Ghosts We Carry Home.

Jack asked me to leave him alone, and I did. I gave him the time he obviously needed to get it all straightened out. I’d need some time, too, if it would have been Jack telling me he was a ghost. Jack took me to a house that wasn’t his. I think he was staying there for some reason. After a few hours Jack started to ask me lots of things about death and I told him everything I already knew about it. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to please Jack. He believed me.
Knowing that he believed me, was one of the most important things in my life, if you could still call it a life. In my death, seemed more appropriate. I had a nice time with Jack, at least, until some skanky girl walked in. I was about to say something very negative about her when I realized she was Jack’s girlfriend. I swallowed the words that where swimming in my mouth and left Jack with his girlfriend and her make-up. There were several reasons for not liking this girl. One of them is that in the ten seconds I was in her presence, she walked through me three times. Sure, she can’t see me, but it was like she was doing it on purpose. With a fierce feeling I left the room, and went for a walk in the big house.

During my walk I discovered what Jack was doing here. In this house a recording studio had been built and when I heard Alex sing when he walked next to me - not knowing he wasn’t alone - I found out that Jack and Alex played in a band, and that they were recording their album. Alex had a nice voice, but the lyrics he was singing were disgusting, and I hoped it weren’t his, but some random lines that were stuck in his mind. I followed Alex through the house and when I touched him by accident, he shivered. Obviously, he felt me, too.

Alex fascinated me. He was calmer than Jack and more serious. I started to wonder if I had known about them when I was alive, but I couldn’t remember. I guess I didn’t, because there was no way I’d forget a face like Alex’s.
I stayed with Alex because he made me feel alive. He talked to himself a lot, and at some points it looked like he was talking to me. I answered some of his questions and laughed when Alex said ‘You’re right.’
There was something off with Alex, and I wish I could ask him what it was. Most of the time, he just stared in front of him. He seemed really depressed and sad.
I watched as Alex fell asleep. I wish I could sleep, too. It was something I hadn’t done for days, but I didn’t feel the need to sleep, so I stayed awake, looking at Alex. I sat in the corner of the room and let my chin rest on my knees. It was so peaceful here, the most peaceful place I’d ever been. It had something to do with Alex’s presence, but I simply couldn’t tell what it was.

There was a knock on the door and I looked as Jack peeked into the room.
“Where have you been,” he asked me.
“I’ve been here all the time,” I answered, “I thought you might want to be alone with your girlfriend.”
Jack didn’t say anything, he just nodded.
“What’s her name?” I asked.
I didn’t want to know her name, I just wanted the awkward silence to stop.
“Chrissy,” Jack said.
“She looks like a nice girl,” I lied.
She did not look like a nice girl, more like the kind of girl I’d really hate, but I couldn’t say this to Jack. Chrissy was his girlfriend and even though she looked pure and pure evil, there must be something nice about her, otherwise Jack wouldn’t be in love with her.
“Can I ask you something about Alex?”
I looked at Jack and waited for his response.
“Sure,” he said.
“Why is he so sad?” I demanded.
Jack sighed and went to sit next to me.
“His girlfriend left him a few weeks ago.”
“Awh, that sucks,” I said. “Where they close?”
“Very close,” Jack explained. “They had been together for years. Alex doesn’t understand why she left him. He was devastated.”
“I think he still is.”
“So do I. He says he’s okay, but nobody believes it. Sometimes I hear him cry at night. It kills me.”
“He’s your best friend, right?” I guessed.
“Yes.”

Jack and I both looked at Alex who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. But who knows what was going on in his mind, giving him the worst dreams someone can have.