Diaries of the Dead

4 | Sketchy People

4 | S k e t c h y P e o p l e

Aiden prepared a sandwich for himself and set it on the granite countertop. He leaned his back against the counter and overlooked the kitchen. It was bare. Aside from the pots and pans that hung from the ceiling, the refrigerator, and the microwave, there was nothing else to work with. He would need to stock the pantry and buy some plates and cups.

Besides that, Aiden was satisfied with the rest of the house. None of the original furniture had been moved which meant less work for him.

He sighed as he gathered his food and strolled out of the kitchen and into the small office near the foyer. He pulled out his swivel chair and plopped down onto it. His desk was perfectly neat, with everything in its appropriate place. His friends in the past have said that he was uptight but he liked it this way.

He watched as his computer screen roared to life and sighed once he saw the job application form. It had been extremely hard to get a job here. Ever since he graduated from college, it had been a tedious process. Especially for an English major.

Aiden heard the back door suddenly burst open. He wasn't startled one bit because he already knew who it was. He sighed heavily and moved towards the back of the house. As suspected, the screen door that led to the backyard was wide open.

He jogged down the steps of the wooden deck until he landed on the concrete pool surface. His cobalt eyes gazed at Jessica, who was standing at the edge of the pool with her back faced to him.

She sensed his presence but continued to look at the water as she slipped deeper into her thoughts. "I remember when I fell here," she stated. "I was a kid, probably five or six. I was running around the pool. My dad told me to stop. He told me that I would hurt myself, but I didn't listen. I slipped and my head hit the concrete-" She gazed down at a crack in the concrete. "-I don't remember what happened after that."

Aiden watched her curiously. "I thought you said you don't remember anything."

The mid-height gregarious brunette whipped around and narrowed her eyes. "I just remembered this." She folded her arms across her chest. "I don't know why."

Aiden examined her appearance. She looked slightly different than she did before. She wore a new set of clothes, a loose fitting red dress that hugged her waist. Her long black hair was pulled into a ponytail with a few loose strands framing her face. Her full pink lips were painted a deep shade of red that contrasted against her fair skin.

"How do you change clothes?"

Jessica shrugged. "A ghost perk?"

"Why are you dressed like that?"

She shrugged once more.

"Do you remember the diner?" he asked, switching the subject.

She laughed lightly. "The diner that I seemed to always talk about when I was alive? No, I wish I did."

"I was just about to take a trip down there. Vanessa works there."

"Vanessa?"

"The girl who-"

"Right," she cut him off quickly.

Aiden pressed his lips together. "You have a problem with her. Why?"

"You might not understand," Jessica walked towards him and pulled her lips into a brilliant smile. "But she annoys me. Her desperation is so obvious that it kills me." Just as she said this, she laughed. "It kills me! Get it?"

"I get it."

* * * *

"You're late." Grace called just as Vanessa took a step over the threshold.