Life After Death

Chapter 34

Somehow, in between eating, I fell into a deep sleep - and I mean like, mid-eating.

I was travelling through a thick fog until I stopped and the fog faded and I was surrounded by candle-light. And then, I was in a girl's bedroom. There sitting on the floor was Kassima.

Kassima jumped back and looked at me in awe. "It worked!" she exclaimed.

"Kassima?"

"Yeah!" Kassima was the usual happy person she was. Somehow, it didn't help with the mood I had been in. Instead, I felt even more upset and withdrawn.

"Um, Kassima, what am I doing here? And how did I get here?" I asked looking around the bedroom as it came into better focus. The walls were painted purple and there was a bed pushed up against the wall, under a bay window. There was no TV or any other electronic devices. Just a desk littered with books and pencils. "Who's room is this?"

"It's my old bedroom," Kassima said. "I had to come home for Christmas..." She retrieved a hairtie from the drawer of her vanity mirror and gathered her dreadlocks into a bun. "I called out to you and you actually called."

"Oh." I sat down on the bed. And looked around the room. There was a frame of a girl with flowing blond hair and a smaller girl with dark hair. "I thought I fell asleep and this was some twisted dream... or vision. Is that you and your sister?" Some emotion flitted over Kassima's face - sadness and something else, something more cruel - and Kassima nodded.

"Yeah." She cleared her throat. "I just needed to talk to you," she said, bringing her voice down an octave. "I just hope that idiots down stairs don't hear me but... you're in trouble, Meredith."

"What?" Her words wrapped around my neck and suffocated me.

"I had a vision, although vague. I got a vision. But it felt like it wasn't mine, you know?" Kassima frowned, and came to sit down next to me. "It's like I was in someone else's body."

"Kassima, what did you see?" The fear pricked at my throat.

"I saw a man in a suit and blood and stardust and darkness, like a black hole or something, and then nothing. I came to after that."

"Why did you think it involved me?"

"Because someone called me by your name." As soon as those words left her lips I began go shake uncontrollably. I needed to get out of here and back to Roman. I felt safe when I was around him. I should have never left that stupid pizza place. I should have been content with how the universe was designed and just kept my head down. I should have... I should have... There are so many things I could have done to prevent all of this. But it was too late now. I was in too deep. And now, I had to deal with the consequences that would punch and scratch me in the face.

I was heaving and Kassima was trying to find a way to comfort me. But to no avail.

"Meredith! Meredith!" I felt hands around my body.

"You have to go now," Kassima said. "All I can tell you is don't trust--"

But I was brought back to Roman's room before Kassima could finish her sentence. I cursed and clawed the person's hands off my body only to realize it was Roman.

He glared at me. "You got chicken crumbs all over my bed."

"I'm sorry?"

"Now when I sleep in here I'm going to smell like chicken."

"I'm sorry?"

"Just fucking get up so that I can clean the bed up," Roman snapped at me.

I scrambled out of the bed and watched as Roman swiftly cleaned up the mess I had created and the bed was back to new in the matter of minutes.

"Look, Roman--"

"I'm going to ask you some questions," he said. "But first, I'm going to take a nice, hot shower. You wait here and try not to pass out on my bed with chicken all over your face, 'kay? Good." He grabbed some sweats and left.

I let out a huff of annoyance and a shriek of anger. Sometimes that idiot just infuriated me! I could have found out so much valuable information if he left me passed out.

Then it occurred to me: I didn't see Topher, the redheaded surfer, with Kassima. I remembered him saying he would be spending his days with Kassima. Then where was he?

Lately, I had more questions than answers. Who knew that this whole life after death thing would be more stressful than life itself.

About twenty or thirty minutes later, Roman came back. His hair was wet from his shower and he was wearing a sweatpants with a hoodie. He also had a bag Cheetos now. I smiled up at him, jutting out a hand for the bag. Roman let out a bark of laughter. "This," he jiggled the bag of delicious, cheesy goodness in the air, "is mine."

"But it's fun-sized," I pouted, dropping my hands at my sized.

"Which is just enough for me." He plopped down on the bed, leaving a sliver of space for me. I brought my knees to my chest. "Now for that questions..."