Snaked

Was Any Of It Real?

Avery's pov

I sit on the bed and fall onto my back, covering my face with my hands before I feel Luke sit next to me.

"I'm gonna go see if they're okay," Julie says as she starts to leave.

"You're not going anywhere," I mumble as I sit up, making her turn around and close the door before sitting in the chair she was just sitting in. I look up at Amanda who's looking between Luke, Julie, and I like we're crazy. "'Kay, I only have one question, how the fuck can you see us?"

"I'm a medium. Which essentially means that I can see things that other people can't. Specifically spirits and entities," she says as she shrugs.

"Who were those people?" Luke asks, sounding like he's mostly talking to himself but also probably to me and Amanda.

"Those were my friends, Sam and Colby," she says, taking a seat on the floor in between Julie and I. "They try to get as much communication from ghosts as they can to prove that ghosts are real to people that don't believe."

I shrug and turn to Luke who's nodding before looking back at Amanda. "I'm sorry for what Cam did to Sam and Colby," I say, still not completely understanding why Cam did what she did. "I didn't have to bring them here, I was just scared as to what Caleb would've done to them," I say, wiping a tear off of my cheek quickly, hoping no one saw it.

"It's not your fault, Ave," Luke says, putting his hand on my back and rubbing it in circles.

"Exactly," Amanda says, agreeing with Luke. "I've gone on enough trips to know that sometimes bad entities don't respond to them well."

I shake my head and look up at her. "You keep saying that Cam is bad but you're wrong, she's only ever been nice."

She shakes her head. "I'm sorry, Avery, but you're wrong," Amanda says, making me frustrated because I've known Cam longer than she has. "Sometimes bad entities can disguise themselves as good spirits to make the other spirits feel like they aren't in danger."

I shake my head, not wanting to believe her. "I'll be right back," I say, standing up and walking out the door before anyone can stop me.

I start to walk through the halls and then remember he's probably cleaning the bar for the show tonight so I head downstairs to the bar. I walk over to it and notice he isn't there so I sit on one of the stools and rest my head on the bar's counter top.

"What's going on?" I hear Willie say, making me jump.

"Dude, what the fuck? You scared the shit out of me," I say, putting my hand over my racing heart as I look at him, his hair in a bun again.

He laughs but stops when he sees the small tears that have been threatening to fall since I left the room. "Hey, you okay?" He asks as I shake my head in response. "Okay, come on," he says as he grabs my hand and pulls me into a closet. He looks down at my arm that's still bleeding but not as much as it was. "My God, what did she do to you?" He says quietly but since it's so quiet in here I hear it as clear as day.

"So, they were right?" I ask, wanting him to have an excuse for what he said but knowing he probably doesn't.

"Ave-" he starts to say but stops before sighing.

"Was any of it real?" I ask, my voice breaking as I shrug, hoping he tells me it was. He shakes his head and I crouch down and cover my mouth with my hands, hoping to keep my sobs from escaping. He starts to explain what was going on and why but I move my hands to cover my ears. "Stop, stop, stop," I keep saying before I hear him yelling my name so I take my hand off of my ears slowly before looking back up at him before realizing he's sitting in front of me. "I can't even look at you right now," I say, getting up and walking out of the closet and walking toward the front door to get some fresh air.

"Where are you going?" I hear Cam's voice ask, making me turn around and see her standing behind me.

"I need some fresh air," I say as I start to walk again before she moves to stand in front of me. "Cam, let me go."

"You know I didn't mean it, right?" She asks, putting her hands on my cheeks before I pull away which makes her grab my wrist. "I didn't have a choice."

"Everyone has a choice. It's just a matter of whether you choose the right one or not," I say, trying to pull her hand off of my wrist but she tightens her grip. "Stop, you're hurting me," I say which for some reason makes her let go. When she lets me go, I can't help but see a completely different person than the person I knew less than an hour ago.

"Ave," I hear Alex yell from the other side of the lobby. Cam looks at him before walking away, making me exhale deeply. "Hey, you okay?" He asks, putting a hand on my shoulder. I step forward and wrap my arms around him. He wraps his arms around my shoulders and places a small kiss onto the top of my head. "Hey, hey, what's wrong?" He asks, pulling away and grabbing my cheeks.

"Can you just tell me that everything's going to be okay?"