Disclaimer: All of the original and familiar characters are property of Meg Cabot and her series The Mediator, but the plot and new faces are property of me.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 2"Father Dominic?" I stutter while dropping the hairbrush to the floor.
"Susannah," Father D says. Well, I should say his ghost says.
"Oh My God! What happened?" I scream.
"Susannah, you must remain calm." Father D. says to me while putting a hand on my shoulder.
"Calm? CALM! How can I when you're dead?" I shout at him and then feel the tears hit my cheeks. Crap…I hate crying.
"Susannah, please, you must understand. I am dead, yes, but I am not gone. I need your help. Something has happened to me—"
"Well duh!" I yell at him and then close my mouth. "Sorry, it's just…"
"A surprise?" Father Dom offers.
"Yeah, I mean I never thought you would leave me. I always thought you would be here for me. I can't believe that you're just gone…like that."
"I am not gone, Susannah. I am here, aren't I? Something has happened, Susannah, and I need your help. I will wait for you at the Mission. Meet me a midnight." I am about to protest about having school tomorrow, and that he should know better…but I know ghosts. And anyways, he shimmers, and poof, he's gone.
Jesus, I need help. I sit on my bed for minute…but I hurry up downstairs, 'cause Mom will kill me if I am late to dinner. "What the hell could have happened to Father Dom?" I ask my room before I go, but since nobody answers I fly down the steps.
I wipe my eyes before I enter the dinning room. Andy (I gotta remember to start calling him Dad), Mom, Sleep (Jake), Dopey (Brad), and my favorite, Doc (David) all look at me when I sit down in my seat.
"Sorry for taking so long." I say while placing my napkin in my lap.
"Did poor Suze have an episode?" Dopey asks me while smirking across the table. I try to ignore the fact that I just did have an episode.
"Oh my Gosh! You actually know a big word! If you can spell it, I'll give you five bucks!" I break out.
"E-p," Dopey begins, but then stops, and David, Jake and I laugh.
"Brad, Suzie," my mom says in her reporter voice. "Please, let's just eat.
"Fine," I say while putting a small portion of food on my plate. I don't intend to eat it, but it does look pretty darn tasty. It's shrimp and veggie kabobs. After serving myself, and my mom has something on her plate, Andy gives a nod to the boys, and they clean off the serving plates in the middle of the table. If boys are only good for one thing, it's the disposal of food. They can fit like five spoonfuls of cereal in their mouths, or six shrimp in their mouth, like Dopey is doing now, with his mouth open I might add.
"Brad!" Andy yells, after swallowing his own mouthful. "Take it easy son."
Brad swallows, and then says something while shoving another three shrimp in his mouth. "I had a hard practice today, Dad! I'm hungry." However, it comes out sounding more like this, "I ad a 'ard prac'ious 'oday, Ad! 'M ungie." He sounded like a child, but it's not much different from what he usually sound like.
I eat slowly (yeah, okay I was hungry). I still can't stop thinking about Father Dom… I can't believe he's left me. I guess it shows on my face too, because Andy asks me what's wrong.
"Nothing, I just fee like there is something wrong down at the Mission." Everybody quiets down; they all look at me with pitying eyes. I begin to fume.
"Sweetie," my mom starts. SHE KNOWS! "Suzie," she begins again. "Honey, I don't know how to tell you this, but—"
"Honey," Andy says to my mom, and I would have gagged if I wasn't so worried about Father Dom. "Suze, what your mother is trying to say is that…Well, something has happened to Father Dominic."
"He's dead!" Brad yells and smiles over at me, expecting me to like cry or something. Thank God I already know this, because I would hate to give him that satisfaction.
"BRAD!" Andy shouts at Dopey and wallops him on the crown of his head.
"Owww," Dopey complains while dropping his kabob on the table and clutching his head. "Whatcha do that for?"
"YOU ARE GROUNDED! FOR A MONTH!" Andy bellows at Dopey, while he turns bright pink. "GO TO YOUR ROOM! NOW!"
Brad leaps up, bounds out of the room, and if he had a tail, it would have been tucked between his legs.
"Oh, Suzie, I'm so sorry," Mom says while putting a hand on my shoulder.
"Can I be excused," I say loving the opportunity to leave the table.
"Yes, of course," Andy says even though I was clearly asking my mom. "I'll save you a couple of kabobs."
"Thank you, An-Dad."
"No problem kiddo," he says with a smile.
I get up to leave the table, and Doc asks if he can leave to. Andy says sure. I leave the dinning room and walk up the stairs to my room. Doc follows me all the way up.
"Suze?" Doc asks, when I'm halfway through my doorway.
"Yeah, Do-David?"
"Are you going to be okay?" David asks me with a concerned look on his face. He is the cutest of my stepbrothers. I mean like adorable cute, not hot cute, 'cause that would just be ew.
"I'll be fine, I just need to be alone for a while," I say subtly trying to hint that I want him to leave me alone, right now.
"Oh, well, I just have a question…"
"Yeah, David?" I ask him while drumming my fingers on the edge of the doorframe.
"Have you seen Father Dominic's, well, um, ghost?" Doc whispers that "ghost" part, with a sheepish look on his face.
"Yes, I did," I say nonchalantly.
"Oh, gosh, that must have been why you didn't look all that shocked or anything when Brad yelled that Father D was dead, huh?"
"Yeah," I say willing him to leave me alone. Usually I like talking to Doc, since he is like a prodigy, but not when I have stuff to do, like homework and catch a catnap.
"Okay, well, I guess, I'll just leave you alone." Doc turns to walk down the hall to his bedroom.
"Oh, hey, David," I say to him and he turns around. "Do you know what happened to him?"
"Yeah, he died in his sleep, from old age, they are pretty sure it was peaceful thought."
"He wasn't that old, David." Sleepy says while sauntering up to me.
David blushes, and then gives me a small smile, and then walks briskly down to his room. Sleepy looks over at me, "You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine," I say and then shut the door on him. I know I shouldn't have, but I felt like being mean…why does everyone think I am this fragile little china doll?
When I am safely in my room, I begin working on my homework. (Pre Calc equals yuck.) After a couple of minutes, Andy yells up that the phone is for me. Already knowing who it is, I bound over and I feel my breath catch while I put the receiver to my ear.