Phantom

15.

Eddy

"Are you sure?" Brett asked, immediately getting up to grab his notebook. He seemed to wake up at this new information. "Do you remember what it looks like or where it was or...?"
Eddy shrugged and ran a hand through his hair.
"I mean uh... it was dark... but there was a fence?" Eddy wasn't sure what kind of details Brett wanted, and felt uncertain. There wasn't too much details to talk about anyway. He watched as Brett rummaged through a pile of stuff by the door to find a notebook and a pen.
"A fence, yeah. Anything else?" Brett asked, still writing as he walked back to the couch. Eddy tried to think, but everything else felt blurry or distant.
"I don't know... it looked like a backyard?" he sighed, scratching his head. "Sorry I'm no more help."
Brett scribbled down the last pieces of info he had and placed the notebook on top of some newspapers on the table.
"No no, don't worry about it. That actually helps a lot", he said, turning to look at Eddy. "Let me know if you remember something more. Anything, yeah?"
Eddy nodded and let out a sigh.
"I'll try and remember more tonight. The nights are so long, anyway." He looked up at Brett who had a worried look on his face, almost apologetic.
"Dude, I'm sorry I'm having you spend so much time alone", Brett said, leaning over to touch Eddy's cold arm. Eddy's eyes moved down to see the difference between Brett's relatively tan arm compared to his own almost blue, translucent skin.
"I guess that's something I just have to get used to, being dead and all", Eddy mumbled, trying to ignore the butterflies in the bottom of his stomach. He couldn't let those feelings come back for real, at the very least not for something as trivial as getting his arm touched. Brett deserved someone... well, someone who was alive.
"I'm sorry anyway." Brett's voice was honest, and if Eddy could blush, he would. He placed his cold hand on top of Brett's warm.
"Don't be, it's not you who killed me after all."

Brett of course had to go to bed eventually, despite staying up for a while trying to fight his drooping eyes, and again Eddy was sitting alone on the couch. He looked at Brett's notebook, still resting on top of the newspapers. Why would he collect this many newspapers, anyway? He grabbed the top one and slid it out from under the notebook. It looked like just any newspaper, really. An article about a car crash on the front page where everyone lived, next page showed an article about some new shop opening, some politics, obituaries... He noticed how a young girl's obituary was circled and furrowed his brows. Was it someone he knew?

Eddy folded the newspaper neatly and grabbed the next one, again letting the notepad slide onto the next. Same kind of cases, but the obituary had a different person circled. This time a little boy. Eddy ran his hand through his hair. It must have been terrifying for him, if he ended up like Eddy had. What would Eddy even have done if Brett hadn't found him? Just wander around alone forever?