Death is Black and White

In my room.

On my bed.

Like a normal human.

Brushing her hair.

I stare at the place she had been sitting before she disappeared. How was she able to pick up my hairbrush? How did she hand me a note? She's a ghost, that shouldn't be possible. Ghosts aren't...

I hear voices in the living room, my mom and... For a moment the whispers crawl around in my head but then I realize it's just Sam. I blink a few times and stand up, shakily. I feel like I haven't slept in days, or that maybe I'm really, legitamately going insane. My door opens, and in my lost thoughts I jump.

Sam looks at my room, messier than usual, then at my face. "You look like you've just seen a--" she cuts off then grins at me. "You did, didn't you! Oh my god I was like THIS close to being there! That's why you had to get off the phone, huh? To talk to Lotty!"

"I..." my voice is rough, like I haven't said a word in days. I clear my throat. "I wouldn't say we were talking, really." The whispers echo in my brain, and I get a pang in my chest like they'll never go away.

"Well don't just stand there, ya dingus! Tell me what happened!" she grabs my arm and tried to lead me to my bed, but I slide down on the floor instead. She gives me a puzzled look and takes a seat on the edge of the bed.

"That's where she was, Sam. Right next to where you're sitting. And she looked...normal. Like, her reflection looked the same as in the picture, but in real life," I have trouble saying real life; Lotty is dead, "she looked like an eight year old girl. It was really weird. And she was cold. And she kept doing weird things with her hands. And she was, I don't know, like, solid. I think."

"You think? Did you touch her?"

"Well, no. But she took my hairbrush and actually used it. And she took this," I hold up the piece of paper, "which is why I tore my room apart to look for it."

"That is so weird!" Sam says. She pats around on the bed as if maybe Lotty were still sitting there and he could feel the cold. "Did she do anything else?"

I hesitate. I can't bring myself to recount the horrible whispers that now dance around in my head and won't go away. I shake my head. "No, that's all. And just before you got here, she screamed and disappeared."

Sam's brow furrows. "That is just unreal. I wish I coulda been there..."

No, you don't, I think.

"It was the weirdest thing ever. Kinda cool, like I wanted her there at first, but then..."

But then she started talking and it scared the fuck out of me, simply put.

"But then it just got weird."

Sam purses her lips. "Well, I can believe that, you're still white as a sheet! How about we call Adam and he can bring us back to the real world for a bit. That damn skeptic is so stubborn, he probably won't even touch the subject of Lotty."

"But I thought you wanted to investigate Lotty...?"

"It can wait, darling. You seem to be in a harsh mental state, I can tell just by the way you keep looking into space. You need to channel the real world, so we'll just go to Adam's, kay?"

I nod slowly, warming up to the idea. "Okay, let's go."

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

We ring the doorbell and a few seconds later hear footsteps from behind the door. The door opens and a boy I've never seen before appears. He's at least six feet tall with milky brown hair and freckles. His brown eyes light up when he sees us and he smiles. "Hi, Sam," he says and opens the door a bit more for us to come in. "Adam's just upstairs, we've just been chilling in his room. And who's this?" He nods smiles at me.

"I'm Lydia, Sam's--"

"Best friend," she finishes for me. The boy laughs.

"Cute," he says to Sam, then looks back at me. "I'm Josh. Adam's mom is friends with my mom, so we're pretty close. I'm surprised we haven't met."

"Yeah, it's weird," I say. "You don't go to our school, do you?"

"Nah, I go to St. Mary's."

"The private school on the other side of town?" I ask.

"That's the one," he smiles again. I smile, too. Then I realize Sam's already gone upstairs.

I shrug. "Well it's nice to meet you, Josh. You think it's safe to go upstairs, or do you think Sam and Adam are up there making out?"

We laugh. "Let's take our chances," he jokes and starts up the stairs, me trailing close behind him.

"Say," he turns around, and I have to grab the railing to keep from falling over. "Are you always this pale?"

I laugh and regain my balance. "No, actually. I just have an interesting home life, you could say."

He nods and turns backs around, smiling still. "Okay, because you look like you've seen a--"

"Ghost, I know," I finish for him. "You could say that, I guess."

He just shakes his head and keeps walking.

Turns out there's anything but making out going on in Adam's room. Sam is sitting in a fold up chair, grasping an xbox controller and cussing out zombies. "Bitch, I'll kill your dead ass You think you can escape me? I'll fucking shank all of you mother fuckers!" She presses a button and a grenade explodes in the video game she and Adam are playing.

"Booyah!" she screams and Adam high fives her, then looks up at us. "She is so hot, right?"

Josh grins. "I'm gonna respect the guy code and go with a no, I guess? He says and winks at me. I laugh.

"And I'm just gonna go with a no. Cuz I don't roll like that." Sam was right, I feel better already. Just being out of my house has boosted my spirits, and I no longer feel tired.

Sam is so lucky to have a carefree relationship. One where killing zombies sometimes trumps making out. One where romance doesn't always matter. I can even feel it in the air how into Sam that Adam's in. And how into him she is. I've never been jealous of them. At least, not that jealous.

"So Sam tells me you saw this little gho--" Adam starts to say, but I quickly cut him off.

"No, I'm fine. So what have you guys been doing before we interrupted your little party?" I try to change the subject of Lotty. If Josh is anything like Adam, I don't need two people thinking I'm crazy. And to be blunt, Josh is kinda adorable. And even if I never see him again, I secretly want to impress him.

"Well," Josh replies. "Adam and I were playing Black Ops, but I guess not anymore, since little miss Buffy over here decided to take my place."

Sam punches Josh in the leg while simultaneously taking out another zombie with her gun. "Buffy's a vampire slayer, dumbass. And I'm kicking more zombie ass than you probably have in your entire life."

"Well at least she's modest," Josh chides.

I feel slightly out of the loop, as Sam has obviously met Josh many times before. I still don't know how I haven't met him until now. They all seem to be pretty close, yet I've never heard his name once.

I sit down on the bed and Josh takes a seat right next to me. It's a casual gesture, but i still smile. Someone's got a crush! Logic tells me.

I mentally roll my eyes, even if technically, Logic's right for once.

"I'm just glad to be back home," Josh says. "They don't even have video games in Haiti."

"They barely have houses, dude," Adam says.

"You were in Haiti?" I ask.

Josh nods. "Yeah, my family and I were helping clean up after the earthquake, but we barely made a dent. I've been there since late April, but there's still so much to do. My parents wanted me to come back up, though. Catch up on school and stuff, you know?"

Adam blows up a few more zombies and turns. "Yeah, let's not forget about basketball. That didn't have anything to do with it or anything.."

"Hey, I think helping the homeless is a little bit more important that basketball," he protests, but despite this he smirks. "But it is good to be back on the team."

"Well that's really cool, that you've been helping out down there," I smile at him. This guy is too perfect to be true. I wonder what he thinks of me. Or rather, what i'd really want to know is what a ghost is doing in my bedroom. But you know, shit happens.

"So, is there any reason that we've never met before this?" I ask. "I mean, you seem to be all sorts of close with my two best friends, yet I've never even heard of you."

Josh raises his eyebrows. "Well, i've been in Haiti for most of this year, and my family travels a lot. Technically I live in Charlotte, but I'm gone for a lot of every year."

My heart sinks. So much for a relationship.

Ugh, this is not okay. I've got too much on my plate right now to be worrying about boys, anyway. I need a reality check.

A reality check? You're the one who claims there's a ghost in your room. Trust me hon, you needed a reality check two months ago.

"But now that I'm in high school," Josh continues, recapturing my attention, "we've decided I should probably stay here at Adam's until I graduate. I guess I don't mind, I mean I'll admit, it gets a little hectic traveling all your life."

I can't help but smile. About that reality check....