The Ghosts of Your Past Haunt Me

Sharron, Hailey, and I were all sitting around the the patio table as Zak, Aaron, and Nick were gathered around the grill as Zak cooked the burgers and hotdogs.

"Everything okay Hailey?" I asked, taking a sip of my sweet tea.

She nodded, "Yeah my hormones are just a bitch."

I frowned, "What do you mean?"

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "Nick and I got in a fight before we came over and it's because everything makes me pissy. My hormones are going crazy."

I leaned up and rubbed her arm, "It's okay hun. It's a part of being pregnant."

She nodded as she placed her hand over mine, "I know I just feel bad for taking it out on him."

"Nick understand I'm sure, babe. He's got seven more months to go so he better get used to it," Sharron laughed.

Hailey and I laughed with her, "It's something you both have to get used to," I added.

Hailey smiled, "I know. We'll be fine."

"That a girl. Zaaaaak! When is the food going to be ready? I'm starving!" I cried.

He looked over at me, "Five minutes babe."

I groaned, "I may die of hunger in five minutes."

Everyone laughed at my whineyness.

"You're not going to die of hunger. I promise," he assured me.

I narrowed my eyes at him playfully, "If I do, I'm going to haunt you."

"I'll be sure to leave the digital recorder out so you can leave me messages," he chuckled.

I giggled and stood up from my seat, "Anyone need a refill?"

Hailey nodded and handed me her glass. I looked at Sharron. She shook her head.

"No thanks. I'm fine right now," she smiled.

I nodded and headed inside. I refilled our glasses and headed back out to the patio. I handed Hailey her drink and sat mine down on the table.

"I think I'm going to take a dip in the pool. This Vegas heat is a bitch," I said, pulling my tank top off and placing it in my chair.

I unbuttoned my shorts and slipped them off, placing them on top of my shirt.

"I think I'll join you," Hailey smiled.

I grinned at her before running and jumping in the pool.

"Shit," I muttered as I resurfaced.

My sunglasses had fallen off when I jumped in. I dove down and grabbed them before coming back up. When I surrfaced again, I noticed Hailey easing into the water.

"It feels amazing," I called to her.

She nodded, "Yeah it does."

I placed my sunglasses back on my face and pulled my hair down from the messy bun it was in before running my fingers through it and redoing the bun. I swam over to my favorite float and climbed up on it. Getting situated, I leaned back and smiled as the sun warmed my skin.



"Food's ready guys" Zak announced.

I opened my eyes and rolled off the float, splashing into the water and making my way to the steps. Hailey was already out and sitting back in her seat. Once I was out of the water, I squeezed my bun to get the access water out. I walked back to the table, grabbed a plate, and began filling it with food. Once it was filled I took my seat and placed my plate in front of me. Everyone made conversation as we ate. Mainly the guys talking about sports and future shows while the girls and I talked about shopping and Hailey and I's wedding plans.

"I think I want to do a black and white theme. It's simple, but it's so pretty," I said as I took a bite of my burger.

Hailey and Sharron nodded.

"You should do a black wedding dress with white bridesmaids dresses," Hailey giggled.

I rolled my eyes, but smiled to show I was joking, "What would my family say?"

Sharron giggled, "That you were obviously not a virgin."

Zak spit out a little bit of his beer, "What about a virgin?"

I giggled, "That would be the only part of our conversation you'd hear."

He wiped his mouth, "What are you talking about?"

"I said that Katie should have a black wedding dress with white bridesmaids dresses," Hailey explained.

"Then I asked 'What would my family think?'," I continued.

"And I said that she obviously isn't a virgin," Sharron finished.

Aaron, Nick, and Zak busted out laughing which caused us to laugh as well. Zak finally stopped laughing and cleared his throat.

"I want to make a toast to Hailey and Nick. Congratulations on your pregnancy and on having twins. I looked forward to being an uncle," He announced holding up his beer.

We all clinked our glasses or bottles as we said 'To Nick and Hailey' in unison.

"Thank you guys for this cook out. The food is delcious and it's great to be spending quality time with our family," Nick said after taking a sip of his beer.

Hailey nodded her agreement, "Yes thank you so much. We couldn't ask for better friends."

I smiled, "No problem."

We all settled back into our conversations and continued eating our food.



"Thank you for the invite guys. The food was great," Aaron complimented as he gave me a hug.

I smiled, "Glad you enjoyed Aaron. Thanks for coming."

I let Aaron go so I could hug Sharron, "Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for bringing the cake, it was delicious."

"No problem. Thank you for the cook out," she said as she pulled away.

"The food was great Zak. Thanks again," she said as she gave Zak a hug.

He smiled as he hugged her back, "No problem. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Hailey walked over to me and engulfed me in a hug, "Thank you so much. You're the bestest friend ever!"

I giggled, "I know and so are you. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

She let me go so she could give Zak a hug as well. Nick walked over to me and gave me a hug as well.

"Thanks, Katie. You and Zak are the best," he said as he pulled away.

I smiled, "You're welcome Nick and thank you."

He smiled back at me and wrapped his arm around Hailey's waist.

"Ready to go, babe?" Nick asked Hailey.

She nodded and they followed Sharron and Aaron out the door.

"Bye guys! Thanks again for coming!" I called after them as I watched them walk to their cars.

Hailey and Sharron waved goodbye before they climbed into the passenger's seats. I smiled as I shut the door and locked it.

"Now we have to clean up," I sighed.

Zak chuckled and pulled me away from the door. We walked back out to the pato and gathered all the food up. I sat all the plates I had on the kitchen island and walked over to the pantry to grab some plastic wrap. I opened the door and automatically got goosebumps. Oh no, not again. I tried to ignore the feeling and grabbed the plastic wrap. As I shut the pantry doors, something touched my shoulder. I turned around to see nothing there. I took a deep breath and continued over to the island.

"You okay babe?" Zak asked when he walked inside.

I nodded, "Yeah something just touched my shoulder."

He placed the food he had in his hands on the island before walking around it to me.

"You didn't get scratched again did you?" he asked, panic rising in his voice.

I shook my head, "No. I just got touched. I'm okay, I promise."

He nodded and helped me cover up the food. Once it was all covered, I placed the plates into the refrigerator. I put the platic wrap up and grabbed a garbage bag and walked outside. Once I had all the trash and paper plates cleared, I tied the garbage bag up and placed it in the garbage can. I grabbed my clothes off the chair I had used as Zak walked back outside to clean the grill.

"Need any help?" I asked as I gathered the glasses up.

He shook his head, "I got it babe. Thank you though."

I nodded, "Okay I'm going to go take a shower then."

He nodded as he began scrubbing the grill. I walked back inside and shut the sliding glass door behind me. I sat my clothes on the island before walking over to the dishwasher and placing the glasses and a few other dishes that were lying in the sink inside. I closed it and turned it on then grabbed my clothes and headed upstairs. I pulled my cell out of the pocket on my shorts. I tweeted about the cook out and how my fiancee was a great cook before exiting the app. I walked into our room and placed my phone on its charger before walking into the bathroom.

I tossed my shorts and tank top into the laundry hamper and began stripping out of my bathing suit and putting it in the hamper as well. I turned on the water and let it warm up before I steped in. Pulling my hair down, I placed my hair tie around my wrist. I grabbed my shampoo and pour a decent amount in my hands before lathering up my hair. As I'm washing the shampoo out, I felt something pull my hair.

"Ow!" I cry out.

"I told you, you'll never be happy." a menacing voice whispered in my ear.

My eyes grew wide as I realized it was the same spirit who attacked me at Hailey's. I slammed the door to the shower open and bolted out the door. I didn't bother to grab anything to cover myself because I was to scared to stop. I took the stairs two at a time and fell into Zak as I came to the last couple of steps. I wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging to him.

"Katie what's wrong?" he asked, worry evident in his voice.

I started crying before I could answer. He wrapped his arms around me and picked me up. I placed my legs around his waist and tightened my arms around him. He started to go upstairs and I panicked.

"No, not up there," I said between sobs.

He backed down the steps and walked over to the couch and sat down with me in his lap.

"Katie what happened?" he asked pulling me back so he could look at my face.

Calming down a bit now that I was in his arms, I took a deep breath.

"I was in the shower washing my hair when something pulled it then I heard the thing that possessed me at Hailey's say, 'I told you, you'll never be happy' and I freaked," I sniffed.

He pulled me to his chest as he stroked my hair, "Baby I'm so sorry."

Another tear slid down my cheek, "We need to get the house blessed again."

I could feel him nodding, "Yeah we do. Here sit down on the couch and I'll go get you some clothes. You'll catch a cold like this."

I nodded and climbed off his lap and sat down on the couch. I pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around me. Zak kissed me before he headed upstairs. I sighed once I was alone, why is this thing after me? It's told me it wants to hurt Zak, but it's never told me why. Hearing Zak yelling pulled me from my thoughts. No! I jumped off the couch, wrapping the blanket around me as I ran up the stairs.

"What the fuck do you want with Katie! If it's me you want to hurt then fucking hurt ME you sorry bastard! Leave her alone!" he yelled at the spirit.

I reached the doorway of our room just in time to see the dark figure appear. Again his face was distorted, but you could vaguley see a smirk on its face.

"The only way to really hurt you, Zak, is to hurt the one you love the most," the figure spat.

My eyes widened as I seen the figure shoot towards me, knocking me back into the wall.

"Agh!" I cried out as my head slammed into the wall.

"Katie!" Zak yelled.

I felt something collide with my face. It stung and I could taste blood in my mouth. Another blow to the other side of my face blurred my vision and I could tell I was about to pass out.

"Nick! You've got to come over here NOW! Something is attacking Katie and I need your help. Call a priest too," Zak's voice was pleading and he sounded like he was crying.

I realized he had called Nick. No poor Hailey, she was pregnant. She didn't need to be involved with this.

"You're mine now," I heard the spirit's laughter in my head before I completely passed out.