Roman tried to make himself as small as possible which wasn't an easy task due to his size. There was no reason for him being at the triple funeral. He didn't know any of the three dead men. AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Three friends that had died in a car crash. He was there because Seth had asked him to.
Seth and AJ had been related somewhere far out. They knew each other but they weren't close. Seth was there to pay his final respect, and he had asked Roman to tag along for a very specific reason. There was someone Seth would like Roman to meet. Seth sat turned on the bench to keep his eyes on the people coming in through the door.
"There she is," Seth said. "That's Nissa."
Roman turned around to see her get in on a bench in the back. Her long, cappuccino brown hair was put in a low ponytail. She sat down and aimed her emerald green eyes in their direction. Roman was taken aback at how much they seemed to sparkle from afar.
"I know," Seth said. "She's very pretty."
"Indeed she is," Roman said.
Seth raised his hand and waved at her. She smiled and waved back. Her eyes moved to Roman. She smiled at him and then turned her eyes to the three coffins standing further ahead.
"You should go talk to her afterwards," Seth said.
"I will," Roman said. "Does she know about me?"
"No, I haven't told her anything. It's been a while since we last talked. Knowing her, she's probably gonna test you to make sure you're as legit as she is," Seth said.
"What do people think of her around here?" Roman asked.
"Some believe her, some don't," Seth shrugged. "She doesn't seem to give a fuck. She knows herself. Why bother worrying with people who don't believe her? It's not her problem in the end. She's not into some scamming business. She rarely lets anyone in on what's going on. She just does her shit and moves on."
"Seth!" Roman chuckled lowly. "You just used two cursewords inside of a church."
"Like there is a god," Seth chuckled too. "You of all people know we don't go to heaven or hell."
Nissa had disappeared right after the funeral. Seth didn't worry. Apparently he knew her very well and knew exactly where she always went after these sorts of events. He drove Roman to a coffee bar and parked outside.
"She's in there. Go talk to her," Seth said.
"You're not coming?" Roman asked.
"I'll be in your way," Seth said.
Seth handed Roman the car keys.
"I'm gonna walk home. Make sure my baby makes it home safe," Seth said.
"You love this car way too much," Roman laughed. "Don't worry, Seth. I'll treat her with respect."
"My car or Nissa?" Seth smirked.
"Both," Roman said. "Fuck, I'm actually nervous."
"Don't be. Nissa's pretty cool. She'll like you," Seth said.
They both got out of the car. Roman locked it and put the keys in his pocket. He waved at Seth and then walked inside the coffee bar. He looked around and spotted Nissa right away. Her long hair was no longer in a ponytail. It was hanging loose and framing her face in a way to make her even more beautiful.
"Damn!" Roman whispered.
"What can I get you?" The barista asked.
"Just a black coffee," Roman answered.
The coffee was served right away. He picked up the cup and walked down to Nissa's table. He sat down without asking permission. She raised her emerald green eyes and looked at him.
"I hear you can see ghosts too," he said.
She started smiling and leaned over the table just a bit.
"So that was why Seth was pointing me out," she said.
"I'm his friend. I'm in town to visit. He's told me a lot about you and figured we should meet. He says you're the only one in this town who's able to see ghosts so he thought you'd find it amusing to meet someone else," he said.
"Correction. I'm the only one in town admitting to it," she smirked. "And Seth assumes a lot about me and what I want apparently. I think I need to have a talk with him."
"Don't put all the blame on him. I wanted to meet someone like me too. I've never met anyone else with this ability. Most times people look at me like I'm crazy," he said.
She took a sip of her coffee and smiled at him again.
"Alright, let's see how legit you are," she said. "There are three ghosts in this room. Tell me who they are."
"That's a trick question. You're expecting me to say the three people we just buried and they're here, but there's actually four ghosts in this room," he said. "There's a guy behind you with long, dark hair. He doesn't look happy."
Her face dropped immediately. She turned her head and looked at the angry ghost behind her. She jumped up from the chair, left her half finished coffee behind and bolted out of the place. Roman got up too and hurried after her.
"Wait!" He yelled.
He ran in front of her to make her stop.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"That's my ex Elias. He won't let me go. Even in death, he won't fucking let me go. Over time he somehow figured out how to come close to me without me sensing him. Anyone getting too close to me, he'll seek them out and destroy them the only way he can figure out from beyond. By haunting the shit out of them. He can move things and touch people. He hurts people, Roman. And he'll hurt you too if you come near me again," she said.
"Why is he after you?" He asked.
"Because I killed him," she answered.
He held his breath at that information. She ran past him and disappeared fast down the road.
"Fuck!" He mumbled.
He ran to Seth's car and got in. He took off down the same road she had run. He was searching for her but he couldn't find her. He didn't know this town well enough. He knew he could get lost quickly so he gave up the search. Instead he drove back to Seth's house. Seth had just made it back from his walk and looked puzzled at seeing Roman return that fast. Roman parked the car and got out.
"She didn't believe you?" Seth asked.
"Who the fuck is Elias?" Roman asked angrily.
"Her ex," Seth said. "He's dead though."
"Yeah, I got that from his angry ghost showing his ugly face and chasing her away," Roman said. "You better fucking tell me what that's all about."
Seth sighed, found his keys and unlocked the front door.
"Elias was an abusive son of a bitch. The hell she went through in that relationship... Man! She was hurting, Roman. Like really fucking bad. We used to work together back then, and one late evening when we were the only two left, she just broke down and told me everything. That's how we ended up becoming friends. I was gonna get her out of there. We had a plan of her staying with me until she found a place of her own," Seth said.
"What happened?" Roman asked.
"Elias died so there was no point in her moving in with me. She found a new place and a new job, and moved on with her life from there," Seth said.
"She said she killed him," Roman said.
Seth looked surprised at that information, and then started shaking his head no.
"Of course Elias sees it that way," Seth said. "Elias had some funny ideas of how Nissa should prove her love to him. He would always do some crazy stunts to scare her and make her promise to never leave him. His final stunt was swallowing a bunch of painkillers. In his mind she was supposed to call 911 and save him. But she didn't. She was done. She walked in and saw him on the bed with the bottles next to him, and she walked right out again. She went out drinking that night and didn't return home until next morning when it was far too late to bring him back. She made her own escape out of that relationship. I'm the only one she ever told that to so don't go running your mouth."
"And he still won't let her go," Roman said.