The Ghost Files

Chapter Seven

He stares at me for the longest time. My question seems to erase all that police training of his. I can see the struggle in his eyes. He can't quite figure out if I'm pulling his leg or not. His face shows a mix of surprise and wariness. Now he knows he's dealing with a chick with a few loose screws, or so he thinks. I knew this wasn't a good idea.

"Forget it," I mumble and try to duck my head. I shouldn't have said anything. Why I did is beyond me. It was all that trust talk. For some obscure reason, his eyes make me trust him. The warmth and honesty in them is hazardous for those of us keeping secrets.

"Ghosts?" he asks.

"Never mind."

"Don't get all sullen and pouty."

"I'm not!" I deny. Well, I am, but I'm not fessing up to it. "I just changed my mind is all."

"Yeah, you are being pouty," he argues. "Why do you want to know if I believe in ghosts?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Do you have to fight me on every little thing?"

"We're not fighting."

"Really?" He sounds so skeptical, it makes me laugh.

"Trust me, Officer Dan, when we fight, you'll know it."

He sighs. "Mattie, what do ghosts have to do with Sally?"

It's my turn to sigh. "I told you that you wouldn't believe me."

"How can I not believe you when you haven't told me anything?" he almost shouts. His face resembles a small thundercloud. I shouldn't exasperate him. Not that I blame him for his impatience. I have that effect on almost everyone.

"Answer the question, then. Do you believe in ghosts?"

"No," he says. "I don't believe in them, but I'm guessing you do?"

"I wish I didn't." I pick at my breakfast. "I see them."

"You see... ghosts?"

Poor Officer Dan. He's torn between expressions of disbelief and anger. He thinks I'm making all this up. I only wish things could be that simple.

"Yeah, I have since I was little, since my mom..."

"Your mom?"

I shut my mouth before I say anything else. What is it about this guy that makes me say way more than I ever intend to? Now, he's gonna go try to dig through my files. Oh crap. Might as well tell him. He'll find out anyway; he has that same resourcefulness I have. I can tell because he didn't just write off Sally. That says a lot, especially to me.

"When I was little, my mom tried to kill me and then she killed herself. I lived, she died and then I woke up to start seeing dead people." I say it all in a rush and then wait for his reaction.

He opens his mouth, and then closes it. I can sympathize; after all, who really knows what to say to that? It's what I expect. There's not much that can be said.

"So... you see ghosts?"

Smart guy. He goes with the dead people instead of a murdering mother. I take a deep breath, only now realizing how shaky I am. It's not every day I open up to people about my ability, let alone to a complete stranger. Will he laugh? If he does, I swear, I'll beat him bloody.

"Yup, dead people." I sit up a little more in the bed and focus on the runny eggs instead of on Officer Dan. It's easier if I don't look at him. I don't know why, but it's important to me that he believes me. Sally needs him to believe, but so do I. It's those danged eyes of his. "Since I was five," I continue. "I woke up after... after everything and the first thing I saw was an old man. He was shuffling around, looking lost until he saw me and figured out I could see him. I couldn't talk, I had tubes down my throat, but he kept yelling for me to help him. None of the nurses or doctors paid him any attention when he tried to talk to them. Someone else came in, a woman, who told him no one could hear him, that he was dead. Then she took him somewhere."