by Helen Scott
"So, where are we off to?" I asked, trying to play it cool.
"To see if we can find the remains of my teacher," Avery said so matter-of-factly that I practically tripped over my own feet.
"Yeah?" I coughed the word out as though I wasn't completely stunned by what she'd just said.
"Yeah, she didn't show up for class this morning and since we found that mass grave site I'm worried that something's happened to her."
"Christ on a cracker, that is not was I was expecting you to say," I replied on a long exhale as I ran my free hand through my hair.
"Can't say I ever thought I'd be saying it either," she grumbled next to me.
"You can ID a ghost based on the remains?" I asked over my shoulder looking at Matthias.
"Possibly. Moira and I worked together quite a bit so I should be able to recognize her energy pattern if she wasn't killed too long ago." His slashes of eyebrows drew together as he frowned down at the ground.
"So we need a fresh kill and someone familiar with the victim to ID them? Lovely." I sighed and looked over at Avery, unable to resist the pull any more. I knew I wasn't a sexy bad boy like Gaius, or a rock star like Noah, or even an adorable nerd like Xavier, but I hoped that Avery saw something she wanted in me.
When she batted her eyelashes and peeked up at me through them I almost called this whole outing to a stop just so I could take her away from the awfulness she was about to experience. She'd been through enough since she died, she didn't need to go through any more.
As branches cracked underfoot and the trail curved, I could feel the determination in her stride and knew she wouldn't go with me even if I begged her. The best thing I could do was be there to support her when she needed it.
"Do you remember where you found the remains before?" Professor Matthias asked.
Avery only nodded in response and when she paused at a downed tree I waited to see where she'd go next. When she stepped off the path with confidence I knew without a doubt that this location was etched in her memory, whereas mine seemed to have blocked it out. Her feet dipped carefully through the layer of leaves that covered the ground. She flinched every time the connection between her feet and the ground was made like she was waiting for something to happen. When nothing changed as she moved forward her face clouded and she frowned.
"What's wrong?" I asked quietly. My brain was crowded with images of her disappearing again that I wasn’t sure what she was upset about.
"There's nothing here. This is where the remains were, but they are all gone." She started stomping through the leaves like she could make something appear if she tried hard enough.
"If there are no remains then I won't be of much use. Are you sure that's what you saw the first time?" Matthias asked.
"I'm sure. That's what Bowie and Noah told me they were anyway." I hated the thread of doubt in her voice.
"Were you two messing around? Playing a joke on her?" Matthias asked as he leaned on one of the nearby trees, skepticism written all over his face as he looked at me.
"No... No, he wouldn't do that. Would he? Would you?" Avery asked as she turned to face me.
"No, dude's too serious for something like that, and I would never try and trick you with something so upsetting," I replied, trying to reassure her. The doubt was still there though, I could see it in her eyes. "Why don't we go ask him? If we go together he'll be straight with us, guarantee it."
She nodded once, her mood solemn.
"I'm going to leave you to handle this on your own. If you two run across this so-called graveyard feel free to let me know." Matthias turned and walked off.
Part of me wanted to run after him and tell him exactly what I thought of his shitty attitude, but he didn't need that and Avery didn't either, so I stuck with her as we walked back to the house. As we rounded the corner she finally broke the silence. "It was there. I know it was. You saw it? You believe me, right?"
I pulled us to a halt and turned her so we were looking at each other as I tried to show my sincerity in my eyes. "Promise."
Avery
I wasn't sure what prompted me, whether it was the genuine emotions that Bowie showed or whether I was finally understanding him as a person and appreciating all he had to offer, but I knew right then that I wanted him. It wasn't the inferno of lust I felt with Noah, or the slow need that made my lady bits throb like with Gaius, but it was a need within my heart, one that my body was starting to reciprocate. In many ways I felt closer to him than I did any of the others.
As Bowie stared down at me, I could almost watch the different emotions play over his face. My hand seemed to come up of its own accord, cupping his face a moment before I pushed onto my tip toes and pressed my lips against his. His entire body stilled, and suddenly that doubt that Professor Matthias had planted within me was back and I was left wondering if I had misread the situation.
Before I could back away Bowie softened, his hands sliding around my waist as he pulled me against him. His tongue darted out to play with the seam of my lips, and when I opened for him he groaned as he delved in. I couldn't help but smile as my hands traveled over his body and felt him shudder in response. When his hands dipped down my back and grabbed my ass I squeaked in surprise which made him laugh.
"God, I've been wanting to do this since the first day I met you," he murmured against my lips.
"Is that all you wanted to do?" I asked, feeling stupid as soon as the words left my mouth. Me being sexy wasn't exactly something I was good at.
"Fuck no, but we don't have to rush," he said, his tone serious yet reverent.
"What if I want to?" I asked.
"I'm not one to turn a pretty lady down." He grinned down at me when we broke apart.
I noticed him trying to adjust himself discreetly as we continued on our walk to the house. This time though his fingers threaded with mine and I couldn't keep the grin from my lips. If the man fucked anything like he kissed then I'd be one happy girl because my lips were still tingling by the time we made it up the steps.
As soon as the door opened I felt eyes on us, but when I turned to find the source I couldn't see anyone. Just as we made our way to the stairs that I knew would lead to his bedroom the front door opened and we both turned in time to see Noah stride in. Even though his hand remained loose around my own I could feel Bowie tense and I wasn't sure why. I paused and watched the nonverbal exchange between the two men, and felt oddly self-conscious when Noah's eyes landed on our entwined hands.
"What's going on?" He strode into the living room area and sat in the exact spot in which I had felt like someone had been watching me from a moment ago.
"Nothin', just got back from class. What's going on with you?" Bowie asked.
Tension sang throughout the room but I didn't understand why. Did Noah think I was picking Bowie over him? Was Bowie trying to stake a claim and keep Noah away?
"I'd just been looking for Avery here, didn't expect to find her at our place," Noah replied, his eyes darting to me, down to our hands, then back to Bowie.
"We were out looking for the remains of Moira, my Ghostly Studies professor. Only..." I trailed off unsure of myself, not wanting to get more doubt and questioning from Noah like I had from Professor Matthias.
"Only?" Noah prompted with raised eyebrows.
"The remains of all the ghosts we found were gone," I replied meekly.
Bowie sighed and dropped my hand; evidently the mood between us had been sufficiently squashed. I followed him over to the couches and sat opposite him, unsure what to make of his behavior. I didn't have the chance to watch him properly before Noah jumped in. "Gone?"
"There was nothing there," Bowie confirmed, his voice laced with a bitterness I hadn't expected.
I frowned at him when he refused to make eye contact with me, but instead of dwelling on it I turned my focus on Noah. "All the remains we stumbled across were gone. We looked around but there was nothing there other than leaves and sticks." I paused and swallowed my pride
before I asked, "There was something there, right? You weren't playing a joke on me?"
"Of course there was! Where— How—- I don't even know what to say to that." Noah blew out a forceful breath and raked his hand through his hair. "Even if I wanted to play a cruel joke like that, I can't replicate the remains of spirits like that. I wouldn't play a trick on you like that though. It's just mean. Why do you think I would?" Noah's bright blue eyes searched mine while his brows creased with worry.
"Professor Matthias suggested it, and since I know I didn’t do anything like that we said we would check with you," Bowie answered, the tone of his voice tearing my gaze away from Noah's hypnotic one. I could see the edge of jealousy on his features and I hated it.
"I don't know why he'd think I'd do that, but I didn't. I promise." Noah’s tone was earnest as he tried to reassure me.
"But if you didn't move them or put them there as a joke then where did they go?" I asked quietly.
"The killer probably took them or destroyed them or something." Gaius's voice rang from the kitchen behind us making me jump.
"When did you get home?" Bowie asked with a frown.
"A few hours ago. My lab let out early. If the killer knows that his graveyard was discovered he could have destroyed them or simply moved them to prevent identification or something." Gaius shrugged as he came over and sat next to me, pulling my feet into his lap before he began to snack on some chips and salsa.
Bowie's gaze landed on where Gaius's hand rested on my legs. The jealousy was there again, just on the edge of his features. He was trying to hide it, but doing a shitty job of it, and frustration bubbled over inside me. "What's the deal with you three? Do you always pursue the same girl? Is it a challenge to see who can fuck her first?"
"Woah, where'd that come from?" Gaius asked his blue eyes going wide as he released my leg.
Bowie at least looked slightly bashful about his actions, but I didn't want to give in to feeling sorry for him.
"I want to figure out who is killing spirits and where there remains went. I also want to kiss and maybe sleep with whoever I want without you three getting jealous or trying to claim me as your own, is that clear?"
"Back up. What just happened?" Noah asked.
I sighed and cracked my neck, readying my explanation. "I got frustrated. I kissed Bowie now he's shooting me jealous looks every time either of you pays me any attention. First of all, you've all been flirting with me and trying to get in my pants which I'm not opposed to, but damn, you cant get jealous after that. Secondly, well... I don't remember what secondly was going to be, but I do know that I will not put up with that kind of silliness from any of you."
Both guys turned to face Bowie with frowns drawing their brows together. "Dude. What the fuck?" Noah and Gaius asked almost in unison, a true testament to how long they had been friends.
Bowie at least had the courtesy to look ashamed of his behavior. "This isn't just about Bowie though, it's about all of you. You've all been flirting with me treating me like some kind of plaything and I don't enjoy that. I prefer to know where I stand instead of feeling like I'm on a choppy ocean. If you were all different guys and didn't know each other it would be different but to have the three of you flirting with me makes me feel like there's some kind of secret game or bet going on that I don't know about."
Gaius and Noah sat there open-mouthed in shock, while Bowie just stared at me as though I'd grown a second head. I didn't think my outburst was that shocking but apparently the guys weren't used to women who talked to them this way. Before any of them could respond the front door swung open and Xavier walked in, his face looking like clouds before a storm, full of fury and warning.
"I've done some asking around," Xavier began before pausing and taking in the room. "I don't know what I just interrupted but I think this is worth it. I've been talking to different people in my classes and seeing if anybody has been moving on or suddenly disappearing, and the one thing I found that they all have had in common is that they're all younger women, specifically brunettes."
My stomach sank and twisted itself into a knot that would rival the best pretzel. My hair might be blue and purple right now but naturally it was a deep chestnut. "Did you figure anything out about whether or not they were actually moving on or being murdered?"
"I think most of them were murdered." Xavier's words dropped like a bomb into the room silencing every thought with the repercussions of that statement. "When I talked to a few of their friends after class it didn't seem like they had been ready to move on. It was just that they were gone one day, and what else are we supposed to assume? That there's a serial killer on Academy grounds? Until you guys found those remains, I would've assumed the same thing. We know that souls that are exceedingly bad or exceedingly good skip purgatory. They don't attend the Academy because they’re viewed as too dangerous or too noble. So how does somebody get to the Academy and then become a serial killer?"
"Could it be one of the professors? I mean they've been here the longest and maybe not voluntarily. What if they could never figure out how to transition? Faced with an eternity of purgatory? I could see somebody going a little crazy." I hated that a trusted figure could come into question so easily.
Silence followed my questions; no one was willing to step up and say one way or the other, not when there was so much that we didn't know about the situation. The main question I had now was how were we going to figure out who the killer was before more souls became extinct?
We all sat in silence for a while, each of us lost in our own thoughts—whether about the killer or about what I had said before Xavier walked in I wasn't sure. If I didn’t know better, I’d say my thoughts had reached out to him and prodded him. Xavier broke the silence. "Why does it feel like I could cut the tension with a knife in here?"
All three of the guys looked guilty as Xavier came over and sat down between Gaius and myself. In some ways I was grateful for the barrier, but Xavier always made me feel on edge. I knew he was holding back, that I wasn’t fully accepted and part of his crew yet, so I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. When none of them said anything I responded.
"We were just having a little heart-to-heart about what it means to flirt with somebody."
"Oh?"
I eyed the guys expecting one of them to step in but they all remained mum. It was as if they were kids caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
"I don't like feeling unsteady, like I don't know what's going on. With the three of them flirting with me that's how I was feeling, so I confronted them about it, like an adult. Now they've shut down though and don't want to talk about it. Although, we do have more important things to focus on. Like why young brunette women are being murdered, and whether or not the killer knows I'm a natural brunette."
"She kissed Bowie," Noah grumbled from the armchair, folding his arms across his chest as he spoke.
"I see," Xavier said, his attention moving between the three of them and then to me. He seemed to take his time to choose his words carefully before he spoke again. "I think what my three friends don't quite understand is that they don't know how to manage a relationship in the afterlife. That's nothing negative against them. It's simply that none of them have had anything serious since we all died, where I have Jude."
Xavier's exposition surprised me. Usually he was quiet and secretive—not that I thought he did it on purpose, that's just how he was. I couldn't deny that I was curious about his relationship with Jude, and that emotion must've shown on my face because he grinned with a knowing look.
"Jude has been dead a lot longer than any of us. He is open and adventurous, trusting but wise. He's everything I wasn't in life and struggle to be in the afterlife. That's why I find him so attractive. He so many things that I'm not and yet we're very similar. It's hard to turn away from something like that and I don't want to, but I can understand why all three of them are flirting with you. You have an interesting energy; there's something about you that not only at
tracts demons but has attracted us as well, and I promise that none of us have made any deals with the devil. I hope you don't take this the wrong way but there's a darkness about you. I’d be willing to bet that you experienced trauma in your life and brought it with you into the afterlife, You aren't letting it stop you from doing what you want though, which is impressive. A woman who is not only beautiful but resilient and determined is hard to resist."
My mouth dropped open in surprise. Not only was I fairly sure that this was the most Xavier had said to me at one time, but I could swear he had just flirted with me as well. Was that conceited? Was I being a narcissist for thinking that all these men were flirting with me? Before I could lose myself to doubt anymore Gaius spluttered from the other end of the couch.
"Did you just hit on her?"
"That's definitely what it sounded like to me," said Noah.
"Great, just great. You're throwing your hat in the ring to? What, Jude isn't enough?" Bowie grumbled.
"I feel like you misunderstood my previous speech," Xavier said with a frown. "What I was trying to say is that I'm with Jude because he's so open-minded. We don't know how long we have in purgatory. As soon as we figure out what's keeping us here we could theoretically move on. We could be here for eternity or we could leave next week, or apparently we could be murdered by a serial killer. Although we don't fit their type the possibility remains. Jude doesn't let the confines of mortal society restrict his actions here; that is what I strive to be like as well. So even though you claim that I threw my hat in the ring where it's not welcome, I'm trying to tell you that there's no ring. Whether Avery wants to date one of us or all of us or none of us is up to her, but I'm not going to let mortal society dictate my afterlife when it doesn't understand how the universe is built and is working off assumptions that have no basis in reality."