The Vampire and The Ghost | ✔︎

Chapter Sixteen: Digging Your Grave

                                                                                                Annalise 

"I'm happy for you, Anna," Eugene admitted softly, reaching down a hand to help her up. His lip scrunched up like he was holding something else back, but the corner of his eyes were crumpled in a smile. He looked a bit constipated, if Annalise was being honest with herself, but it was the thought that counted.

She reached for his hand, and was pleasantly surprised when she could feel it. She squeezed it reassuringly, as if telling herself it was real. His hands were like ice, cold and calloused. It only made sense, as he was a centuries old Vampire, but even then, it warmed her heart. It was so explicitly Eugene.

Slowly, he pulled her to her feet, but even then he didn't let go of her hand. For a moment, they both stood there paused in time, with their hands clasped in each other's. But the moment soon came to an end, as the realisation sunk in.

Annalise slowly let go of Eugene's hand and turned to face his car. She was sort of excited to be able to sit in it. The car itself was so old, it was practically an antique, and ever since she saw it that first day she met Eugene, she longed to ride in it.

If she focused on that, she could ignore the coming trepidation and anxiety of seeing her own dead body.

With a stealing roll of the shoulders, she turned her head to Eugene. "So, let's go!," she said, with false cheer. Eugene scrutinised her for a moment, fine eyebrows narrowing as he lent in towards her face. Annalise lent back nervously.

"What is it? Is there something on my face?" She stuttered, rubbing her face with her hand. In her mild panic she forgot that fact that she couldn't even get something on her face-she was a ghost after all.

"You don't have to go, if you're not ready to," Eugene said, frowning. So he saw right through her. With another grounding roll of her shoulders, she steeled herself. Back ram-rod straight, she gazed at his ancient car.

"I have to," she finalised, her lips tightened in determination. "No matter what, I have to. I owe it to my family," Seemingly satisfied with her answer, Eugene nodded, but even then he continued to watch her like a hawk as they both walked down to the car.

"Here goes nothing," Annalise noted, as they got to the car. Eugene stood at the driver's side, watching over the roof. She was nervous, she couldn't predict when she could interact with the world, and when it would fall through. Or more appropriately, she would fall through. The fact that she could even step outside the house, was an accomplishment in and off itself.

She almost felt like she was pushing her luck, trying to sit in the car. She had been standing there long enough that Eugene had gotten into the car, and started the engine. Jumping out of her reverie at the loud purring noise, she shakily opened the door.

Slowly, she lowered herself down to sit on the soft, plush leather seats. Annalise waited for a pause, then two. Before she finally turned to Eugene, slapping his shoulder in joy. She beamed at him, as Eugene began to pull out of the driveway.

He sent her a sly smile, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. "I can't believe this!" Annalise enthused, glancing around at the car, and then outside the windows to the fog settling in the morning air. 

"It's good, Anna. But I have to wonder what it means too," Eugene admitted solemnly, as he drove quickly through the street. Luckily as it was so early in the morning, no one was around to see him drive well over the legal speed limit. He wove through the winding roads, at such a high speed, without a bother.

"What do you mean?" Annalise asked, tilting her head. This was the furthest she had gone in years! This was her first time outside, for so long. She didn't care about the curse right now, or who she was, or the fact that he was a vampire. None of it mattered. She just wanted to absorb the moment for what it was, and pretend that in probably less than 10 minutes she would be seeing her own dead body.

"I'm not entirely sure yet, myself. However, these days your ability to interact with people and objects has increased tenfold. The curse itself was meant to separate your soul from your body; you weren't able to leave the house, so you can presume it has something to do with that as well. Yet here you are," He said, waving one hand towards her.

Annalise scowled, biting her lip in thought. He wasn't wrong, none of this made sense. But she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. A sudden thought burst into her head, with enough force for her to jerk upright.

"Eugene, I have a question," She said. Eugene hummed in acknowledgement as he made a right turn into a small country lane. "How do you know where my body is buried?" she demanded, shifting in her seat to face him. She hadn't bothered putting her seat belt on, unlike Eugene. She didn't think it mattered, because no matter what had been revealed lately, she still didn't have an actual body.

"The internet is a marvellous thing, you can find anything on there," He said in a way of explanation. Annalise nodded to herself in exasperation.

"Yeah, yep. Of course, you found out where I was buried on the internet. Great," she mumbled to herself, bewildered. Eugene rolled his eyes as he slowed to a stop in front of a quaint old church. It was relatively small, with sloping peaks, and a clock tower. The front was littered with ancient, abandoned graves and there was a small pebble stone pathway leading to more around the back.

"Here we are," Eugene spoke, solemnly returning to watching over Annalise like a hawk. Seeing the question in his gaze, Annalise nodded. Reluctantly, she stepped out of the car with Eugene following her lead.

This was it.

She would finally come to face her own dead body.

Authors Note 

Hi! I hope you guys are all doing great :) Thank you so much all of you who have added my book to your reading list, and to you who are reading it right now. It means more to me, than you know. So thank you! If you liked this chapter, drop a like or comment. 

Also, DON'T BE LIKE ANNALISE. Always wear a seat belt. 

Love ya'll

Sam.E

Word Count: 1048