Hello, Can You Please Stop Haunting Me?

To sum it up in one word, Zach’s house was adorable. Zach and Eliza were silently enjoying the tea that his mother, Mrs. Jennifer Harper made. Zach was leaning against the off-white railings while Eliza was sitting on one of the porch swing. The wooden frame was white and the cushions were made of floral-patterned fabric. The throw pillows were a refreshing color of green and blue. There were a couple of fake vines, wrapping themselves around the sturdy ropes.

The porch itself was lovely and adorable. The flooring was made out of white wood and so were the railings. The doors were dark blue. There were small black lamps attached to the wall on either side of the door. There weren’t many shrubberies but they were a lot of colorful flowers on the porch, in cute little vases. The morning sun rays fell perfectly onto the flowers, casting shadows all around. It seemed magical.

The only thing that was missing, Eliza thought, was a wicker basket with lavender in it.

She could sit there forever.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, mademoiselle?” He said as a teasing smile tugged his lips.

“I kissed him,” she said.

Zach raised his eyebrow. “Congratulations?”

“I mean, Jeremy. I kissed Jeremy.”

The both of them knew that Jeremy wasn’t around. Eliza didn’t know where and she was too drained to think of the places where he might escape to.

“Oh.”

Silence.

“Well, that’s…that’s certainly new,” he said after clearing his throat.

“And it’s…I can feel it. Not that eerie, crappy feeling you get when you come into contact with him. It’s almost…you know, human-like,” Eliza said, feeling awkward for reasons she had yet to discover. “It’s weird. That’s all.”

“It is. And…it’s kind of creepy.”

“I know right?” Eliza replied, sighing.

Zach walked over to her and sat next to her, setting his tea on the small coffee table next to them. “My mom always said to me, it is best not to interfere with the dead. Let them sort everything out themselves. Humans aren’t supposed to interact with them in the first place.”

“But he killed himself.”

“That’s his fault, not yours.”

“I talked to his sister, Mia?

Zach was silent for a moment, just staring at her as if she had lost her mind. Maybe she had. She kissed a ghost. You definitely don’t hear that every day.

“Wow, you just broke every rule my mom told me. You rebel, you.”

Eliza smiled, but it was more of a bitter smile, Zach realized.

“Eliza…” He trailed off. “Is there any reason why you find yourself so intrigued by Jeremy?”

“Who wouldn’t?” She instantly replied. “I mean, he’s Jeremy. And he’s dead. Sort of.”

And then, something weird happened. Eliza felt as if Zach’s stare pierced through her, as if he had a rising suspicion. Her heart beat just that bit faster under his curious stare and her palms began to sweat. She never told anyone, she never showed anything to anyone. She was so careful. Even her friends didn’t notice it.

No, there was no way Zach knew.

“You know,” he began, startling Eliza from her panicked thoughts. “You can always talk to me if you have anything weighing your mind. I’m not the kind of a person who would judge,” he continued, a concerned look etched on his face.

“I once…” she trailed off after a moment of hesitation.

She couldn’t do it.

Zach held her hand and squeezed it comfortingly. “You don’t have to tell, I’m just saying that if you ever need to tell me, I’m here.”

“I appreciate it,” she muttered, not really feeling anything as she stared into space. She slowly closed her eyes, trying to get away from her memories. But it was still there, playing over and over again in her head. Haunting her in her nightmares. Drowning her.

The truth.

The truth was…

Far more painful.