I met Rick for lunch in his office. He had cancelled his Friday classes to be with me all weekend. He really must love me if he stayed with me to make sure I was ok.
"Have you seen my bagged lunch?" Rick asked as I entered his office. I smiled as I looked around the room. It was a mess in here, and he was making the mess bigger by looking for his lunch. I spotted the brown bag on a file cabinet and walked over to it. I grabbed it and turned around.
"This it?" I asked holding it up.
"Thank you." He said kissing my forehead. I smiled as he took the bag. We sat on his couch and ate. "So any leads on what caused you to freak out?" I sighed knowing he would bring it up eventually.
"Yea." I said gathering my thoughts. "The box belonged to my ex-boyfriend's twin sister. Both of them are dead. The ex-boyfriend is the one haunting me. He has been since his sister died at his hands."
"He killed his sister and is now out to get you?" Rick asked.
"He meant the dance studio fire to kill me, not his sister. He was sentenced to life in jail. Like me, he is magically powerful. He has been hunting me on the astral planes since he was convicted. He died last year and his ghost has been tormenting me. He is really evil and has wanted me to join him, but I refused."
"I'm glad you didn't go to the dark side." Rick said putting an arm around my shoulders.
"Yea. But that isn't even the worst of it." I said looking at my lap.
"Well, what is?" Rick asked. I have to trust him, I thought to myself.
"He won't leave me alone until I'm either dead or have killed someone." I said not meeting his eyes.
"What are we going to do then?" He asked. I looked at him confused. "You are my girlfriend and I want to help you."
"Just love me and support me." I said leaning over to kiss his lips.
"I can do that." He said. "But if he starts to really harm you I won't sit by quietly."
"I will talk to you about everything and let you know when you can really help out. But if I tell you that there is something that you cannot help with, than please listen. I don't want to lose you to some psycho ex." I said.
"I can't guarantee that I will sit by idly, but I will try to listen. I want to protect you." He said placing a hand on my cheek. I smiled as I placed my hand on his.
"I know, but this is something you can't save me from. But I can keep you safe from him as long as you don't bait him." I said.
"Right. Baiting evil ghosts is a big no-no." He said. I smiled.
"I have to get back to Melinda's store." I said standing up.
"Wait. I know you haven't mentioned your parents since all of this mojo went down, but would you be up for them coming to dinner tonight?" He asked. I sighed.
"Have you already asked?" He shook his head no. "If you talk to them, invite them for Friday night. That way it doesn't make us too eager for them to visit." I said leaving.
I could feasibly get rid of Leland by banishing or binding him, but that still doesn't get rid of him fully. Only makes him dormant. There is another way to get rid of him, but I have to look into it.
"You look deep in thought?" Melinda said the next day. Delia gave me the day off, since it's slow right now. Rick has a half day, so he was at home grading papers.
"Yea. Thinking of ways to get rid of Leland. I know he is around. His energy is everywhere, but I'm waiting for him to make the first move."
"What do you think he'll do?" She asked. I shrugged. "What's his deal anyways? Did you put him in jail or something?" I snorted.
"I dated him for a while when I lived in New Orleans. Through him I realized some of my potential. He made me an offer to join his cult. I declined. So he did the next best thing to get me to join his side. He thought that if he did something horrible to me, I would want revenge and hurt him or someone else. It backfired because after he raped me I lived as if he did no harm to me. My personal revenge I guess. It really messed with his head.
"Not long after that I moved to Miami, I met his twin sister Laura. She taught me how to belly dance. Leland thought he could kill me by setting her studio on fire while I was in it. That again backfired when he killed his sister in the fire. Ever since his conviction I've been on the run from him."
"To be haunted for so long. That's got to be tough on the mind." Melinda said softly. I nodded.
"You're the only one who knows the whole truth." I said looking out the window. It was beautiful out. The lights in the store started flickering. I sighed, knowing what's to come.
"Leland says that it is best to just give up and do as he says." Melinda said.
"I want you to tell me everything he says word for word." I said. Melinda nodded. "I am not afraid of you anymore Leland. I am tired of your stupid tricks."
"You should be afraid. I know about your petty oath. Did you really think I wouldn't find out?" Melinda said than looked at his spirit confused. "Oath? With who?"
"Another time for that Melinda." I said. "You were meant to find out. It was part of the plan to get you away from me."
"Didn't work now did it? Are you really trying to damn this town for your own gains?"
"At least I am being selfish for once. That was part of your sick game too." I growled. My spirit guides came to my side, two wolves that keep me safe on my astral travels.
"Selfish for the work of evil, not good. What is love going to do for you?"
"Love does a lot in the world. Leave me alone or I will banish you to the pits of the Underworld." I said.
"Bring it on." Melinda said. "He left. What oath was he talking about?"
"I made an oath with a fellow good doer, a blood oath. It was to help keep us safe and throw Leland off our trails for a while. It worked until my oath brother died in a car accident."
Eli rushed in looking panicked. I rolled my eyes at him as I went behind the counter. Eli ran to me and grabbed my arm before dragging me out. I was protesting loudly while Melinda followed trying to get answers. Rick's name was thrown around some. We entered some restaurant and I shut my mouth when I saw my parents. I yanked my arm from Eli before I started hitting his arm. He hid behind Melinda, I stopped trying to hit Eli as Rick came to my side.
"I'm sorry. They showed up at the apartment. Eli was the only one I could send." Rick said taking my hand. I punched Rick's shoulder with my free hand. "Ow."
"Sorry. That was for not giving me a heads up." I said as we approached my parents.
"I will make it up to you." Rick said as we stopped at the table. He pulled my chair out. I thanked him as he sat down.
"What do I owe the pleasure?" I asked my parents.
"We have a meeting with a realtor this afternoon in town. We figured we could do lunch before our meeting." My father said.
"Wanting to be closer to me?" I asked. "What if Rick and I breakup next week, or in several months? What if I leave or he gets transferred?"
"If you and Rick ever breakup, then you can live with us." My mother said.
"I have spent 11 years constantly moving. The only reason I am still here is because of Rick. I am trying for him, if there is no us, I leave." I said. My mother frowned.
"Regardless, we wanted a change since the house has so many memories in it." My father said.
"Whatever. Don't expect me to jump for joy or to visit you daily." I muttered as I picked up the menu. Rick's hand gently rubbed my thigh. I looked at him with a small smile.
Lunch was not as disastrous as it could have been. Rick kept the attention on himself as much as possible. When we separated from them I headed towards our apartment. I didn't care who followed, I was more determined to get rid of Leland now. I pulled out my Book of Shadows from the closet of the guest room.
"Wow! That is massive." Rick said from behind me. I looked at him before flipping through the book. I sat on the floor for a couple of hours until I found the perfect ritual.
"Here, drink this." Rick said holding a mug in front of my face. I looked up confused. "It's your favorite tea." I took it grateful.
"Thank you." I said before taking a sip. He sat next to me. I looked back at the book. I needed a lot of the supplies for this. "When is the next full moon?"
"This weekend. You planning on doing something?" He asked.
"Yes. Getting rid of Leland. I can't deal with him and my parents. I'll go crazy."
"I bet. What do we need to do to prepare for this?" He asked. I explained it all to him and he said he could help get the needed supplies.