Ghost Soldier

Chapter Five

Tommy's POV:

'Theodore Benson'

I sat idly in front of Ted's grave, numbly staring at the name. I missed him so much, more than I miss my life.

My best friend lay in the ground, my body next to his. But, as far as I knew, he graced the afterlife with his presence while I remained down here. I didn't mind. To tell you the truth, I was afraid of what would happen once I departed to a different afterlife. For the moment, I felt content here in the now. Everyday was a blessing, even for a ghost like me.

Thinking of today, I smiled to myself. Ashley must be going crazy by now. The last month had been quite a revelation for me. She loved me too.

"You were right, you bastard," I said to the grave. How many times had he told me she returned my feelings? Too many for me to keep track. I laughed to myself. Everything that I'd ever wanted, I had now that I was dead.

"I should've just manned up and asked her out. Do you know how much I hate it when you're right?" I continued rambling on about the last month with Ashley.

I fell silent and just sat there, communicating what I couldn't say out loud through my thoughts.

I stood up after another hour of staring at the headstone. I got the feeling I'd be seeing him sooner that I thought. I shook the thought away though. Right now, I needed to focus on Ashley and helping her heal.

With a solute to my fellow fallen soldier, I closed my eyes and envisioned Ashley's house. A second later, I opened my eyes to the door of my room.

I walked through the pannel of wood, and frowned at what I saw. Ashley was sprawled out on my bed, dressed in one of my shirts and a pair of her jeans.

"Um, what are you doing?," I asked her. Her head jerked in my direction. She closed her eyes, but I saw the relief she tried to conceal.

"Oh, you know. I'm just chillin'. Where were you?"

I rolled my eyes at her flippant tone. She wasn't fooling anyone.

"Visiting some friends." By now, she knew that meant that I was at someone's grave.

"Oh," she said, relief ling the word.

My frown deepened. I knew she didn't want anything to happen to me. But she knew that I couldn't stay forever, right?

I walked over to my bed and took a seat next to her. she shivered a little, so I shifted over about a foot. That was one thing I hated about being a ghost; I was a damn cold draft wherever I went.

"Ashley, have you thought about what you're gonna do?," I asked. I didn't add the 'with out me' part, but I thought it in my head.

Her brow furrowed as she thought about her answer. After a minute, she slowly shook her head.

"Well, how about we go out tomorrow and get you a job?," I suggested.

"Why," she asked, sounding confused.

"It'll get you out there again so you aren't just sitting here with a ghost all day. You need to make some friends now that Ted and I aren't here," I explained.

Her frown deepened.

"But you're technically still here," she retorted.

"I may not always be here. There could come a time when I actually move on," I sighed.

She stared at me unblinkingly. I saw here eyes start to water, and in that moment I wanted so badly to be able to hold her and tell her everything would be okay. But I couldn't.

"I thought you were here to stay," she whispered.

I rubbed a hand down my face. This was already making me feel like an asshole.

"Ash, I told you I was here to get you through this. I'm not supposed to stay here for forever."

She angrily wiped a tear away as she sat up.

"But... b-but-" she stuttered. I cut her off.

"But what Ashley? Do you really want me to be like this? I'm not real like this. For fuck's sake, I'm dead. This isn't me."

Tears trickled their way down her cheeks. I sighed, dropping my head into my wating hands.

"I'm not leaving now, sweetheart. I don't know when that'll happen. But you need to get out instead of staying holed up with a dead guy."

She didn't look up at me as she nodded. I reached over and grabbed her hand even though she couldn't feel it. I could tell the gesture calmed her though.

After a little while of sitting like that, I stood up and patted her knee.

"You should get some rest. You've got a big day tomorrow."

I left my room in a rather glum mood. I had a feeling we'd have a lot more of those arguements. But sooner or later, she was going to have to let me go.

And I'll have to do the same.

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A/N: Hey. So sorry it took me almost two months to get this part up. It's just I don't know if any of you reading this are actually liking it. I think there's really only one person that votes for this lol. Thanks for that vote anyway. It helps :)

I'm not going to stop this story even if no one comments or votes, but the chapters might be a little slower. I've got chapters six and seven already written out on paper, so when I've got the time, those will be up