Alone in the Dark - A Dark Ghost Sequel

FOUR

"This bitch fucking faked her own death!" That was the first conclusion Vida came to. Chubs tried to calm her down while I paced the room worriedly. This was not the reaction I was expecting or hoping for. 

"Vi, calm down. Hear her out. Hell, let me tell you if it'll make a difference?" He pleaded with her.

To say it plainly, she was in shock. I couldn't blame her. I mean I didn't even realise they thought I was dead until I realised I was alive. Or at least remembered that I thought I had died in the first place. 

Chubs led her out onto his terrace, like damn— did this kid win the lottery or something? From the outside, this little apartment didn't look like much but inside it looked fit for a VIP! Then again, that could just be my slightly biased opinion since I don't remember living anywhere before Black Rock. Or Black Rock. Or anything. He sat her down and explained what had happened, in apparently greater deal than I ever could, and with multiple exaggerated hand gestures. Yeah, that's something I didn't remember him doing, but it's clear he does it a lot. 

Since they were pretty occupied, I decided to rewatch the video. It was only a couple minutes long and it felt like every time I watched it I regained a piece of myself. Although, it angered and scared me that I still couldn't remember people. Especially Cole. His name came up everywhere yet triggered nothing. Ruby... there was something there, but I couldn't access it. I remembered something about playing cards with people, but I still couldn't put names to faces. 

"Goddammit! Why did this have to happen? Why couldn't I have just fucking died? I'd rather be dead than be stuck like this!"

Chubs caught the vase inches before it hit my head, his telekinesis freezing it in mid-air just before the moment of impact. "What the hell just happened?"

I hadn't even realised that they had come in from outside. Chubs was standing there with a worried look on his face, his arm outstretched and Vida stood behind him, her makeup slightly smudged around her eyes.

"Aria. We need to get you under control." Chubs dropped the vase, putting it slowly back on the table it had come from. "Do you remember using telekinesis?" 

"I was a...?" What's the word. What's the system. Come on, what's the... BADGEY THINGS. YOU'VE SEEN THEM TODAY, COME ON! BLUE IS TELEKINESIS! "I was a blue?"

"No, boo. Charlie Boy and me are both blues, you're Indigo. Do you seriously not remember? Also, don't sweat the fact that I know, he filled me in on that part."

"Charlie Boy and I," Chubs corrected, and Vida gave him a stern look that seemed to just say 'not now'. Jesus, the grammar police is back. 

"What the fuck is an Indigo?"

"Oh shit, you weren't kidding." Vida looked me up and down. "We need Ruby for this."

9: Whatever the fuck an 'indigo' was, I was one.

Chubs shook his head, clearly not happy with that idea. "Hell no! She's been through enough in the past few years, we shouldn't shock her with... I don't know? Oh yeah, her friend coming back from the dead."

"We need her. You know she can help." Vida folded her arms, looking between the two of us. She leaned in closer to him and whispered something in his ear. This caused Chubs to go bright red and his eyes went wider than I could've ever thought humanly possible without his eyeballs falling out of their sockets. 

"Fine. Ruby, it is. But Lee is going to freak."

Ruby. Lee? Maybe seeing them would jog my memory? Maybe that was what they meant? Maybe they could help? Somehow?

~

So we got in the car. Well, we got to the car. 

"No way, budge over Grannie. We've been over this. If you drive, there's no hope of us breaking the fucking speed limit between now and next Tuesday." Grannie? Vida hauled Chubs' ass out of the driver's seat and took his place, not even waiting for his annoyed reply as she slammed the door and locked it. 

For some reason, Chubs looked at me for support but I was too busy trying not to laugh to be of any help. I slid into the back seat, and he sat down next to Vida, reaching for the radio controls. She slapped his hand away. "You know the rules."

"Yeah, driver controls the music. Universal law." I sing-songed from the back. 

Chubs froze, and if he were the one driving we would've been crushed at the crossing. Luckily, he wasn't, and Vida drove through the red light without a second glance. He locked eyes with me in the rear-view mirror. Chubs ducked his head after a moment, looking out the window and wringing his hands, muttering, "Lee used to say that all the time. Always got on my nerves, considering he never let me drive..."

"Oh," I said. That's probably somehow where I got it from.

The rest of the journey was in sort of silence, with Vida occasionally breaking it to make comments in an attempt to ease the awkwardness. I couldn't help but catch sight of her hair in the mirror every now and again. It was a bright purple, and even though it complimented her skin tone well, I had a small feeling that it would suit her more if it was blue.

"Lee isn't going to be very happy. Well I mean, he'll be happy to see us. But it's not like he's going to be pleased that we're turning up unannounced, with a surprise travelling companion who's come back from the dead. It'll bring up all sorts of questions." Chubs continued to talk to himself, whilst at the same time repeatedly taking off his glasses, cleaning them, and putting them back on. 

"Now might be a good time to mention that I used the group chat..." Vida smirked, stopping to beep the horn at a car that attempted to pull out in front of her. "It's not going to just be Boy Scout and Ruby, we're also going to be seeing Z and her two friends, and Cate if she turns up, maybe Nico too. At least, if they can all get there safely."

The car went silent again, and I sat in the back waiting for someone to say something.

"This is why I left that chat." Chubs muttered under his breath, rolling down the window to get some fresh air.

"No, you left the chat because Liam and Zu turned you into a gif."

I covered my mouth with both hands and still didn't manage to stop the laughter from escaping. It died down after a stern look from Chubs, but Vida pulled out her phone and tossed it in the vague direction of the backseat. "It's in my favourites, there are three different versions."

After finding the app labelled 'photos', I clicked on the image and dissolved into laughter again while Chubs put his head in his hands and rested it on the dashboard.