Ghost

Aftermath II

"I don't understand." she says wiping the tears from her face. The time is around three now, so the school day is just about over. Julie leans on her father, who holds her in his arms. "Brooke didn't do anything to me except open my eyes."

"I know, sweetie. I'm sorry." he says quietly. They walk down the hallway of the hospital towards the entrance. Nurses and police officers stampede pass by them, all chattering in shock. This place is just as affected as the school. Not as bad as Julie's head, though.

"Dad, I have to call Reese." she says sliding her hands into her pockets as she steps through the front doors of the hospital. As they walk down a step, a nurse sprints out of the building towards Mr. Borne. They both turn around, and stare as the lady walks towards them.

"Officer Borne, may I have a word with you?" she says. Mr. Borne looks at Julie, who is still holding the phone to her head as it rings. They exchange nods, allowing Mr. Borne to proceed towards the building with the nurse.

"Hello?" Reese says through the phone. Back at the school's parking lot, Reese is sitting in his car fixing his schoolbag. As he fixes it, he watches as a horde of football players storm in front of his car, each one puffing air with each step. In the crowd, John waves at Reese and continues to follow the team. Reese waves back, still on the phone with Julie."

"Reese. Brooke's dead!" she says, beginning to tear up again. She snivels as she fixes her hair with her other hand.

"What?" he says with widened eyes. He starts his car.

"Brooke's dead, Reese. I don't understand! I thought she said he was going after the people who hurt me, but she never did anything to me!" she says holding her forehead.

"I know, I don't get it either."

"Does this mean John is safe?"

"No, not a chance. I think this guy has more sinister plans than you'd expect."

"Oh my god, Reese. I don't know why he's going after me, damn it." she sobs.

"I'm so sorry, Julie. We're going to get through this. I promise you." he says.

Mr. Borne exits the building with a concerned look on his face. The nurse follows behind him with folded arms. "I have to go, Reese. Forgot to tell you that I'm not in the hospital anymore; I'm actually going home today."

"I was going to go see you right now. Is it okay if I show up at your house?"

"Yeah. Okay, well, bye." he says. She hangs up the call as her father wraps his arm around her. They resume their trip back to the car. "What did she say?"

"I can't tell you right now, sweetheart." he says sternly as he opens the car door for Julie. She steps inside and clicks her seat belt on tightly. She watches as her father walks around the car into the driver's seat. He opens the door, gets in, and violently slams the door shut. He starts his car and looks around him.

"Are you okay?" she says.

"Yeah sweetie. Listen, I don't want to scare you, but I think we're dealing with something bigger than a maniac." he says angrily. He begins to sob and puts his head against the steering wheel. Julie sobs and begins to caress her father. "Julie, believe me. I'm doing everything I can to stop this." She nods and leans over to him.

"It's okay, Dad. I know you are." she says.

"God damn it, I already lost Martha and I don't want to lose you." he says, squeezing the steering wheel.

"You won't, Dad. I love you." she says sniveling.

"I love you too, sweetheart." he says wiping the tears from his eyes. He clears his throat and adjusts his seat belt. "Let's go home." Mr. Borne starts to pull back from his space. He drives out of the lot and down the street. The town of Clear Creek is almost as dead as Julie's "friends." Everything is still and gloomy. Two cars drive up to the left and right of their car. Julie looks out of the window and sees the two black cars surrounding them.

"Dad?"

"Don't worry, they're cops too. The board decided to protect us both."

After about fifteen minutes, they arrive at their home. The two black cars park on the nearby sidewalk, each one horizontal from each other. The remaining Borne family get out of the car, slamming the doors shut. Julie turns around and looks at the two police cars that are parked in front of her house.

Wow, it's like she's under house arrest or something.

She paces to the front door and enters the house, closing and locking it behind her. Mr. Borne steps into his office right next to the stairs. Julie walks up the stairs rapidly with her phone in her hand. After finally reaching the top of the stairs, she walks into her room. It's still the same way she left it before the car accident. Her tablet is still on her bed. She walks over to her messy bed and picks it up and places it on her dresser, leaning upward. Wow, it's still not dead.

Lying in her bed with pajama pants and an over sized t-shirt, she plays on her phone, still waiting for Reese. She looks at the time on her phone. It's almost three thirty. She locks her phone and places her head on her pillow, closing her eyes. Her stomach begins to growl like a bear. She can't bare the hunger, but it's like she can't even eat. Her sanity is already being tested by a serial killer, and now her emotional stability is slowly crumbling because of John. Does he really love her? Even after everything, should she forgive him? What about Reese? That long, warm, and awkward hug at the library had to mean something..

Thud. Thud.

What was that?

Julie gets up from her bed and walks towards the door. She peeks around the corner of the stairwell and watches as her father slowly opens the door. Four police officers are standing before the door, two of them holding on to Reese.

"We caught this one walking up the driveway. You know him?" says one of the officers.

"Yeah, that's my friend! I told him he could come over!" she yells from the top of the stairs. The group of officers and Mr. Borne look up at the top of the stairs. The policemen release Reese and close the door. Mr. Borne pats Reese on the back and leads him towards the stairs. He smiles and walks up the stairs towards Julie. "Sorry about that. We have some police guys watching us." she chuckles. He grins and follows Julie to her room.

"How are you doing?" he says sitting in her bean bag chair. Julie sits on her bed, crossing her legs. She sighs and scratches her head. Her eyes are puffy.

"I don't know what to feel anymore." she says. "Everyone is dying and I seem to be the cause of it."

"Don't say that, Julie. It's not your fault. This guy is just a maniac. Don't let him fuck with your head."

"It's hard not too. I just feel numb." she says looking down.

"Like I said last time, Julie. We'll get through this. Together." he says getting up. He sits next to Julie on the bed and holds her in his arms. There is a long pause before Julie's cell phone rings. Reese releases her, allowing her to get her phone. She unlocks it, revealing a text from Reese.

"Did you just text me right now? 'Cause it says I got a message from you." she says confused. Reese shakes his head. She opens it, revealing an image of Reese and Julie holding each other. "What the fuck?" she says. Shocked, she shows the image to Reese.

"That's impossible. My phone's in my pocket." he says, pulling it out. They stare at each other in confusion. Julie looks at her tablet and back at Reese. "What?" Julie gets up from the bed and walks towards the tablet. She unlocks it and sees that her camera roll is full of the same picture of the two hugging.

"Reese." she says.

"What?"

"He's watching us."