Chasing a Ghost

Chapter Eleven

The sad, sinking feeling that filled your chest when you woke up was agonizing.

You awoke with all your clothes still on, halfway off the bed, not even under the covers. You sat up straight, seeing the burger sitting on the table and immediately remembering the cold look in Simon's eyes when he'd rejected you the day before.

Tears threatened to build in your eyes once again and you angrily pushed them back. You weren't angry at the Lieutenant for rejecting you. You were angry at yourself for becoming so infatuated with him in the first place. You mentally punched yourself, thinking back on this stupid little crush you'd had for months and months and months. All those nights you'd laid there thinking of him, praying that one day he'd hold you close once again, whispering in your ear and telling you how precious you were to him. It really was just a girlish fantasy after all.

Those fantasies had officially been shot down, burning up into a pile of ashes deep within your heart. Nothing to do but deal with the disappointment, now. You couldn't deny how painful it was, though - almost like a real breakup, having to snap off those feelings at the stem, yanking them up from their roots and tossing it to the side like it meant nothing before.

You'd been through this before. Give it a week or two, you told yourself. You'll feel better eventually.

You hoped.

With a heavy, sad sigh, you pulled yourself out of bed, picking up the burger and tossing it into the trash. You looked into the mirror and your sad, disappointed face looked back at you. You glared at your reflection for a moment before stripping off your clothes and stepping into the shower.

You decided on a burning hot shower that caused goosebumps to erupt all over your skin. You let the water soothe you, allowing yourself a moment to relax before the rest of the day began.

When you finished with your shower and began pulling on your clothes, Ghost's face flashed across your mind's eye. The sight of it caused your stomach to churn, absolutely dreading the possibility of stumbling across him today.

How can I ever face him again?

You pulled on your socks, considering that with a heavy heart. You took a deep breath before deciding to pretend like nothing ever happened. You would talk to him and respond to him as needed in order to avoid causing any discomfort on his end. No more flirtatious advances.

Maybe one day he'll forget about it.

You gritted your teeth, sliding on your shoes and skulking out the door. You didn't turn your head but your eyes did dart about for a moment before deciding that Simon wasn't around, and making a beeline for your destination.

The agreement had been that you would continue doing paperwork until most of your bruises had disappeared, and then you could reenter the field again. Something you had begrudgingly agreed to, but you were happy to have it now. It meant you could easily avoid Simon all day.

You settled into the office area as you thought back to a memory from a few months before. You cringed at yourself once again, remembering that time the Lieutenant had called you out on avoiding him after that one infamous night of pure drunkenness.

I saw you turn and walk the other way as soon as you caught sight of me yesterday.

Your cheeks burned as you pulled out the stack of papers you'd been working on the day before. Made a mental note to be less conspicuous in the days to come.

You diligently began working on the stack of papers, eventually getting lost in your focus on the work in front of you instead of thinking about Simon as much as you had been. You looked over every paper, double-checking that the information all looked correct before initialing and flipping them over to the "done" side. You did this for a while, stopping to check your phone every now and then until the sound of someone else entering the office surprised you.