Haunted

by Sammantha Lewis

  "I'll be eighteen in seven months. Once I'm eighteen I'll be out of here." I told him in a quiet voice. He sighed and his grip around my waist tightened.

  "Don't talk about that. I don't want to think about you leaving." I glanced down at my watch and gasped. It was almost 3:00 . My shift was at 3:30, and Terrance got home at 3:45. I pushed away from him and rushed into the house.

  "You okay?" He asked me.

  "I'm fine. Just running short on time." I said as I rushed to the bathroom. I flinched when I say my reflection. Cathy had hit me harder then I thought. How the hell am I going to cover this up? I sighed and twisted my hair into a bun and found my concealer, cover-up, and foundation. I quickly smeared the makeup over the bruise and smiled at my fine work. The bruise was barley visible. I grabbed my bag and ran to the door. I was half way down the walkway when I heard Jericho shout,

  "Where are you going?" I pivoted around on my heals and said.

  "My shift at the book store." I told him.

  "What time does it end?" He asked me.

  "7:30. Why?"

  "Don't leave after your shift I'll pick you up." He told me. I crossed my arms and scoffed,

  "On that bike? No way in hell." I sneered at I looked over at the bike.

  "I'll take the Dodge." He told me. I glanced down at my clock.

  "Fine. Now get out of here ,Terrance is on his way home!" I told him I heard him laughing and I turned and ran down the side walk. I ran full speed to the bus station that was about twelve blocks. I felt rain trickle on my nose and groaned. I reached into my bag and pulled out my umbrella. I stated to walk into the rain down the slippery pavement. I finally made it to the bus stop to see the doors of the bus about to close. I sprinted even faster

  "Wait!" I called. The middle aged bus driver opened the doors again. I climbed into the bus and Thanked her. She smiled at me,

  "Running short today, Avery?" She asked me. I laughed lightly,

  "You have no idea. How are the twins?" I asked her.

  "Their fine thanks for asking." I nodded at her and took my seat in the empty bus. I leaned against the window and listened to the rain. I was woken up by someone sitting down next to me.

  "Hey there." The voice's breath tickled my ear. I jolted when I recognized the voice. I turned around to see Maverick smirking at me.

  "What the hell do you want?" I hissed at him. He just continued to smirk like an idiot.

  "Not much. I just heard that your talk to guys now so I wanted to get to know you." He said. I scoffed at him.

  "I've never herd such bullshit in my life." I turned away from him. He gripped my chin and forced me to look at him.

  "I don't like being brushed off. I know Jericho can handle it but I'm not like that twat!" He roared. I slapped him hard in the jaw and said,

  "I don't know what the hell you problem is but you have no right to call him that." I was pissed. He laughed at me, and leaned in closer,

  "Defensive are we?" His hands caged me in and prevented me from moving. His hand trailed down my arm. I felt sick. This felt wrong. The bus came to a rough stop and Maverick fell off the seat and onto the floor. I looked up at the bus driver, who's name was Mrs. Shelly. She was now turned around and fuming at Maverick.

  "You listen hear ,Maverick.I hate your scrawny guts and I get sick at the thought of having to drive you around, but the law forces me to serve all citizen. But as soon as you pull shit like that on my bus

  , That's where I say fuck my agreement, I am not going to let you harass this little girl on my bus." She paused for a second and pulled the lever,

  "With that said get the hell off my bus. " Her eyes narrowed on Maverick as he got up and ran out of the bus. She slammed the doors shut and mumbled.

  "I really hate that bastard." I tried to hold back a laugh. She turned around and looked at me with eyes of sympathy.

  "You okay hon?" She asked me.

  "I'm fine thanks for helping." I smiled at her.

  "I'd jump at any chance to kick him off. So I thank you." She smiled back at me. She then turned around and started the ignition. I leaned against the cool window. I stared out at the blurred lights as we passed by. The lights of the old bus flickered as if they would blow any second. The bus would go dark for a second or two until the lights flickered back on again. My eyes widened as I saw an old woman staring at through the window. I turned around to see no one in the bus. I instantly relaxed. As I turned around, my shoulders were gripped tightly and I came face-to-face with the old woman in the window. Then I saw it. I saw her life, her hopes, her dreams, and her death. I saw a car crash with a car smashed into a store with scattered flowers ruined from the collision. The haunting red color of blood stained the pavement as pedestrians crowded around the area that was marked off with police tape. I then saw an old woman with a terrified look in her eyes with pale skin and blue lips being rolled away on a gurney as her lifeless hand hung limply. I was snapped back to reality as I looked into the eyes of the woman who laid on the gurney, and she was staring right back at me. Fear shot through me, bu then I took notice of the pained and distressed look in her eyes.

  "Tell me, can you see me?" She asked me. I nodded at her slowly. Her face softened and she asked,

  "Am I dead?" I slowly nodded my head at her. Her grip on my shoulders loosened and just one look at her and you could see the anguish. She then slowly stood up and passed through the side of the bus. I looked out the window to see her standing next to a memorial wreath.

  "That was the memorial of Linda, Grey. She died a few months ago from being hit by a drunk driver. Sad isn't it?" Mrs. Shelly told me.

  "Very." I said without removing my gaze from the window.

  Little White Lies

  I slowly sat up in bed and winched at the pain in my stomach. I the remembered what had happened. I got up and walked over to my mirror I lifted up my shirt to see the bruise. I frowned when I saw that I had a massive swelling black and purple bruise about the size of a watermelon. I knew I was too sore to go to school today. I walked down the hall into the kitchen and stated breakfast and making Ben's lunch for work. When I was done making the eggs, toast, and Ben' sandwich, I grabbed a piece of paper. I wrote down a note and put it on the fridge. I stopped when I saw Cathy had beet me to it. Her note read "Called A. in sick today. -C" I crumpled up my note and threw it in the trash. I reached in the freezer and grabbed a pack of frozen peas. I placed it on my bruise and sighed. My head shot up when I heard the cabinet closed shut. I looked up to see Ben. I froze when I saw him reading the note.

  "You too sick to go or something?" he asked me.

  "No sir. I’ just sore…" I said in a small voice.

  "Then why you skippen'? You finally get laid?" He asked. I sneered at his crude comment.

  "No." I said as I lifted up my shirt to show him the bruise. He nodded and went over to look at the sandwich.

  "So whatcha do to get the shiner." He asked me.

  "Nothing... as usual” I said the last part under my breath. He lifted up the sandwich and took a bite out of it. His face twisted and he ran to the sink and spit it out.

  "What the hell is in that?" He fumed.

  "Turkey, Swiss, tomato, lettuce, and mustard... you have it every day." I said with a shaky voice. He grabbed my wrist in a death grip and dragged me to the tabled.

  "You think I would like this?" He said before he shoved the sandwich into my face. The plate fell from the table and shattered on the floor, and the pieces of the sandwich fell to the floor.

  "Clean this up." He said before left the room. I sighed and slowly picked up the glass pieces and put them in the trash. I then went into my room and sat down at my desk chair. I rolled up my sleeve to look at my wrist. I can't wait to leave this place.

  Jericho

  I shifted uncomfortably in my seat with my eyes glued on the door. It was now second period and she still wasn't here. What if she's hurt?

  my wolf whinned. She's fine.

  I told him. However i
n the back off my mind I wondered the same thing. Was she okay? Yesterday she looked almost scared. My stomach twisted at the thought of my mate being hurt. I pulled out my phone and texted to the number Ash had given me. Where are you?

  I texted her. Seconds later my phone buzzed. How did you get my number?

  she asked me. I texted back I have my ways

  . She then texted back,I'm sick now stop texting me.

  I frowned at this last message. I exhaled and put the phone back in my pocket. I leaned back in my chair and tried to look like I was paying attention.

  "Mr. Levi, could you please answer this question?" I remembered that I was in English class.

  "Oh umm.... could you repeat the question?" I asked Mr. Black. He sighed at me.

  "I asked you ‘Why might Mary Shelly not go into depth about the charters that Frankenstein's monster killed?’ Pay attention." He asked me.

  "So you wouldn't feel pity towards them?" I asked unsure of what I just said.

  "Exactly." He said. After that I went back to my own personal though. I looked down at the last text I got from her. I didn't like it. Last night I had gotten a painful feeling in my gut that had caused me to need to sit down. The same thing happened this morning on my wrist. Then she doesn't show up to school. Maybe my wolf was right. The bell rang and I got up and walked to my locker. Tyler and Allen came up to me.

  "Dude you okay? You look like someone killed your cat." Tyler joked.

  "Avery isn't here is she?" Ash stated more then asked.

  "Yeah. I'm worried she's hurt." I said.

  "She's absent not missing." Allen joked.

  "Do mates share the same pain? As in let's say one got hurt, would the other feel it? I know that if one mate dies so does the other one." I asked them.

  "From what my mom told me more or less. She explained it as an instinctive feeling to help you understand your mate. For example if ash here broke her leg, I'd feel a prick in my leg and my wolf would warn me that she was hurt, but my leg wouldn't snap in half. As for the whole dying at the same time that is more of a favor. If one mate died the other one would be so depressed they wouldn't want to live so they just..." He trailed off.

  "So you don't think it's so crazy that I think she might have been hurt?" I asked him.

  "If you felt pain then most likely, but you don't know from what. For all you know she stubbed her toe." He had a good point.

  "I have a paranormal question. Is it possible to talk to the dead?" Ash asked us.

  "Ash... what's in those antidepressants?" I asked her. She glared at me and then put her hands on my cheeks. Instantly the burning stated.

  "Fuck ash! Okay I get it you were serious." I yelled at her. She continued to glare at me and kept her hands on my cheeks. Allen pulled her hands down.

  "From what I know ghost can only be seen by their protégé or if they allow you to see them. However there are those few people who can see them no matter what." Allen answered seriously. Ash nodded and walked away.

  "Ash, you got something to tell us?" Tyler called after her. She laughed and said,

  "I'll tell you guys at lunch." As soon as she turned the corner Tyler hit my shoulder. I glared at him and say that he was frustrated with me.

  "You shouldn't have joked about her 'happy pills' as she calls them. She's still misses her mom. It's been a year and a half but the wound is still fresh." He told me. To be honest

  "Shit now I fell like a dick." I said. Suddenly the warning bell rung and we went to our next class.

  About fifty minutes later we all walked out of our classes and headed towards the lunch table. We usually sat with the other athletes of the school, but today Ash wanted the four of us to sit separately from them. We all sat down and I asked her,

  "What did you want to tell us?" I asked her.

  "Do you guys remember Angela, Rosen? She died in a fire when we were all about nine and she was about to turn 16." She informed us.

  "She baby sat you right?" Allen asked. She nodded.

  "She was my next door neighbor until her house burnt down. After that her family moved but she…." She trailed off.

  "Why are you bringing this up?" I asked her. She looked at me.

  "Because Avery lives where Angie’s House was." She stated. To be honest I was pleased with this news because I now knew where my mate lived.

  "I understand why you brought up the house, but why the dead girl?" I asked her. Her eyes narrowed into slits.

  "Her name is Angela. Not Dead girl." She snarled.

  "Ash…" I tried to get her to focus.

  "I brought up Angie, because I think she’s haunting Avery. It makes sense because 1.) she lives in her house. 2.) she’s close to her age. And 3.) she’s a loner. I hear ghost tend to target people who are alone and lost."

  "Ash, what are you saying?" Tyler asked.

  "I’m saying that I’m worried, because Jericho’s mate either is being haunted or can see ghosts. I did some research last period in the library, and from what I read, Ghost’s tend to look for two things in a person that they want to attach themselves two. 1.) They are lonely, so the ghost serves as a second conscious, and 2.) They experienced a near death experience. Jericho I think that might be why she’s so distant. What if she feels like she can’t trust anyone?" As soon as she said this it all clicked together. My angel had been so damaged in the past that she can’t trust anyone. Not even me.

  * * *

  I walked I walked into the guys locker room to see that I was the only one in there. I walked to my locker and pulled my shirt over my head. I stared into the ancient mirror that was bolted to my locker. I looked like shit. Those green eyes continued to flash in my mind. They were always scared, and in pain. And now she isn't here today? I have had a rocky life, I would never deny that. Sometimes I just wanted to quit. Just walk away from my alpha title, my pack, my future. all of it. Then I would think of my mate. I thought that when I found her, I would become stronger, happier, and a better man. However I can't even get close to her. I can't have her. What if she hates you....

  my wolf said in the back of my mind. My eyes widened and I sat down on the bench. Fuck… What if she did? I don't think I could accept that. The thought of my mate was the only thing that has kept me alive since I was thirteen. I knew that I would have to live to protect her one day. I couldn't do that if I was dead. Now that mate I dreamed of is Avery. She's my world. She's the one that God had given me. Yet she pushes me away. I want to save her, to make her feel safe, but from what? What had hurt her so bad in the past? I was ripped from my thoughts when the door creaked open. My eyes snapped up to see Terrance who looked at me pissed.

  "Is anyone else in here?" He asked me. I shook my head at him.

  "No, just me." I told him he nodded and propped a chair up against the door to prevent anyone from coming in.

  "What is it?" I asked him.

  "Stay away from Avery." He said simply. I scoffed and said,

  "I believe that's up to me." I told him.

  "To hell it is!" He yelled at me. I scoffed once again and looked at him seriously.

  "Why so rallied up, Terrance?" I asked him. His nostrils flared and he walked towards me.

  "You know very damn well!" He hissed at me. My eyes narrowed at him as I looked up at him.

  "Now, now no need to curse." I told him calmly. I knew him all to well I knew that he hated it when you stayed calm and unaffected. He liked to feel powerful, and feared. I was never going to give him that. I stood up in front of him to remind him how much bigger I was compared to him. His eyes widened when he looked up at me. Terrance was about almost 6'1 ,weighed 160 pounds and had a small frame. Then there was me who was 6'4, weighed 200 pounds, and had a muscular build. I didn't underestimate him though, I knew from personal experience that he could through a few good punches. He could also tackle you and pin you to the ground so he bash you. He always failed to tackle me though. It was actually kind of funny. I was snapped out of my thoughts when I saw something f
lying towards my face. I shifted to the side and caught the thing with my hand. I noticed that it was Terrance's fist. I smirked. I gripped him by the collar of his shirt and shoved him up against the lockers. The metal doors rattled at the impact. He clawed at my hands as I leaned in towards him.

  "Before I strangle you to death. Tell me why you want me to stay away from her." I growled at him. I blinked several times and tried to contain my wolf.

  "She's mine!" He yelled at me. I composed my self and coldly said,

  "No, she's not. The whole school knows you hate her, and how you love to make her surfer. I'm sick of watching from the sidelines." I watched as he smirked.

  "It's ironic because the closer you get to her, the more your hurting her." He said to me. He pushed my hands away from him. He walked towards the door and knocked over the chair and walked out. I stared after him in shock as his last words spun around in my head. The closer you get to her, the more your hurting her.

  I stood there for several minuets before I realized I must look like a dumbfounded idiot. I rushed out of the locker room just as the rest of the guys came down the hall all 30 of them. I spotted Tyler and waved at him.

  "Hey, where are you going?" He asked me.

  "I need Avery's address." Was all I told him. He smiled proudly at me and reached into his pocket.

  "I got this for you this morning when the old lady wasn't looking. Good luck." He gleamed at me. I nodded and walked towards the parking lot. I took a quick glance at the address ,hopped on my bike, and then sped away from the school. I pulled up to here house and killed the ignition. A smile played on my lips when I could smell her scent. I took off my helmet and straightened my leather jacket and walked up the steps. As I got closer to the door I could hear her steady heart beat on the other side of the small house. I rung the door bell and my heart skipped a beat when I heard her footsteps. She opened the door and stared at me in shock. I stared right back at her, There on her right cheek was a large nasty bruise.