Her partner. Her best friend.
Her Elliot.
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Elliot's arms around her.
Elliot's hands everywhere.
His lips on hers, hot, passionate.
"I love you, Olivia."
Elliot pulling his shirt off.
Elliot's bare chest against hers.
Gasping.
Sighing.
Her own body trembling, knowing that this was the moment, the release she had been waiting for so long.
"I want you."
Elliot on top of her, between her legs, inside her.
Inside her heart.
"El…"
"Olivia."
The tone matched hers, but the voice wasn't his.
Who was it?
"Olivia."
"Do you hear that?"
"I love you."
It belonged to him.
"Olivia."
That didn't.
Elliot didn't stop, he continued his rhythmic movement, fireworks started to smolder inside her.
"El…"
"OLIVIA!"
Her eyes snapped open, her whole body flinched at the force of the sound, and she sat up in her bed. For a moment she couldn't remember where she was, all around her was darkness, a quiet snoring made her frown.
Brian.
She rubbed her eyes, the strange voice still echoing in her ears, and she tried to listen for unusual sounds, but to no avail. Only a clock ticked somewhere in the distance.
But at the same time, her body still reminded her of how her partner's body had felt against hers, how he had felt inside of her. This wasn't the first time she had dreamed of Elliot carrying her to bed, ripping her clothes off and taking her completely, but she couldn't remember if the feeling from the dream had ever been this intense. Her body felt like it was running like a steam train engine, she could feel the wetness between her legs, and she could barely stop herself from marching out of the room, waking her partner, wrapping her arms behind his neck and begging him to bring her relief, to finish what he had caused her in her subconscious.
She groaned in frustration, and was just about to lay back down when she heard it. Like a whisper in the wind, faint, barely audible, yet clear enough for her to recognize it.
Her name.
Her body tensed, she stopped to listen, silent, completely motionless. The dream was still fresh enough in her mind, and she knew that the voice was the same as in her dream.
A woman's voice.
And then she heard a step. It hit the floor softly, softly but recognizable, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she stopped breathing. There was another step, another, as if someone was walking in front of their bed.
No, no. Ghosts don't exist.
The footsteps grew louder, they seemed to move next to her bed, and Olivia felt her blood stop in her veins as well. The room was pitch black, she couldn't see anything, but she could sense the presence of someone, of something.
And then the footsteps stopped next to her bed. Time stopped, tears welled up in Olivia's eyes, her senses tensed to the max, and she was sure that if something even touched her now, she would squeal so that the whole cabin would wake up.
But then the steps started moving again, moved to the head of the bed and quieted down. Olivia carefully raised her hand, groped in the dark for Cassidy and shook him, not daring to move anything but her hand.
"Brian."
"H-huh?"
"There is someone in the room."
"Wh-what?"
"I can hear footsteps."
She heard Brian rise to a half-sitting position, stop to listen, but they couldn't hear anything anymore. The footsteps were gone, only the familiar clock ticked in the next room, and after a while Cassidy hissed:
"I can't hear anything. Are you sure you weren't dreaming?"
Of course she was sure. She had heard the footsteps as clearly as the sleepy voice of her former colleague, and she didn't dare remove her hand from his shoulder.
"Yes. I woke up and I…"
But then they heard the sound of the doorknob being pushed down, dim light flooded into the room, and they froze in place, watching as the door slowly opened.
And then it slammed shut with full force, causing Olivia to squeal and cling to Brian, who flinched violently, darkness descended upon the room again, and it became completely silent. Silent until they heard Elliot's exasperated exclamation:
"What the hell is going on?!"
There were footsteps, the door opened, and it wasn't until Elliot appeared in the doorway and turned on the lights that Olivia realized she was still almost sitting on Brian's lap, clinging to him. She loosened her grip, brushed her hair out of her face and cleared her throat, trying to get her heartbeat to calm down. Elliot eyed them suspiciously, sleep and irritation flickering across his face, but she obviously looked as shocked as she felt, as concern flashed in his eyes.
"Why the hell are you slamming doors in the middle of the night?! Is everything okay? And how is it so cold in here?" He frowned in surprise.
"I…" Olivia answered, her voice hoarse, her whole body shaking. "I heard footsteps, and then the door opened and slammed shut by itself, and I…"
"By itself?"
"Yes," Brian next to her was nodding his head. "I swear we didn't touch it, it just…"
"What's going on?" Fin's grumpy voice came from behind Elliot, making Olivia flinch. "Why are you making a fuss here in the middle of the night?"
"Liv and Cassidy saw a ghost."
"A ghost?" Now they also heard Munch's voice, who soon peeked through the door. "How exciting! I've never met one yet."
"Seriously?" However, Fin was not as excited at all. "I thought you were reasonable people."
"But it is true! The door opened by itself and slammed shut," Cassidy insisted, a thoughtful look spread over Munch's face, and he tried the doorknob. Then he entered the room, shivered and sighed.
"I'm sorry, guys, but I think the explanation is not as exciting as you think. The doorknob is loose," he pointed at the door. "...And the temperature difference between the room and the living room is considerable. It is very likely that the air flow caused the door to open and then slam shut."
Olivia crossed her arms. "But how do you explain the steps? As far as I know, the airflow does not cause thumping."
"No, but it causes materials to live. Wood floors such as this react easily to changes in temperature, and may make footsteps-like noises as they bend and straighten."
"Oh yeah, I've heard about it," Brian answered, his voice clearly relaxed this time, sighing deeply. "It often explains, for example, the sounds of steps on the stairs."
"Yes," Munch yawned and patted the door frame. "Too bad, I would have loved to meet a real ghost."
"Ghost or not, but I'm going to sleep," Fin grunted and turned on his heel. Elliot went to follow him, Munch wished them goodnight, turned off the lights and closed the door. Darkness settled in the room, Cassidy lay down and chuckled.
"To be honest, I almost shitted my pants when that door slammed shut."
Olivia was still sitting on the bed, nervousness swirling inside her, and she wasn't at all as convinced by Munch's explanation as her ex-colleague, who was grinning next to her.
"But you weren't very calm either."
"You wouldn't have been either, if you had first listened to the footsteps stop next to your bed in pitch darkness."
Brian stayed was quiet for a moment but then snorted. "Seriously, Liv? Do you really believe it was a real ghost? Didn't you listen to John?"
Suddenly, anger flared up inside Olivia, and she wanted to protest, grab her former colleague by the collar of his shirt and yell at him that it couldn't be a coincidence that a few hours earlier she had seen a body floating in the water, which had disappeared like ashes in the wind. Yell that she wasn't losing her mind, beg him to believe her. But she didn't.
Instead, she snorted, laid down and pulled the blanket over her ears. "Of course it wasn't a real ghost. Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"It's okay," Cassidy's voice was soft, too soft, and for a moment she was afraid that she would feel his hands on her skin again. "Good night."
"Good night."
Cassidy fell asleep quickly, the familiar, light snoring started from under the covers, but Olivia lay awake. If sleep had been circling her earlier in the evening, now it was no longer even within sight, and in its place was a constant, increasing nervousness that made her pulse quicken and a heavy, squeezing feeling grow on her chest. She remembered the cold hands on her ankles, she remembered the pale, pale face and glazed eyes that had looked at her underwater, she heard the voice, soft and hollow, echoing in her ears, and finally it was too much. She carefully sat up, put her feet on the floor, grabbed her sweatshirt and crept out the door, careful not to wake Cassidy, who didn't even flinch.
The living room was warm, cozy, and she stopped to listen to the silence that had descended on the cabin. The same ticking of the clock, this time next to her, someone's quiet snoring, the muffled hum of the refrigerator. She put on the sweatshirt, wrapped her arms around herself, a lump began to rise in her throat, and only then did she realize how violently her whole body was shaking. Fear was still throbbing inside her, oppressive, squeezing, she flinched at the soft click of the refrigerator, and tears began to burn in the corners of her eyes.
And as if automatically, without her conscious command, her legs slowly began to carry her towards the couch across the room, her partner. She carefully sat down next to the couch, sure that Elliot was fast asleep, but she was startled violently when she heard his quiet voice:
"Can't you sleep?"
Olivia shook her head, aware that he couldn't see it, but it would have been pointless anyway. Of course she couldn't sleep, otherwise she wouldn't have been sitting in this dark living room, on the cool, hard floor.
Silence descended, the clock was ticking quietly, and only the rustling of Elliot's sheets broke the silence. And then, hesitantly, whispering, he asked:
"Do you want to come here?"
"To your bed?"
"Well, yeah," she could almost hear him shrugging. "Don't worry, I promise I won't bite."
"I'm not a baby, Elliot. If I can't sleep, it's not your problem."
She didn't even know why she felt the need to resist her partner's request, especially when her entire body felt like it was screaming for her to crawl into his bed. However, he saw right through her, which she should have already known.
"Do you want me to come and sit on the floor? Because I know you're scared, and I'm going to sit with you, whether it's on the floor or in bed."
Olivia snorted. "I'm not sc-…" But when Elliot's sheets started to rustle as a sign that he was really going to get out of bed, she sighed. "Okay, okay, fine."
She got up from the floor, took a couple of nervous, shaky steps to her partner's bedside, Elliot moved to give her space, and she sat down, leaned against the backrest and pulled her legs into her lap. He looked at her silently, waiting for her to speak, but when she just sat there in silence, he opened her mouth:
"You really believe it was a ghost?"
Olivia gulped, pressed her legs tighter against her, hesitated for a moment, but then answered quietly:
"I don't know what it was, but I really heard the footsteps, and I could have sworn that someone or something..." She swallowed. "… Stopped next to me. And the voice…" Her thoughts drifted back to the dream, a blush creeping up her cheeks without warning, and she was very glad Elliot couldn't see it in the dark.
"What voice?"
"I woke up because I heard a voice repeating my name. And even when I was already awake…" She fell silent, shivered, but then she heard the sheets rustle, and a warm blanket settled over her legs. A blanket that smelled like Elliot and made her bite her lip. "Thanks."
"Did Cassidy hear it?"
"No, the noises stopped when I woke him up," she shook her head. "It was just before the door opened and slammed shut. As if someone had… Left the room…" Her voice trailed off, she became aware of how irrational she sounded, and she rubbed her face. "No, sorry, it's stupid. I'm sorry I bothered you, I should go back to bed," a sudden, unrecognizable rush of emotions washed over her, making the embarrassment gush, and she was already about to get out of bed before Elliot grabbed her arm.
"No, it's okay," he said quickly when Olivia tried to jerk her arm away. "I know you don't sleep there anyway."
"El…"
But Elliot shook his head though. "I believe you."
"Wha-…" Olivia stopped, blinked, and stared at her partner, of whom she could only see an outline in the darkness. But his hand was warm, his body familiar, his bed inviting, and her deeper, more holistic desire to stay overcame the sudden need to run. Her body relaxed, Elliot removed his hand, and she leaned back against the backrest.
"I believe you."
"You do?"
"Yes."
"And this is no excuse to prevent me from getting back under the same blanket with Brian?"
Olivia could almost hear him partner grin, she rolled her eyes, grabbed the blanket and pulled it higher. There, next to her partner, in his warm bed, the oppressive, suffocating, all-encompassing fear slowly began to dissipate from her limbs, replaced by warmth, and she took a deep, shuddering breath. And then Elliot did something that surprised her completely. He put his arm around her shoulders, paused for a moment, as if waiting for her reaction, and then he pulled her against him. If it had been daytime, Olivia probably would have protested and give him a piece of her mind, but now, in the dark cabin, exhausted and scared, she couldn't and didn't have the strength to resist the urge to curl up next to him, so she dropped her head onto his shoulder.
"No, Cassidy is okay. But if that room is really haunted, maybe it's best not to go there."
"I can take care of myself."
"I know, but I don't think you're a member of the Ghostbusters. And I don't trust Cassidy's ability to protect you."
Elliot's words caused warmth to involuntarily flare up in her stomach, and to mask her true feelings, she chuckled.
"The door scared the hell out of him."
"I know, he looked more horrified than you."
And then they fell silent, a light, soft silence settled around them, and there, leaning against Elliot, she felt so comfortable, so safe, that sleep began to creep back into her limbs. Her partner's body relaxed, his breathing slowed, and she gently lifted his arm from her shoulders to be able to lay down. However, Elliot wasn't in a sound enough sleep, he flinched and straightened his back.
"Liv?"
"I'm here, El," she muttered sleepily, pulled the blanket tighter over herself and took a light breath. "I just wanna sleep."
"Good."
Elliot laid down onto his back as well, pulled a part of the blanket over himself and sighed. But just as Olivia was about to fall asleep, she heard his soft, muffled voice:
"You know, we're breaking Munch's raffle results now. Maybe I should…"
"Shut up, El," she mumbled, correcting her position, and before she could stop herself, her arm came up as if commanded by some external force and wrapped around her partner's stomach. She froze, stopped to wait, not taking her arm away, and for a moment Elliot stayed silent, but then he took a deep breath and muttered:
"Good night, Liv."
The ghosts didn't disturb them that night anymore.