A fair Trade - A Beetlejuice Fanfiction - Betelgeuse & Lydia

Chapter 3

Lydia woke with a start, pulling herself up in her bed and glancing at the clock. It was just past 6 in the morning, and usually, she would have been woken up by Lucy by now. She rubbed her sleep crusted eyes and yawned widely, causing her to wince in pain from her forgotten cut. She fingered the wound gingerly as she remembered how it happened. The events from last night came back to her, and she couldn't help, but look around the room for her new husband.

When Lydia realized that he wasn't there, she began to wonder where the dead man could have gone. Did he do as she suspected and ditched them last night? She didn't understand the fierce pain at the thought of the obnoxious poltergeist leaving. Rubbing at her chest while quickly shoving away the unexplained feeling, the shaken female threw off the covers and climbed out of bed.

The young mother softly padded out of the door and made her way to her child's bedroom. Peering into the crib, Lydia felt panic clawing at her heart when she noticed that Lucy was not in her bed. 'Oh my god, where could she be?' Thought the frantic woman as her imagination came up with the worst-case scenarios.

Hurrying out of the room and down the hall to the living room, Lydia slowed when she heard what sounded like the television. She carefully padded into the room and paused in midstep when she spied an unfamiliar big black Lazboy in place of one of her chairs. Slowly she resumed her paces and diligently tiptoed to the furniture. Relief washed over her once she saw who it was in the overstuffed lounger. There stretched out and snoring away was Betelgeuse with her tiny daughter splayed out on his chest, her little snores echoing his larger ones.

The urge to capture the moment struck her, and she rushed to get her camera before either one of them woke up. She came back with the device in hand and started quietly snapping away with it. It felt good to be behind the camera again and to hear the soft clicking that followed her every move. Lydia couldn't believe she had stopped something that she loved so much. She swore to herself that she would never let anyone take what she loves away again.

A sigh pushed between her lips while she moved silently around the chair, hitting all of the angles with her lens. Lydia hoped the pictures would come out, unlike the photos of the Maitlands, which had no feet and all sheet. It really would be hard to explain how her daughter was just floating in mid-air. Plus, it truly was a beautiful shot and would be a shame for it to end up going to waste.

Lydia pondered if it would be different since Betelgeuse himself wasn't like the rest. It was something that she had to keep reminding herself. He wasn't like a regular entity, no he was an extremely formidable poltergeist whose powers held no bounds. That was why he was feared and contained for that very reason. Though looking at him laying with a tiny baby sprawled over his chest, he appeared harmless and dare she say ordinary. The dead man just came across as any other father falling asleep with their infant. Wasn't that what he was to Lucy as of last night? He said it himself; her tiny daughter now carried some of his power becoming his biologically. He was her father now. Her stomach did somersaults at the notion, and she bit the inside of her cheek as she thought on that.

The young mother had been positive he would have bailed on them as soon as the I dos were said. It was blatantly clear with all the spouting years ago about his damn freedom, but the dead man had surprised her by staying. Why? Why did the specter stay when he had the chance to run? He was now a free man, and yet he stayed. This man was a walking contradiction, though maybe that's what he wanted people to perceive. Maybe what she was witnessing was the real Betelgeuse. A smile stretched over her features at the idea of being one of the few to see the real poltergeist, and she couldn't help but like it. The unexpected feeling caught her off balance, and she quickly brushed away the stray thought, not wanting to think more about the emotion. Turning away from the scene, Lydia carefully and quietly left the room to put her camera back before heading to the kitchen to start breakfast.