Ecie & Esme II: Another Day Like This

Four

'Who doesn't have a burger?' Verde asked as he turned back to his friends who were seated around a large camp fire. He and Luke had been making burgers and passing them around the group.

'I think that's everyone,' Luke said taking a burger and sitting down.

'So who wants to tell a ghost story?' Grayson said.

'What are we, twelve?' Owen laughed.

'I like a good ghost story,' Joey smiled snuggling close to Owen. 'I want to hear one.'

'I've got one,' Paul said grinning.

'Your stories are always rubbish,' Sara kissed Paul. 'Why don't you let someone else tell one?'

Paul laughed then put his plate down on the floor and rubbed his hands together. 'There was once a girl called Cindy and she lived just on the outskirts of a town. Behind her house there was a really massive wood, which rumor said was haunted. One day, Cindy met a guy called John. John was just your ordinary guy. He went hunting and he cut trees down and stuff. Anyway, one day John is hunting with Cindy's father and he sees her. He thinks she's the most beautiful thing in the whole world and he wants to meet her. They slowly become friends and within months they've become lovers.

'Now there was another boy in the town who also liked Cindy and his name was Martin. Martin loved Cindy and had been watching her for many years as she grew up. This one day, Martin met Cindy in town and they got to talking; he told her that he knew someone who lived in the heart of the haunted wood and that he was going to go and visit him. Cindy was intrigued and wanted to go with him. So that night, they set out together into the wood. When they came to a hut, Cindy noticed there something odd. She could've sworn that she'd seen John's shirt hanging on a branch. When she turned to Martin, he bludgeoned her on the back of the head with the butt of an axe then dragged her into the dirty hut where earlier in the day, he had murdered John.'

'I think you told me this one before,' Sara said.

'So what happened next was that Cindy and John's ghost were reunited for eternity, but they swore revenge on Martin and placed a curse on him so that he would never fall in love until he was eighty and that his lover would murder him too,' Paul went on. 'They say that when you're murdered so violently, the only thing you care about is getting away. They also say that when you're killed so violently that you are permitted one curse for anybody who has ever wronged you and that you are protected for the rest of time.'

'That's creepy,' Joey said. 'Did they ever find Cindy and John's body?'

'Oh yeah,' Paul nodded. 'The wood behind Cindy's house is said to spontaneously catch fire every year on the day of their brutal killing. Cindy and John's bodies were found dismembered and strewn throughout the entire forest. It took the town seven months to find their remains.'

'Apparently their ghosts haunt all lovers,' Sara laughed hitting Paul and kissing him. 'I told you your stories are rubbish.'

Paul laughed and kissed Sara. 'That's just because you've heard them all before.'

'I don't think so,' Sara smiled rubbing her nose against his. 'Your stories are just rubbish, period.'

'Did they ever find Martin?' Esme asked. 'What happened to him?'

'The town hung him at dawn,' Sara replied. 'And they say that he walks the earth every night looking for lovers to kill.'

They sat for the rest of the night talking and joking as the fire died down.

'You and Paul are so cute together,' Esme said as she put the leftover food into the large green bins provided by the campsite.

'Things have been getting better,' Sara replied, she turned and looked at her boyfriend who was laughing and joking with the others. 'He's just so hard to pin down. One moment he knows what to do, and then the next he's just so clueless.'

'But there's definitely chemistry,' Esme said closing the bin and turning to look at the others. 'You guys made me wish that Taylor was here.'

'How are you guys?' Sara asked.

'We're really good,' Esme nodded. 'I think it's good we were dating for several months before he opened his store, otherwise I don't think I would be able to handle coming second. But I know it's only for a short time.'

'His store is sponsoring the Malibu Surf?' Sara asked.

'Yeah,' Esme replied. 'It'll be really big for him.'

'What are you guys thinking for college?'

'We haven't talked about it yet,' Esme replied. 'I don't want to start worrying about something so far in the future.'

'College applications have to be in by Friday,' Sara said. 'I think you should be worrying a little.'

'What are you and Paul going to do?'

'We're going to wait and see what happens,' Sara replied. 'We're applying to the colleges that we want and if we get into the same one then we'll talk about it. If we don't then we'll still talk about it.'

Esme nodded. 'I suppose that makes sense.'

'It'll probably be easier for you because you want to stay on the west coast.'

'Yeah,' Esme replied. 'But if I'll be going to school in San Francisco then I'm not sure how a long distance relationship will work.'

'Well no one knows what the future holds,' Sara sighed. 'Things can change in a second, just one measly little second.'

'Way to go and put a downer on life,' Esme laughed. 'Come on, let's go.'

'Do you want to share my tent,' Grayson smiled at Ecie. 'I think that Owen might sleep with Joey in your tent.'

'I thought we agreed on being civil,' Ecie replied. 'Don't make me hit you.'

'Yeah everything is sorted,' Grayson smiled. 'But I'm not one to miss out on some human warmth.'

'I'm fine thanks,' Ecie said. 'What about your girlfriend.'

Grayson grinned and held up his palms. 'Hey I left that girl at home. So it's just you and me.'

Ecie laughed at Grayson. 'You make me laugh Grayson,' she said. 'I think I'll pass.'

'You know where my tent is,' Grayson said cozying up close to Ecie. 'I'm never that far away.'

'Since when did you get so sleazy?'

'Hey man,' Luke said joining them. 'What's going on?'

'Could you tell your friend to stop coming onto me,' Ecie replied. 'He knows that I can't walk away from him.'

Luke laughed.

'I'm trying to be polite,' Grayson said. 'There's nothing wrong with that.'