The Séance • Marvel

Civil War: Chapter 06

After that, the three months in rehab went by faster than Vanessa would've liked. As she readied herself to go home, she worried that she wouldn't be strong and would just fall right back. "Can't I just stay here a bit longer?" She asked one of the sponsors. The older woman shook her head, "No you can't. You've completed the program and it's time for you to go back. You'll be fine as long as you stay away from anything tempting."

Roxxy had promised Vanessa that when she was ready her job would be waiting for her. "Do you think it would be fine if I went back to my old job, as a bartender?" The older woman looked at Vanessa and smiled, "You can work as a bartender, but you should be ready for the temptations that it's going to bring. I would recommend finding a new job, but I know how much you love working there. Just if you feel a sudden urge to take something or are faced with a situation where you are tempted, call me. Talk to me, that's why I'm here. Stay strong, Vanessa. I know you can do it."

The woman handed Vanessa a piece of paper and a small medallion with the words, "To Thine Own Self Be True. Unity, Service, Recovery. 3 Months." Vanessa looked down at the chip and smiled, it might not be much to others, but to her three months of being clean was a big accomplishment. "Thank you," she said. "Remember to come to meetings and go to therapy." Vanessa nodded and grabbed her travel bag with her belongings and left.

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Vanessa did return to her job as a bartender. Just like she'd been told, there were temptations everywhere she looked. People constantly offering to take shots with her or asking if she wanted to smoke. But, Vanessa stayed strong and she kept saying no. And for the first time in a really long time, Vanessa was happy. Happier than she'd been in a while.

Vanessa had taken the advice and gotten a therapist. Dr. Madison had been very helpful to Vanessa and furthered her recovery. The only problem was that Vanessa had never been good at talking about her feelings "How are you today, Vanessa?" Dr. Madison asked. "Good, I guess," Vanessa said taking a seat on the sofa. "Why you 'guess' as you put it," Dr. Madison asked. "I don't know. I mean physically I'm good. I'm six months clean. Believe it or not, I started exercising and eating healthy. I have a steady job that I enjoy. So I'm good" Vanessa explained. "And what about mentally? Are you still having trouble sleeping?" "Maybe," Vanessa said, "Yes" she corrected. "Talk to me about the nightmares," Dr. Madison asked.

Vanessa shrugged her shoulders, "They're nothing special. I see people (ghosts) reaching out towards me. Then I feel them actually grabbing my arms and try to drag me down with them. After I wake up from the nightmare I have a hard time falling asleep" Vanessa said. "What do you think these dreams mean?" Dr. Madison asked. "I don't know you tell me," Vanessa said.

The truth was they weren't dreams, they were ghosts reaching out to Vanessa and trying to drag her down with them. Dr. Madison smiled and wrote something down on her clipboard, then placed it down on her desk. "Well Vanessa, do you think that it might be your subconscious trying to tell you something?" "Like what? That I need to be dragged down to the pits of hell or something?" Dr. Madison smiled and shook her head, "No of course not. It can be something more simple as getting dragged out of your normal life. Whether it means getting out there and looking for some new friends. Or maybe getting out there and looking for a relationship."

Vanessa laughed and shook her head, "No thanks Doc. I've learned the hard way that the best way to avoid disappointments is to not expect anything from anyone. Friends leave, relationships end. And in the end, I'm the one who ends up hurt." "You can't go into every friendship and relationship with that mentality or else they will most definitely come to an end. You can't be afraid of starting something new. That'll be your assignment for this week. Go out there and meet someone new, make some new friends. Okay?" Dr. Madison asked. Vanessa let out a sigh, "I'll try."

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As the weeks went by Vanessa tried to be more in control of her powers. The nightmares were still there, but they were becoming less frequent. She had totally failed at the assignment left by Dr. Madison at making friends. Vanessa never even bothered to even attempt to make new friends. Can you really fail at something you never even tried?

The more time she spent clean, the more her powers grew.  Jason had noticed a few times that when she was in distress or panicking her hand gave off a faint glow. He never questioned her about it because he was sure she hadn't even noticed. The only powers that she thought she possessed were communicating with ghosts and on occasion being able to interact with them.

One morning, Vanessa found herself cleaning her apartment. "You know your mother would be disappointed if she could see how dirty this place is," said Jason. "My mother would be disappointed I'm still alive." "That doesn't go there" pointed Jason referring to a travel bag. "You know what, how about you shut up and let me fix my closet the way I like." "You're not going to be able to find anything in there," he said.

Vanessa grabbed a sandal and threw it at him, fully expecting it to go straight through. Only it didn't. "Uh, Vanessa" called Jason. "What!?" She answered and turned around to find him holding her sandal in his right hand. "How are you doing that?" Vanessa asked. Jason looked up from his hand, "How am I doing that? How are you doing this? You're the one who can see ghosts." Just then the sandal fell right through his hands and when he tried picking it up again it went right through.

Vanessa was looking at her best friend with wide eyes. This had never happened before. The closest thing was Jason being able to touch Vanessa, but never interacting with the real world. "Do... do it again" Jason said. "Do what? I don't even know what I did." "Ok. Um maybe close your eyes or something and focus on allowing me to touch things." Vanessa did as she was told, but nothing was happening. She kept telling herself to let him touch things, but it did nothing.

They sat there for hours, but nothing. Eventually, Vanessa decided to take a break and try a different method. Throwing things at Jason, which ended up undoing all the cleaning she'd just done. They spend a few more hours doing this, but as before things just went right through him. "This is stupid. Are you sure we didn't just imagine it?" Vanessa asked. They had been practicing this for about 5 hours and nothing had worked. Vanessa tried to convince herself that she'd imagine because no matter how hard she tried nothing happened. Jason on the other hand knew that it was not just a shared hallucination because he for the first time in years was able to touch the real world once again.