcast, he cleared his throat.

"Well, I'd better be going. To eat dinner, I mean," he said. He glanced up at me quickly and then turned to head out the door. Once the door was closed firmly behind him, I let out my breath. Blowing a stray piece of hair out of my eyes, I wondered silently: what was THAT all about? That awkward silence, all of that tension between us. Just when I thought that we were on our way to becoming friends, too. Oh well, there was always tomorrow.

And considering the lack of excitement I'd had for the past 150, I had a feeling that last nights events were just a warm-up act for the real show.

Hey, thanks so much for all your reviews! (they're really encouraging.) Sorry that this chapter wasn't the longest, but I'll update soon. And finally, I feel like the story is actually kind of getting started. The first few chapters were more of an...introduction.

So now that the story is on it's way, I need to put Paul in there, right? (I mean come on, you don't have a story without him). But I'm kind of stuck on how to put him into the story, so could you maybe give me some ideas? Thanks alot!