A Gift or A Curse

Chapter 19

"What do you mean you're not Jimmy anymore? Has he gone again?"

Blake hadn't been downstairs for even ten minutes and she was shot with a lot of questions from the boys. After she told them that Jimmy didn't possess her anymore of course.

"He's here. But I don't want him to be in me anymore."

"Why not?"

She glanced at Jimmy who pursed his lips trying not to tease her again.

"Personal reasons."

"Is it because he saw you naked?" Johnny asked innocently and made her startled. Jimmy snorted out a laugh and was proud of his little innocent friend suddenly.

"Dude! Really? To a girl?" Zacky smacked behind Johnny's head and whispered.

"Sorry." Johnny mumbled.

"How do you know about that?" she asked him, eyes bulging in horror.

"He practically ranted on and on about it when he was drunk. Couldn't slip past my mind."

Blake turned her piercing sharp stare to Jimmy again. He simply shrugged.

"You have to excuse him, Blake. This guy is an asshole when he speaks." Zacky retorted, pointing to Johnny next to him.

"Heyyy!" Johnny slapped his thumb away and Zacky showed his middle finger to him.

"Don't worry about it. So then, where do we go from here? Do you guys still need me or what?"

"Of course we do! As long as Jimmy is around, we need you Blake." Matthew stepped further and stood directly in front of her.

"Okay. But I don't know for how long I can stay here. And for how long will Jimmy be - you know, around."

They all looked at each other.

"Okay. We understand that. But in the meantime, you're welcome to stay here." Brian smiled at her while wrapping an arm around his wife.

"Stay here? But I left my bag at Jimmy's house."

"No problem we can fetch it for you."

She gleamed at each and one of them. Never in a million years she would think about meeting new people and it would be this instant. Just by watching how close they are with Jimmy, she wanted to be a part of it.

"Welcome to the family, Blake."

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Today was a bit different. Blake can feel it in her guts. But she wasn't sure of what it is yet. She spent the whole night talking and getting to know the guys and the twins and she already love how they would randomly bicker at each other about the smallest things. Especially that short guy, Johnny and that piercing green eyed man, Zacky. Jimmy would explain about their behavior each and Blake was slowly learning about them.

Matthew was the leader by the looks of it. Despite his cold defense towards her the first time, he became the warmest. He and Valerie, his wife - were inseparable now that she was pregnant. He watched her moves carefully and kept nagging about her nutrition and stuff. He also talked in tunes a lot. An awful lot. Like he would mimic a sound of guitar or drums or even bass, using his mouth. Blake found him very entertaining.

She was a bit distant with Brian although he would always come to her and asked about Jimmy's whereabout every now and then. Brian didn't talk much to her as he was talkative with his wife, Michelle.

Zacky was the attentive one. She felt comfortable being by his side. Sometimes she wondered why they had to keep their rough look when all of them were actually sweet and kind.

But today was different. She woke up at 7 in the morning and the birds were already chirping from outside her bedroom window. She saw Jimmy was standing in front of it, hands in his pockets. Just last night he was lying next to her and watched until she drifted off to sleep.

"Jim?" she called. Jimmy turned to her and smiled.

"Hey, you. Good morning."

"How long have you been standing there?"

Jimmy shrugged. "Couple of hours."

"Aren't you tired?"

He chuckled at her question. "Ghosts don't feel tired."

She laughed and all of a sudden her stomach growled.

"You're hungry?"

"Yeah."

"Want me to carry you downstairs?"

"No!"

"Aww I wanna scare them off!"

"No, Jimmy. They already freaked out the first time you threw the apple at me. Johnny's face was -"

"- pale as fuck. Yea I know. I was kidding."

Jimmy liked that Blake didn't flinch at his curse words anymore. She was getting used to it.

"What, I didn't get any wish?" he spoke suddenly after seeing her only yawning on the bed.

Blake raised her eyebrows, dumbfounded. "Wish?"

"Today's my birthday."

So that was it! It was Jimmy's birthday and she can sense it already right at the moment when she opened her eyes. It was like they had a connection or something.

"Today's your birthday?"

"Yeah. I know. Weird right? I'm already dead yet I still want to celebrate my birthday."

Blake scrambled out of bed into his arms and circled her own arms around his waist tightly.

"Happy birthday Jimmy!"

Jimmy hugged her tightly back.

"There you go. I was looking for that. Thank you, Blake."

Blake smiled and looked up to him. "So what do you want for your birthday?"

Jimmy gazed into her mesmerizing blue eyes intently.

"To be alive again."

Her face fell suddenly, her arms started loosened as she was backing away from him.

"I can't grant that."

Jimmy pulled her back into his arms. "Hey, I know. I was just kidding. There is no way that I could be alive again."

Blake stared at him. At that moment she was attracted. Her heart pumped fast and her stomach fluttered. She made an immediate decision and she couldn't even bring herself to believe it.

"I know how to make you feel alive. But only for a short while though."

"How?"

She backed away again, slowly this time. Her hands reaching down for the hem of her nightgown and she pulled it upwards, revealing her pale skin in a matching set of black lacy underwear.

Jimmy raised his eyebrow and his mouth dropped open in drool. His eyes traveled all around her beautiful body as he stunned speechless before her.

"Blake, I -"

"Happy birthday Jimmy." She bit her lip and deep in her heart she knew - she had fallen for this ghost.