Work Text:
Tatum Riley slowly blinked as she took in her new surroundings. She had been stuck in that stupid garage ever since she had died. At first when she “woke up,” she was confused. The last thing she had remembered was trying to get away from the killer that was dressed in that tacky, disturbing costume. She tried to tell herself that she must have fainted, and the killer had left her, thinking she was dead. She had tried to go find Sid to warn her, but when she tried to turn the doorknob to enter the house, her fingers passed right through. That’s when she realized that something was truly wrong. When she turned around to face the garage door, she screamed at the image of her legs just dangling lifelessly through the garage door. Even with all the evidence in front of her, she had refused to admit to herself that she was dead. It wasn’t until she heard Sidney sob at the sight of her dead body when she was running for her own life, that Tatum had finally accepted what had happened to her.
After that ill-fated night, anytime she tried to leave through the garage door, she was always immediately transported back, and it really pissed her off. Who wants to stay in the spot where they died anyway? So not cool. She was especially embarrassed at how she had died. She could imagine the number of giggles the Woodsboro High cheerleading squad shared when they learned that Tatum Riley, former cheer captain and homecoming queen nominee, had died trying to crawl through a fucking cat door.
Her anger had only intensified when she overheard a few police officers discuss what had happened when they pulled her body out. That was how she learned that her and her best friend’s boyfriends, Billy Loomis and Stu Macher, had orchestrated the entire thing and they were the reason why she and so many others were dead. She did feel a bit vindicated knowing that Sidney, her best friend till the end, had dropped the television set on her now ex-boyfriend’s head. At least he also died in an embarrassing way. Serves him right!
She had hoped that he and Billy were rotting in hell, but those hopes were soon dashed when she heard Stu’s loud and obnoxious voice whining about the way that he had died and Billy telling him to shut up. She assumed that they, like her, were trapped in the places they had died and even though she didn’t like the space she was in, she was at least grateful that she wasn’t trapped inside with those two idiots. Still, she didn’t think it was fair that she was trapped here to begin with. Maybe mom was right. She should have volunteered more down at the local soup kitchen or helped the elderly or something. Maybe if she had, she wouldn’t still be here. But, despite all of her anger and resentment towards her situation, she was relieved to hear that Sidney, Dewey, and even Randy had survived.
Now, after what had felt like an eternity, she finally left. She went from a dark, dingy garage to a dark, dingy, cramped office. Although it wasn’t what she would have wanted, it was better than hearing the two idiots in the house argue like an old married couple.
Her eyes scanned the room to see a man hunched over a desk. He was kind of cute, but not someone who she would go for if she were still alive. Tall. Not too skinny but not too fat. He wore glasses but they suited his face. Too bad he had no sense of fashion whatsoever. Tatum eyed the ugly printed pattern of his shirt with distaste. She then turned her attention to the movie posters that lined his office walls. The most notable posters were advertising a movie called ‘Stab 3.’ She almost snorted at the title. So creative…and they made three of these things? What a joke.
“Great,” she scoffed and crossed her arms. She didn’t bother to lower her voice because it’s not like anyone would hear her anyway. “It’s just my luck that I’d be stuck in a dingy office with another nutcase movie nerd. This sucks.”
“Excuse me?” An irritated male’s voice said.
Tatum ignored the voice, choosing to lean against the wall and study her nails for the umpteenth time. God, she should have gotten a manicure before she died.
“Hey, I’m talking to you.” That same male voice said in an even more irritated tone.
She looked up, expecting to see the person that the man was talking to, but she was surprised to see that he was looking (more like glaring) right at her. She looked around to make sure that she hadn’t missed anyone else when she first arrived, but when she realized that there was nobody else, she turned back to the guy.
“Are you talking to me?” She pointed to herself.
“Obviously,” the man snapped, still glaring at her. “Do you see anyone else here?”
“Wait, you can actually see me?” Despite the guy’s rude tone, she felt excited because finally someone saw her.
“Of course I can see you.” The man scoffed, pushing his chair back and opening the door to his office. “However, I don’t want to see you or anyone else for that matter. Now leave.”
“Yeah, I wish it were that simple, nerd. But it isn’t.”
“What the -” The man sputtered indignantly. “Do I need to call security and have you thrown out?”
“Go ahead. Be my guest.” Tatum grinned. After all, this was the most fun she’s had in quite a while.
“Fine,” he huffed. “Just you wait!” He stormed out.
“That’s all I have been doing, nerd!” She called out to his retreating form. “Waiting.” She didn’t have to wait long for him to return.
“There she is,” the man said leading in two security guards.
“Uh, where?” One of the guards asked.
“Are you blind?! Right there!” He was pointing right at her, and Tatum could have sworn she saw steam coming from his ears.
The two guards exchanged wary glances before looking back at the unhinged man in front of them.
“Yeah, they can’t see me, dummy.” Tatum snickered.
“What do you mean they can’t see you?” He demanded, putting his hands on his hips.
“Mr. Bridger,” one of the guards gently said. “I think maybe you’ve been working too hard lately. Maybe go home and get some rest, yeah?”
The man, Mr. Bridger, looked dumbstruck. “You really can’t see her, can you?”
“Mr. Bridger, do you want us to call an ambulance for you?” The other guard asked, a hint of impatience coloring his voice. “Maybe you should get yourself check out by a professional.”
“N-no.” He stuttered. “No, that’s okay. You’re right. It’s the lack of sleep. Um, could you please leave?”
“Are you sure you don’t need anything?” The guard who offered to call an ambulance asked, eyeing the man suspiciously as if trying to determine if the man posed a danger to anyone or even himself.
“I’m positive.” Mr. Bridger said with more confidence this time.
“If you say so,” the guard who suggested that he should get some rest shrugged before leaving the room with his partner. “Let us know if you need anything.”
Mr. Bridger didn’t respond and just closed the door as quickly as possible before heading back to his desk and collecting his things. “I’m tired, that’s all.” He muttered to himself. “I just need to sleep.” He turned to stare at her. She smiled sweetly and wiggled her fingers like she was waving at him. His complexion paled. Spinning on his heels, he exited the office. Tatum swore she could hear him muttering the same mantra over and over. “I’m tired, that’s all. I just need to sleep. I’m tired, that’s all. I just need to sleep.”
She snorted as she plopped down into his office chair. No doubt he’ll be back tomorrow and will probably have a breakdown if he sees her because he won’t be able to blame lack of sleep for what he was seeing. Sighing, she leaned back and closed her eyes. This sucked. The first person who could see her and it was some overworked, short-tempered nerd with horrible taste in movies and zero fashion sense.
Suddenly, she felt something weird. Like a tugging sensation at her naval. Her eyes popped open. “What the hell?” This was the only thing she got out before her vision blurred. She quickly shut her eyes once more and didn’t open them again until that weird tugging feeling stopped. When she tried to take in her surroundings, it felt like she had been blinded. God, it was so bright. She squinted for a bit until her eyes adjusted. When they did, she realized that the reason why it was so bright was because she was outside. Well, not really outside. She was in the backseat of a moving car.
She peered up front and saw the same ugly print shirt that Mr. Bridger wore. She stared intently at the back of his head, trying to decide whether she should make her presence known. She decided to wait because with her luck, she’d end up scaring him and make him crash into a guardrail or something. Even though if that were to happen, she’d leave unscathed, she knew he wouldn’t and that’s just not something she wants to have on her conscious.
She slumped down in the seat so he wouldn’t see her in the rear-view mirror and contented herself with staring at the passing cars and billboards. From what she gathered by looking at the exit ramps, she was still in California. She wondered if Sidney, Randy, and Dewey were still in California as well. It wasn’t the first time she pondered what her loved ones were up to, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last.
Tatum was, even in death, a very sociable person. She missed talking to people, especially Sid. She missed their sleepovers, their movie nights, their gossip sessions…everything. 'Hey, wait a minute!’ She thought to herself brightly. ‘Maybe if I get on this guy’s good side, maybe he will track Sid down for me and tell her that I’m still here and that I miss her. Or, if he doesn’t want to do that, then he can find out what Sid, Dewey, and Randy are doing and if they are happy. I’ll be content with that.’ She felt something that she hadn’t felt in a long time: hope. Maybe, just maybe, things are going to get better.
She was pulled from her musings by the car stopping. Finally, she could sit up! However, when she straightened in her seat, Mr. Bridger took that time to glance back in his rear-view mirror…and scream. She held her hands up in surrender. “Hey, hey man! Calm down!”
He shook his head frantically and gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his fingers started to turn white. “You’re not real, you’re not real, you’re not real, you’re not -”
“Hey!” She snapped. “Now that is very offensive! I may not be alive, but I can assure you I am real. I had a heartbeat too once upon a time and those days may be over, but that does not mean I will allow you to reduce me to something imaginary. That’s just highly insulting!”
He gaped at her. “Look,” she tried to calm herself down by asking herself how she would react if she was in this guy’s position and the answer was not good. So, she told herself that she needed to give the guy some grace here. “I understand that you’re freaked out. If I was in your shoes, I would be spooked too, but I think it would be in your best interest to just skip the denial part because it will save us both some time and for you, a headache.”
He went quiet and for a minute, she was worried that she had broken him, but then he surprised her by calmly getting out of the car and locking it. “Oh, come on!” She yelled. “Don’t leave me trapped in here!” He didn’t acknowledge her and instead headed into what she assumed to be his apartment complex. “Damn it!” She cursed, slumping back and crossing her arms. “I hate this! I thought death was supposed to be peaceful or some shit, but this isn’t peaceful at all! Just for once, why can’t something be simple! Why can’t -” Before she could continue her tirade, she felt that same tugging sensation that she felt earlier at her naval. This time, she was better prepared and closed her eyes before her vision had the chance to swim.
Once the sensation had stopped and she had opened her eyes, she found that she was standing in the middle of a sad bachelor pad. She could recognize one from a mile away after going with her mother to visit her Uncle Vince every so often.
Bare minimum amount of furniture? Check.
No decorations? Check.
Dirty clothes on the floor? Check.
Tissues and lotion? Ew. Check.
Used cups and plates scattered around the place? Check.
If she had any money, she would be willing to bet it all that if she opened his fridge, all she would find is beer bottles, leftover pizza that has probably gone bad and something weird like maybe one single egg not even in the carton.
Tatum glanced towards a closed door that probably led towards the master bedroom and sighed. Well, if she was going to stay here, she might as well make herself comfortable. She plopped down on the springy couch and stared at the television set in boredom. God, what she wouldn’t give to watch a Tom Cruise film or an episode of Beverly Hills 90210. Hell, she’ll even settle for a Wes Carpenter flick at this point. Suddenly, the television came on, startling her so bad she jumped. She looked around wildly, thinking that maybe the guy had come out while she was daydreaming and turned the television on without her noticing, but she didn’t see him. She did hear what sounded like running water and surmised that he was probably in the shower. If he was, then he couldn’t have possibly turned it on, which meant…
“Holy shit!” She exclaimed. “Holy shit! Did I do that?” She slowly sank back down on the couch and stared at the screen mesmerized. This was the first thing she has been physically able to do since she died. It was…exhilarating. If she could turn on a television, maybe she could do other things too. She stared at the remote on the coffee table, willing it to move. She envisioned it sliding right off the table and onto the dirty carpet below. She even pictured the way it would fall – on its side before flipping over. To her amazement, the remote began to inch its way to the edge of the table until it finally fell off, landing the way she had imagined it would. “Look at me moving shit with my mind like Matilda!” She practically squealed.
She heard the running water stop and figured that Bridger was done with his shower. Suddenly, she had an idea. A wonderfully awful idea. She envisioned a shower, Bridger reaching for his towel, and…
“AHHHH!” She heard him scream.
…cold water.
“That’s payback for locking me in the car, asshole.” She giggled quietly to herself. She heard him cursing to himself and shutting the water off yet again. She sat back down on the couch and actually started to watch the program. It was a show she had never seen before, but it seemed entertaining enough. Oddly enough, one of the characters looked and sounded strikingly similar to Gale Weathers but Tatum didn’t hold that against her. She heard what sounded like Bridger getting ready for bed and decided not to mess with him anymore tonight.
THE NEXT DAY
“I wasn’t trying to save Ross, okay. My sandwich was next to Ross. Alright? I was trying to save my sandwich.”
Tatum laughed.
“From a bullet?”
“I know it doesn’t make much sense.”
“It does to me! I would save a sandwich over Ross too, Joey!” She giggled. She was so absorbed in the show that she didn’t hear the guy she was haunting shuffle around in his bedroom and getting ready for the day. When he finally emerged, he blinked several times and even rubbed his eyes for good measure but what he saw remained.
“Pivot! Pivot! Pivot! Pivot! Pivot! Pivot!”
“Shut up! Shut up! Shut uuuup!”
“You tell him, Chandler!” Tatum laughed.
“Okay! That’s it!” He finally exploded.
Tatum jumped at the unexpected voice and turned around, eyeing the man behind her warily as if he were the intruder. “Oh, you’re awake!” She chirped. She looked at his outfit, which consisted of yet another hideous print shirt and jeans, with obvious disdain. “Are you seriously going to wear that?”
“What? What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” He looked down at himself, momentarily forgetting his anger and the fact that he was talking to a ghost.
“You look like a divorced dad. Oh, wait…are you a divorced dad? Is that why your apartment looks like this?”
“I am not divorced, and I am not a dad!” He snapped.
“Well, that’s good. At least I don’t have to worry about you dressing your kids in ugly print shirts. One of you is bad enough.”
Bridger just blinked at her. “Unbelievable,” he mumbled to himself, storming to the kitchen.
“You should wash your dishes!” Tatum called out to him before going back to watching her show.
“He’s her lobster!”
“Phoebe, if I were Rachel, I would rather be boiled alive and dipped in butter than be with Ross.” Tatum scoffed.
“Now there’s an idea,” Bridger drawled out from beside her.
She jumped in surprise. “Jesus Christ! Someone should put some bells or something on you. How long have you been sitting here?”
He looked at her as if she were crazy. “Who are you?”
His words just reminded her that they hadn’t properly introduced themselves. Although there really hadn’t been much time for that since he had convinced himself that she was an illusion before locking himself in his room for the rest of the night.
“My name is Tatum Riley. I’d shake your hand, but everything seems to go right through me.” She giggled at her joke. “Get it? Since I’m a ghost.”
Bridger stared at her stunned. “I’m sorry. Did you just say you were Tatum Riley?”
“Uh, yeah,” she annoyedly gestured to herself as if that could confirm her identity. “Clearly, you’re not good at listening, Bridger.”
“That’s not…that’s,” he stuttered. “There’s no way. There is absolutely no way that I’m being haunted by the ghost of Tatum Riley!” He shook his head in disbelief.
Tatum squinted. “Do I know you or something? I mean, you’re acting like you know me. Did you like work at the grocery store in Woodsboro?”
Bridger closed his eyes and rested his head against the couch. “How are you even here?” He mumbled to himself.
“I wish I could tell you, but I can’t. I’m just as confused as you are, buddy.” She shrugged.
“Why are you haunting me? Are you pissed about the new ‘Stab’ movie and want to take revenge, or…?” He trailed off, looking at her warily.
“Stab? Oh, you mean that stupid movie poster in your office? No? Why would I be mad at some movie with a dumb, simplistic name such as Stab?”
“Wait, so you don’t know about the movies then?” He looked at her shocked.
“What are you talking about?” She snapped, beginning to lose her patience. “I haven’t seen a movie in a long time. I’ve been trapped in that fucking garage since the day I died. Oh, by the way, I died in a garage just in case you didn’t know.” She rolled her eyes.
He just stared at her with wide eyes. “So, why did you choose to haunt me?”
“Oh my God! I didn’t choose to haunt you, asshole! This wasn’t my choice. One minute, I’m in that musty garage, the next minute I was in your musty office! Why would I choose to haunt someone I don’t know? If I did have the choice, I would go to my best friend, Sid and not to some loser who dresses like he's in a committed relationship with the men’s section at K-Mart.” Bridger’s eyes iced over at the mention of Sidney which piqued Tatum’s interest. “What?” She questioned.
“Nothing.” He looked away.
“Look,” she sighed. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings but please try to understand my perspective. I died in an embarrassing way, heard my best friend sob over my body while she was fighting for her own life, found out that my boyfriend and his friend were the ones responsible for my death, and had to spend what feels like an eternity in the place where I died. Oh, and on top of that, I had to listen to my killers’ voices too. That was fun.” She sarcastically said. “And now, it looks like instead of a garage, I’m tied to you.” She pointed at him. “A complete stranger.” She sighed.
“I just…I just miss Sid. Don’t get me wrong, I miss my mom and Dewey and Randy too, but Sid…well, Sid is just special. She was the only one I could be my true self around because I knew she would never judge me or stop loving me. I would give anything to see her one last time. Even if she doesn’t see me. I just want to know if she’s happy.” She whispered the last sentence. She felt that all too familiar burning behind her eyes – a sign that she was about to cry, but she couldn’t. She was dead and the dead can’t physically weep. It was quiet between them for a few minutes and then Bridger got up and shut himself in his room again and Tatum returned her focus to the television in front of her. They didn’t speak again until the next day.
In the short amount of time (which had really been two weeks) she has known him, Tatum learned the following information about her living companion:
1) His first name was Roman.
2) He didn’t really eat much because he was always on the go or just busy with work, so he usually just stuffed anything semi-edible in his mouth when he could no longer ignore the loud growls coming from his stomach.
3) He was horny. Like all the time. Tatum has lost count of the number of times she had to turn the volume up on the television in order to drown out the sounds of him masturbating. She was super grateful that her ghost provisions at least allowed her to be away from him by at least thirty-five feet (she and Roman had tested just how far he could go before she would be inevitably dragged along with him). She tells herself that it could be worse. He could have girls filing in and out of his apartment, but she somehow gets the feeling that he would much rather be alone than in the intimate company of women…or men for that matter. She doesn’t judge.
4) He was a movie director. Or at least that’s what he was trying to be anyway.
5) His goal was to film a classic love story, but instead he got stuck directing ‘Stab 3,’ which Tatum learned was the film franchise that capitalized on her best friend’s pain and her own death. She did not let Roman have a hot shower at all that week.
6) Despite the messy state of his apartment and office, he was a perfectionist and wanted everything to be done perfectly.
7) He hated whiny actors and actresses.
8) He had accidentally hooked up with some B-list actress named Jennifer Jolie and it was something he regretted deeply, especially since she had been cast as Gale Weathers in ‘Stab 3.’. Tatum always snickered when Jennifer approached him, and he had to school his features from disdainful reluctance to polite disinterest.
9) He doesn’t have any friends. The only people he hangs out with are the cast and crew of ‘Stab 3’ and a film producer named John Milton. Milton gave her the creeps and she told him as much. She found it oddly telling that instead of defending his boss, Roman stayed silent.
10) He practically inhaled black coffee at least seven times a day. “You know, if you keep chugging all that caffeine, your heart could stop one day, and you’ll end up just like me.” She tried to warn him when he was hunched over his desk, guzzling his fourth coffee of the day. “I’m ignoring you,” he muttered, his eyes never leaving the script that had been rewritten for the fourth time that week alone. “Fine, but you won’t be able to ignore that white light at the end of the tunnel when your heart finally gives out.” She said, rolling her eyes. He looked up at her. “Is that what you saw when you died?” He quietly asks her. “No,” she softly answers him before looking away. Thankfully, he has the good sense not to probe her any further.
11) And finally, it seemed Roman didn’t have any family. She never heard him call his parents or any siblings. Not even an aunt or a cousin. She had asked him about it once and all he said was that he was adopted. He refused to answer any more questions about it.
It was a Tuesday morning when John Milton called Roman and asked him to come to his office. When Roman had tried asking his boss what the meeting was about, Milton had just urged him to come as quickly as possible. When Roman hung up the phone, he let out a long, suffering groan that Tatum would have normally said was overdramatic but considering who was requesting Roman’s presence, she couldn’t say anything because she would be reacting the same way if she was in his shoes…maybe even worse. She followed him out the door of his apartment and to his car.
She opened the passenger side door with her mind and climbed in. Roman looked up to see his nosey elderly neighbor, Ethel, watering her plants and staring at him with her mouth wide open. He smiled and waved to her in an effort to diffuse the situation, but Tatum ensured that he wouldn’t succeed by slamming the passenger door shut. This was all it took for Ethel to flee back into the safety of her apartment.
“Seriously,” he grumbled to her as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “You are going to cause nothing but problems for me if you keep doing things like that out in public.”
Tatum didn’t even dignify his complaining with a response and instead, just buckled her seatbelt.
“Why?” He leaned back and threw one of his hands up in the air, completely exasperated. “Why? Why are you fastening your seatbelt? Everything bad that could possibly happen to you has happened. So, what’s the point?”
“Gee, I don’t know. Why do you keep twelve boxes of condoms in your bedside drawer when you know not many women would willingly go home with you…well except Jennifer.” She giggled. That shut him up in an instant.
When they arrived at Milton’s office, they were both surprised to see a rather large box sitting on the older man’s desk. “What’s this, John?” Roman asked, peering at the box over the rim of his glasses.
“This,” Milton proudly said as he gestured to the box, “is our ticket for a successful movie, Roman. Go ahead. Take a look.”
Hesitantly, Roman did as he asked and was immediately confused as soon as he saw the contents inside. Various journals, notebooks, lip glosses, stuffed animals, CDs, photographs, and one white scrunchie were all scattered throughout. To him, it looked like someone had ransacked a teenage girl’s bedroom, but for Tatum, it felt as if someone had violated a teenage girl’s bedroom.
“Oh my God!” She yelled directly in Roman’s ear causing him to wince. “That’s Sidney’s things, Roman!”
“What?” He asked her.
“What? What do you mean ‘what,’ Roman?” Milton looked at him strangely.
“Um,” Roman nervously adjusted his glasses. “Sorry, I mean what is this and how is it supposed to help the movie?”
Milton eyed him suspiciously for a moment before he relaxed in his seat and answered the younger man’s question. “These items just so happen to belong to the infamous Sidney Prescott. By studying them, we can help Angelina more accurately depict her in the film. I want you to take this to her so that she can improve.”
“There is no way Mr. Prescott would have just given these things away.” Tatum stood over the oblivious man and glaring at him with obvious hatred burning in her eyes.
“How did you happen to come upon these things?” Roman carefully asked.
“Well, let’s just say if you talk to the right guys and pay the right people, you can make anything happen, Roman.” John smirked a bit before picking up his pen and going back to whatever he was doing before they had entered.
“In other words, he hired people to break into Mr. Prescott’s house and steal Sid’s things! They even took her lucky white scrunchie! The bastards!” Tatum’s jaw clenched.
Roman scratched the back of his neck “Eh, John. I don’t know about -”
“Great, great,” his boss waved him off as he continued writing. “Let me know if she improves, hm?”
Roman didn’t say anything further. He just picked up the box and walked out with his little ghost companion in tow. On the way out, Tatum made sure to throw that stupid Oscar for Best Director on Milton’s shelf directly at Milton’s head. It was such a shame the idiot ducked in enough time. Roman was already down the hall when he heard Milton shout “What in the hell was that?” He didn’t see the need to go and check on his boss. If he was screaming, then he was alive, and it was far more than he deserved.
“You can’t possibly be thinking of giving that box to Angelina?” Tatum looked at him with accusing eyes. “That’s just wrong!”
“It could help her acting improve if she were to know the person that she’s playing.” Roman tried to argue weakly but Tatum was not having it.
“Oh, please. You and I both know that the only thing that could improve her acting is by dropping the final curtain on her so that the audience doesn’t have to suffer through her performance.” When Roman didn’t say anything, she continued.
“The contents in that box aren’t just some kind of acting tool for a wannabe actress. They belong to a real person. These things actually mean something to Sid. For example, that stuffed tiger was gifted to her by Dewey when we were six. He won it at a carnival and gave it to her in an effort to cheer her up because her dad extended his business trip after promising her he would take her to the carnival. Instead, he just gave the money to Dewey and asked him to take us. When Dewey gave it to her, she tried to decline, saying that he won it so he should keep it. She only took it when he told her the best prize he could receive was her smile and for the first time that night, Sid truly looked happy. There are many other examples I could give you, but if I have to stand here and try to further convince you that giving this stuff to Angelina is wrong, then maybe you’re not the somewhat decent guy I thought you were.”
Again, Roman doesn’t reply. Instead, he puts the box in his trunk and drives them back to his apartment. She watches him take the box to his room and place it in the back of his closet with a giant smile on her face.
“Oh, shit! I know Sid is probably pissed.” Tatum exclaimed.
Roman looked at her from the corner of his eye. “Why?”
“Because on the day that I died, right before the party, I tried to lighten the mood by asking Sidney who would play her if Hollywood turned our nightmare into a movie. Dewey told her that he could see a young Meg Ryan lookalike playing her and she said that with her luck it would be Tori Spelling and look who is playing Sid! Tori Spelling!” Tatum didn’t take her eyes off the train wreck on the screen. “And she’s fucking it up royally.”
Roman had finally convinced Tatum to at least watch the first Stab movie. At first, she was hellbent on not giving it a chance but Roman had offered to tape her favorite show, which she later learned was called ‘Friends,’ for her so she can watch it whenever she wants. That was how she ended up watching this low budget disaster. It’s a miracle they made it all the way to a third movie. Before they watched the film, Roman had filled her in on what he knew about the Windsor College murders. She had been sad to learn that Randy didn’t make it.
“What was she like?” Roman quietly asked.
“Who?” Tatum absentmindedly asked as she watched Tori Spelling (“Sidney”) cry at Luke Perry’s (“Billy”) betrayal.
“Sidney Prescott.”
“Why?” Tatum snorted. “You want to give a few pointers to Angelina?” Roman didn’t answer her. Instead, she heard him get up and go to his bedroom. “I guess I pissed him off,” she muttered underneath her breath. She was contemplating whether or not she would be living up to her end of the bargain if she were to turn the television off now. It was almost over anyway, and it wasn’t like Roman would know since he went to his room and wasn’t around to see her do it. However, before she could, she heard his bedroom door open back up and his feet shuffling towards her. He didn’t say anything. He just dropped a stack of paper on the coffee table in front of her and sat back down.
She looked at him with raised eyebrows. “What’s this?”
He gestured to the pile as if telling her to look for herself. She huffed in annoyance but looked anyway. What she saw shocked her. It was a birth certificate. More specifically, Roman’s birth certificate.
This is to certify that Roman Michael Roberts
Weighing 7lbs and 7oz
Was born on the 4th day of February
To Maureen Roberts aka “Rina Reynolds” and Unlisted
In the year of 1970
“Oh. My. God.” Tatum slowly said, sounding a bit like Chandler Bing’s ex-girlfriend Janice. “Maureen Roberts, but that’s…” She trailed off, looking at the man beside her dumbfoundedly.
“Yeah,” he acknowledged with a tilt of his head. “Maureen Prescott.” He chugged down his beer.
“Did you ever try and…you know?” Tatum wasn’t sure how to go about delicately asking her questions. This emotional shit and handling people’s feelings with care was Sid’s forte not hers. Hell, this was Sid’s brother, not hers.
Thankfully, he seemed to understand her half-asked question. “Yeah, I tried. Five years ago.” He smiled bitterly at his now empty bottle. “She screamed at me that I was Rina’s child, and that Rina was dead before slamming the door in my face.”
“Oh, my God, Roman! I am so sorry!” Tatum felt a stab of pity for the lonely director.
“It’s fine. It doesn’t matter now, and it won’t matter ever again.” He darkly says. She would be lying if she said she didn’t have an uneasy feeling about his words or his tone but before she could question him further, he bid her goodnight and retired to his room.
The next day, Tatum asks him why he never told Sidney about his existence. He answers her question with one of his own. “Why would I travel back to Woodsboro and open myself up to even more rejection?”
“She would have never rejected you!” Tatum protested. “Sid would never be that cruel!”
Roman snorted. “Sure, she wouldn’t. Get real, Tatum. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
“Oh, that’s just bullshit!” She yelled. “Just because Maureen was a bad apple, doesn’t mean Sid is the same way. You’re going to sit your ass down and listen to the stories I have of Sid and by the end of it you will see that she and Maureen are not only on two completely different trees but completely different orchards as well!” Roman, who looked a bit fearful because she got up in his face when she started screaming, could only nod and do what she said. He sat down and listened intently to every word she said. By the time she had finished talking, six hours had passed and Roman was left with a completely different version of his sister than the one he had created and villainized in his head.
“So now that you know you’re wrong, what are you going to do about it?” Tatum asked, placing her hands on her hips. Roman was silent and then…
“I’m going to go break into the Woodsboro Police station and steal my sister’s file.” He announced, getting up from the couch and grabbing his keys and jacket by the door.
Out of all the things she had expected to hear come out of his mouth, this was certainly not one of them. “You what?” She exclaimed incredulously. “Now why would you go and do a stupid thing like that?”
“Because if I were to call and ask for her location, they would probably tell me to fuck off.” He calmly explains as he pulls on his shoes. “You in?” He looked back at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Do I have any other choice?” She rolled her eyes as she followed him out the door and to his car.
Five days after they steal Sidney’s file from the Woodsboro Police station, Roman is outside the apartment smoking a cigarette in an effort to try and calm his nerves about meeting his half-sister the following day and Tatum is digging through his tapes in an effort to find one of the tapes he recorded ‘Friends’ on.
She levitates the tape into the VHS player and settles on the couch, ready to spend the night away laughing with her favorite characters. However, when the tape finally played, she wasn’t met with the sight of her favorite characters. Instead, it was an all too familiar figure or figures. Maureen Prescott and Cotton Weary. “What the fuck?” She whispered. The tape showed Maureen getting out of a car and Cotton giving her a kiss. Then the film switched to Maureen Prescott leaving a motel that Tatum instantly recognized as the seedy motel right outside of Woodsboro. The only place where you could rent a room for as little as one hour. To Tatum, it wasn’t shocking to see Mrs. Prescott leaving a place like this, given her history. What was surprising was the person who exited the room right behind her: Hank Loomis. Billy’s dad.
“Hey, Tatum. Ae you – oh shit!”
Tatum spun around to face him, rage evident on her face. “Roman,” she said in between gritted teeth. “What the hell is this?”
“I can explain.” He backs away from her as if she’s a ravenous, angry animal.
“Explain what?” Tatum was on the verge of yelling. “Why do you have this, Roman? Who else has seen it? Obviously, you taped Maureen for a reason!”
“I’ll tell you, but you have to promise not to get mad.” He pleaded.
“Oh ho!” Tatum sarcastically chuckled. “It’s a bit too late for that. How about this? You tell me what the fuck is going on and maybe, just maybe, I won’t lift your seedy couch off the floor and aim it at your head!”
“Okay, okay!” He relented. “The truth is, after Maureen’s rejection, I didn’t leave Woodsboro as quietly as I may have implied. I was just so angry that she wouldn’t even give me a chance. So, when she told me that I was Rina’s child and that Rina was dead, I thought to myself, “What a great idea!” So, I followed her around for a few days and observed her interactions. In that time, I found out that she got around…a lot. Cotton Weary was one thing. It seemed like everybody in town, except for Sidney and her father, knew about Cotton and Maureen. What many people didn’t know was that Maureen was also seeing Hank Loomis. They were careful, but not careful enough. So, I decided to take the evidence to Billy Loomis so that he could see who was behind his pain and misery. He didn’t like seeing his daddy in my little family film. He didn’t like it at all. Once I supplied the motivation, all the kid needed was a few pointers. Have a partner to sell out in case you get caught.”
“Stu.” Tatum said with hard eyes.
Roman nodded. “Find someone to frame.”
“Cotton Weary and Neil Prescott.” Tatum bitterly muttered.
Again, Roman nodded. “It was like he was making a movie.”
“You.” She said in a deadly quiet voice that was somehow a lot scarier than her yelling. “This was all because of you?”
Roman looked down at his feet in shame. “Yes.” He quietly said. “Tatum, I am so sorry.”
“SORRY?!” She bellowed. “SORRY? YOU ARE THE REASON WHY I DIED, YOU BESPECKELED, OEDIPUS COMPLEX, PSYCHOTIC, MOTHER FUCKER!” She lifted a beer bottle and tried to throw it at his head, but he ducked out of the way.
When the bottle didn’t work, Tatum willed all of the kitchen cabinets to fly open and made the plates go flying towards him. “YOU ARE ONE OF THE REASONS WHY RANDY IS DEAD!”
“MY BROTHER ALMOST DIED BECAUSE OF YOU!”
Roman managed to dodge a couple of bowls but he wasn’t so lucky with the plates. One hit him on his arm while another one hit him in the stomach. “Oomf!” He bent over. Shards of ceramic were raining down on him, nicking his arms and legs.
“AND YOU’RE THE REASON WHY MY BEST FRIEND HAS BEEN PUT THROUGH HELL FOR THE PAST FIVE FUCKING YEARS!” She lifted a barstool and threw it at his hunched over form. Luckily for him, he managed to fall to the ground and roll away just in time but that didn’t stop Tatum in her assault.
“AND ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF IS THAT YOU’RE SORRY?” She levitated all of the knives out of the knife block on the kitchen counter. Roman could only watch in horror as the knives all spun around so that the sharp blades were facing him directly.
“YOU THINK YOU’RE SORRY NOW? JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET THROUGH WITH YOU!” He managed to scramble up just in time to haul his ass out of the apartment. The minute he slammed the door closed, the knives all embedded themselves on the other side of his front door.
He decided that it would probably be safer to spend the night in his car. Tatum, despite being a ghost, can’t walk through walls or objects, so at least he would be in an enclosed space that she couldn’t get to…unless she shattered all of the windows and dragged him out while he slept. He shuddered and ran a tired hand down his face. It’s not fun when a woman is mad at you but it’s a special kind of hell when the woman you piss of is an extremely powerful ghost.
“Fuck.” He grumbled to himself as he climbed into the backseat.
The next morning, Roman was still terrified but he knew he had to go back into his apartment sooner rather than later. When he went in, everything looked the same as the night before. It was a complete disaster, but there was no sign of Tatum anywhere. He hesitantly shuffled into his bedroom, but the little blonde terror wasn’t there either. Roman figured she was probably hiding in his shower or some shit to scare the fuck out of him, but those thoughts were soon dashed when he heard sniffling coming from his closet.
His hand wrapped around the cool metal of the doorknob, his wrist slowly turned it until the door popped open. He pulled the door back and peered into the semi-darkness. His heart pounded so fast, it likely tattooed some imprints into his ribs. He was expecting her to do something scary like change her appearance to resemble Freddy Krueger or some shit. What he did not expect was to find her curled up in a little ball beside Sidney’s things with a photograph next to her face.
Somehow, this felt worse than a plate to the stomach. “Tatum,” he gently said.
Tatum let out a shuddering sob. “Go away!”
“Tatum, come on. We never finished our discussion yesterday.” He pleaded.
“What more is there to discuss, Roman?” She wept. “I’m dead, Randy’s dead, Sid and Dewey are probably still hurting and there is nothing I can do to help them because I’m stuck with the guy who caused all of this shit to happen.”
“Tatum,” he sighed as he knelt down on one knee close to her. “I know I fucked up big time. I am so sorry for everything. I’m sorry about my part in your death, in Randy’s death…in everything. You really didn’t deserve what happened to you, but I promise you that I’ve changed. You changed me. I can’t go back and change the past. I would if I could, believe me…but I can’t. The only thing I can do is try to make things right with Sidney, but before I do, I need to let you in on one more plan that I had.”
“Plan? What other plan could you possibly have for her? Besides actually doing the dirty work yourself and killing her? Which, I would never allow.” Tatum spat, but Roman relaxed a bit because at least she was willing to hear him out otherwise she wouldn’t be verbally engaging with him…she’d be throwing things.
“Well, I had been planning on donning on the Ghostface mask and robe to kill the entire cast of ‘Stab 3.’ Your brother was supposed to come on board as a technical advisor, so I had planned to include him in that -”
“AHHHHH!” Tatum screamed as she charged at him. She tried to wrap her hands around his neck but every time she tried, she passed right through him. “God fucking dammit!” She hollered.
“He’s safe! Dewey is safe and he will remain safe…at least from me!”
“Fuck you, Roman!” She was shaking but made no further move towards him. That was…good.
“I also planned to kill John Milton.”
Tatum’s shaking had stopped but naturally, she still didn’t look pleased. “Why? I mean, I know he’s a creep and an asshole with too much power, but what did he ever do to you?” She crossed her arms, and despite being only 5’4”, she managed to stare him down and make him feel like he was only three inches tall.
“Because he’s my father.” Roman said with shame.
Tatum’s anger momentarily cooled at the shocking revelation. “What?”
“He’s my father,” he repeated quietly. “The nature of my conception was rather…sinister. I learned that before she became Maureen Prescott, she went to Los Angeles under the pseudonym of Rina Reynolds with the hopes of becoming an actress. One night, she went to a party hosted by John Milton. It was one of those parties where men like him would meet women who just wanted to make it big in Hollywood. He and his colleagues brutally raped her repeatedly that night.”
Tatum covered her mouth in horror. Although she had never been a huge Maureen Prescott fan, Tatum knew that nobody deserved to go through that awful, dehumanizing, spirit breaking pain. “Oh, my God.” She shakily breathed out.
“I was the result of that night. That’s why she gave me up. That’s why she slammed the door in my face. I’m a walking, breathing reminder of what they did to her, but Tatum I didn’t ask to be born!” His eyes shined with pain and anger. “All I wanted was the love of the woman who gave birth to me, but she couldn’t do that and it’s all because of him.” He practically spat the last word out. “I planned on slitting his throat and framing Sidney for every single murder.” He continued all fired up.
“What? Sidney? As if! Who would ever believe that Sidney would do such a thing?” Tatum scoffed.
Roman didn’t say anything. Instead, he walked to one of his bedside drawers and pulled out a circular device and placed it near his mouth, but instead of his voice, Tatum was horrified to hear an almost perfect replica of her best friend’s voice come out. “I know who you are. I know what happened to my mother, and I want you to understand, I’m gonna make you pay!”
Roman lowered the device and stared at Tatum. “That is what the police would have found on John Milton’s answering machine right next to his lifeless corpse. I would have made the whole world believe that after living in total isolation, the pressure of another movie about her, the discovery that Milton destroyed mommy dearest, she finally just snapped and killed everyone…including her living, closest friend, Dewey. I was going to be the sole survivor. The hero who bravely faced down the psychopath with her own knife and Sidney the hero…Sidney the fucking star, would be no more because that’s another thing I was fucking pissed about, Tatum. Sidney already had the love of our mother and the childhood that I deserved to have, but after the Woodsboro and Windsor College murders, she had another thing that should have been mine. Stardom! She was a big hit and it made it even more bitter knowing that she only gained that fame because of me! The brother that she knew nothing about!”
“So, that’s why you asked about her that night you made me watch ‘Stab’?! So that you could know her better enough to frame her?!” She glared up at him. Tatum’s words seemed to snap him out of his raging rant.
He slumped a bit, feeling extremely drained. “Tatum, that’s not -”
“Oh, you better thank God or whoever the fuck is watching out for your sorry ass because if I had the power to hit you, I would pummel you to the ground until you were as dead as dust like me! I would try to throw some more shit at you, but I destroyed everything last night so there’s nothing left for me to use!”
“I’m not going through with it!” His words halted her rant, but anger and distrust were still evident on her face. “I’ve realized that Sidney never deserved what happened to her. She was just a kid who had to grow up too quickly because of my actions. I’m the worst brother ever, I’ll admit that, but I need to make things right.”
“And just how do you plan on doing that?” She snapped.
“By finally introducing myself and by giving her things back.”
“And how do I know you won’t try to kill her as soon as we see her?” Tatum snarled, walking up to the much taller man. “How do I know this isn’t some trick, huh?”
“Well, Tatum, think about it. If I tried to do something stupid like that, Sidney would surely kill me before I tried anything and if she doesn’t, we both know you would do something.”
“You’re damn straight I would!” She glared.
“I’m not going to hurt her. I’ve done enough of that already. It’s time for me to be the brother she deserves. It’s time for me to help her heal, not hurt.” He looked deeply into her eyes. Tatum scanned every inch of his face for even a hint of dishonesty, but she found none. Either he was a better actor than she had originally thought, or he was being sincere.
“I know there is a chance that I’m going to regret this,” she grumbled to herself.
“So, you’re going to help me, then?” Roman’s eyes lit up.
“Yeah.” She rolled her eyes. “But if I get any funny feelings, I’m stabbing you!”
Roman, temporarily forgetting that she was a ghost, ran to her to give her a hug…only to pass through her and run face first into the wall.
“Oh, my God! That was fucking hilarious!” She wheezed as she doubled over in laughter.
Roman sat up and rubbed his nose, trying to see if it was broken. Thankfully, it wasn’t. “Glad my pain amuses you.” He dryly said.
“Well, after everything you have done and planned to do, I would say that a bump on the head is the least you deserve.” She pointedly said.
He winced. “Point taken.”
“So, how are you going to do this?” Tatum asked from the passenger seat.
“I have no idea.” Roman answered her as he merged onto the freeway.
“You mean, you haven’t thought about what you’re going to say?” She stared at him incredulously.
“Of course I have!” He snapped. “But every scenario I play out in my head doesn’t end on a promising note.”
“That’s because you’re a pessimist.”
He snorted. “No, I’m a realist.”
“Same thing.”
“No, it really isn’t.” He argued.
“Are you going to tell her…you know? Everything?” She asked.
Tatum watched as his fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “No. No, not everything.” It was silent between them for the rest of the car ride.
When they finally arrived at Sid’s house five and a half hours later, they ran into a slight problem.
“There’s a security system around the gate.”
“Yes, Tatum. Thank you for pointing out the obvious.”
“Hey, Roman?”
“What?”
“How about we turn around and go to the doctor’s office? You know that way he can remove that stick that’s been shoved all the way up your -”
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. Alright? I’m just a little nervous.” He ran his hand through his hair, frustrated.
Instead of responding, Tatum opened the passenger side door and stepped out to inspect the system. She heard Roman swear to himself as he got out, but she ignored him. She pursed her lips as she stared at the keypad. “There is no call button to get her attention.” She observed.
“Yeah, probably because she wants to be left alone.” Roman mumbled.
“And who’s fault is that?” She coolly questioned. He looked away from her guiltily.
She sighed. “I could always short circuit it.” She offered.
“Hell no!” He shook his head furiously. “Then she’ll think I did something to it.”
“Well, how about if I temporarily freeze it enough to where you could climb over?”
“Why don’t I just climb over it and make my presence known?”
“Two reasons, dummy. First, she might perceive you as a threat if she catches you sneaking over her fence and she might shoot you on sight.” Roman shuddered.
“Second, her alarm system might also alert the police and if she doesn’t shoot you, they might! If on the off chance they don’t kill you, Sid could have you arrested for trespassing and how the fuck are you going to explain yourself to them? “Oh, hi officers! Don’t mind me! I’m only here to make amends with my sister. She doesn’t know she’s my sister, but I wanted to apologize for giving her psycho ex-boyfriend the motivation and some helpful pointers to help kill her because I’m an asshole who’s been jealous of things she had no control over. Oh, and I had planned to go on a murder spree across Hollywood and frame her, but don’t worry because that’s a thing of the past!” Yeah, Roman. I’m sure that will go over great.” She sarcastically said.
He sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose. “A simple you could be shot or arrested would have sufficed, Tatum.”
She rolled her eyes and focused on the trunk of his car. Opening it, and gently lifting the box of Sid’s things out. Roman watched as it floated down on the other side of the fence. “Nice.” He complimented her, but she just stared at him. “Uh, Tatum?” He looked at her uneasily. “Whatcha…whatcha staring at?” She smiled and he gulped. “Whatcha thinking?” He tried to lightly ask but it came out as a squeak.
“I’m thinking,” she smiled widely. “I’m thinking, it’s your turn.”
He looked startled. “My turn? My turn for what?”
Instead of answering him, she took a step back and made a face like she was concentrating really hard. “Tatum, what – AHH!” He yelped as his feet lifted off the ground. Tatum looked like she was in pain. “Tatum,” he wheezed. “What are you -?” He never got to finish asking his question because in the next second, he was flying over the fence. He landed with a loud thud next to the box. He rolled over, groaning in pain and glaring at the panting ghost on the other side of the fence. “What the fuck, Tatum? That wasn’t the damn plan!”
“I,” she panted, “decided to improvise, but damn Roman! For a guy who only drinks coffee and only eats when’s on the verge of passing out from malnutrition, you sure are heavy as fuck!”
“Are you,” he wheezed, trying to sit up. “Are you seriously weight shaming me right now?”
Tatum finally seemed to catch her breath and started to climb over the fence. “Fuck, I shouldn’t have worn a skirt when I died. It makes climbing awkward.” She muttered to herself. She managed to land on her feet with ease. “Alright, nerd! Let’s go see Sid!” She cheerfully said, strolling past Roman who was still sprawled out on the ground.
“Hey, wait for me!” He scrambled to his feet, grabbed the box and ran after her.
“I wonder what she looks like now?” Tatum pondered as they walked up the driveway.
“Does that really matter?” He huffed, shifting the box around to push his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.
“No, of course not. I’m sure she’s just as beautiful now as she was when we were eighteen, but I wonder if she’s done anything new with her hair. Ooo! Maybe she got a new piercing or two. Oh, my God, Roman, do you think she has a tattoo?”
Before he could answer her, they heard the unmistakable click that could only come from the safety feature on a gun. They both froze. “Stop right there and put your hands behind your head.” A calm, but deadly voice said from behind them.
Roman dropped the box and did as she asked. “Wait, please. You don’t understand, I’m -” He tried to plead but was interrupted.
“Turn around.” She commanded.
On cue, both Roman and Tatum spun around so quickly and at the same time that if Sidney had been able to see the ghost of her deceased best friend, she would have laughed at the perfect synchronization, but she couldn’t see her, and this was no laughing matter to Sidney Prescott. This was a threat in her eyes.
“Um,” Roman gulped as he took in the sight of his little sister standing in front of him looking beautifully poised and absolutely lethal. “Could you maybe put the gun down? I mean you no harm, I swear.”
“Do you think I’m stupid?” She glared at him. “You don’t survive four serial killers like I have by not playing it smart. The only way you could possibly be here is if you were the one responsible for breaking into the Woodsboro Police station and stealing my file. Anyone who is willing to go to such desperate lengths to find me clearly doesn’t have good intentions. So, what’s your motive, huh?”
Roman glanced at Tatum from the corner of his eye, hoping that maybe she could tell him what Sidney meant by that, but Tatum was just as much at a loss as he was. So, without any other choice, he returned his gaze to the other half of him.
“Motive?” He asked.
“Yeah, your motive. Billy and Stu wanted to kill me because in their minds, they were creating a movie. Well, that, and Billy wanted to take his final revenge on my mom for sleeping with his dad and causing his mother to leave him by killing me too. Mrs. Loomis wanted to kill me because she blamed me for her son’s death. Which, to be fair, I did shoot him in the head but only because he tried to kill me first. Mickey Altieri wanted to kill me because he wanted to get caught so that he could have his fifteen minutes of fame. My point is, every one of these Ghostface killers had a motive – no matter how dumb or unreasonable they may be, at least they had a reason. So, what’s yours?”
“I’m not a Ghostface killer!”
Tatum gave him the side eye. “I know your life is on the line here, but it would probably be in your best interests to not outright lie to her.”
Sidney’s gaze became even colder. “For some reason, I don’t believe you.” She softly said.
“I have another reason for being here, I promise!”
“You know what else those four killers had in common?” She asked almost conversationally as if they were having a lovely chat over coffee.
“Um, no?” Roman asked, tilting his head in confusion.
“They’re all now six feet under because they made the fatal mistake of trying to fuck with me. So, I suggest if you don’t want to join them that you -”
“I’m your half-brother!” Roman shouted in panic. As soon as he said those words, he wished he could just open his mouth and shove them back in like nothing had happened. Sidney froze.
“Smooth. Real smooth, Roman.” Tatum sarcastically said while warily eyeing Sidney’s rapidly changing expressions. Shock, confusion, suspicion, anger, hatred. Yup, this will not be good.
“Is this some kind of sick joke?” Sidney whispered with hard eyes. “Who the fuck do you work for? Huh? Diane Sawyer? CNN? Fox? Geraldo Rivera? Well, let me tell you something buddy, you can go back to your boss and tell them that I’m not interested and that the only reason I did that stupid Diane Sawyer interview with Cotton Weary was because I had an actual gun pointed at my head, but I thought that I had made my stance clear to everyone when I went on live T.V. and addressed all of the news stations and reporters in the United States by telling them that they could all fuck off.” She spat. “Clearly, I wasn’t as convincing as I had hoped.”
“I’m not a reporter and I don’t work for any sort of news station. I’m a movie director -”
“Oh,” Sidney laughed but there wasn’t any humor behind it. “Yeah, because that’s so much better.”
Tatum winced. “That was probably not the best time to try and brag on your profession.”
“What’s in the box?” Sidney eyed it suspiciously.
“Some things that were apparently taken from your childhood home. Some journals, photographs -”
“That was you?” She snarled. “You were the one responsible for breaking into my dad’s house?”
“No!” Roman quickly protested. “No, my boss did that. Or, well, he uh hired some people to do it.”
“Oh really?” She raised a skeptical brow. “And why would he do that?”
“So that the actress playing you in the new ‘Stab’ movie could improve her acting performance by studying and mimicking you.”
Sidney looked disgusted at hearing that, and Tatum could understand why. Breaking into someone’s childhood bedroom and violating their privacy by stealing their old things so that a second-rate actress like Angelina Tyler could try to dissect the victim’s character in order to portray them in a shitty low budget movie is a slimy thing to do.
“Right,” she drawled. “And how exactly did my things come into your possession?”
“Milton gave them to me to distribute to the actress.”
“And why would he do that? Why wouldn’t he just do it himself?”
Roman, despite having a gun aimed at his face, snorted at the thought of Milton doing any legwork. Even something as simple as delivering a box to Angelina. “Because he’s a lazy son of a bitch who has the money to order people around. He gave it to me because I’m the new director of ‘Stab 3.’”
“Ah,” Sidney softly said. “Now, I get it.”
“Get?” Roman furrowed his eyebrows. “Uh, get what?”
“Don’t play dumb.” She scowled. “You’re trying to spy on me for your stupid movie.”
“No, I’m really -”
“LIAR!” She bellowed.
Roman looked at her with sadness in his hazel eyes that were strikingly similar to hers. “Look, clearly coming here and approaching you like this was a mistake, but I didn’t have any other option. For the past five years, I have walked around with the knowledge that you’re my half-sister and I didn’t tell you because I shifted all of my anger and hurt from Maureen’s rejection onto you because it was easier for me to tell myself that you would hate me just as much as she did. I villainized you in my head without ever meeting you because that was the only way I felt justified for not trying. I took the cowards way out, Sidney and for that, I’m so sorry.” He spoke with such sincerity and conviction that it made Sidney visibly falter.
Privately, Tatum knew he wasn’t just apologizing for not telling her that he was her brother. This was also his way of silently apologizing to Tatum for the plans he almost carried out against her best friend and acknowledging to himself that he was wrong for the part he played in his sister’s misery for the last five years. Although she would much rather prefer it if he were honest with her best friend about everything, she acknowledged that it would probably do more harm than good for everyone involved.
“I’m sorry for not being the brother you deserved.” He continued on despite her silence. “I’m sorry I didn’t fight for a relationship with you.”
“Stop.” Sidney whispered, her eyes filling up with tears.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you when those fuckers came after you.”
“Stop.” She firmly said with tears streaming down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry that I failed you.”
“STOP!” Sidney yelled, her voice breaking.
Roman finally fell silent and she dropped the gun to her side. From this angle, Tatum could see all the pain and anguish in her best friend’s eyes reflected so clearly in Roman’s. They stared at each other for a few moments before he broke the silence. “I’ll leave. I’ll leave and you’ll never have to see me again if you don’t want to, but I will never,” he swallowed, his voice suddenly getting thick with emotion. “I will never, ever give up on you or the hope that one day you’ll accept me as your brother. I know we don’t know anything about each other but dammit, Sid, I love you! You’re my little sister and no matter what you feel towards me, my feelings for you will never change. If you ever need me, I’ll be there for you in a heartbeat.”
Roman hesitantly walked past her and when she made no move to detain him, he boldly placed his hand gently on her shoulder. He felt the muscles underneath his fingertips tense, but other than that, she gave no indication that she was aware of his presence. “Take care of yourself, Sid.” He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze before letting his hand fall away. With a heavy heart, he walked away from her and back to his car.
“No,” Tatum whispered as she walked along beside him. “You can’t give up now, Roman. You’ve come too far.”
“What else am I supposed to do, Tatum?” He whispered back dejectedly. “She doesn’t believe me. Fuck, it’s a miracle she didn’t shoot me where I stood. You and I both need to face some harsh realities. You need to accept that she’s not that same trusting girl you knew when you were both kids and I need to accept that I’m the reason why she’s like that now.” Tatum wrapped her arms around herself tightly as if she were trying to hold herself together. He felt bad that he couldn’t give Sidney or the sweet young ghost he had come to care for what they needed the most. Love. Hope. Reassurance.
“WAIT!”
They both froze for a moment before turning back towards Sidney. She was standing next to the open box, holding a very familiar file in her hands. Roman squinted. “Is that -”
“Your adoption file?” Tatum interrupted. “Yeah, I put it in there.”
“Tatum,” he said in between clenched teeth, trying not to move his mouth as much as possible. “Those were my only copies.”
“Well, it looks like you’ll be getting them back.” She smugly said as she watched as Sidney walked towards them with said file in hand. She was relieved to see that Sid had tucked her gun back into the waistband of her jeans.
When she was in front of her brother, she managed to give him a weak smile. “I guess I at least owe you the opportunity to explain everything to me without pointing a gun in your face. I mean, you did drive all this way to return the stuff that your boss stole, so I guess that counts for something, right? Come on,” she gestured to her house. “I was about to put a pot of tea on. Does that sound okay to you?”
“Sure,” he whispered. “Tea sounds great.”
“Oh, don’t lie. We both know you think tea tastes like ass. Hey, you know, you never explained how you know what ass tastes like.” Roman ignored Tatum and followed his sister into the house.
Roman sat comfortably on Sid’s couch and listened as she told him all about her short time at Windsor before the killings happened. It had been three months since he had revealed the truth to her, and he made it a point to visit her every weekend so that they could get to know each other better. She had just finished explaining how she met Derek when Tatum whispered into his ear. “Ask about their first date.”
Roman tried to ignore her and focus on Sid’s story about how she and her roommate Hallie ended up getting locked out of their dorm, but Tatum persisted. “Come on, Roman!” She whined. “You know I can’t ask her. Please?”
“So, uh speaking of Derek, where did you two go on your first date?” Roman asked when his sister stopped speaking.
Sid was obviously surprised at the question, but answered nonetheless. “Oh, well. He took me on a picnic.” She smiled wistfully.
“Oh, that’s so sweet!” Tatum sighed dreamily. “Okay, now ask her how he was in bed.”
Roman choked on his tea. “Roman?” Sidney looked at him in concern. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” he coughed out. “I’m fine, Sid. I just swallowed it the wrong way.” Tatum giggled and he had to fight the urge to tell her to knock it off. Sid patted his back and asked if he would like a glass of water to which he replied yes. As soon as Sid went to the kitchen to get him his drink, he took the opportunity to say, “Please don’t ever ask me to inquire about her sex life again. I get that you’re her best friend and you want to know these things, but I’m her brother and I don’t want to know.” He shuddered.
“Fine,” Tatum pouted, but underneath, Roman could see a smile threatening to come out. He rolled his eyes.
“You know, Roman,” Sid conversationally said as she re-entered the room and handed him his glass of water. “I’m really glad you decided to finally reach out to me.”
“Yeah?” He smiled at her.
“Yeah.” She smiled back. “I don’t know how else to explain it but…I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, you know? Ever since Windsor, I had the feeling that it wasn’t truly over. That there was one more tragedy just hiding around the corner, ready to pounce on me the minute I let my guard down, but then you came along and that feeling disappeared. I feel…free. Free and happy. Sorry, that sounds so stupid,” she awkwardly laughed and tucked a strand of hair behind her head.
“No,” Roman softly says, taking her hand with a gentle smile. “It’s not stupid. I feel the same way because for the first time in a long time, I feel relaxed and at ease. I’m happier too and that’s because of you.” His eyes briefly shifted to Tatum, silently acknowledging her part in his happiness as well.
“Awww,” she cooed at him from her spot by the window. “That’s so sweet.”
Sidney jumped in surprise and whipped her head towards where her best friend stood. “Tatum?” She whispered with wide eyes.
Both Roman and Tatum looked at her in astonishment. “Oh, my God, Sid! You can see me?” She bounced up and down on her toes. “Did you hear that, Roman? She can see me!”
Sidney whipped her head back towards her brother. “You can see her too?”
Roman smiled sheepishly at her. “Yeah, she’s been here this whole time. Actually, she was the one who gave me the strength and courage to finally approach you.”
Sid turned back to her best friend and gasped. “Tate! You’re glowing!”
“Really? That’s great because the last time I looked at myself, I thought I was looking a little pale.”
“No, you idiot,” Roman said but there wasn’t any maliciousness behind his insult. “There is a literal light surrounding you. You’re actually glowing.”
“Huh?” She looked around and saw tendrils of light spilling into the room and crawling closer to her. She stared back at the brother sister duo with wide eyes. “Holy shit, guys! I’m glowing!”
“We know!” They both said at the same time.
“Tatum, I think…I think you’re moving on from this world.” Sidney whispered.
“Really?” She stared at them hopefully. “Wow! I never thought this day would come. Are you guys going to be okay without me?”
“Well, I’ll definitely be bored without you constantly talking my ear off, but I’ll find a way to get by.” Roman smiled warmly at her.
“I wish I had more time with you, but I don’t want to hold you back.” Sid said with tears gathering in her eyes. “I love you, Tate.”
“I love you too, Sid. And I guess I love you as well Roman.” She laughed.
“Gee, thanks.” He rolled his eyes and smiled before gently saying, “I love you too, Tatum.”
The light now started to touch her. “Oh! I think this is it! Bye, Sid! Bye, Roman! Take care of each other. Oh, and if you can also watch out for Dewey since I won’t be around to do it myself, I would greatly appreciate it.”
“Of course we will.” Sid gave her a watery smile. Roman nodded, too choked up to properly speak.
“Thanks, guys.” She beamed at them. “Alright!” She clapped and stared up at the ceiling. “Beam me up, Scooter!”
“IT’S SCOTTIE!” A voice that sounded suspiciously like Randy’s boomed from above.
Tatum threw her head back and laughed whole-heartedly. “Whatever. Bring me home!” She threw her arms in the air with a big smile. The light tenderly wrapped around her and became so bright that Sid and Roman had to shield their eyes. When the brightness dimmed a bit, they were amazed to see a small but bright bundle of light rise through the ceiling. The two siblings exchanged a glance before rushing outside. They managed to catch a glimpse of the light as it continued to rise in the air before shooting across the night sky like a shooting star.
“Goodbye, Tate.” Sid says with happy tears streaming down her cheeks. “And thank you. Thank you so much.”
Roman wrapped his arm around his sister and pulled her close as he stared up at the sky. “For everything.” He whispers as his own tears gather around the corner of his eyes.
fin.
Epilogue
Tatum Riley slowly blinked as she took in her new surroundings. It was…indescribable. No words in the English language could do it justice.
“Well, well, well.” Her eyes turned to the familiar figure that was slowly approaching her.
“Randy.” She smiled.
He grinned right back at her. “Look who finally showed up. About time too! I was worried you were never gonna make it.”
“You know what they say. Good things take time.” She winked.
Randy snorted. “Yeah, almost four years’ worth of time.”
“Well, excuse me.” She put her hands on her hips and stared at him with attitude. “Not all of us got to immediately ascend to Heaven or whatever this place is. Speaking of, how come they let you in right off the bat?”
“I made a video for Sid before I died called Scary Movies 101.” He grinned proudly. “I made sure to give her and anyone else who watches it, tips on how to survive a trilogy. When I died, I at least died knowing that I was leaving behind my legacy. My life’s goal of helping people survive horror movies. That’s why I was able to move on almost immediately.”
“So, you’re saying I should have made a video before I kicked the bucket?” She raised an eyebrow.
Randy rolled his eyes. “No. I’m saying that you couldn’t move on because when you died, you had unfinished business and subconsciously, you knew this. Tell me, what was the first thought you had when you “woke up?”” Randy put air quotations around the words “woke up”.
“That I needed to go find Sid and warn her…and protect her.” She whispered.
“Exactly! You were held in that garage until the opportunity to help Sid presented itself. That opportunity came in the form of Roman Bridger. You changed him, Tate, and by doing so, you changed the future for the better. Many lives were spared, and you not only saved the relationship between two long lost siblings, but you also managed to save Roman’s soul. That,” Randy gently said placing his hand on her shoulder and squeezing it. “That is your legacy, Tate.”
“Wow,” Tatum whispered. “That’s great.” She swallowed thickly, suddenly overcome with emotion. “That’s much more fulfilling than volunteering at a soup kitchen.” She giggled.
Randy rolled his eyes good naturedly. “Come on, Miss. Riley.” He said in a fake posh British accent and holding his arm out to her. “Paradise awaits.”
She laughed and took his arm. “What’s it like on the other side, Randy?” She asked as they walked towards the beaming light together.
“You’re about to find out, Tate. Are you ready?”
“Definitely!”
“Then come on. Oh, and Tatum?”
“Yes, Randy?”
“Welcome home.”