Tingle - a love story of the supernatural kind.

Chapter 8

Natalie

"Thank you so, so much, Marie," I said, hugging her as Marie washed the dishes at the sink. "For unpacking the U-haul into the storage, for letting me stay here, for being my best friend."

Shadow, Marie's black cat curled her body around my leg. I already felt my nasal passages clogging. "Claritin?"

"Guest room bathroom medicine cabinet."

Guest room. That was my home for an indefinite amount of time. It was only a few miles further from school, and though a lot of my life had gone into storage, I appreciated the simplicity of the guest bedroom and Marie's minimalism. Headboard up against the wall with the window above it. Dresser against opposite wall. Mirrored closet to the right. Bathroom across the hallway. Empty shelves and drawer space awaited me as I unpacked the necessities and popped an allergy pill into my mouth. The pale blue of the guest room had a calming effect and the beige color of the bedding was attractive yet neutral.

Right now, I liked that there wasn't so much on the walls. It felt peaceful and uncluttered. Marie kept her place like that on purpose, said it gave her room to breathe. I didn't really understand that before. Why couldn't you just be in a room that had pictures of your life and knick knacks and memorabilia? So many things Marie said hadn't made any sense to me, but now, I kind of liked that I had the opportunity to really get a feel for Marie's thinking, even if sometimes it made me want to roll my eyes.

Back when we were kids and we met at the community pool, other boys and girls had played, and I stayed where I did, the shy kid who kept to myself. From day one, Marie came up to me and introuduced herself to me.

"You and I knew each other in another life," she said.

I remember raising my brows at her. "In another life?"

"Yeah. I think I was your dad. Anyway, you are going to be my best friend."

From that day on, we were, and we'd been through every stage of life together. From the trauma of Marie's dad molesting her to sleeping with the football team. She turned to drugs, and had a few close calls in her life. One overdose set her on the right path.

"Did you ever find out who the pizza came from?" Marie asked as they sat down on the couch with a plate of veggies and rice.

"I think it was Theo. I'd told him Dan and I were splitting up. He probably took pity on a poor, starved fatty."

She pointed her finger to me. "Hey. Stop right there. You are being mean to my best friend."

"What?"

"You just called yourself a poor, starved fatty. You need to watch how you think about yourself. You know we make our own realities."

I sighed, trying to keep from rolling my eyes. "If I made my own reality, no offense, Marie, I would have three babies, and Dan and I would be deliriously happy, planning for Thanksgiving with our families and probably putting up the Christmas tree right now."

She dug her fork into her rice. "See, in your reality, you are imagining that as your best case scenario. What if it isn't? Or what if it isn't with Dan?"

"You mean, like there could be another man out there for me?" I asked, but I couldn't picture it.

"Heck yeah. One who adores you and wants to have ten babies. Maybe you live up in the hills with a view overlooking the city, with an olympic-sized pool..."

"I don't know if that is what I would picture for my life."

"That's just an example. What we are taking in life, all the things that don't work out for us are things that are setting us up for something better...unless we keep telling ourselves the same old story. Like I used to do."