章節 45: So, you see?

"You're kidding…" Gael said in his low voice.

With a serious expression, Angela shook her head. "You said you wanted me to tell you a story. Apart from the fact that I'd get distracted when you look at me, I'd—"

"You get distracted when I look at you?" A slow smile ghosted on his lips.

Realizing what she just said, she quickly explained, "Not like that. I mean I would get distracted because I would get conscious—"

"So you get conscious when I look at you?"

"Oh, my god! Will you stop?!"

He chuckled and pursed his lips as if to show her that he's going to stop himself—or at least he'd try. And he nodded for her to continue.

"What I mean is… I can't tell you a story if you keep staring at me. I'm going to come up with a new one, and I'd do it better if you close your eyes… You'll be able to imagine it better that way too," she said.

He was skeptical about what she wanted him to do, but what was the harm in closing his eyes? The worst that could happen was that he'd fall asleep in the middle of her storytelling.

Exhaling a deep sigh, he faced forward, crossed his arms and legs, and muttered, "Okay, whatever you say." Then he closed his eyes.

Angela shrugged the blanket off her shoulders so that she could prop an elbow up—she laid on her side to face him and she gazed at his side profile. Even with the dimmed lights, Gael was truly a handsome man—his sharp nose, defined jaw, and stubble made her gulp.

Shaking her head to brush her stray thoughts away, she cleared her throat and began her story using her natural soft voice.

~~~

Scott Davis was a sixteen-year-old high school student. He had a hard time fitting in the new school in a small town because he used to live in a big city. But because of his father's job, their lives changed. And since he just transferred schools, he had to catch up with the classes. He was a diligent boy, though, and he studied a lot.

Because he had a quiz the next day, Scott decided to study after his class. The school he transferred to followed a 9 am to 5 pm schedule, which meant that he would have to stay in the evening if he wanted to pass the quiz.

The library was nearly full when he arrived, and the only available spot was in the far corner. Left with no choice, Scott took the seat and started to study. He worked so hard and was able to cover a lot of the topics that he missed. Time flew by so fast and he didn't even notice that it was already nine in the evening—students had gone home and he was the only one left.

"Davis." A knock on the table startled him and he looked up. "Aren't you going home yet? I'll go ahead. See you tomorrow," said his classmate before jogging out of the library.

He looked around and realized that the library was already empty. So he packed his things up and left. The lights in the hallway were already out and he felt that it was quite eerie at night, but he didn't think much of it and continued to head out. As he reached the parking lot, he walked towards the bike rack and searched for his keys. Patting his pockets, his brows crossed when he couldn't find the keys to unlock the chain on his bike. "Where is it?" he muttered.

Then, he remembered that he had placed his keys on the table in the library—it was next to his books, but it turned out that he was only able to grab his books and forgot about the keys.

So, he turned around and went back inside, passing the eerie hallway until he arrived in front of the library's door. It was so dark and the only light that was coming in through the windows was from the full moon in the sky outside. Scott didn't know why but he started to get nervous, his heart racing by the second. As he wrapped his hand around the doorknob, a chill ran down his spine, and for some reason, he felt a heavy force in front of him.

It got suddenly cold—so cold that when he exhaled, a small, misty cloud formed in the air. He gulped as he debated with himself whether he should open the door or not. He was so sure that his keys were on the table where he stayed, and he had to get it so he could ride his bike home. Scott couldn't leave without his bike because their house was quite far to walk on foot.

Twisting the knob, he slowly pushed it open and stepped inside, and he swore that it got even colder. He was just there a couple of minutes ago and it wasn't like this, so the change in temperature was very bizarre.

He took a few steps forward carefully, then, from the corner of his eye, there was a silhouette of a girl with long black hair, standing not very far to his left. But no matter what, Scott couldn't make himself turn to look at what or who was there. His heart was frantic and he wanted to run out of there, yet he had no choice but to keep moving forward, and as he did, the silhouette would move closer and closer towards him.

His grandmother used to tell him that if he got scared, all he needed to do was to chant—to convince himself that he was okay. So that's what he did.

"There's nothing there… There's nothing there… There's nothing there…"

Every step he took, he'd recite the words over and over again. "There's nothing there… There's nothing there…"

He was almost near the table where he sat and he could already see the keys on top of it. But the closer he got, the closer the figure of the girl with long hair also was. But he thought that his chanting helped him because he didn't feel so afraid anymore as he heard his own voice that's giving him courage, so he kept going. "There's nothing there…"

However, just as he reached the table, he realized that the voice that he was hearing... was no longer his own. "There's nothing there…" a voice of a girl sounded right in his ear and he knew that the figure was already standing next to him. He shook in fear, his hands trembling on his sides as he stood frozen on the spot.

Scott felt like he was enveloped by a cold, strong, and heavy force. And he didn't know what to do. Thinking that he could still convince himself, he chanted a different phrase, "Ghosts aren't real…" he said.

And as soon as he did, an icy tone whispered to his ear, "But I'm real."

Not able to control himself, he turned to his left, and right in front of him was a girl with long, black hair draped all over her face, her eyes brimming with black tears peeking from the curtain of hair, her expression so haunting and twisted in anger and agony. And her voice was chilling when she laughed as she reached to his chest and ripped his heart out.

~~~

"So, you see? Ghosts are real…" Angela whispered to Gael, her voice sounded so ghostly that his hair stood on end. His eyes shot open, then he snapped his head to the left...

And his lips landed on hers.