Haunted

Chapter 9 §

I jerked awake, a scream lodged in my throat. "Zach," I croaked instinctively. He was by my side in an instant, pulling me to his chest. "It's okay, love, it was just a nightmare."

"No, Zach, it was the same dream." Zach pulled me away to see my face. "What do you mean?"

"I've had this dream before."

"What happens in the dream?"

I really didn't want to talk about it, but Zach might be able to help. "I'm at the old apartment," I started reluctantly. Understanding flashed across Zach's face. "Go on," he encouraged. "My mom was there. She looked...rough, to say the least. She pushed me out the same window, and we fell..." Zach hugged me tightly.

I sniffed once, my face buried in his chest, and then I stood up. "I guess I should get to work." Zach sighed, standing up. I'll take care of Carson, we'll stop by." I smiled. "Ok."

***

"Where have you been?!" I cringed. "You see, it's kind of a long story-"

"I don't care!"

"But-"

"You are this close to being fired, so I suggest you shut up and get to work!" I nodded. My boss stomped off, and I did as I was told.

Zach and Carson stopped by about an hour before I got off, and stayed to walk me home.

"So I'm guessing it went ok with your boss?" Zach asked. I shook my head. "If I step one more toe out of line, I'm fired."

Zach nodded glumly. "So, I've been looking for a job." I raised my eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Carson answered. "Zach, you don't have to do that," I said. "Yes, I do, and I will. If you won't let my grandparents help you, then we'll do it the hard way," he answered.

I kissed him then, and Carson said, "Ew," and Zach chuckled. I leaned down and pecked Carson on the cheek, and he got all grossed out.

I laughed at his intolerance towards kisses.

-----

Age 14

"Have fun, Carson!" I kissed my brother on the cheek in front of all his friends. Normally he doesn't mind my kisses, but this time he got all grossed out. His friends started laughing, and he pushed me away, trying to maintain his dignity.

I grabbed him and pulled him close to me, kissing all over his face. His friends laughed harder, and I could feel the warmth radiating from his skin as he blushed. "Alright." I let him go. He hugged me and ran off to join his friends.

"Have fun!" I called, and Carson waved goodbye. I walked back inside, only to be met by a smirking Zach. Oh, goodie...

----

"Alright, alright, to bed!" I ordered. Zach and Carson were wrestling on the ground, but stopped at my command. "Aw, c'mon, sis! Five more minutes?"

"Yeah!" Zach chided playfully. "Just five more minutes?"

I rolled my eyes. "Ok, fine. Five more minutes."

Zach grinned, and they went back to wrestling. I smiled.

When it was time to go to bed, Carson decided to sleep in his room. "You're sure you don't want to sleep with me?" I asked.

Carson folded his arms across his chest and said, "How old do I look to you? Five? I can sleep in my own room, thank you very much!"

I laughed. "Oh, yeah. You're so grown up in your Mickey Mouse pajamas."

Carson glanced down and blushed, ducking under the covers. I pulled them back and kissed his forehead. This time he didn't pull away.

"Goodnight," I said softly, and closed the door.

"We can stay up as late as we want," I told Zach when I got downstairs. "Tomorrow's my day off."

"Fantastic!" Zach said, scooping me up into his arms. I giggled as he carried me to the couch, then sat down with me in his lap.

"Wanna watch a movie?" I asked. "Sure," Zach replied.

I started to get off his lap to go get a movie but he pulled me back. I laughed. "You know I have to get up to go get the movie, right?"

"Hmm..." Zach murmured, his face buried in my hair. "So no movie then?" I asked. "No, I want to watch a movie," he answered.

"Then we have a bit of a complication." I giggled. "Argh," Zach grunted, standing up with me still in his arms.

"Zach, wha-"

Zach interrupted before I could finish my question. He looked into my eyes and said, "You are not leaving my arms." Then he bent down so I could grab a movie and pop it in. I didn't even look at what movie it was.

We sat back down on the couch and I rested my head on Zach's shoulder, not really watching the movie.

Once the movie was over, I turned to look at Zach, who was resting his head on mine. I smiled when I heard soft snores, getting an idea. I stood up slowly, resting Zach's head on the arm of the couch.

Then I sprinted to the fridge and grabbed a can of whip cream. This is gonna be fun.

I filled Zach's hand with whip cream, squirting some in my mouth. Then I tickled his nose with my finger. Zach's a deep sleeper, so it took a while, but it worked.

Zach's hand slapped against his nose, spreading whipped cream all over his face.

He sat bolt upright and glanced around the room wildly, his eyes landing on me. I howled with laughter, trying to keep it quiet so I didn't wake Carson up.

Once Zach realized what had happened, he tackled me to the ground playfully and kissed all over my face, rubbing whipped cream all over it. I squealed, thankful that Carson was a deep sleeper.

When we got tired, Zach plopped down on the couch and I plopped down next to him. He held me securely in his arms and whispered, "I love you," in my ear as I fell asleep, whipped cream still all over us.