A Holiday Haunting: Part 1

Jack returns home and reconnects with his old ghost crush.

Based on a post by zeon 67.
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Novels.

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Oh. Shit! She's back.

Jack had to drop everything and run to the living room; he
needed to see her again. His coffee mug shattering against the kitchen floor
meant little to him. Jack followed her out of the room, stumbling into the den
and crashed into a chair. Any pain that he felt was instantly ignored; he just
had to see her face. But she phased through the bookcase, leaving him
disappointed.

Ten years. It had been ten years since Jack had last seen
Erin.

Just a brief peek of her ghostly form, and Jack was a
teenager again. The first time he met Erin, he was thirteen. Jack's parents had
dragged the family from Boston to live in a stock horror mansion outside
Portland, Maine. He hated everything about it, feeling depressed, isolated from
his old life. Then he saw her.

She appeared late one night as Jack attempted to fall
asleep. His eyes widened as this woman floated in front of his bed. She wore a
bulky, dark shirt with a lighter collar, a long apron over a skirt that reached
her ankles and sensible shoes. Pale skin and white hair held up in a
professional bun. She stood translucent and hovered a foot off the ground.

Jack was freaking out, shaking under the covers and trying
to release a scream. But watching her body float, her head crooked to the side
with a curious smile, Jack felt an eerie calm. He sat up in his bed and
examined her further. She was beautiful, an oval face with dimples, full lips,
and wide, expressive eyes. He tried to guess her age, but it was impossible due
to her intangible form.

"Hello;" Jack said. His voice was hoarse and
unconvincing.

She smiled again at him before disappearing.

"Fuck." Jack immediately fainted.

He awoke late in the morning, still shaken. Jack ran down to
his family, yelling at them in the kitchen at what he had just seen. His
parents responded with blank looks. His sisters both snickered, cracking jokes
about Jack's nighttime activities, and how it must have affected his brain. But
as he continued, the jokes stopped, and soon Jack had weekly sessions with Dr.
Miller.

It was like a month until he saw her again. Jack was alone
in the house and found Erin standing in between his bed. He screamed this time,
but Erin just replied with a smile. She looked amused by his actions. She
disappeared, and Jack had to wait another month before catching her on the
stairs. But he had a plan, knowing what he should do the next time he ever saw
her again.

"Jack!" His mother yelled from upstairs.
"What Happened!"

Jack rolled his eyes. "It's nothing. I dropped my
mug." He shouted back up, praying that his parents won't come down.

Tomorrow was Thanksgiving, and Jack had returned home early,
hoping just to relax and forget about Laura. Retreating into the kitchen, he
ignored the mess he'd left behind. He wasn't that heartbroken about the end of
the relationship; he just needed to get out of Boston for a while. Jack filled
up a glass of water and took a couple of gulps, trying to steady himself. The
plan was to drink, eat loads and watch football. But now, Jack was instantly
consumed by the need to see Erin again.

 

Erin's Further Revelations.

Jack rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He
guessed that it was probably two in the morning. He should be asleep, but
restless energy had overpowered him, just like when he was a teenager. The
weeks after her second appearance, Jack woke early in the morning and saw Erin
staring out of the window. She turned to him and then disappeared. Every couple
of weeks, he would see Erin around the house, mostly in his room, but always
when he was alone.

Whenever Jack saw her, Erin would disappear, fade into
nothing in front of him. After a dozen or so appearances, Erin and Jack got
used to seeing each other over the year. He would see her, and they would
exchange brief smiles before would Erin dissolve. Jack got used to finding her
in random places, occasionally pretending that she was never there when Erin
materialized during family dinners. Though she mostly appeared in his room. He
was also sure that he was the only one who could see her, which developed a
special bond as he aged.

It was just a shame they couldn't talk to each other.

Whatever break in the dimensions that brought her here
didn't allow them to speak or hear one another. Over the years, Jack and Erin
relied on non-verbal communication, making up their own sign language while
also writing out words on paper. Jack's parents were weirded out one Christmas
when he asked for a dry erase board.

He would come home from school and rush to his room,
wondering if that day was the day she would appear. If he found her there, Jack
would tell her about his day, what had changed since they last spoke, and
random thoughts in his head. She would eagerly listen to him and try to respond
in her own way. She had become this nonjudgmental friend that he could bounce
off from as he dealt with his new surroundings and the horror of puberty.

It took two years for Jack to know Erin's name. They were
together in his room; the house was empty apart from them. It felt that Erin
had trained herself to emerge only when he was alone. Jack sat on his bed,
talking to Erin. For the hundredth time, he had asked her name. She led him to
the bathroom and pointed to the faucet. Running the hot water, he saw Erin
smile as the bathroom mirror started to fog up. She clenched her jaw and
pressed a finger up against the glass. Erin's face strained as her form became
clearer as she wrote 'ERIN' in the mirror. The smile on Jack's face then
quickly vanished as Erin faded into nothing. He wouldn't see her for another
two months.

Jack rolled onto his stomach, feeling his cock throb against
his leg. Without any prompting, his mind cast back when he turned 18, and Erin
gave him a special present. It was one of the few times that Erin appeared,
when there were other people in the house. He was half-asleep, playing on his
PlayStation when she materialized. Jack shuffled back and collapsed on the bed.
There was something off about her that night, her body was trembling, and her
face was stone-like.

With great energy, her lips curled into a smile, and there
was a flash. The clothing that Jack had always seen her in the last five years
had disappeared into nothing, leaving her naked. A loud guttural groan escaped
Jack's mouth; it was the first time he had seen a naked woman. Her body was
slim, graceful, like a dancer, and perfect. He stared at her small but firm tits;
Jack assumed they were B-cups and wished he could have his hands over them. Her
skin then began to change, turning from a clear white to a fair skin tone. He
noticed rusty-colored freckles dot around her angular nose framed by long
reddish-brown hair. Then two bright green eyes stared back, overwhelming him.

"Fuck," Jack whispered. His mouth dry, his stomach
twisted into knots, and all the blood drained into his penis. He was in love or
lust; it was all the same back then to him.

Jack rolled off the bed and waddled to the bathroom, holding
out the used tissue as far away from him as if it was toxic. He was only
exposed to her for a few moments before she vanished. Still, Erin's naked form
had been seared entirely in his brain, giving him special comfort during lonely
nights. Dumping the balled-up tissue in the toilet, he started washing his
hands. The general feeling of self-disgust hit him, but this time with more
power. He was fantasizing about a long-dead woman. It's not right.

He crawled back into his bed and reached for his laptop.
Opening the browser, Jack thought to himself for a moment before going to incognito
mode. He might need some privacy should anyone have a look at his search
history. In the search bar, he typed 'Medium Psychic, And Portland, Maine.'

 

Ophelia's Services.

The doorbell rang, and Jack quickly set down his coffee and
rushed to the door. He briefly checked himself out in the hallway mirror; he
looked normal. Jack wanted to make sure that he pulled that off, a navy oxford
shirt, black jeans, and white sneakers, that all screamed normal to him.

Jack then mentally thought about what he was going to say to
the medium. It wasn't like he had a lot of experience in this. He could tell
her about Erin, maybe use her name. Also, he could say where she usually
appears and does. Probably shouldn't mention Erin getting naked as some kind of
birthday present. He then wished that the medium agreed a later time just so he
could rationalize having a drink.

During Thanksgiving dinner, Jack told his family that he
wanted to stay in Maine for a while, maybe until after Christmas. He had
exaggerated the effects that the disintegration of his relationship with Laura
had on him. It was a blatant lie; his parents knew it, his sisters didn't care,
but no one really questioned it.

He prayed that none of them would ever find out that he
booked a medium. This Ophelia from Portland, Jack didn't know what he wanted
from her. From movies, he had been told that ghosts that roam around usually
have unfinished business. If somehow