Ghosts of The Past

Chapter Four: Stay In Bed

Her head lays upon his chest while his arms wrap around her bare back. Her chest is pressed against his stomach and he leans down to press a kiss on her forehead.
"I saw the large painting over your fireplace. Looks expensive." Norma says softly.
"It was. The most expensive thing in my house. Hell, it could be just as expensive as the house itself." he says.
"It's not like you to buy such a thing." she states.
"I know. It was impulsive. It reminded me of you at the time. Lately I have been...acting strange. Doing things unlike me. I butchered a case at work the other day." he tells her.
"You did?" she asks with surprise.
"The answer was obvious. The suspect was right in front of me and I got it wrong. I don't know what happened." he mumbles, staring at the ceiling.
"People make mistakes-"
"Not me. I don't get cases wrong." he says. He wraps his arm around her, rubbing her side, letting his fingers discover each rib on her stomach. He stops when he feels a faint thud.
"I can feel your heart beat against my skin." he whispers.
"Which is odd because you didn't have a pulse when I found you. I held your cold body in my arms." he says sadly. She reaches up to his chest, her fingers playing with his chest hair.
"This isn't real, is it?" he asks sadly, closing his eyes.
"It's a dream." he says.
"This is real." she whispers. She looks up at him, resting her chin on his chest.
"Alex, this is real." she says.
"I'm just going to keep my eyes closed. Because this is like that moment in the morning when you first wake up and you're still half asleep and everything seems...things are possible and dreams seem real. They feel real for that small moment. That moment between sleeping and waking, things still feel real.
"And then you open your eyes and the sun hits you and everything...I'm just going to keep my eyes closed so I can live in that sliver of time where things are possible and you are alive, with a beating heart. I'm going to stay in that moment where you are here, in my arms, naked and sweaty. Because I don't want this to go away." he whispers. She rests her head back against his chest with a soft smile, her fingers playing with his chest hair again.
"Okay." she whispers.
"Okay." he says with a smile, placing a kiss on her head.

His eyes open and he looks around the room at the sunlight that pours in through the drapes. He smiles and looks over to Norma's side of the bed to kiss her. But when he sees the sheets empty, he quickly sits up and looks around, his breath becoming labored.
"Norma?" he asks, his hand running over the cold sheets where she had laid last night. He rips the blanket off of him and stands up, sliding his boxers on.
"Norma?" he calls out.
"Norma? Norma!" he shouts, running to the door. He opens it and reveals Norma leaning against the doorway in her dress.
"Woah, what's all the yelling about?" she asks.
"Jesus...Norma, you can't just do that." he says, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her to his chest. He shuts the door and pulls away from her.
"You can't just disappear. I thought you were gone." he says angrily.
"I was just-"
"I thought you had left me again." he shouts, grabbing his sweatpants and pulling them on. She slowly smiles an innocent smile.
"Alex, I told you before, I am here for you." she says.
"No you're not." he says.
"You died. You died, and you left me here." he shouts.
"I was left here by myself. You left me...all alone."
"You're not alone anymore." she says softly.
"Why? Why did you come back?" he asks softly. She looks at him with confusion.
"You don't want me here?" she asks.
"I was trying to move on. I-I was trying to get over you. I have a life and a job and...and now you're back, and I'm in this room all day, probably talking to myself. I'm probably going crazy, and there is a real world out there. And I'm stuck in here with you and my crazy...impossible thoughts." he says, running a hand through his hair.
"I'm sorry I died." she says, her smile long gone, replaced with a look of sorrow.
"No. No, screw you." he shouts.
"No, you don't get to apologize for dying. You don't get to apologize because I killed you!" he shouts.
"Alex-"
"I shouldn't have let Norman stay in the house with you. I didn't come to check on you sooner. And I killed you. So you don't get to apologize for dying." he says, stumbling backwards to sit on the bed. He pulls his legs up to his chest, staring at the ground
"Alex..."
"Dead people don't apologize." he whispers.
"Alex..."
"No, don't say anything." he whispers, tears running down his face.
"Don't say anything. Don't say...anything." he whispers.
She walks over and sits beside him, pulling her knees up beside her. They sit there in silence, both thinking about the situation at hand. Alex didn't know how long they sat there before Norma finally broke the silence.
"I love you." she whispers. He smiles slightly, the words still making his heart race five years later.
"I love you too." he says. She holds her hand out to him, her eyes still on the door. He smiles and takes her hand in his own, his thumb rubbing her skin soothingly.
They sit there for an hour or two until Alex's phone buzzed. He grabbed it from the bed and looks down at it with a frown.
"Its work. Urgent. I have to go." he says, looking at her.
"Okay. So, go." she says. He stands up and grabs his shirt, pulling it on. He goes to leave but stops, turning back to her.
"Is this the part where you go back to heaven or whatever? And you leave me here feeling satisfied with yourself because you gave me this last night together? Because I...needed it to grieve and move on?" he asks with worry. She smiles, standing up from the bed.
"Alex, go. I'm not going anywhere." she says with a smile.
He nods, grabbing her hand in his own. He looks down at it and smile, holding it up to her.
"You've still got the ring on." he whispers, placing a kiss on her ring finger just above his mother's ring.
"Go. You're going to be late." she says, placing a kiss on his lips.
"God, I missed this." he whispers, deepening the kiss. She pulls away with a giggle.
"Alex, if you kiss me any longer you won't be out of this room for another hour or so. So leave. Now." she says, pushing him gently. He laughs and nods.
"Okay. Fine. I'll go." he says, walking away. He couldn't contain the smile that was tattooed on his face because of her. She was back in his life and he couldn't believe it.