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There's a ghost

She's wearing my face

At parties being introduced with my name

Just a skeleton of bones, wearing nothing but clothes

and she is paralyzing

- "There's a Ghost" by Fleurie

Lenore sat in on the other side of Lachlan as they drove towards the hotel. She had been silent for the majority of the ride, occasionally answering a question of Lachlan's. The silence must have made him uncomfortable because he suddenly blurted out, "My dad's gay."

Will's head snapped in the direction of his son before giving an uncomfortable smile, "Lachlan, I'm sure Lenore isn't interested in that."

Lenore reached up and held the back of her hand to her lips to hide a smile before looking at Lachlan, "That's...good to know."

"Does it bother you?" the boy asked, making her frown.

"It bothers some people," Lachlan continued, looking down at the ball he had pulled out of his pocket.

Looking over at Will, Lenore could see how uncomfortable he was at the sudden mention of his sexuality but if Lenore was honest, it never made a difference to her. She didn't see why people made such a big deal out of who a person fell in love with. You can't control who you fall in love with. Though she really wasn't an expert. She had never been in love before.

Clearing her throat, she said, "No, it doesn't bother me."

Looking up at her, he gave a small smile and a nod, "Good."

As Lenore looked up, Will caught her eye and he mouthed the words, "thank you" silently. She gave a soft smile before looking out the window.

Soon enough they arrived at the hotel. Stepping out, Lenore went to unpack her things but Will stopped her, "Leave it, we'll send someone to get your things."

"Are you sure?" she asked, somewhat uncomfortable with making someone else carry her things.

He reached out and ushered her towards the hotel. As she grew closer to the tall building, Lenore saw a short, somewhat portly woman approach them. She wore a blue dress suit and her hair was blonde and near perfectly arranged on the top of her head. She practically screamed realtor.

Lenore didn't like her at all.

"The rain may have stopped, but it's still a gloomy day," the woman said, escorting them towards the entrance of the hotel, "I had to put my dog down."

Lenore stared at the back of her head and arched an eyebrow slightly before sharing a look with Will, who seemed just as irked by this comment as she was.

"He came to me under...unusual circumstances but you don't need to hear about that," she continued, "right this way!"

Lenore thanked Will as he held the door open for her. It was glass with golden inlays that resembled sun rays. He gave her a smile as she walked in front of him, behind the realtor. Her name turned out to be Marcy.

"So many of these old buildings around here are time capsules, locked away by an impersonal bank trust," Marcy commented as she placed her umbrella in the caddy near the entrance.

Will looked around the hotel's lobby as he walked with confidence, "I prefer dealing with a trust. Anonymous, Unsentimental."

Lenore stood back as Will spoke with Marcy. Lachlan ran ahead, playing with the small bouncy ball he had in his hand. A small smile emerged on her face as she looked up at the light fixtures. They were beautiful. Turning on her heels, she saw a bar area on the second floor that overlooked the lobby.

She stopped on a dime as she was met with a pair of striking dark, brown eyes staring down at her. A glimpse is all she caught of him. He had been smiling down at her and had lifted his glass in greeting before she heard her name being called.

Turning, she saw Will waving her over. Looking back up, Lenore saw that the man was gone. But he wasn't a man. For as long as she could remember, Lenore had seen and heard the voices of the dead. She just...knew if someone was dead. It was like there was this feeling came over her and it sent off warning bells in her head. When she saw the man standing above her, those warning bells had started ringing.

Turing around, Lenore saw an older woman approaching Will and Marcy. Lachlan came running over and leaned against his father. The woman had short, gray hair and had a pair of large, round glasses on her face.

"Can I help you?" she asked, a frown on her face.

Lenore fiddled with the bottom of the sleeve of her cardigan as she sensed some agitation from the woman as she looked at Marcy with contempt.

Marcy turned to the woman and said, "I'm the realtor representing the sale. We're here for the walk through. We'll let you know if we need anything."

From behind the reception area a man...well a woman, with a bald head and lavish makeup looked on, remained silent as the older woman said, "Sale? What sale?"

"I know it was a whisper listing but surely," Marcy began, looking at the two employees with some irritation, "surely the owner should have told you."

The older woman put a hand on her hip as she said, "Nobody tells me shit. I haven't even met the owner!"

"Well you have now dear," Marcy said, holding out her hand towards Will, "This is the new owner, Mr. Will Drake."

From that moment, Marcy ignored the woman and turned to Will. Lenore felt bad for them and somewhat invasive. She gave them an apologetic look before she felt her arm being pulled i the direction of the elevator and heard Will mumble, "Let's go Lenore."

"Sorry," she muttered as she turned forward and followed Will on to the elevator.

As they rode up the elevator, Lenore continued to admire the interior of the hotel as she looked through the clear doors of the elevator.

"I don't have to go with you Mr. Drake," Lenore said as they stood in silence, "I don't want to be a bother."

Will looked down at her and said, "It's not a problem and call me Will. Have you ever thought about going into fashion?"

Taken aback by the question, Lenore looked down at her feet and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, "Um, no."

"You have beautiful bone structure and your skin is flawless," Will complimented, making her blush.

"Your sense of fashion on the other hand...you shouldn't hide under those frumpy cardigans," he said, making the blush deepen with embarrassment.

The elevator door opened and Lenore quickly stepped off to try and evade anymore talk of fashion and her clothes. The penthouse was large and had long, thick red curtains that covered the windows.

Lenore stood to the side as Marcy guided Will and Lachlan further into the room, walking around the large, circular couch towards the covered window. Marcy headed straight for the curtains and pushed them open, allowing the bright sunlight to enter the room.

"The clouds of cleared! Sight lines all the way to the Pacific-" Marcy described only to be interrupted by a growling male voice, "Close it! The light!"

Confused, Lenore watched as Will pulled out a cap and covered Lachlan's face just as a man with dark brown hair sat up on the couch, shielding his face with his hand, "Who the hell are you people?"

Lenore gasped and her hands flew to her mouth as the man stood and was met with the sight of his naked ass. The man turned at her gasp and her face grew hot when she saw all of him. She turned around to stare at the wall and heard a slight chuckle before hearing the man say to the others, "What are you doing in my room?"


The smell hit her before Elizabeth saw the timid, young woman enter the room. Donovan had come barreling in in only his underwear and a silk robe that showed all to see his physique. She had not expected Will Drake to arrive with a woman.

Ignoring Donovan, Elizabeth turned on her heels as she grasped two tumblers in her hands.

"Will Drake, I'm so pleased to meet you!"

The man in question looked at Elizabeth as she made her way towards him, "I was incredibly impressed with the gown you made for Mrs. Obama, it was for the state dinner for the-"

"Yes, kind of you to mention," Will said with a slight smile.

Elizabeth extended one of the glasses for him to take but he shook his head and held up a hand, "I'm on a cleanse."

Grinning, Elizabeth said ,"Not anymore."

Letting out an airy chuckle, Will took the drink reluctantly and saluted Elizabeth before taking a sip.

Elizabeth's eyes darted over to the unknown woman. She couldn't help but let a sultry smile emerge as she walked towards her, "And you? What's your name?"

Lenore felt uneasy under the Elizabeth's gaze and looked down at her hands, "L-Lenore."

Chuckling slightly, Elizabeth reached out and lifted Lenore's chin to better look at her face. Her eyes drank in Lenore's flawless skin and the smell of her blood was like nothing Elizabeth had ever encountered. It was sweet and if she dare say, alluring.

"You're a shy one, aren't you?" she asked.

Donovan watched on with curiosity as Elizabeth seemed to gravitate towards the young woman. He thought the girl was a bit frumpy looking and resembled a dog that had been kicked one too many times. But he knew there was something more. There was something about her blood. He could smell it and wanted nothing more than to cut open her pretty throat and drink her dry. Perhaps Elizabeth was thinking the same thing.

It was the sound of Will scolding Lachlan that broke Elizabeth out of her trance, "-honestly, fingerprints are really hard to get off."

Lenore took this opportunity to step away, something Donovan caught as he watched on. As Will noticed a piece of Elizabeth's art collection and Elizabeth spoke with the fashion designer, who spoke of something about energy and New York, Donovan approached the young woman as she attempted to make herself small and unnoticeable in a corner of the room.

"I'm Donovan," he whispered in her ear, causing her to jump and turn around quickly.

She brushed against his bare chest and she took a step back, gasping slightly in a way that made her innocently adorable.

Lenore was confused as to why the man who had just stormed into the room, full of anger at the idea of Will taking over the hotel, would suddenly talk to her so calmly. Unsure of what to say, she hesitantly said, "I'm sorry."

Donovan looked down at her with uncertainty, "For what?"

She lifted her large, round eyes at him and said, "About the hotel, I don't think Will knew everything."

Ignoring her comments, Donovan placed his hands on his hips, splaying out his torso more promptly for Lenore to see. He smirked arrogantly as he saw her cheeks grow more rosie as she averted her eyes.

"What do you do for Will Drake exactly?" he asked, wanting to know more about the man who had shanghaied them.

She bit her lip and for some reason his eyes darted down at them and noticed how full and soft they looked. Shaking his head, he listened as she said, "He hired me."

Not satisfied with the simple answer, he rolled his eyes, "To do what exactly?"

"He wants me to paint something for the hotel," she explained further, uncomfortable under his scrutinizing eye.

"So you're an artist," Donovan said dryly before snorting and walking away from Lenore, making her feel all the more uncomfortable after his rude departure.

She watched as Donovan approached Elizabeth and Will once again and after Will finished speaking of his disappointment with New York, Donovan snided, "And where are weirdos like us suppose to live? Hear any songs about that?"

Elizabeth, without looking away from Will, asked, "Perhaps you could show our neighbors the James Turrell light sculpture."

Donovan looked over at Elizabeth strangely but did as she asked, leading them out of the room except for Lachlan who stayed behind with Elizabeth.

As Lenore walked next to Will, she heard Elizabeth call out, "I look forward to getting to know you better, Lenore. Enjoy your stay."

Lenore refused to say another word, wanting nothing more than to distance herself from the woman who made the warning bells ring loudly in her head. She wasn't dead, nor was Donovan who also made her feel that familiar feeling. But there was something...inhuman, about them.


After the uncomfortable tour from Donovan, Lenore managed to get away by claiming she was getting a headache and needed to rest. She was given room 77 on the seventh floor, a suite much to her surprise.

It was large with a living area and a bedroom. A bathroom was connected to the bedroom, where Lenore quickly unpacked her few belongings. One of the few luxuries she allowed herself was her record player. John had laughed when she had bought it, saying she should just get an iphone. Lenore preferred the sound that came from the record player though, and didn't want to rely on a piece of technology.

She set it on top of one of the side tables beside the couch and stacked her records on the shelf beneath it. Lenore put on one of the records and began to hum under her breathe as she stood. As she turned towards the door, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and the bells started ringing loudly.

Frozen, she remained where she stood as she swallowed the lump in her throat. This one was dark. So much darker than she had experienced before. It was verile and sexual and evil. She let out a scream as she felt fingers tangle in her hair and pull.

Her hands reached up and she felt something cold and slimy as she managed to pull away. Turning around her eyes widened at the sight of a tall, wiry figure standing in the middle of her room. It had no eyes nor a mouth but it had a crude dril-bit where its genitals should be and it resembled an erect penis. She jumped backwards as the creature extended its hands and let out a screech as it began to walk towards her.

A look of disgust and fear marked her face as she walked backwards. Her back slammed against the door and she frantically reached down towards the doorknob and yanked it open as she flew out of the room.

She screamed when she felt something wrap around her waist and she began to push against it, "Let me go, let me go!"

"Oh my," a voice brushed against her ear, "your heart's beating like a hummingbird, my dear."

She looked up to see a familiar pair of striking brown eyes and stared at the face of a young man who stared down at her with an unrecognizable expression.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice filled with concerned.

Her chest rose and fell quickly as she tried to calm herself. Looking back into her room, she saw that the creature was gone.

"There was-there was a...thing, and-" she stumbled over her words as the man loosened his grip, but by no means did he let her go.

He nodded as she struggled to talk and breath at the same time, "Let's get you something to drink, you look like you need one."

"No, that-" Lenore began but found herself being pulled across the hall into room 78.

"Please, I insist," the man said.

As she stepped into the room, the man said, "I'm James March by the way, I own the hotel. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Lenore caught the strange Brahmin accent that filled his voice as he asked, "May I have your name?"

He extended his hand and for a moment, Lenore hesitated. She knew that this man was a ghost, she recognized him from the lobby. However, she much preferred a human ghost to a strange sex demon.

"I'm Lenore."

He tilted his head slightly as he heard her name, " Beautiful name."

She slid her fingers across his cool skin and was surprised when his own wrapped around her hand and lifted it to his lips. His lips were surprisingly warm as he pressed his lips against the back of her hand.

Blushing, she pulled her hand away as James pushed the door closed, "Now, about that drink."


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