Chapter Text
I know you the way a ghost know it's shadow.
- Mia Hollow
The sun was setting fast while I waited in traffic. I glanced at my dashboard and it's almost eight o'clock. Great. I'm not a fan of driving at night. I'm not a fan of the night period. The sky was darkening with heavy purple and rust tinted clouds. The air was very humid too. There's a storm building.
"God, I hate traffic," I complained to myself. I've never seen the boulevard so backed up before.
A flash of lightning broke the darkening sky and brought a roar of rumbling thunder with it. I've gotten use to the Nevada weather. I live in Henderson and it's mostly just hot here and every once in a while we have a summer storm but it's spring....
I laughed to myself because of the irony. I guess mother nature knows my dislike of both night and storms. Thanks for humoring me.
The traffic started moving again after fifteen more minutes but it was so slow. I started tapping my steering wheel as I grew more impatient. This is my own fault. I work morning shift at Paseo Verde Library and it's like my second home. I love my job and the people that work there. They act more like my family then my own flesh and blood. Occasionally I stay after work to bury myself in books. It's so easy for me to lose track of time and I should know better by now not to let myself do that. Traffic is something I haven't gotten use too. It's normal here because Las Vegas is so close. There always seem to be thousands of people flying in for vacations and weddings on a weekly basis but it's never been this backed up.
I was three cars behind the green light now. There was multiple red and blue flashing light's ahead. Police officers and paramedics was everywhere but there was only one officer directing traffic. The streets was covered in shattered glass. There was a smashed up blue mustang in the middle of the crossing. My chest started feeling tight.... It looked so bad. There's no way that somebody could had survived that. The other car was already on the back bed of a tow truck covered up in a grey tarp.
Out of nowhere the rain began to pour down. Pedestrians that had stopped along the side walk to watch the scene took off running to take shelter inside the restaurants and shops but there was one person that refused to move. All I could see through the rain was that he was dressed in black and his shirt had the initials G.A.C. in big bold white letters within a white outline of a coffin. It looked like he was arguing with one of the paramedics. From the corner of my eye I thought I seen a dark figure walking toward my left. I turned my attention to it, thinking that it was a police officer, but there was nothing there. A sick feeling hit my stomach instantly and the chill's ran up my arms. No, not here, don't go into a panic attack, I told myself over and over again. I started taking deep breaths and I tried to focus my attention on something else. The man that was arguing with the paramedic was gone, so I kept shifting my eyes to find something to focus on but I knew it was too late. I started hyperventilating but I forced my body to be still to not to make it so obvious in case someone was looking my way.
Lucky for me it was my turn and I got out of there as fast as the speed limit allowed me. I don't need to explain why I have these attacks to a police officer which would send me back into a second one. I'm not sure how I made it home. It was all a blur. It seemed like it took forever for me to unlock my front door because my hands was sweating and shaking so bad. Soon as I was safe inside my house, I started to calm down. I decided to forget dinner and take a hot shower since my stomach was still weak. I stood there for a good five minutes to let the warm water relax me. Don't let the past take over your life, Rebecca.... It's been almost four years now. I thought to myself. Four years....
The shower ended too soon but I went straight to bed. I cocooned myself in my blanket's to stay warm. I blocked everything out from my mind and let the soothing rain from outside relax me until I fell to sleep.
I sat up in my bed and took a deep breath to make sure I wasn't going to have another panic attack. I didn't feel sick and my lungs felt clear and easy, and my heart is at a normal pace. I stretched and got up from my bed. I'll be okay today, I willed myself.
I went to the bathroom and was horrified when I seen myself in the mirror. My hair was a frizzy mess. That's what I get for going to bed with wet hair. I brushed through my thick jungle-like hair until it was smooth and then pulled it up to a stylish sloppy bun. I didn't like wearing to much makeup because my skin is very olive from my native american heritage which makes it hard to find the right colors and concealer that goes well and matches my tone. And eye-shadow can be a nightmare. I love the smoky eye look but it's not flattering when you have grey eyes like me. Seriously. We grey eyed people look like vampires or something.
I grabbed my black eyeliner from my makeup case and thinly lined my eyes and then added mascara. I finished with a almost nude lip gloss. I went back to my room to change clothes. I dressed in a plain white short-sleeved t-shirt with a V neck and ripped hollow out jeans from my favorite online clothing store. I put on my black sneakers and went downstairs to the kitchen and made some scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast. While I ate, I turned my laptop on and surprisingly I had a message from my mom but I didn't want to open it. She'll probably be pissed when she doesn't get a reply back soon. I call and text both of my parents and they never answer or reply back to me. I don't have much of a relationship with my parents anymore. They didn't like my old job or.... hobby as they referred to it. And they definitely don't like my job now. They wanted me to go to college and become a doctor or a lawyer like my cousin Teresa. I swear, my family makes everything a competition. It's always jealousy and drama. And since I didn't follow in my parents footsteps or have a lavish paying job, now I'm some kind of embarrassment and big disappointment to them. It's sad but whatever, my life has been better off without them. The only time I hear from them is when there's a family reunion or a funeral. So this email is probably about one of those two. But the family reunions are during the summer. I wonder who died....
I checked on Facebook to see what's new and how my friends are starting off their Friday morning and to also see if any of my family members have posted anything about someone dying. I regretted as soon as I began to stroll down. Channel 13 had posted a link to their website of a story they covered about a deadly crash in Henderson that claimed eight lives and the thumbnail was a picture of the same scene I witnessed last night. What happened and what I felt last night.... I didn't need to see this to know that they was already dead. I quickly signed off and threw away my half eaten breakfast in the trash. I felt like I wanted to cry but I knew what it would turn into and that would be followed by more regret.
The ground was still wet from the storm last night but the air was cool and breezy. I got to the library at the same time my friend Tiffany was just getting out of her car. Her brown eyes lit up and she smiled her big white smile and waved at me. She was super tall and had gorgeous blonde hair. She was born in England in a large town called Luton but she was raised mostly in California. Her family is very wealthy but she has parental issues as well and when she decided to leave home, they didn't give her a dime. She was bubbling with excitement when I parked my car next to hers. "It's to early to be in such a happy mood, Tif." I rolled my eyes and laughed as I got out of my car. She laughed too. "Here, this will wake you up," she said in her pretty accent as she handed me my favorite Starbucks cappuccino. "Oh my gosh, you are a lifesaver!" On top of the problems I already have, I'm also a caffeine-addict. I took a sip, didn't care if it burnt my tongue. I needed something to get my energy level up. We walked to the library, well actually I walked, Tiffany was skipping her way up to the front doors. We said our "Hello's" and "Good morning's" to our co-workers and the early birds that came to check out a book.
"Oh, look who came to grace with me with her presence this morning," Paul chided as we passed the computer lab. Tiffany stuck up her nose and kept her eyes ahead. Paul didn't like to be ignored. He peered around the corner and began to walk with us. He was the same height as Tiffany and he had dark hair and his brown eyes was so dark that they was pitch black. His nice facial features told his family linage of obvious Italian descent which I knew was one of Tiffany's weaknesses. He beamed as Tiffany walked ahead of us. "Yeah, I see how you are," he said. Tiffany kept ignoring him and this made Paul laugh. "You are so sexy when you're mad." He knew that was going to set her off. "Shut up, Ken!" She called over her shoulder. "Not a chance Barbie," he threw back at her. "Jackass," she mumbled as she went to the backroom. Paul looked down at me with a accomplished smile on his face. "She loves me," he declared. I couldn't help but to laugh. "Don't worry, I won't say anything to her," I promised and crossed my heart. "Good, it's to much fun fighting with her," he laughed. "Have you use this tactic before to get a girlfriend?" I asked curiously. I have known guy's before who loved to fight with the girl that they saw as a future mate. I never understood it. "Nope, just her. She has a fiery spirit." I laughed again and shook my head. Love is something I know very little about. I have came close to it once before but that's it. Since then, it's hard for me to get close to anyone but I also never met anyone else that I desired to be with. Maybe I'm destined to be alone. It's even hard for me to be close with my friends. Of course they know almost everything about me except for a few things that's even forbidden for me to think or talk about. Sometimes I feel like I'm lying to them and I hate that.
I sat down at my desk and took a big gulp of my cappuccino. I took a deep breath before beginning my work. Tiffany came out of the backroom with her smile planted back on her face. She started working on collecting the returned books and putting them back in their rightful spot on the shelves. What the hell? I looked over at Paul who was now working on replacing a shelf that had broken and he was also looking at me with the same dumbfounded expression. We watched her in amazement because no offense, but she doesn't really do much around here. Me and Paul usually get's stuck with her work most of the time while she claims to work in the backroom but really she's on her phone or listening to music. Funny thing is, we don't mind. We understand what kind of family she was raised in and she isn't use to work, I guess.
After she finished stocking the shelves, she came back to start filling out paperwork that she has been asked to do for over a month now. "Are you okay?' I asked concerned. Tiffany turned around with a funny shocked expression on her face. She looked around and then back to me again. "Me?" she gasped. "Yeah you," I laughed. "You are almost revolting to watch right now. Why are you working?" Paul asked sarcastically. Tiffany's face went red and she sucked in air getting ready to argue with him. "What Paul meant was, why are you in such a good mood?" I asked before something got started but I knew Tiffany wasn't going to let his comment go. Tiffany flicked Paul off but Paul returned it back to her. Tiffany rolled her eyes and flipped her hair and returned her attention back to me. She became a giggly middle school girl. This has to be about a guy.
"Okay, have you ever heard of Ghost Adventures?" She asked. Wait, what? Ghost Adventures? Well, I was way off. What is Ghost Adventures? My stomach started to turn.
"Um... No," was all I could say. I quickly lost all interest. I concentrated on my breathing. I really don't want to suffer another panic attack. Especially since my friends are here and they don't know that I have them. "Are you kidding me? You never heard of Ghost Adventures?" She shook her head disapprovingly. "Good for you Rebecca. You have common sense to stay away from fake shit like that," Paul said. Just keep breathing.... I took a sip of my cappuccino. "Excuse me? Am I talking too you? No! And it's not fake," Tif snapped at him. "Shhh! Geez! Don't get us in trouble. And it is fake. All them paranormal shows are fake. There is no such thing as a ghost or else I would had seen one a long time ago," Paul lowered his face. "Oh please, if I was a ghost, I wouldn't want to be near you either." Before Paul could say something smart, they was both scolded by a old woman who was reading a trashy novel. If I hadn't of been concentrating so hard on not going into a episode, I would had laughed at them.
"Don't listen to him, he doesn't know what he's talking about," Tiffany whispered. "Anyways, it's a great show but it can be scary sometimes. But it's all worth it to see Zak Bagans! He's the lead investigator on the show." I let her babble on about it but I didn't want to play close attention. I didn't want to risk it. "Zak and his crew are here in Henderson right now. He doesn't live that far from here. I'm hoping I get the chance to meet him," she gushed. I laughed at her and try to look like I was paying attention. A crush I could deal with. The other part, I can't. This Zak guy must be a real heart breaker. "I still can't believe you never heard of this show," she said. I cleared my throat. "I don't watch TV that much," I admitted. It wasn't a lie. Tiffany gave me a wide eyed look and then went back to her paperwork. I took a deep breath.
This is going to be a long day.....