Ghosted

Ghosted

Prologue... The Party That Changed Everything

I was seventeen when my life changed forever.

Never would I be the same again after something happened that made my life unique and mysterious, and also a tad creepy at times. I would be haunted for the rest of my life by an accident that almost claimed my life.

On November 27th, 2004, I attended a party with my classmates. It took a hell of a lot of convincing for my mom to even let me go. She hated me going to these sort of things, and most of the time she wouldn't let me. At the time I was a temperamental teenager who wanted everything. I could never understand before why she was so sure that I should be locked up safely at home. It made me want to be more rebellious.

But I was at the party.

Everyone around me was blind drunk, some throwing up on the gravel driveway, while others were all over each other, bodies entangled in what could possibly be a drunken sex adventure. Hopefully not on the front lawn, though...

"Emily, what are you doing?" my best friend Kaycee asked, coming to stand in front of me.

"I don't honestly know," I admitted blankly, wondering how I'd ended up out the front to begin with. "I think the drunks are beginning to make me crazy."

"Well, Thorne and Brad are keen to go home, if you are," Kaycee said, pulling me towards the house where the music pumped loudly, rattling the windows with every beat.

"Like either of them could drive!" I scoffed. "They're both drunk!"

"Then you can drive us," Kaycee smiled.

"No, I'm intoxicated too!" I snapped. "Kaycee, I'm not driving anywhere tonight. And neither are you. So we could walk home..."

"Em, come on!" Kaycee whined.

"No, Kaycee!" I said firmly as we'd reached the back of the house. "I'm not that stupid! I refuse to get in the car and drive while I've been drinking, and I'm certainly not going to take a lift with someone else who is drunk! It's moronic!"

"Kay, are we leaving?" Thorne, Kaycee's boyfriend, asked as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Here's the keys to my car, Em," Brad said, holding out his hand. The keys were in it.

I folded my arms stubbornly.

"I'm drunk," I said bitterly. "I'm not driving."

"Well, nobody else is driving my car, and I'm not leaving it here," Brad scowled. "Come on, you pansy. You've had the least to drink out of the four of us."

"You know what they call this?" I questioned, frowning. "Peer pressure! I am not succumbing to peer pressure, so back off!"

The three of them cowered back instantly.

"Fine, I'll drive," Kaycee sighed, snatching the keys from Brad. "Come on, Em. I'll drop you off at home."

"Kaycee, you're being stupid," I scolded. "You'll kill yourself. I'm not getting in the car with you driving."

"How the hell are you friends with her, babe?" Thorne asked harshly. "Emily, you can stay here, but we're all going home!"

"Oh, screw you, Thorne!" I shouted, turning to walk away.

I watched as Kaycee got behind the wheel of Brad's car, and drove away. I shook my head in disgust, hoping the police would pull her over on the way home. A drink driving charge would surely bring her to her senses, right?