Ghost of You

“Tomi!” I heard a girl's voice cry out.

Suddenly, two small arms were thrown around my waist. I knelt down and scooped Georg's little sister, Sarah, into a big hug. Her long brunette hair was past her shoulders in a straight fall. Her bathing suit was wet pressed up against my overly long teeshirt. She pulled back and smiled her third-grader smile up at me. Georg would always tell me she had the cutest crush on me.

“Where have you been?” she demanded, crossing her arms over her small chest. I shrugged one shoulder and she pouted. “You haven't been around to visit me in fur-ever.”

I smiled as I patted her head, watching as Mrs. Listing came over and shut off the sprinkler, tucking a strand of brown hair falling from her ponytail behind her ear. “Tom Kaulitz, it's good to finally see you. Where've you been hiding at?” she joked.

“That's what I said!” said Sarah, throwing her arms up in the air and shaking her head.

Mrs. Listing giggled. “Well, Georg and Gustav are inside playing Guitar Hero. Go on in.”

I nodded my head once as Sarah took her small hand in my large one. “I'll take you inside. C'mon!” she called, practically skipping.

Note to self: watch out for Sarah.



“Georg! Gustav! Get down here!” Sarah called, leading me around the living room as if it was my first time inside. I swear, she is too cute.

The sound of sneakers pounded down the stairway, and Georg and Gustav emerged. Gustav smiled at me.

“Tom, what're you doing here?” Georg asked, his hair falling out of his ponytail. I shrugged one shoulder.

“He's here to play with me,” Sarah snapped, crossing her arms again and pouting.

Georg laughed. “That is not what he's here for.”

Sarah stuck out her tongue.

“Actually,” I intercepted, “I was gonna head down to Lake Cocoon and wanted to know if you wanted to join.”

“I would love to!” Sarah piped in.

Georg glared down at her, then looked back up at me. “Sure, we'd love to come.”

Gustav slid past Sarah. “I have to go tell my mom and get some stuff. Meet you at the lake!” he called over his shoulder, slipping out the door.

Georg turned and started for the stairs, pausing three stairs up and turning to look at Sarah. “And you are not coming.”

Sarah stomped her foot. “Mo-om!” she screamed, heading out the door. I cracked a smile as Georg headed for his bedroom.



The lake was nearly crowded by the time we got there and, surprise, Luke and his crew were there as well. Luke was a senior on the track team, and he was “Mr. Popular.” He was tall and tan with a nice build, as all the girls called it, and spaghetti-blonde hair. He wasn't a bad guy, I just never got around to liking him much like everyone else did. He wasn't a bad kid, but he wasn't a good kid, either. But hey, no one's perfect, right?

I laid my towel out on a beach chair, Georg plopping into the chair next to me, his large black sunglasses reflecting away the sun. I wish I had brought sunglasses, or at least a cap to cover my dreads. I sighed, pulling off my tee and dropping it behind my back, sliding down my pants and folding them up. Georg stared at me intently.

“What?” I asked, a little too defensive. He shrugged one shoulder, turning his head. “Sorry,” I said in a low voice. “Wanna get in?”

Georg nodded his head, removing his sunglasses and following me to the edge of the lake. If you could even call it a lake, because it wasn't. Three years ago, there was a local swimming pool about five miles away. The county shut it down. So, low and behold, Mr. Rich and Popular Luke had his father pay some construction guys to build a giant-like pond. They didn't want to call it a swimming pool so others wouldn't come swimming here, so they called it a lake instead; Cocoon Lake to be exact.

Georg lowered himself down the white ladder and into the water, shivering as it sent small waves out around him. I gently pushed myself down into the freezing water, my teeth chattering as I went. We swam out a little farther, Georg on his back, as I searched once again for Gustav.

“Hey,” a voice behind us said.

Georg and I turned around to find Luke, a blown-up beach ball floating alongside him. “Hey,” I said lightly.

“We're gonna start a game of volleyball, and we need a player for each team. You two wanna join?” he looked up towards the trees, sighing. “Josh and Carl decided to bring some booze and get drunk, so we're not exactly going to let them play, especially around the ladies. They can get kinda rough around girls when they're drunk.”

Georg shrugged one shoulder, looking to me. Why did he keep giving me that funny look? Luke ran a hand through his hair, water glistening off the tips. “Sure,” I said, feeling Georg's eyes peel away from me.

We followed Luke out to the other side of the lake where a large white net was set up. “Georg, you go to the other side. Tom, you stay here with me,” Luke instructed.

Georg nodded, diving underneath the water and popping up on the other side, sending water onto a girl who shrieked and slapped Georg on the shoulder while he giggled at her.



The score was four to eight three rounds later, our team with four. I didn't exactly feel like playing, and the water still didn't feel warm against my near-bare skin. Luke looked to me, calling for a break. Everyone sighed in relief and began to swim back towards the chairs. Luke hovered over next to me as we started swimming out.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly, suddenly.

I stopped and looked at him, shrugging one shoulder. “I guess. Just cold.”

“No, I mean … are you okay, okay?”

I looked at him pointedly. “I'm fi-”

I didn't get to finish that sentence because of what I saw next to my chair. His long black hair smoothed down again, his hands on his hips, his eyes full of fury as he glared at me. And then he was gone.

“LOOK OUT!” someone screamed, but I was too stupid to realize who they were screaming at. And suddenly, I was being propelled underneath the water.