Karma's Kiss

Chapter Nineteen: He's Out

*Copyright: All Rights Reserved, Stephanie Myrick, 2024. Posted to Wattpad ONLY*

Antonia woke up to her watch vibrating on her wrist just before three, slipped out of bed, went to the living room and tipped the coffee table over on its side. Smirking, she also moved his keys from the hook next to the door, put them in the fruit bowl on the table, and put his favourite mug on the key hook. She thought about breaking it since he broke her mirror, but she couldn't do it quietly. She climbed back in bed, closed her eyes and waited.

At exactly three am, the sound of a door slamming came from the living room, and Dallas sat up. When he heard the footsteps, he tensed and reached out, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Toni!" He whispered, shaking her.

"What?" Antonia rolled over and peered at him like he woke her from a deep sleep.

"Shhh!" He hissed, clamping his hand on her mouth. "Listen!" Antonia obeyed, making like she was listening and he took his hand off her mouth.. She could hear the sound of someone walking with slow, heavy steps.

"Shit. What do we do?" She played along, her eyes widening in fear.

"You stay here, if I yell, call 9-1-1." He got out of bed and went to the corner to grab his 9-iron. "Don't come out of the room until I give the okay." There was a heavy thud, and Dallas ran on tiptoes from the room. Antonia sat up in bed and pushed her chin-length blonde hair out of her face. It was taking every ounce of self-control she possessed not to break down in belly laughs. Standing up, she moved silently to the door and peeked out. Dallas was standing at the end of the hall, staring at the overturned coffee table. The sound of the door slamming again made him jump. Antonia went back to bed to wait for him, and then she heard. "Nope!" and Dallas came back into the room, white as a sheet.

"What is it?" she scrambled up to her knees and reached for him as he shut the door firmly behind him.

"Never mind calling the maintenance guy. I'm calling a priest." He walked over to her and sat on the edge of the bed, running his hands over his face.

"What happened?" Antonia wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him. "I've never seen you like this."

"The coffee table was knocked over." He leaned back against her.

"Seriously?" She pulled back and looked at him, faking disbelief and feeling very grateful for her literature teacher's push to join the theatre club. Dallas nodded miserably.

"Hand to God." He shook his head. "I know you might think I'm crazy, but I know ghosts are real, Toni. I've experienced things my whole life because of my mom and her obsession with psychics and mediums."

"Okay. I believe you." She squeezed him gently. An idea occurred to her, and she leaned back. "Would you be open to bringing a medium in now? If it is my mom, I'd like to know why she's still around."

He shook his head. "No, sorry. I'm calling a priest tomorrow to bless the place. We should have had it done when we moved in."

"Can we compromise and go with a shaman?"

"We'll do both. A blessing and cleansing." He nodded and stood up. "Start packing."

"I'm sorry?" Antonia remained where she was in shock. "Packing?"

"We're going to get a hotel room." He went to the closet, pulled out their overnight bags and tossed hers to her. "We'll stay there until we can get both of them in here to do their things."

"Dallas, it's three thirty in the morning." She dropped the overnight bag on the floor and got back into bed. "I'm tired, and I have to be up at five to get ready for my run. I'm not going to a hotel. Come back to bed." She watched as he shoved clothes randomly in the bag and shook his head.