Page 10 of Ghosted

She twirled a lock of hair between her thin fingers, as if deep in thought. Then, slowly, a devilish smile spread across her face, and I knew whatever she was about to say, I wasn’t going to like it.

“Fine,” she said after a long pause. “I’ll give him a chance.”

“You will?” I said, floating forward hopefully.

She held up a hand. “Not so fast. You want to come back to life? Okay, but first you have to prove yourself. Show me that you’ve changed.”

I frowned. “And how do you want me to do that?”

Her grin grew wider. “First, I think you should apologize to all the women you’ve ghosted before.”

I stared at her, my brain struggling to process the words. “You…you can’t be serious.”

Her laughter rang out, sharp and mocking. “Oh, but I am. You want redemption, Casper? Then you need to make amends. Every. Single. One.”

I felt like the ground had just dropped out from under me. The idea of tracking down every woman I’d left hanging—it was impossible. There had been…well, probably more of them than I cared to admit. And the thought of facing each and every one of them, admitting my bad…I’d be sweating already if I had any flesh to sweat from.

“You can’t really mean that,” I stuttered.

Morticia leaned in, her eyes gleaming. “Oh, but Casper…I do.”

Before I could respond, Morticia’s form shimmered, and then, with a snap of her fingers, she vanished into thin air, leaving only the faint echo of her laughter behind.

I stood there in stunned silence, my head spinning as I tried to wrap my mind around what had just happened.

Beside me, Tabitha let out a long breath. “Well,” she said, “that went well.”

Chapter Five

“More and More Apologies”

Tabitha

The night had crept in fully by the time we returned to my apartment, the quiet outside only amplifying the strange, electric tension in the air. As I set down my bag and kicked off my boots, Casper drifted in after me, a faint smile playing on his face as he took in the cozy clutter of my little living room.

“Feel like getting a pizza for dinner?” he asked casually, as if we’d been doing this for years.

“Pizza?” I repeated, slightly baffled. Then it hit me. “But I thought you didn’t need to eat anymore?”

He shrugged with a casual grin. “I don’t. But I figured you might not be in the mood to cook after everything.”

Touched by his consideration, I nodded. “That’s very thoughtful. And you’re right—I’d rather avoid the kitchen tonight.”

I ordered a large pepperoni pie with mushrooms and extra cheese, because cold pizza is the breakfast of champions. Then, I poured myself a glass of wine, ready to settle in after one of the strangest days of my life. As the deep currant liquid swirled in my glass, though, Morticia’s ominous words echoed in my head. There she’d been, standing in the corn maze in all her couture, telling me to steer clear of Casper like he was some cursed trinket.

My eyes flickered over to him, hovering near the couch with a solemn expression. Could I really trust him? Sure, he seemed sincere now. But what if I helped him come back to life, and then he simply…ghosted me again?

As if he could sense my thoughts, Casper sighed, his transparent form shimmering a little. “You know, I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want to help me from here, Tabitha. You, Morticia…the other women I left high and dry…you all have every reason to be angry.”

His selflessness took me by surprise, but I kept silent, letting him finish.

“When I was alive, I thought that avoiding the conversation entirely was better than telling them I wasn’t interested. I honestly believed it was kinder somehow. Looking back, I know now how wrong I was. They didn’t deserve that. You didn’t deserve that.” He met my gaze with an intensity Ihadn’t seen before. “I’m learning a lot from this experience. And whether or not you choose to stick around, I want you to know I do value what we have.”

Something in his words warmed me, like the soft glow from a candle. I could sense his remorse was genuine. Still, after everything, I needed to be careful. So I leaned back, resting my glass on my knee. “Alright,” I said softly. “I’m willing to take a chance on you. On us.”

Relief washed over his face, and he shot me a grateful smile. “Thank you, Tabitha. Really.”

Just then, the doorbell rang, and I hurried to grab the pizza. After snagging a couple of slices, I curled up on the couch, wine in hand, and tossed Casper a smile as I took my first bite. “I was about to offer you some wine, but…”

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