Barely There

Chapter 16 - Ghost Of The Past

The sun flowed through the thin, mellow-colored curtains, warming her skin in golden light. Leda's eyes fluttered open as she adjusted her blurry vision to the unfamiliar scene. The irregularity in furniture and layout dazed the girl as she racked her mind for possibilities. However, out of the corner of her eyes, the emerald armchair smirked at her and she gasped slightly at the meaning of her wake. 

Familiarizing to her conscious state, she felt the warm arms around her waist and discerned the whispering goosebumps raising on her skin as his breath tickled her shoulder. The warmth and spice in the scent of his cologne suffocated her with its sheer strength, overpowering every and all other aspects of her life. She breathed in deeply, focusing each of her sensitive sensations on the scene before her in an effort to seal the memory in a chamber within her desolate mind.  

She began with the image. Picking apart the scene in front of her, she analyzed the deep yellow light bouncing off of the colorful pieces of furniture within the spacious room. Her eyes focused on the participles of dust that traveled within the ray of sunshine, twirling around the air for a mere second before moving on to the rest of the room together. She refused her desire to turn around on the couch, to look at him in the new light and instead strained her ears to pick up the slightest wave of sound during the rather quiet morning. Grayson's soft puffs of life were the main thing she could hear and as she focused on the sound more, she realized their pattern for respiration had become a synchronized symphony of survival. The weight of his arms around her body eventually distracted her from the realization and she felt a consequential thrill course through her as his unaware fingers tightened around her hips. As she gulped down the mental obstruction lodged in her throat, she halted from her vital task of remembrance. She identified the contamination of a chill peppermint flavor on her tongue and questioned her sanity as the cool feeling spread throughout her mouth, slithering towards her heart and mind.

After taking in the comfort and protection of his arms for a final tragic second she untangled herself gently from his hold, making sure to not wake him from his tranquil slumber. Sitting up on the edge of the plush couch, she frowned at the loss of warmth and turned to his resting figure. 

The sunlight gleamed on his numerous tattoos, his skin becoming a rich gallery of art and history. Her eyes drifted over the artwork and found the unseen tattoos peeking through the unbuttoned portion of his shirt. Leda attempted to make out the different shapes and meanings under the sun's morning light until he shifted in his sleep, effectively moving the pieces out of view. 

The brunette stood up slowly on the cold floorboards, combing her fingers through her disheveled hair as she stood. She felt the pang in her chest as she thought of leaving the haven of his presence, and debated against staying within her own conflicted head. Thoughts of him kept her chained to her spot in front of the couch and arguing with her own doubt for one last time, she reached down, pressing her lips to his forehead softly before turning around to leave the serene home. Her full lips tingled on the way to the front of the house and distracted her from her surroundings. 

As an effect of the diversion, her clumsy feet caught on his discarded jacket on the floor as she approached the door, almost resulting in her demise as she jolted towards the ground for a fearful second. Frowning at the incident, she leaned down, picking up the black, tailored material from the slightly dusty floor. She hung it up on the metal hooks next to the door but felt all the blood rush to her head as she took in the image of the jewelry box sitting under the ghost of the dishonest jacket. The black velvet box mocked her stupidity, cackling with bitter laughter as it hissed unwanted ideas in her ear. Unable to stop herself, she opened the box and felt her skin and limbs tighten at the sight.

The silver band was entwined around the centerpiece of the ring and as the substantially large diamond caught the sun's yellow glare, she felt herself become blind to everything around her. Recovering from the moment, she inspected the expensive ring, fawning at the princess cut gem. The sounds of his turning and shifting on the couch dragged her back to the bitter and cruel reality. 

Someone other than herself had held him; had brushed through his soft locks in the dead of the night; had woken up in the morning to feel the protectiveness of his arms.

Someone other than herself would hold him for the rest of her beautiful life.

Her heart beat against her chest, bruising and picking away at the tattered bone until she felt the aching pain spread through her body. She felt dizzy and had to grip at the wall for support as the deadly sharp jewelry tore her to shreds. The shreds of life slowly fell down on the floor like weightless feathers until nothing was left of her. 

With the welcoming feelings of nothingness, she walked back towards him. She sat the opened box with the ring on the coffee table in front of his sleeping figure then walked out of the house. Walked away from the bliss, walked away from him, and walked away from herself. 

The iridescent ghost watched the empty body of the girl from within the living room of the haunted house, blueness seeping into her effervescent tear.