Go Away

Chapter Three

School was never my thing. I'm really smart and all but I hated being around people. Interacting with others wasn't hard for me but it's not like I wanted to do so. Things were okay when Ben was around though. I had a few classes with him and he always helped me in situations where I felt uncomfortable. 

"Ben's not here now" I would often have to tell myself at times when I needed him but remembered he wasn't here anymore, at least, not like that.

This is my last year of high school and I don't think it will be that hard even without Ben here. 

I'm walking through the main hall to my fourth period when I see someone that catches my eye. A boy, blonde hair, tall, and pale. I could swear up and down that I know him from somewhere but nothing clicks.

I see he's going in to the same room as me and I stare at the back of his head as we enter. The tables are made for two people and the board read "Take a seat where ever you'd like".

I watch the boy sit down at a table all the way across the classroom in the middle row. I stand and look around. There are only a few people there at this point but I still have no idea where to sit. I decide to take a risk, for the sake of my own curiosity, and saunter over to the boys seat.

I come to a stop and we lock eyes. Beautiful blue eyes that can leave you speechless. Eyes that I've seen before, eyes that I could never forget but can't pinpoint the exact memory itself.

He smirked and pulled out the chair next to him. I hesitated but took the seat, not breaking eye contact. 

"Gonna tell me your name" he asks after a few more seconds.

"Joy" I reply emotionless.

He nods and looks to the door where more and more students are piling in.

"Mind to tell me your name?"

"Sure" he says but doesn't say his name.

I give him a confused look and he just chuckles, folding his hands together on the black table.

"My name is Bladge."

I thought maybe the name would trigger something or maybe his voice but there's nothing. Just his appearance but no story behind the memory at this point.

I nod and look forward as my teacher introduces herself and begins to go over the classroom rules. I can feel him staring at me and I try my best not to look over. Maybe he remembers me too.

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The bell rings and Bladge begins to leave and I stop him.

"Have we met" I blurt out.

He smiles, "I don't know how that would be possible, I just moved here from Alaska."

"Alaska?"

"Yeah, that weird?"

"Oh, no. It's just, you live in a place like Alaska then decide to move to California. Drastic change, wouldn't you say?"

"My family used to live here" he says coldly.

"You lived here once? Maybe that's how I know you."

"You know me" he asks raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know, I feel like I've seen you before. Forget that I said anything actually, I have to get to class" I say, turning around and walking away as fast as I can.

He's strange. Strange in a mysterious way rather than an odd way. 

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I took the bus home that day. I hadn't seen Ben for a few hours and I was still quite annoyed with him from the earlier incidents but I was still curious as to where he was. I always wondered where the dead were when I couldn't see them or what they did.

Do they roam? Do they go to a place that maybe I have no knowledge of? Do they even know I can see them? 

I snap back to reality when the bus hits a bump and I hit my head against the window. I curse under my breath and stare out the window where I see something horrifying.

A ghost of a man hanging from a tree branch from a rope tied around his neck. His eyes are open and he's still, looking directly forward. He's wearing regular clothes, has an ordinary appearance, he even looks familiar. 

The bus passes and the tree is out of sight but the image is still locked into my mind. I don't come across suicide victims a lot but when I do I'm never prepared. I'm used to death but not death by choice. 

The bus stops and at first I don't realize it's my stop but when I do I almost trip getting out of my seat and the whole bus laughs. 

"You won't be laughing when I see you after your heart stops beating" I think to myself.

I get off the bus and walk slowly home. I love to take walks even though I never do. It's the beginning of Spring and the leaves are just starting to come back on all the bushes and trees. It's cool outside today and it feels so nice.

I stop in front of my house and examine it. The white paint is chipping and the garden needs to be tended to but it looks very cozy, like a cottage. 

I go inside and see Linden sitting at the table doing work. 

"Homework on the first day of school" I ask pulling out a chair to sit.

"It's not really homework, just a list of our favorite things so the teacher gets to know us better."

"You like your teacher?"

He hesitates, "I like her but she seems like she could be mean."

I smile at him even though he isn't looking. Linden and I have always gotten along even though he is young. He's the only family member I have that doesn't look at me as though I'm a disappointment. One of my biggest fears is that he'll grow up to think like my mother though.

"Where's your dad" I ask.

"He's your dad too."

"Technically he isn't."

"Just because he isn't your real dad doesn't mean he can't be your dad" he says.

"That made no sense" I say with a laugh.

"He's not home."

I nod and walk into the living room. It's dark and lifeless. It's my least favorite room in the house. The couch is old and squeaky and the TV doesn't even work. There's two big windows on the main wall and in between them hangs family pictures. Pictures of Linden and I when we were baby's, pictures of my mom and Jacob, and then one single picture of my dad. It's a picture of him from when he was in the army.

I open the blinds and sunlight pours in and fills the room. The dusts sparkles in the air like glitter. I look out the window to see a man standing across the street. It isn't an actual man, but the ghost of a man. The same man I saw hanging from the tree five minutes earlier, staring right into my soul.