Snaked

I Heard Her

Luke's pov

"Are you okay, Reggie?" Carlos asks, looking up to him with a confused look on his face.

"I," he starts to say but trails off, looking confused and almost sad. "Yeah, I just thought I heard something," he says, looking back at us with a small forced smile. 

"If you say so. Come on, let's steal some cookie," Carlos whispers with a mischievous smile before he runs into the kitchen and grabs the plate of cookie before he leads us to the studio where we all sit on the couch and watch a Christmas movie.

As I sit with Julie's head resting on my shoulder, I wonder how our lives became this. I mean, I don't think any of us thought we'd die and then come back as ghosts, let alone come back to life just two months later, other than Ave. That's the hardest part, not knowing where she is and whether or not she's okay. I've tried to push thoughts about her to the back of my mind, knowing I'll probably never see her again, but I can't help it, she's always there, always taunting me and telling me that it's all my fault and that it should've been me. I look over to Reggie who seems to have zoned out like I just had. I look over to Alex and he's doing the same thing he's been doing every time we're in the studio, wrapping himself in one of her favorite blankets and wearing her fanny pack over his shoulder. I don't think he's taken that fanny pack off for months.

"You good, Reg?" Julie asks, noticing how quiet we're all being, specifically Reggie because he loves Christmas movie and almost always have fact about the movie.

"Hm?" He mumbles, turning to look at her. "I just- I swear I heard her," he says, making me sigh, a small part of me knowing he probably did.

"Dude, if she wanted to come back she would've done it already," I say as I sit up and shrug, pushing Julie off of my shoulder.

"What if she can't?" He asks, leaning forward in front of Carlos and Julie.

"She would've found a way, she's smart and you know that!" I say, raising my voice uncontrollably.

Julie sighs and stands up. "Come on, Carlos, let's go get more cookies," she says, grabbing his hand before shooting us a sad and disappointed look before leaving the studio and heading toward the house.

"Caleb took her, Luke," Reggie replies, stating something none of us have said since she disappeared. "None of us know what he's really capable of, but I know for a fact, I heard her. She was screaming at someone to let her go," he says, turning and looking at me as my eyes flicker over to Alex who's hugging his legs to his chest before looking back over to him.

"We all want her back but you're hearing things and-" I start to say but Alex's voice interrupts me.

"I heard it too," he mumbles quietly, his mouth resting against his chin, almost as if he doesn't want us to hear him.

"See! I'm not the only one! Luke, come on, you can't tell me you didn't hear anything," Reggie pleads, motioning to Alex.

I duck and head and shake it before shrugging. "Fine. I heard something. I thought it might've just been Ray when he was getting the light bulb," I say before looking back up at them and seeing a small smile creeping up on Reggie's face. "But why would we be able to hear her but not see her?

"I dunno," he replies, his smile fading but then coming back a moment later. "We could go and find her!"

"Again, we can't see her," I remind him.

"But we know where she is," he says, lifting an eyebrow and smiling mischievously.

I nod slowly, knowing he's probably right. Caleb only has one place he stays and why would he keep her somewhere he can't keep an eye on her. I pat my legs and stand up before walking over and patting Alex on the shoulder. "I'm gonna go for a drive. You wanna stop by Ava's?" I ask as he nods in response before moving the blanket off of him and standing up. "You wanna go by your brother's?" I ask Reggie, since he hadn't seen his brother since we came back.

He shakes his head and shrugs. "Nah, it's fine. I'm gonna steal Julie's laptop and try and see where the Hollywood Ghost Club is gonna be next."

I nod. "Just make sure Julie doesn't know. I don't want her getting her hopes up," I say, pointing out the fact that I do realize there was something between her and Ave. I walk toward him and mess up his hair before opening the studio's doors. "We'll be back, okay?" He nods in response before Alex walks up beside me and I grab the keeps from the table before we walk out into the car.

We close the doors when we leave and walk toward the house, looking at my feet as I walk, almost making me run into Julie. "Where you guys going?" She says, cocking her head to the side in curiosity. 

"We're gonna go for a little drive," I say, smiling softly at her.

"Everything okay?" 

"Yep," I say, not entirely lying. I bend down and give her a small kiss on the cheek before wrapping my arm around Alex and walking him into the car.

"So where are you going?" Alex asks from the passenger seat as he wraps his coats around him at the chilly December night.

"I don't know yet, probably the beach," I lie as I pull onto the street and drive toward Ava's house. "So how old is Alexis now? Two?"

"Dude," he says as he nods his head, knowing I'm nervous. "It's gonna be okay, y'know," he says, looking down at me after I pull into Ava's driveway.

"Mmhm, I know," I say, looking at him as his green eyes shin brightly in the dark light of the lamp post. I smile at him, wanting to change the conversation. "Okay, come on, go have fun with your niece," I say as I shove him slightly.

He nods again and smiles before patting my shoulder and stepping out of the car. He starts to back away from the car but then walks back and rests his arms on the open window. "Oh, and Luke? Everything's gonna be fine," he says before smiling and patting the door before walking up to the door. He knocks and not even thirty seconds later, Alexis and Ava open the door and I can hear Alexis' little voice.

"Uncle Alex!" She squeals before Alex takes her from Ava's arms as they wave at me before they enter the house.

I lean back and rest my head against the back of my seat as I contemplate what I'm about to do. I'm not dressed for this. I'm wearing a ripped up sweater with jeans and the same orange beanie I've been wearing since I was a kid. I think about what Ave would say if she were here but I push that away from my mind instantly, knowing it's just going to make me sad. I sigh before pulling out of their driveway and driving in the direction of where I want to go. When I get to my destination, I park in front of it and stare through the front windows, watching as the couple walk around with Christmas decorations in their hands. I sigh once more before hopping out of the car walking up the driveway to the front door. I lift my hand to knock but stop myself when I realize what I'm doing. I knock anyways and my breathing stops for a moment when the woman opens the door.

"Hi, Mom," I say quietly, my voice breaking as tears form in my eyes.