After the Ghost

e l e v e n

I wake up to my phone ringing. I look at the caller and it is Aiden.

"Hello?" I ask groggily as I answer the phone.

"Is everything okay?" He asks and I look over to my bedside clock and it reads noon. Wow I overslept.

"Yeah," I say after a moment.

"I texted you a couple times, I was worried." He says and I close my eyes and roll over but immediately gasping in pain as I put pressure on my collarbone.

"Mandy?!" Aiden sounds concerned, clearly on edge.

"I just moved wrong. Why did you text? Why are you worried?" I asked, even though I was worried for him too I would have let him sleep in, unlike his rude phone call to wake me up.

"Andy was going to go back to the B&B tonight." Aiden tells me and I sigh.

"Why so soon?" I groan and Aiden doesn't answer for a while. I stay laying with my eyes closed until he says something.

"Miranda, we are all really scared, not only for ourselves but for you. I mean this is scary business for us because we can't see the goddamn things or know what is going on. But it is ten times scarier for you as you seem to be the targeted one, and they can hurt you like any human can." He audibly shivers. I frown. I shouldn't have gotten anyone into this business. I should have never counted on them for anything and figured this out myself. But I can't take any of that back now.

"It's odd how they can hurt me isn't it? I mean I'm a human just part of my soul is connected to that plain and it gives me this horrible yet amazing ability. But you shouldn't be worried for me. Because if they can hurt me, I can hurt them ten times over... Aiden... I want you to stay out of this..." I trail off not knowing what to say next.

"No." He refuses.

"I can't watch more people die, Aiden. This is an actual war and with war comes death. I can't do that to you. I can't throw you into this. You've got a life. A life away from all of this and you need to live it." I take in a shaky breathe and let it out slowly.

"No, I'm apart of this too. I could see Collin and that has got to mean something. I mean if I can see a ghost, then I am a part of this. Even if it's only one ghost." He tells me.

"That was because of Lucius but he is gone, and you should go too." I tell him.

"You must be crazy." He says in utter disbelief.

"Maybe" I whisper with a sigh, "Let's talk in person." I tell him and he agrees with a quick yes before I hear some banging around on his end of the phone.

"I'll be there soon." He tells me and I just hang up without saying goodbye. I have a hard time saying goodbye in any context nowadays because I never want it to be the last goodbye.

I get up and head to the bathroom. I strip quickly and turn the shower on scolding hot to try and help soothe my muscles. I scrub my body to the point that it is raw. I wash my hair with excess amounts of shampoo and conditioner. I was trying extremely hard to clean myself of all the events that happened the past week or so. Eventually though I had to get out. I brushed my teeth and untangled my damp hair before heading to my room to get dressed. I thank technology for my waterproof casts that cover my battered up body before I throw on a oversized black crewneck and some dark green jeans. I check my wrapped foot. They (the doctors) had put on the bandages as a precaution because they weren't sure if there was a hairline fracture because apparently my foot looked pretty beat up. My foot was super swollen and still a pretty deep shade of purple. I put the bandages back on with a sigh.

I put on some very fuzzy socks and plan to wear my dreaded old ugg boots. I shiver at the word but they are the only shoes that will fit with my bandages and fuzzy socks. Claire had made me buy the shoes because apparently as a freshman in highschool they are necessary to be noticed at all. Highschool seems so silly at the moment. So many real, life-threatening things were happening right now and I was still in highschool.