Dream for the Dead (Completed/Editing)

9

Reluctantly, I twisted my head to the doorway, afraid of what - or rather who - I might see.
"Who are you?" I asked in almost a whisper.
"Speak up, sweetheart," the man emitted a sinister chuckle. He was tall with an ageless face; wrinkled around the eyes and mouth but handsome, with smooth-combed dark hair. He donned a pristine cream suit which looked expensive, and I felt a pant of fear as I guessed who it might be. I really hoped it wasn't.
"Which one are you?" I spoke a little louder and clearer now.
"You're being quite rude."
"Well, homes are for the living. This is my home now, and yet there are people wandering around here disturbing me."
He laughed, "it was my home long before it was yours."
"So, which one are you?" I edged back on my bed.
"My name's Kyle. What's your name, sugar?"
I snapped immediately, "Get out of my room. Right now."
I was beginning to panic. Kyle was a horrible monster of a human being and Elias didn't like him. Elias seemed friendly with the other sickos this mansion housed. Him not liking this man was a good enough reason to want him out of my bedroom.
"You can't tell a guy what to do in his own home," he laughed, "especially as a woman."
He spat on the ground.
"You do realise that women are the scum of the Earth, don't you?" he grimaced.
"Oh, I get it. Problems with your mum. What is it, then? Did mummy not love you enough?" I paused and grinned slowly, trying to make myself seem intimidatingly unafraid, "or did mummy love you too much?"
"You little bitch!"
He darted towards my bed and, before I even knew what was happening, began to strangle me. Despite him being dead, his touch was that of any living man's, and it hurt like Hell as he pressed his thumbs further with each second into the front of my throat. Kyle straddled my waist to keep me down, and I struggled beneath him as best I could. I tried desperately to pry his hands from my neck, but to no avail, and thrashed as violently as possible, trying to keep my eyes open and my body moving.
"You can get off her now, Kyle. Don't be so childish," an unfamiliar voice ordered from behind Kyle.
Kyle loosened his grip a little.
"Come on," the unfamiliar voice further encouraged Kyle to release me.
Kyle sighed, squeezing his eyes shut as he did, and muttered something indecipherable. Then he let go of me.
"Okay. Alright," he spoke in the direction of the voice, and then turned his gaze back to me, peering deep into my eyes, "but, honey, if you say something like that again, I swear I won't let go," a grim smile spread across his lips, "the desperation and fear in your face was just so... so satisfying."
With that, Kyle jumped up from my bed and disappeared into the hallway. After rubbing my neck a little, I looked around my room for the source of the unfamiliar voice, but nobody was there.
I wouldn't be able to sleep that night.

*

The next day, I decided to explore Goldstein Village. I didn't fancy staying in the house after the events of the previous day, and convinced Mum to come with me - I definitely didn't want her to be in that house alone with the malicious spirits that lived there alongside us.
"Why were you so eager to get me to come with you? Usually a sixteen-year-old girl wouldn't be seen dead with her mother."
"I... I didn't want to get lost," I stammered.
"Lost?" Mum laughed, "I guess you would. Do you remember that time-"
"Please, don't!" I whipped a hand up to signal her to stop talking.
She laughed harder, "really, Tabbi, what are we going to do with you?"
We wandered for a few hours, with vague interest in various shops and potential future coffee stops, before deciding to grab some lunch. We ordered some sandwiches from a deli and decided to continue exploring whilst we ate, and that was when - to my surprise - we spotted Elias standing outside of a small café. He waved at me.
"You wanna get a coffee?" he asked as we approached.
I already knew before even looking that mum would be grinning from ear to ear beside me.
"I-"
"She loves coffee. I can leave you two to it whilst I look around and make myself familiar with places I'll need?" Mum interjected.
"Are you sure? You can join us, if you like," Elias offered.
"No, no! I'd only embarrass her," Mum laughed, "see you later, call me when you're on your way home."
She winked at me and turned to walk in the opposite direction.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"What? A guy can't enjoy a coffee once in a while?"
"How do you pay?" I asked as we walked into the café.
He pulled a confused face, "um... with money?" He waved a few notes in my face and pulled a silly 'are you crazy?' kind of face at me.
"You know what I mean. Where did you get it?" I angered fast - a problem I knew I had to work on - and hissed, "did you steal it from us?!"
"No! I know this guy who knows I'm dead. I knew him when I was alive. I do stuff for him and he pays me."
"What kind of stuff?" I asked, and the look on my face made him giggle.
We both knew what I was thinking.
"Let's chat when we've ordered. What do you want?" he asked, approaching the register.
"I'll get my ow-"
"It's on me. What do you want? You can have anything," he looked up at the menu, "actually, let me guess."
"Okay. Sounds fun." I grinned.
He turned to the man at the counter, "hi, I'll have a white chocolate mocha with whipped cream for me, and for her..." he paused for a second, "an iced mocha with maple syrup and whipped cream, please. Both large. O-Oh, venti, now, isn't it? Hard to keep up, these days."
He paid and turned to smile at me proudly.
Shocked, I questioned, "how did you know I was gonna order that?"
"Well, your Mum said you love coffee, I saw you putting chocolate in your coffee this morning and you have a few different syrups in your cupboard, and I saw you eating strawberries and cream last night," he grinned proudly.
"Sherlock Holmes," I mock-gasped.
"Nah, I'm better."
He took a sip of his mocha as he winked at me.
"You're fun to be around, for a dead guy."
I didn't realise how loudly I said this until an old woman walking past flashed me a strange look and eyed Elias. She quickly returned to what she was doing.
"Careful," smiled Elias.
"You two. Come with me, now."