Haunted by Jay Mirano (the reading list book txt) 📕

we can help you."
   Celeste shook her head, loose curls bouncing off her face. "I need Arielle."
   "I told you," Mason said, stamping his feet in the background to get warm. "She's not even here."
   "She's here," I hissed back. "Just keep quiet, will you?"
   I reached out for Celeste's hands, and surprisingly, I could take them. Celeste's cold fingers wrapped around mine, her startlingly blue eyes flickering to my face. "Where's Arielle?" She asked, eyes misting.
   "Arielle isn't here," I said, shuffling closer to her. "She's safe."
   Celeste's eyebrows pulled together. "I saved her? She's all right?"
   "You saved her. Arielle is safe with your mother Genevieve. They're together."
   "She looked so scared," Celeste whispered, looking at the ground. "She couldn't swim yet. I don't know how she got so far away."
   "She's safe now," I said, my hands finding their way to Celeste's shoulders. "You helped her, you saved her. She lived a long, happy life because of what you did for her."
   Celeste's knees gave way, her little body sagging to the ground like a deflated balloon. "I thought I'd be able to get back too, but my dress was so heavy. I didn't have my swimming costume on. We were so far away and nobody could hear me."
   "You were very brave," I said, making Celeste look at me. "But now it's time to go find Arielle again."
   Celeste gave me an uncomprehending look. "How?"
   "Close your eyes," I said. "Can you feel that tingling all over, like little pinpricks all across your skin?"
   She nodded. "Concentrate on that. Don't fight it. Can you hear them calling for you?"
   Celeste nodded her head vigorously. "I can! Oh, I really can. It's so... Bright. It's beautiful."
   "Let them take you," I said, loosening my grip on Celeste's shoulders. "Go to the bright place with them."
   Celeste smiled, slow and peaceful. Her entire body was sparkling, bathed in incandescent light. She was fading fast, her body barely visible. She mouthed, "Thank you," as she dissolved into the wind, leaving no trace of herself save for two small footprints in the grass.

 

***

Mason was staring at me. Avery was staring at me. And the smell of incense was making me feel sick.
   "Quit it you two!"
   Mason glanced at Avery. "How did you know what to do? With Celeste, I mean. How did you know she needed to know that Arielle was safe?"
   "I started thinking about the reasons why I'm still here. I don't know exactly why, but I know that I still feel protective over my family and my friends. Like how I asked you to keep an eye on Cassie."
   "Makes sense."
   Avery cleared her throat. "It's very dangerous what you did, though. Getting that involved with a crossover could have made you cross as well. You looked like you were about to, actually."
   "Well isn't that what you want?" My voice sounded more harsh than I intended. "For me to crossover and leave you in peace?"
   "I never said that, Alyssa. If you aren't ready to cross, then doing so could be detrimental."
   "How so."
   "I can't tell you exactly why; we don't know much about what happens once spirits cross to the Otherside. You need to be prepared for anything."
   "And you're saying I'm not?"
   "I'm saying there could be grave consequences. We don't know what effect that could have on your actual self."
   "My actual self?"
   Mason stepped between me and Avery. "Let's not go talking about actual selves, okay Mom?"
   "No," I pushed past Mason, my shoulder merging with his. "Stop with this cryptic bullshit. Avery, tell me what I need to know," Avery looked uncertain. "Tell me!"
   Mason made a strangled noise, and Avery shook her head apologetically. "Alyssa, I refer to your actual self because," she breathed in. "You're still alive."

Red-Hot

 

 

 

It was me. Except, it wasn't me. I looked like a husk, skin pale and pulled taut across gaunt features, bones jutting out from beneath papery flesh. My face was battered and bruised, several deep gashes criss-crossing down my cheeks and neck. One eye was swollen shut; the subtle bloom of a bruise still stained the skin around it.
   I had a neck brace on, and my right arm and leg were both in heavy casts, my leg suspended above the bed in a sling. I guess that's the side I hit the road on when I came back down. I was a mess of tubes and wires; I had a machine breathing for me, another measuring the steady thrum of my heart. 
   I lay ghost-hand on real-hand, barely letting myself believe this lifeless person had once been me. If I was a spirit, did that mean my body was dead? But if my body was dead, then why were they keeping it alive? I probably shouldn't have stormed out on Mason like that; he'd be handy to have around right now. But those words were ringing around and around in my mind―you're alive―and I just had to see for myself. Besides, I reserve every right to be pissed at Mason. This is the kind of thing you tell people! 
   The door wheezed open behind me, and I jumped. I looked up, barely recognizing the woman standing in the doorway. My Mom looked at least ten years older, her hair streaked with grey, delicate wrinkles fanning out from the corners of her eyes. She'd lost weight, too, her shoulder blades sticking out of the back of her dress like sparrow's wings. 
   She came over to my bedside, clutching my pale fingers in her hands and pressing them to her lips. 
   "Aly, my darling," she whispered, brushing a strand of greasy, dark hair from my eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't get here earlier, I got held up with―"
   The door wheezed open for a second time, and I felt my blood begin to boil at the sight of him. What the hell was my Dad doing here?! He was not welcome―this is my hospital room, I'm allowed to say that!
   He was clutching a bouquet of withered carnations in his hands, and he kissed Mom on the head before placing them on a side table.
   "How's she doing today?" He asked, pulling up a seat beside her. Just the sight of him made my skin crawl.
   "Much the same, I think. I've made the nurses promise to call me if she makes any kind of change."
   Dad lay a hand on Mom's shoulder, squeezing softly. "What were the results of that brain scan?"
   "I haven't heard, yet. The doctor should be in any minute, though," Mom sighed, looking like she was about to cry. "I just want to see her open her eyes, you know? Even if it's just a flicker. I'd sit here all day long if I got to see those beautiful blue eyes again."
   Dad tutted softly under his breath. "Sweetie, it's been almost a month now..."
   "What's your point?" Yeah, Dad, what's your point?
   "I'm just saying, maybe we should start making some arrangements. I love Aly, you know I do, but we need to think about what's best for her, too. It's cruel to keep her alive like this if there's no life left."
   I could barely believe what I was hearing. The room started to bend and sway around me, waves of nausea crashing in the pit of my stomach. No life left? No life left?! I'm standing right here! 
   I couldn't fight the anger off; it was blinding, tangible, all-consuming. A red-hot rage that I couldn't control. I flew at him, pounding my fists on his chest, trying to pound the stupid right out of him.
   "Alyssa!"
   The room stopped spinning, the fury subsided. I spun around to see Mason standing in the doorway, struggling for breath. 
   "Ow, what was that?" Dad was clutching at his chest, eyes bulging with fear. What the hell? Did I do that?
   Mom looked up at Mason, eyebrows pulling together in confusion. "Do we know you?"
   Mason's eyes were still on me, burning green and fierce. "I, uh, I know your daughter―Aly―I just came to see how she was doing."
   "Sir!" A nurse came flying into the room beside Mason. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave; like I said, it's family-only at the moment."
   Mom narrowed her eyes at Mason, like she was trying to figure out a puzzle. Mason backed away from the doorway, palms raised. "Sorry, I just wanted to see her."
   Mason shot me another glance and raised his eyebrows. I didn't need telling twice: that was code for follow me. 
   Mason turned on his heel and power-walked away, keeping his eyes trained straight ahead. I heard some kind of commotion in the room behind me, but my mind was too scattered to pay much attention.
   "What the hell happened in there?" Mason hissed between gritted teeth. "I rock up and you're trying to beat the shit out of some guy―and by the looks of it you were doing a pretty good job, too!"
   "That guy was my Dad, and he deserves to have the shit beat out of him."
   Mason hit the button for the elevator, and waited for the doors to sigh shut behind him. "Let's not talk about this here; I think my Mom should hear it, too."

 

***

 

Avery was doing yoga when we came in. She'd changed into dark sweats, and she'd taken her plait out so that her hair streamed down her back in rippling waves. She cocked an eyebrow at Mason and I as we came to stand before her, before sighing and disentagling herself from the―seemingly―complicated position she was in. 
   "I take it you went to the hospital," she said, twirling her hair between her fingers and deftly arranging it on top of her head in a neat bun. "And I take it it wasn't pleasant."
   Mason moved to talk, but I cut him off. "Unpleasant is one word for it. Nightmarish is another. My scumbag Dad is trying to convince my Mom to shut the life support off."
   Avery didn't even flinch. "And how did she respond?"
   "Well I don't know," I shrugged. "That was right when Mason came in."
   That pesky anger was starting to catch flame again, and I tried in vain to snuff it out. Deep breathing, happy thoughts, deep breathing, happy thoughts.
   "How's her body doing?" She was talking to Mason now. "Is there reason for her life support to be turned off or not?"
   "I honestly don't know," Mason said. "I don't think even they know."
   "There's some kind of scan they sent me for," I said. "I guess to check if I was brain dead or not."
   "Surely they would have done that earlier," Avery mused, pacing the room. "That seems like something you'd do first."
   "Yeah, but maybe they're checking for..."
   The sound of Mason's voice drifted away, replaced by a shrill, whining white noise. The room was starting to push in on me again, and I could feel the steady ba-dum, ba-dum of a heart beat in my ears.
   "I feel like you're not taking this seriously enough!" I blurted, sounding much angrier than I'd intended. "They want to turn me off, it's kind of a big deal!"
   Deap breathing, happy thoughts,