A fair Trade - A Beetlejuice Fanfiction - Betelgeuse & Lydia

Chapter 1

Holding tightly to the distressed 5-month-old in her arms, the young woman listened to the pounding on the wooden door as it intensified. It shook wildly from the abuse, but surprisingly it held firm. The person on the other side cursed and yelled threats, while the terrified mother tried calming the small child with soothing words. She attempted to relax her tense form and settle her wreck nerves, but the child still felt her distress and continued with its fussing.

Closing her eyes, she tried blocking out the threats that were being thrown through the thick wood. It was hard since they seemed to increase in volume the more that she didn't respond. Her exes screechy voice filtered into the enclosed room. "You stupid bitch! Open this fucking door right now! I'm going to shut that fucking brat up then you're fucking next!"

The scared mother silently prayed that the door would hold, though praying was useless. She knew what happened when you died, and there was no god at the other end, just a boring waiting room with a bunch of stiffs.

Fuck! She ran her free hand through her matted hair as the panic within her began to rise. She didn't want to die. Not anymore, anyway. She wasn't a sad and depressed kid that wanted in on the other side. No, she had grown up a long time ago.

Her eyes popped open and went to the useless phone at her feet. The son of a bitch had cut the phone lines before he had broken into the house. The foot closest to it shot out and kicked the hunk of plastic across the tiled floor.

Shit! She should have known that something like this could happen. Why did she let her guard down? Why did she think that a protection order would have been enough? Goddamn it!

Her lip throbbed wildly, while her shaky fingers raised carefully to touch the split in her appendage. The fucking abusive cunt had caught her while she was sleeping. He had hit her a good one to wake her up from her slumber. The asshat then had proceeded to strike her a few more times, before the opportunity to get away came. She did get in a kick of her own and was able to nail his nuts as a form of payback.

The door groaned, causing her brown eyes to snap to it and suck in a sharp breath. Oh no, the wood wasn't going to hold much longer. Shit! They needed help. She tightened her hold on her daughter, as her mind frantically fought for some kind of solution. They couldn't die like this! She couldn't let them die like this! 'Come on, Lydia! Think of something, damn it!' She screamed at herself as her fear got the best of her.

Suddenly a face from her childhood popped into her mind's eye. Him! She hadn't thought about him in years. Would he come if she called? Would his anger from their broken deal cloud his judgment? Shit, she wasn't sure! Lydia really didn't know him at all. Well, other than what she had seen and heard. None of those things were stellar by any means.

The wood of the door creaked some more, clearly splintering from the hits. The frightened female shut her eyes and held her breath, but the door didn't budge. Christ, she had to decide whether she was going to call him or not. Either way, Lydia looked at it, she was screwed.

The pounding continued, and so did the groaning of the wood. Fuck it! She couldn't let that abusive fucker on the other side of the door get to them. Lydia had always had some luck with the dead, and now she had some leverage. The young mother knew what the dead man wanted the most, his freedom.

She opened her eyes and gazed at her daughter then leaned in to kiss her tiny forehead. She would do anything for her child, even if that meant giving up her own freedom. Lucinda was worth it. Her daughter would always be worth it.

Leaning her head back against the wall, Lydia closed her eyes once again and said the name that she swore that she would never utter. Her voice was but a whisper as the name slid passed her bloody lips. "Betelgeuse." The hairs on the back of her neck and arms raised at her words. She swallowed again and forced the name. "Betelgeuse." The air became thicker, and energy seemed to now flow around the tiny bathroom. Lydia held her child tighter and said his name one last time. "Betelgeuse."

The crackling of energy swirled around the room, along with his gravelly laugh of triumph. "Fuck Yeah!" She heard him clap his hands in delight. "Free at fucking last. I knew that old bat couldn't hold me!" There was some more whooping then he became quiet as he must have taken in the situation he had popped into.

Lydia opened her dark eyes and scanned the small room. Her terrified gaze landed on the now silent poltergeist and watched as recognition flashed in his green eyes. Before the young woman could blink, he was in front of her, and his cool hand flew out to snag ahold of her chin. The poltergeist drew it up to his face for closer inspection. His bright eyes burned even brighter as he moved her face from side to side. Betelgeuse's gruff voice oozed his anger, while his body shook violently, and a snarl ripped from him. "Who the fuck did this?"

As soon as she could open her mouth to speak, the door was getting another beating, and the threats continued. "Lydia, you fucking whore! Did you really think a piece of paper would stop me? When I get to you, you are going to wish for your death then I'm going to drown that little bastard that I never fucking wanted!"

Lydia sucked in a sharp breath and grabbed onto the dirty striped sleeve, as a plea fell from her lips. "Please, he'll do it. He'll hurt LuLu." Tears pooled in her tired eyes and spilled down her cheeks, landing on his cold hand. "Please help us. I...I'll do anything."

Betelgeuse's eyes roamed her face, then to the door and back. His smoky voice was hard as steel as he spoke to her. "Marry me. No fucking bullshit. No goody-goodies and definitely, no goddamn sandworms! We marry tonight. Agree to my terms, and your problem will be gone."

Lydia didn't think twice as she agreed whole-heartedly to the terms laid out in front of her. As long as he protected Lulu from that abusive bastard, she'd do whatever the dead man wanted. To her, that seemed like a fair trade. "Yes, I'll marry you. Please just make him go away."

The dead man stared at the frightened woman for a few minutes as if he were weighing her words. Not that she could blame him. The last time that they had made a deal, well, she had not kept to her word though being a teenager at the time hadn't helped the situation. The poltergeist must have seen what he was looking for because he swiftly released her jaw and pulled away.

Standing up, he cracked his knuckles and gave his new fiancée a Cheshire cat grin and a wink, while amusement and what seemed like excitement colored his tone. "It's showtime." The poltergeist snapped his fingers and blinked quickly out of sight, leaving the young mother with her thoughts.