Spiritual Investigation

Chapter 7: The Decision

I awake in the middle of the night, staring at the ceiling again. Thoughts of yesterday plaguing my mind and dreams. My eyes hurt from the constant rubbing I've done to them, having to keep wiping away tears. I pick up my phone to check the time...6:45am...and no messages. I stay in my bed for a few more minutes before getting out of it and heading to the bathroom. I look in the mirror and see my eyes are red and my hair a mess. Turning the sink on with a cold water, I splash it on my face and wipe it off with a rag before heading to the living room, turning my laptop on. The first thing to pop up on the screen is the house right next to Cassy's...still the same price and still not sold yet. I write down the contact number and address before heading back to the bathroom to take a long shower before heading out. About two hours later I'm on the road, driving back to the cemetery to visit Catherine's grave. Right when I arrive at it, I see her ghost waiting for me, a soft and gentle smile on her face.

"...Catherine...I'm sorry..."

"You don't need to apologize to me."

"But I do...I couldn't protect you and our son...and I hurt Jennifer...I..."

"Hank...it's okay. You did your best, you had a decision to make back then. It was all up to you. Either way, I knew what ever decision you made would have been a good one."

"But at the cost of your lives...I regret what I did..."

"Don't...its time to move on from it all Hank...you have people right in front of you who care about you and need you in the present...like my sister."

"Jennifer...Catherine...I'm sorry..."

"No, I always knew you cared about her more than me. As long as she was happy I was happy, and vice versa."

Catherine smiled at me before turning to face the city in the background. Even as a ghost, she was still so beautiful at this scene. But she's right...I need to be in the present...and not the past. Before I turn my back to leave, she calls my name, catching my attention.

"Hank...promise me something?"

"....What is it?"

"Make my sister happy, okay? She may not show it, but she as well loves you as you do to her. She needs you, so please, be there for her."

"...I promise..."

I look at my hand to see the ring I still wore, remembering our marriage. But I then slowly take it off and sit it on her grave before walking off, leaving Catherine with a small smile on her face before she disappeared. I drive my way to the coffee shop to grab a cup of coffee but end up seeing Jennifer sitting alone at a table near a window, staring down at her coffee cup with her hands tightly gripped onto it. I take a deep breath and walk over to her silently.

"Is this seat taken?"

She twitches a bit in her seat and quickly looks up at me with wide eyes. She's clearly surprised to see me here after what happen yesterday.

"H-Hank...I..uh...n-no...its not..."

I nod at her before sitting across from her in the empty seat. We sit there for a few minutes not saying a word until we both speak up at the same time saying I'm sorry. We both just look at each for a second before laughing a bit, taking the moment to speak up first.

"Jennifer...I should be the one saying sorry...not you...this is my fault. I let myself get stuck in the past and pushed everyone away, never accepting there help. I just wanted to protect everyone...to keep "that" from ever happening again..."

"I understand...all I ever wanted to do was protect Catherine as well, even after you married her. I guess we were both trying our best to do something huh?"

She laughs softly putting on half a smile, then she looks up at me, slowly reaching her hand out and gently putting it on top of mine.

"Hank...you don't need to do this alone anymore...you have others out there willing to help...and I will help you...you know that right?"

"...I know...I...I just don't know where to start..."

"You could start with me..."

I look up at her with a bit of confusion on my face, but when I look at her face, I see a small smile on her...and...is she blushing? I haven't seen her blush in years...but I then know what she means. I twist my hand under hers and grip it in mine, looking into her eyes.

"Alright...I can try...", I smile a bit at her as we then go into a long conversation about things. It takes us all morning to leave the coffee shop finally, and Jennifer insisted on joining me on going to buy the house I told her about during our conversation.  We drive to the neighborhood Cassy lives in and arrive at the house next to hers. The lawn is finely trimmed and the outside of the house is...perfect. When we enter the house all I can do is look at the beauty of it, even though I took a virtual tour of it, seeing it in person is just...amazing. We finally find the owner selling the house and after an hour of getting papers done, I become the new owner. Jennifer jumps in joy seeing me finally moving forward, away from being stuck in the past. But the moment is ruined for me when Cassy ends up walking in.

" Well well~ Hello Detective sir~"

"Ugh...Cassy...what do you want?"

"I can't come and say hello to my new neighbor?"

"Not when its me.."

"Sure~, so, is this beautiful women your girlfriend~?"

Jennifer blushes at what Cassy says and slightly looks away. I blush a bit as well and get a bit...well...yeah. "C-Cassy! Shouldn't you be at work!?"

"Shouldn't you be at work as well? How about we both keep this a secret from the Captain and we don't get in trouble hm~?", she flashes me a cute smile as my eye twitches in annoyance.

"I hate you so much..."

"Aww, I love you too sir~"

Great...I'm moving forward...but with the cost of having to deal with Cassy's annoying ass  everyday now....at least Jennifer will be here for me...and now that I think of it...will she be staying here with me?

As I think this over, I notice Cassy bombarding Jennifer with questions. All Jennifer can do is answer them sadly, but she then looks past Cassy slightly and gives me a smile not to worry. Jennifer...only she can make my heart race so much...I'm glad Catherine understands me...scratch that...us.