Ghost of You

20

Warning: This chapter deals with some very serious subjects, including rape. Feel free to skip this part if you would rather not read about said matters or if this is a trigger for you. Know that sexual assault is a crime and if you have experienced this you are not alone. I would also like to commend all the brave people out there who have recently stepped up and let their voices and stories be heard. Hopefully they can help to empower others who have been living in the shadows of such a terrible crime. #METOO
Wishing you beautiful readers the best! Love, Dakota

-Luke-

I woke up in an empty bed. Some days I forgot that Ken didn't always have the luxury of working from home. I jogged down the stairs in hopes that she left a note for me like usual. Her pretty cursive on a napkin always made my mornings better. Sure enough, I found her message sitting on the marble island.

I smiled to myself as I read,

"Hey babe! Hope you're having a wonderful morning. I booked an extra shoot last night so I'm heading out early to get that golden hour lighting just outside town. See you tonight, love. -Ken"

Next to the napkin was a Polaroid of me sleeping. She had gotten in the habit of taking these because she said I always looked so peaceful and endearing. I smiled to myself as I held it up.

I headed back up the stairs to take a shower. I pulled my T-shirt over my head and began to peel off my boxers when my foot hit a black canister on the floor. I leaned over picking it up. It was one of Kennedy's lenses, the one she had just ordered and was dying to test out. I whipped out my phone texting her to send me her location. I smiled to myself picturing how excited she'd be for me to stop by and bring the lens she had forgotten.

-Kennedy-

I pulled my car to the side of the road arriving at the spot I had coordinated to meet with my client at. My phone vibrated and I saw that Luke had texted me. He sent me a cute good morning message that made me blush a little and I sent him my location in response. It made me giddy to think that he might visit me on the job. Whenever he watched me shoot he would always say that I looked sexy when I was so serious.

I got out of the car and pulled my camera equipment bag out of the trunk. It was a beautiful day and I expected these pictures to turn out really well. The lighting seemed to be just perfect as the sun kissed the earth.

The area I had chosen for the first half of the photo shoot was a very lush natural spot right outside of city limits. The wildflowers were in full bloom and the grassy hills gave the space dimension. I set my equipment up in a small valley where the sun eclipsed at the meeting point of two hills. It was truly beautiful.

I should have known it was too good to be true.

I stood there waiting for my client, Claire Dennis, for about ten minutes. I figured she was just running late. It happened a lot for senior pictures and the location was a little bit of a drive so I wasn't worried.

As I stood peering through the viewfinder of my camera, a sudden force pulled me back. I screamed in surprise, as I hit the ground.

The figure in front of me was a familiar one. "Will?" I said squinting through the sunlight.

No response came as he lowered himself to my level. I stared at him in utter shock. Why was he here?

"Are you alright?" I said, focusing in on his eyes. They were bloodshot and bewildered. There was no trace of the soft warm gaze he once had, instead they were frantic and unsettling. He looked psychotic.

"I'm good, how are you?" He said overly calmly.

"I'm alright," I shuddered feeling very vulnerable. "I'm just waiting for a client to come for a photo shoot."

He laughed maniacally, "Never the quickest to catch on were you?"

I stared at him in confusion until it all clicked in my head. "You're Claire Dennis?"

"Good girl, Kennedy! Look at you, putting the pieces together," A deranged smile washing over his face.

"What do you want?" I whispered, feeling the anxiety rise in my chest.

"Nothing." He replied wide eyed.

"Then what are you doing here?" I questioned getting up to my feet slowly.

"I missed you." He said inhumanly. There was a mechanical quality to his voice that made me question how much of him if any was still in there.

"Well, I'm here and you've seen me so I think it would be best if I packed up now." I asserted, wanting with all my heart to escape. If I could have one power in this moment it would be to vanish.

"Oh Kennedy, don't leave so soon. Was it the pictures? Are you angry?" He asked taking a step closer to me.

"No, I'm not angry." I replied calmly. "Will, I don't think you're well. We can work this out and I'll make sure to help you get the support you need." I started to reach for my bag where my phone was and he screamed.

I froze and he glared at me with a deranged and horrified look on his face. "But I'm perfectly well can't you see?" He spat kicking the bag out of my reach.

"Will, you set my backyard on fire and broke all the windows in my house." I said quietly.

"You left me. You left me for that asshole. You left me with nothing. I have nothing!" He cried.

"Hey, you still have me. We can be friends." I reassured trying to calm him from the sudden outburst.

His eyes darkened and he took a step closer. "I don't want to be friends." He snarled.

I felt the adrenaline pulsing through my body, making me feel like I was about to explode.

He now stood about a foot away from me. His crazed eyes burned through me. He smiled the smile of someone who was about to do something very wrong, "Are you scared of me?"

I ran. I ran as fast as I possibly could. I ran through the tall grass. I ran with everything I had in me. I ran without looking back. I ran until a force greater than I could withstand knocked me down.

I screamed so loudly it felt as though my lungs had burst. I kicked and flailed my limbs like a fish out of water. My breathing sped up as I felt the rocky earth on the bare skin of my legs that jeans had once covered. I clawed at the face that I once knew until my arms were restrained and the heavy weight of a full grown man pinned me to the ground.

The next part I can't recall. My body and mind reject the thought of it. I escaped myself to be removed from the situation. And when it was done and he left, I returned to myself. The body laying on the ground discarded.

I couldn't move. All I could do was stare up at the sky above me which spun. It was silent. It was as if someone had put the world on mute. I didn't feel the hard ground beneath me or the grass that tickled my skin. I felt nothing. I was completely numb to the universe.

And then I decided to turn it all off. The sunlight that hit my face disappeared and it all faded to black.