Just to Hold You Close and Tight

“This is fascinating,” he said, sounding interested.

I took a deep breath. “Seriously. Whoever you are, you better get out of my house now, or I’m going to call the cops.”

He smiled. “Now that would be funny.”

“Why?” This guy was confusing me more and more every second.

“They would send you to the wacky shack,” he said, chuckling. “I’m Ray Toro. Uh… sorry if I’m being a little rude. I haven’t talked to anyone in a while.”

“Rude!” I exclaimed. “You’re sitting in the corner of my bedroom!” I wasn’t sure why his name sounded familiar.

“Oh,” he frowned. “Sorry. It used to be mine.”

I sighed and sat on the bed. “I’m not following you.”

“Of course you aren’t.”

We stared at each other for a few long seconds. Finally, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. “That’s it. I’m calling the cops.” I don’t know why I didn’t do it any sooner. I guess I was so lonely, I didn’t mind talking to a lunatic for a bit.

“No, don’t!” he exclaimed.

“Give me one good reason not to,” I shot at him.

“They’ll think you’re crazy. Absolutely insane.”

“Why?” I asked curiously.

“For some weird reason, you can see me. But I assure you, they can’t.”

I stared at him, putting the pieces of the puzzle together in my head. He had thought, at first, that I couldn’t see or hear him. He was sure that other people couldn’t Finally, the last piece fir in. He had said that my room used to be his. The Toros, the people be had bought the house from, had lost a son. His name had been Ray.

I dropped the phone and froze.

He raised his eyebrows, and then his face showed realization. “Oh. You figured it out on your own. That’s good. I didn’t want to explain myself.” When he took in my terrified expression, he added, “Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you. I’m a good ghost, I promise.” He grinned.

I found this hard to believe. My brain was telling me to do so many things at once, I was motionless. Run, scream, call the police, or… there was a part of me that was curious. I knew it was stupid, but I almost felt like I needed to talk to him.

“Oh, great,” he said, continuing to blabber. “Finally someone can see me, and she’s completely terrified of me.”

I spoke without thinking, and mentally kicked myself afterwards. “Terrified isn’t the right word. I’m more… shocked.”

He laughed. “You’re not the only one. I’ve been dead for over three months, and not one person had acknowledged me. Then I decide to see who’s moving into my old room…”

“And she threatens to call the police,” I finished. We both laughed. “Well, that girl who moved into your old room is Amber Brennan.”

He flashed me a smile. “Nice to meet you, Amber.”

“I’m not so sure I can say the same, Ray,” I replied, frowning.

“Amber!” I heard my dad call from down the stairs. He must have gotten home from work.

I jumped off my bed. “Yeah dad?”

“Do you want to go out to dinner to celebrate?” he yelled enthusiastically.

“Celebrate what?” I mumbled to myself, but I couldn’t say that to him, so I yelled, “Sure! I’ll be down in a second!”

I turned to Ray. “Um… Bye?” I waved awkwardly.

He smiled slightly and waved goodbye back.

After one last glance over my shoulder, I ran down the stairs.

“Your mom had a meeting,” my dad said. “Do you mind going with just me?”

“Not at all,” I said, following him out to the car.