+18 - GHOST of ME 1 - Alex and Claire Corban lead ordinary lives in their small town. Until their family past catches up, forcing them to face supernatural events that will change their lives forever. -- draft UNDER **HEAVY** REVISION --Please let m...
Lunch regulars arrived to Jill's in no hurry. At noon, when everything was set and ready in the kitchen, Claire left Polly to handle the orders and wore her waitress apron to wait the tables, while Jill worked behind the counter at full steam.
The girl was grabbing her tray when Rob Thompson and his usual pals took one of the booths by the wall. She brought them menus with a welcoming smile. To everybody's surprise, Rob grabbed her hand.
"Here's my savior. Watch and learn, guys. Bet that if any of you ever needed rescue, you'd get grumpy Graham instead of a hot girl like Claire."
She yanked her hand free, patting Rob's head with a menu.
"Behave, young man!" she scolded him. "You shouldn't go around hitting on your elders!"
The other three boys laughed heartedly.
"Elders? Your?" Stevie Malher repeated. "C'mon! Are you even of age?"
"I'm twenty, and that's outta your league, boys. To business now. What're you ordering?" They handed the menus back to her without even opening them. "I see. That means the usual: four specials with extra fries."
Claire took the order to Polly and went behind the counter to get the sodas for the four boys. Jill found an excuse to come around.
"It's good to see Rob's fine after what happened," she said. "But he's, like, different, don't you think?"
"Isn't he," Claire muttered. "Yeah, he's bolder than he used to."
"Yeah. Even sassy!"
"Well, you know how it goes, Jill. It's their graduation summer. Right now, they own the world."
Claire settled the four sodas on her tray and went back to Rob's table. George and Alex came in then, and sat at the table next to Rob's. The girl smiled wider. She liked seeing them together, especially because George's expertise seemed to be making Alex feel good. Not to mention the way he always looked at her was just so sweet. But Claire sensed Alex was upset. As she went to their table, she heard Alex make up some clumsy excuse to decline having dinner with George.
"Hey, kiddo," Alex greeted the girl, trying to sound casual and cheerful. "What d'you have for us today?"
"Well, I think caviar is in order," Claire replied.
"Then caviar it is," said George, trying his best to show a convincing smile.
Claire kept joking with them as she took their order, but her smile vanished on her way to the kitchen. Yeah, Alex was far from feeling good. All of a sudden, having George around was the last thing she wanted, but she couldn't say no to him. And George knew something was off, which made him feel awkward and puzzled.
Claire huffed under her breath. She had a name for Alex's reason to feel like that, and that was Aidan Holster. The week she's spent with him was getting in the way.
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Felicity heard the doorbell and looked out her bedroom window. A moment later, she heard Mom inviting somebody in, and the voice of a man greeting her. They stayed in the living room, talking in a nice way. She liked it so much. Ever since Dad had left for Heaven, there was no more yelling at home. No more tears. So Felicity went back to her dolls and books. On the rug by her side, the music box repeated its tune for the ballerina to spin slowly on only one foot.
Downstairs, Rod Smith accepted the cold tea Kat offered him and waited for her to sit down on the couch across the coffee table. Kat knew this was no social visit, because Rod was in charge of the mortgage department, but she tried to show a calm she was far from feeling. She'd asked the bank manager for a temporary delay to catch up with the mortgage debt, and Rod's tight smile was enough of a teaser of Olson's answer to her request.
Upstairs, the music box stopped and Felicity looked up from her book. She heard the muffled murmur from the living room. A sound she knew all too well: Mom was crying, keeping her voice down so Dad wouldn't hurt her again.
Felicity grabbed the music box on her way out of the room. Just like she'd done so many times before, she tiptoed down the stairs until she was able to see what was going on at the ground floor. Mom and the stranger were still sitting in the living room, and tears rolled down Mom's face as she listened to the stranger.
"I'm sorry, Kat," the main was saying, just like Dad. "We're well aware of your situation, and we know this is not on you. But you're several months behind and we can only hold things back for one more week."
"A week! That's the same as nothing! How am I—?"
The man cut Mom off, just like Dad. "I'm sorry. We have to submit all reports by next Friday tops, yours included."
He stood up and waited for Mom to do the same. She did with her head low, wiping her eyes. Felicity curled up on the step she was sitting on and watched them head for the front door. Mom opened it for the man to walk out. He paused to face Mom one last time.
"I'm so sorry, Kat," he repeated, just like Dad.
Mom only nodded.
When the man left, she closed the door and rested her back against it, her hands covering her face as a desperate cry escaped her lips.
Felicity ran down the stairs and threw her arms around Mom, hugging her. Just like Mom, she couldn't utter a single work, choking on that feeling that seemed to burn her up inside.
That man, that stranger, had made Mom cry just like Dad.
Felicity had thought they'd be alright without Dad around. They would play and laugh and have loads of fun. Mom wouldn't cry anymore. But she was wrong. Dad gone wasn't enough, because this other man had hurt Mom.
