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chapter twenty six ghost of you
☼
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'ANGEL' BY MADONNA echoed from Max's vinyl. The girls were having a sleepover. Max danced and sang along to the sweet rhythm of the music with a mic in her hand. El sat on the bed with Claire, skimming through magazines while Claire introduced her to the actors and celebrities on the pages every once in a while.
Underneath the echoes of the laughter and music, lingered the ghost of Jim Novak. The sound of his laughter. His way of understanding Claire like no one else did. At first, when she was in Portland, the ghost haunted her. It was a sharp dagger inside her, clawing and plunging at her soul until guilt gushed out as a substitute for blood. But those were all mere illusions that Claire's mind created.
Because now, the ghost no longer haunted her. Even if Claire would always loathe herself for never believing him, Jim wasn't an object of her regret anymore, he was a fond memory. A buried secret begging to be unraveled, but it was a lost cause.
"Who's this?"
El's tender voice snapped Claire out of her trance. She silently thanked El and took a moment to exhale, and brush off her thoughts. It's okay, she was fine. She looked at the brunette and grinned.
"Oh, Max, look who she found." Claire laughed as El stared at a specific magazine.
"Who?" Max turned. She chuckled and crouched down on the ground. "Looks like you found Ralph Macchio."
"Macchio?"
"Yeah! He's the Karate Kid!" Claire exclaimed, anticipating a wave of surprise when El shook her head. But it took her a moment to realize that El was practically new to everything, so she obviously wouldn't know it. Claire silently rebuked herself for being too unmindful, although it was nothing new.
