The Haunted’s Kiss of Regret and Repentance

I jumped out of bed, and Perry’s head popped up under the covers as my ear-piercing scream echoed in the night. She instantly covered my mouth to stop any scream that threatened to come out.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

“What the heck do you think you’re doing under the covers, Perry?! MY GOD! You are going to be the death of me even before this stupid curse could get me!”

I felt like I did the ice bucket challenge, and every part of my body was shaking like crazy. It felt like the ice in my veins formed earlier out of fear suddenly melted and turned into lava.

“You are such a noisy roommate, Shyne. Did you forget that you passed out last night because of the sleeping pills, and you nearly begged me to sleep beside you so you won’t be afraid? I only agreed because it saved me time and energy if you ever woke up having a nightmare again. However, I never expect you to scream and scare the living daylights out of me. It makes me feel like spirit left my body for a split second.”

“I didn’t remember that part of the events last night. I’m sorry, girl.”

Both Perry and I laid down and sighed as a comfortable silence came to us. I couldn’t sleep, so I went to my table and decided to draw whatever came to my mind. I played Christian music to eliminate the creepy feeling I was having as Perry slept behind me on the bed.

“You know, Shyne, you should just go home and visit Rian’s tomb for you to at least give a proper goodbye to him.”

“I know Perry, but you also know that I can’t do that unless I’m willing to risk being insulted or possibly maligned for being the cause of their son’s and brother’s death. Rian told everyone I took his child and left without any explanation, and I don’t believe that would be a reason to accept my condolences.”

I turned around and saw that Perry was fast asleep, and no one talked aside from me. The hair on my body all began standing up, and I instantly ran towards the wall and turned on the lights. The nightlight I had no longer provided me with enough comfort, and I felt like the dark suffocated me.

“What’s with the lights, Shyne? You know I can’t sleep with that light bulb on.”

“Did you just talk to me and tell me to visit Rian’s grave, Perry?”

“What are you talking about, Shyne? I was sleeping peacefully until you decided to turn on the sun inside this room. I feel like I’d go blind with that bright light in front of me. I am so sleepy, and I want to sleep a bit peacefully for once, Shyne. Let’s talk about this tomorrow. My body can’t handle insomnia anymore.”

I was left there staring at Perry dumbfounded. She was too sleepy to even process my question, and now I was left with no other choice but to go back to sleep with the lights on.

A month later…

“If you leave me here, I swear I’m going to die and haunt you for the rest of your life, Randy.” My hand on his shirt became more forceful as he attempted to run ahead of me.

The school election was done, and as part of the commission on elections, I had to go home late just to finish everything for the announcement tomorrow. Randy and the other publication members went ahead of us, and we were left alone.

Once the time reached past ten in the evening, the school was dark and spooky, so Randy had an idea to scare me. Unfortunately, the moment I realized his plan, my hand instantly held on his shirt, and I threatened to rip it.

“” If you do that, then you’d be a terrible ghost, Shyne. You’d be too terrified to even try and haunt me because you’d be afraid of all the possible ghost buddies you’ll meet.”

I wanted to tell Randy that I had all the right to be terrified. I had a shadow demon for a babysitter that is possibly my dead ex-boyfriend, so getting freaked out while inside the creepy school building was acceptable.

“Oh, shut up and take me outside of this stupid building, you ungrateful dummy. I swear you get all the food you ask me to buy for you, and THIS is what I get for my awesome generous heart? You are such a traitor, Randy.”

There was a lot of bickering from both of us and multiple attempts of escape from Randy. But, we got out of the school safely. He drove me home, and I did my best to ignore the shadow that kept following us, even in the back seat of Randy’s car. The constant small talk and bickering between us made me partially forget the creepy shadow following us.

“Okay, tell me the truth, are you and Randy hooking up, Shyne?”

“What in the world are you talking about, old woman? Randy and I are just friends, and it is a disgusting question.”

“Fine, I won’t ask about Randy, but I am more curious about Brixton and you. You guys keep calling each other, going on food trips, and always meeting up late at night. You know that if you hook up with someone, I still want to get the juicy information.”

“Nothing is going on between Brixton and me. You, Hazel, Pearl, and everyone have been asking the same thing for a month. The only thing that both of us have is friendship.”

“Oh, cut the facade, ms. De Leon, we all know that the both of you love each other, and the only thing you both have is commitment issues. Seriously, what if this voodoo nonsense that Rian used on you could be broken with a true love’s kiss?”

I couldn’t stop the sudden chuckle that came out of me after hearing Perry guess the childish solution. We both had a good laugh as we began our weekly movie marathon and binding time.

“That is both disgusting, disturbing, and idiotic if a spellcaster or a cult would make a cure that could be broken by a kiss. Besides, the dreams are getting worse, but I’ve learned that having people with me and having fun most of the time is enough to somehow help me ignore the shadow.”

“What about your bad dreams, Shyne? Your nightmares are getting worse, and anytime that you don’t have nightmares, the hallucination happens. It’s been a month since we found out about Rian’s death. I think it’s time for you to go back home and find more clues about how this can stop. Maybe your parents can find a spellcaster or something. I’m sure they can afford to pay for a voodoo person.”

“I know, but if I go back home, I don’t think hiring a voodoo expert is the best path to take here. My mom is the only one who knew about Rian in the past. The moment I step foot on my home and use their connections to find solutions, that woman would track me down like a bloodhound, and I’d get busted.”

“Now that you mentioned it, your mother has always been the best at making sure your excuses fail. I feel like aunty Lyna is a voodoo person, too, or something. Well, it’s either that, or she’s a pretty good police officer.”

“I’d rather believe my mother is just good at her job and that she is nothing like my Rian. I’m just glad that I can still cope with everything that’s happening with school and my life. I feel like I aged a hundred years with insomnia and stress.”

The movie was done, and the both of us just sat there in my room eating popcorn while I helped her prepare her visual aids for tomorrow’s class. The fact that we are both graduating students and trying to juggle our responsibilities to our education, clubs, and now my problem was insane to me. I will definitely remember this school year for the rest of my life.

“My love, I know this torment is too much for you. Join our child and me now, Shyne. Death is the quickest way to the destiny that we await.”

“I don’t wait for that same destiny, Rian! I know this is all a dream, and I will wake up, and you will not be real. I refuse to believe that you are really there.”

I closed my eyes, and I felt Rian’s rough hands roam my body as I cried and thrashed in his hold. I desperately tried to wake myself up from the dream and succeeded.

Catching my breath, I looked up at the ceiling and recited another prayer to God in Jesus’ name. I didn’t know anything about prayer, but I just closed my eyes and begged for protection and for Rian to stop.

“What Do you mean he offered you death?! Is he insane to say something like that to you, Shyne?!”

“I just want to get away from him and make all of this torture stop. Perry, I can’t do this anymore. He is ruining my life all over again, and this time, I can’t do anything about it.”

Tears kept falling as Perry, and I sat at a cafe I liked. People were looking at me, and I couldn’t help the feeling of eyes watching me.

“Perry, why are you making this beautiful woman cry? Don’t you know it’s impolite to bully a woman in a cafe?”

Rex sat beside me while facing Perry. I didn’t notice him until now, probably because I was preoccupied with talking and crying.

“Shut up, Rex, I saw you a few seconds ago, and NO, I didn’t make my cousin cry. Are you still annoyed that I threw you out of the hospital a few months ago?”

“Perry! That is enough. Rex, what are you doing here? I thought you left the country or at least the city by now.”

“I came to find you since I didn’t have time to really check on you after the incident at the bus station. Also, I wanted to catch up with you about life and other things. However, I guess we can never be alone again since you have your guard dog beside you again.”

Perry was about to start a war with him when I suddenly waved my hand enthusiastically. I saw Brixton come inside the cafe, and his face lit up when he saw me wave at him. However, when he saw who was sitting beside me, his face turned sour.

“Hey babe, I didn’t know you had another company. I would have refused your offer and set up another time.”

“What are you talking about, babe? I invited you, so you’re welcome to join us. I’m sure you remember Rex from the photographs I showed before.”

They both did a manly shake but never smiled. I could feel the tension rise as the black shadow’s blank face started to manifest behind Brixton.

“You are mine, Shyne. No one will ever have you but for me.”

The voice was threatening, and I calmed myself as I saw Brixton and Rex have a staring contest. I forgot about the two of them when I suddenly looked down at my legs under the table and saw two shadowy hands holding them.

“Mine.”