The Former Lover [Sequel To Military Minds]

Chapter 20

Chapter 20
The bedroom door slammed shut.

Rebecca jolted up in bed, her heart racing a million miles inside her ribcage. The room was in darkness, save the moonlight filtering through the partly open window, the gentle breeze playing with the curtains, lifting and then dropping them.

Megan's spirit stood by the wall plastered with developed pictures of Rebecca and her friends five years ago. Some were random selfies taken by either herself, or Millie or Jacinta. They were all grinning in them, or pulling silly faces. Very fewer showed Rebecca and Megan.

"Megan," Rebecca breathed, falling back against her pillows. "You scared the daylights out of me."

The spirit appeared over her, pinning Rebecca to the mattress by all four limbs. Her hair slid forward from her shoulders, but Rebecca felt nothing on her face.

"I refuse to let you marry my brother!"
Rebecca, confused, raised an eyebrow. Before she could speak, Megan continued, not-too-kindly.
"You made a commitment to me!" She growled through clenched teeth. "You said -

"You were the one who told me to move on," Rebecca interjected. Bold move. "I love Cameron, whether or not you like it!"

The spirit revealed clenched teeth, before straightening from her and off the mattress.

Rebecca stumbled to her feet, still disoriented with sleep. "Megan, what's wrong?"

The spirit sighed, her chest rising and falling, despite the fact she didn't need to breathe. "I saw what happened to you. That fragment of timber impaled you right through the chest, near your heart." She paused, tucking a strip of jet black hair behind her ear. She looked out the window, ignoring Rebecca's curious gaze. "I thought I was losing you all over again. I lost you once, when I died, and I was so scared it would happen again."

The soldier swallowed the lump in her throat. She had felt Megan's presence - she hadn't hallucinated that. She had only hallucinated Megan being in her dead body, and moving.

"You'll never lose me," Rebecca smiled half-heartedly. "We are always together, Megan, in spirit. No one or nothing can ever take that away from you, or me. We have a special bond that only we can understand, and it's stronger than ever, even though you are no longer on this earth."

The spirit threw her arms around Rebecca, completely taking her off balance. Both stumbled onto the mattress, holding each other tenaciously, as if they were seconds away from an apocalypse.

"I'm glad you're finally happy, sweetheart."

Rebecca jerked her eyes towards the doorframe, where she was certain the voice had come from. But Glenn wasn't there.

A translucent figure stepped effortlessly through the wood, coming to stop at the foot of Rebecca's bed. She was tall, just like Rebecca remembered her. Her caramel hair spilled over her shoulders, the fading blonde highlights still evident throughout. Her tanned, hard-featured face was taut with what - worry?

"Mum!"

Before she knew it, Rebecca had risen to her feet and flung her arms around Melanie's spirit. Like with Megan, she felt solid flesh beneath her face, resting her cheek against her mother's chest. Without warning, she lost it, and burst into tears.

It felt like forever since Melanie had passed away. Every day since, Rebecca had struggled in her day-to-day life. She struggled to get up in the mornings, knowing that her mother wasn't there to make her laugh by speaking like a child to the cats, or she didn't come barging into her room, telling Rebecca to get up. The thing that hurt the most about Melanie's passing was her presence.