Sarah

by Polen, Teri

  “What? You think I wasn’t in control of my own body and mind? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. How could Sarah even be in my body?” Finn’s idea seemed ridiculous, but a small voice in the back of my mind said it wasn’t completely outer limits. And that made me very nervous and more than a little scared.

  “What about your epic breakup with Erin? You didn’t remember any of that and the way you did it in front of everyone, the things you said to her, that’s just not your style, Cain. But those words could easily have come from someone who’d been treated like a second class citizen by people like Erin, right? Just think about it.

  “Obviously we don’t know the rules and regulations about ghosts and what they can and can’t do. Up until a couple of hours ago, I wasn’t even sure I believed in them. It’s a whole gray area, so who knows what’s possible? Maybe we need to find someone who can help us with this.”

  I wadded my napkin into a ball and tossed it on the table. “Like who?”

  “Ghost tours are a booming market in this city. There have to be some psychics and mediums out there for the tourists. Some of them may even be legitimate.”

  “You know where to find one of those?”

  He shrugged. “Can’t be that hard. I’m on it.”

  Chapter 17

  While I lay in bed that night, I kept thinking about Finn’s idea of Sarah using my body as a puppet to do her bidding. Then I thought about how I’d suddenly felt weak sometimes and wondered if she was siphoning off my energy. Didn’t ghosts need energy to appear? Sarah certainly made it sound like she did. Then again, I had a head injury and the weakness could just be a side effect, but I was definitely going to pay more attention to when I felt that way and see if there was any correlation.

  The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I felt, so I decided to spend the night on the couch downstairs again. If anyone asked, I’d say I just fell asleep in front of the TV. Wouldn’t be the first time.

  . . . . .

  Erin was still avoiding me at school – no complaints here, but I still felt a little guilty about how the breakup had happened. Finn had been right. When all my memories came gushing back, I remembered all the horrible things I’d said to her and the look of humiliation on her face as students gathered around us and watched, probably uploading it to YouTube. Although I had the memory of breaking up with her, it’s like I was watching another person. It was me, but not me. Which would support Finn’s theory about Sarah invading my body.

  All thoughts of Erin were eclipsed when Lindsey walked into English lit class. Seeing her made me feel as if electricity had shot through my brain – among other places, and my cheeks flushed in embarrassment at that thought as she took her seat next to mine.

  “You’re still coming to the concert tonight, right Cain?”

  “Definitely. Wouldn’t miss it.” Something just moved in my stomach. Did I have butterflies? Maybe it was just gas. Okay, didn’t want to think about all the ways I could be embarrassed if that was the case.

  “Awesome! How about we grab some burgers after? That new place down from the concert hall has amazing double bacon cheeseburgers.”

  “Sounds good to me. They’re my favorite.”

  “I know,” she said, reaching over and trailing her fingers down my forearm.

  I could die a happy man right about now.

  . . . . .

  The concert hall was more crowded than I’d expected. I assumed the audience consisted of parents of the musicians and their siblings who were forced to attend, but also boyfriends and girlfriends. Or boyfriend-wannabes, like me.

  “Did she compel you to come or are you here to impress my sister in hopes of getting into her pants?”

  Caleb, Lindsey’s brother and my teammate on the soccer team, stood in the aisle next to me, arms crossed over his chest, looking as if he would launch an attack if I moved an inch.

  “What? No! Geez, Caleb, calm down. I’m here because Lindsey asked me to come and I wanted to hear her play.”

  Caleb glowered at me a moment longer, as if he was still searching for ulterior motives.

  “Take a seat if you want, but quit looking at me like that. I’d never disrespect Lindsey. She’s amazing and I’d never treat her that way.”

  Maybe he believed me or gave me the benefit of the doubt, but Caleb nodded slightly and took the seat beside me. “Just remember, Cain, I’ll hunt you down if you do anything to hurt her - got it?”

  “Is this the way you treat all the guys who like Lindsey, or am I just special?”

  “I’m not sure yet,” he said, clenching his jaw.

  “How can you not be sure?”

  “Since we moved here, you’re the only one she’s been interested in. She’s been to every one of my games, she’s like a best friend to me, and she’s way too good for you, so just remember what I said.”

  “Got it. Duly noted.”

  The plush, scarlet-colored curtain swished open and all the musicians filed onto the stage, but I was only looking for one in particular. Lindsey wore a long, flowing black dress, her blonde hair pulled to one side with a black ribbon and draped over her shoulder. Her eyes found mine as she walked across the stage, and I might have gasped a little.

  “If you say she looks hot, I swear I’ll reach down your throat and pull out your lungs,” Caleb threatened.

  “She’s stunning,” I said. Although the stage held over a hundred musicians, Lindsey was all I saw.

  Classical music wasn’t something I was familiar with, and until I’d met Lindsey, I probably would have told you a cello was the Italian word for jello. As ignorant as I was about this kind of music, parts of it were very powerful and emotional. I thought Lindsey was amazing and must have said it out loud, because Caleb whispered something about her being first chair.

  After the concert, Lindsey met Caleb and me in front of the theatre. I heard her laughter before I saw her and she was beaming with happiness as she hugged Caleb and thanked him for coming, but Caleb’s focus was elsewhere as he looked over Lindsey’s shoulder, pointed at his own eyes, then at me. I got the message loud and clear. He’d be watching me.

  . . . . .

  When Erin and I had gone out, I’d done about ten percent of the talking, and that’s only because she’d ask me questions about how I liked her new purse/shoes/leggings. Whenever I tried to talk about things that interested me, Erin quickly grew bored and steered the conversation back to her. Dinner with Lindsey was completely different.

  Lindsey and I talked about soccer, which she understood, since she’d been going to Caleb’s games for years, and discovered we had similar tastes in music. Sharing a love of horror movies was just chocolate icing on the cake. Not once did Lindsey mention her wardrobe or what she planned to buy at the mall next week. Talking to her came so naturally, it was almost surreal.

  After dinner, I asked Lindsey if she wanted to take a walk around the Battery before we went home. The full moon resembled a golden sphere hovering over the water, and the lofty palm trees swayed in the breeze as we strolled along the sidewalk in front of the stately antebellum homes. The lights of Fort Sumter twinkled in the distance.

  “I’m glad I put a change of clothes in the car before the concert. I’d have looked pretty ridiculous strolling the Battery in a long black dress.”

  “People might have thought you were leading one of those ghost walks. I’ve seen some of those women in long dresses.”

  I didn’t consider myself a romantic – I wasn’t smooth enough for anything like that, but with a beautiful setting like this and the perfect girl by my side, I did get some ideas in my head. Could I really pull this off?

 
Taking a deep breath, I accidentally/purposely grazed my hand against Lindsey’s as she walked beside me, then intertwined our fingers. And she didn’t pull away. Instead, she turned and looked up at me, making my stomach flip flop and sending a warm tingling sensation all the way up my arm.

  We stopped and I stared down into her blue eyes that seemed to match the color of the evening sky. A gust of wind caught a strand of her hair, blowing it across her face. Catching it in my fingers, I gently tucked it behind her ear, leaned down, and brushed my lips across hers.

  Chapter 18

  “Come back, Cain. I’m right here. Find my voice.”

  Lindsey. I heard her, but she sounded distant, and maybe slightly panicked? What had happened? The last thing I remembered was getting up enough nerve to kiss her, and now I was almost unconscious? I felt her stroking the hair back from my forehead as she calmly, but urgently tried to wake me.

  “Cain, wake up.”

  I felt so tired and my eyelids seemed to weigh a ton. I struggled to lift them, and through a narrow slit, I saw Lindsey gazing down at me, her brows furrowed in concern.

  “There you are. Look at me, Cain.”

  Not wanting to cause Lindsey any more worry, I obeyed and slowly opened my eyes. From my vantage point, I could see her troubled expression, the palm trees behind her, and the full moon in the star-studded sky. The unyielding surface beneath me was a park bench.

  “What happened?”

  “You tell me. You left me weak in the knees after tucking my hair behind my ear, gave me an earth shattering kiss, then started to pass out. I managed to get you over to the bench before you went down completely. I’ve gotten compliments on my kissing, but can’t say I’ve ever affected a guy like that before.”

  “Earth shattering? Really?” I probably looked like a grinning lunatic loopy on drugs, but I really didn’t care.

  “That’s what you took from what I said? Cain, that wasn’t all that happened. When you slumped over, I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to support you, I mean you’ve got about seventy pounds on me. Then you seemed to wake up, and I was able to steer you in the direction of the bench.”

  I tried to sit up, but the world started to spin, and I grabbed the back of the bench to steady myself.

  “Cain, don’t try to get up yet, lie down. Once I got you over here, you started saying things that really confused me. Do you remember?”

  “All I remember is the earth shattering kiss, then hearing your voice. What was I saying?”

  “You said not to trust him, he’s just like all the other guys. Don’t believe anything he tells you and get away from him while you still can. You were frantic and tried pushing me away from you. It was kind of scary, Cain, because it’s like I was with someone else and it wasn’t you talking. What did you mean? Who were you talking about?”

  I was positive those words weren’t my own. There’s no chance in the universe I’d be trying to push Lindsey away from me. Finn’s theory was correct. Sarah had been taking over my body whenever she felt like it. And that scared the bejesus out of me. My body wasn’t my own and she could be here right now.

  “Where’s my phone?” I asked, struggling to sit up again.

  “I’ve got it right here, but I don’t think you’re ready to get up yet, and I can’t get you back to the car by myself. Is this related to your concussion? Should I call your mom?”

  When I began seeing stars, and not the ones in the sky, I knew Lindsey was right. I wasn’t getting off this bench by myself. “No. Please…don’t call my Mom, trust me. Call Finn…tell him I need his help,” I managed to get out before the darkness fell again.

  . . . . .

  “……..wrong with him? This isn’t normal, Finn. Maybe we should call an ambulance.”

  The ache in my back told me I hadn’t moved from the park bench. How long had I been out this time? Unless Finn had happened to be nearby, it would have taken him at least twenty minutes to drive here, and that didn’t count trying to find parking. “Dude, you were right,” I mumbled.

  “Of course I was. I usually am, but what about this time?”

  “Sarah. She was here and took over. She drained my energy and that’s why I’m lying here like a wet noodle.”

  “Sarah? No one named Sarah was here. See, Finn, I told you he was delirious and needs to see a doctor,” Lindsey argued.

  “Lindsey, Cain and I have something to tell you and you may find it pretty hard to believe, but I promise you, we’re not making it up. Right now, we need to get Cain to my car. I’ll drive him to my house and tell his mom he’s spending the night. You follow us in his car.”

  “What story? Can you explain what’s happening?”

  “I promise we’ll tell you everything when we get to my house.”

  . . . . .

  “So what’s the verdict? Are you ready to recommend a psych consultation for both of us?” Finn asked.

  Finn, Lindsey, and I were in his basement, which was really more a rec/movie room, complete with a floor to ceiling projector screen and plush, sit-in-them-and-never-want-to-leave theatre seats and couches. Being best friends with Finn had its perks.

  I felt stronger, which made me believe Sarah had retreated back to the attic. Still unclear on her boundaries, if there were any, Finn had made the decision to come here, not wanting to chance that she would overhear us talking at my house.

  “There’s the ghost of a missing student living in your attic,” Lindsey said, sitting adjacent to me on one of the couches, leaning over with her elbows on her knees and hands clasped together.

  “Yes.”

  “And you’re not sure yet what happened to her, but it involved three football players in our class.”

  “Correct.”

  “And this ghost, Sarah, has been the cause of your blackouts because she takes over your body and has her own agenda.”

  “Apparently. Is this too much crazy for you, Lindsey? I’d understand if you just turned around, walked out of here and pretended we’d never met,” I said, hoping deep in my gut that wouldn’t be her reaction.

  And then that high wattage, make-me-forget-my-own-name smile lit up her face. “Now why would I want to walk out on someone who made me weak in the knees when he kissed me earlier?”

  With the sudden flush of warmth, I was pretty sure my face matched the color of the red throw pillow beside me, but I didn’t care, as long as Lindsey wasn’t leaving.

  Finn swiveled toward me, his mouth hanging open in shock. “Wait, did you hear that?” he asked, hand to his ear. “Listen – do you hear it?”

  “What are you talking about? I don’t hear anything.”

  “Yep. I was right. It’s the sound of women from all over swooning at the thought of kissing you.” And then he laughed so hard he snorted. How he ever got women to go out with him was a mystery.

  “Finn, you’re an ass,” Lindsey said, rolling her eyes. That might have been the first time it wasn’t me saying it. “Actually, Cain, I think I can help you.”

  “Seriously? How?”

  “So, you’re a medium, or one of those people who helps ghosts cross over? Can you exorcise Cain?” Finn asked.

  “No, Finn, I’m not a medium and of course I can’t exorcise spirits, but I do believe in ghosts. I guess you could say I’ve practically been surrounded by them my whole life. Have I ever told you about my Aunt Mona?”

  Both of us shook our heads. Other than Caleb, I didn’t know much about Lindsey’s family, but if Aunt Mona could help us, I might consider kissing her senseless, too. Then again, maybe I should wait and see what she looked like first.

  “Is she
a Ghostbuster?”

  “Finn, can you please refrain and listen?” I asked, holding up my hand in his direction. “Lindsey, how can your aunt help us?”

  “She has this really….unique place on King Street. She owns a kind of metaphysical store and sells crystals, herbs, incense, tarot cards – stuff like that. I could spend hours just browsing, and the books she has – it’s a fascinating place.”

  I moved my hand to her knee and squeezed it gently. “It sounds really cool, but how can any of that help with keeping Sarah away from me?”

  “Aunt Mona also sells amulets and talismans. They have different purposes, but can help protect you from things or increase the energy in different areas of your life. She can explain it better, but it couldn’t hurt to see her.”

  The shop sounded like a good place to begin. It’s not like Finn and I were covered up with an avalanche of ideas. “Is she a medium or psychic?”

  “Well, let’s just say she’s always been able to sense things about people and places. She doesn’t advertise it, but I know that over the years people have come to her for help, some wanting to get rid of spirits, others wanting to make contact. She’s not one hundred percent successful, but she’s always willing to try.

  “Mom said she was always like that, even when they were young. Knowing who was on the phone before it was answered, having dreams about things before they happened. She even described my dad and told mom she’d marry him before they’d even met.”

  “Uh, yeah – we need to talk to her. If she can’t help me, maybe she knows someone who can. When can we meet her?”