Page 5 of Ghosted

I drifted lower, closer to the floor, watching her pace the small galley kitchen. Her delicate hands were shaking, and I hated that I was the reason for it.

“Tabitha,” I said quietly, trying not to startle her. “I know this is a lot. I don’t expect you to understand it all right now.”

She stopped pacing and looked at me, her eyes narrowing. “What in the world do you expect me to do then?”

She had a point. I didn’t have the faintest clue as to a plan. But I had to come up with one—and fast.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, floating closer to her, hoping she wouldn’t take off running.

She shook her head, her expression a mix of frustration and disbelief. “Should I Google ancient resurrection spells? Make some sort of witches’ brew with fermented frog legs? I don’t believe in this stuff, Casper. Ghosts, magic, curses—it’s all just…fiction. You’re asking the wrong person.”

I lowered myself until I was just a few feet from her. I wished I could reach out, touch her, hold her like I had that night, but that was impossible now. “You might not believe in it, but Sweetberry Hollow? It’s full of things like this. And it’s all real, but I think you already know that. Somewhere deep down, you’ve always known.”

Tabitha bit her lip, her gaze dropping to the floor. She didn’t want to believe it. That much was obvious. Sweetberry Hollow wasn’t like other places. It had its own energy, its own…secrets. If anyone could help me, it was someone like her—someone who had lived here long enough to know how strange things could be.

Finally, she looked back up at me, her brown eyes filled with a mix of emotions—confusion, anger, sadness, and gave the merest hint of a nod. “Where do we begin?” She asked softly.

I exhaled with relief. “I need your help to find the person who did this to me.”

Her smooth ivory brow furrowed, confusion taking over again. “The person who killed you?”

I nodded. “Yeah. And that’s the part I didn’t get to explain yet.”

Tabitha folded her arms across her chest, leaning against the counter, her posture defensive. “Well, now’s the time. Who murdered you and did they have a good motive?”

I swallowed hard, knowing that this was going to sound crazy. But then again, I was already dead and talking to her from beyond the grave, so I guess we were past the point of worrying about crazy.

“You remember that girl I mentioned on our second date?” I asked, my voice quiet, almost hesitant. “The one I used to date, Morticia?”

Tabitha raised an eyebrow, her lips tightening into a thin line. “Yeah. I remember. The one you said you weren’t really into anymore.”

“Right. Well, turns out she’s a witch. And not just the weird, crystal-collecting kind. The actual, wicked kind.”

Tabitha stared at me, clearly not buying it. “A wicked witch? Are you kidding me?”

I shook my head. “Believe me, I wish I was. Apparently, she didn’t take it too well when I…um…ghosted her. She cursed me, Tabitha. She killed me.”

Tabitha’s expression shifted from disbelief to something colder, harder. “I see. You did the same thing to her that you did to me. And now you want me to fix it?”

“That’s not what happened,” I said quickly, hoping she would hear the sincerity in my voice. “I thought if I just put some distance between Morticia and me, she’d get the message andback off. Okay, so maybe I might have a fear of confrontation. But she got angry. Really angry. She came after me. I didn’t know she was a witch, and I sure as hell didn’t know she could curse me and take my life away. But now I’m stuck here, and we have to find her.”

Tabitha’s expression didn’t soften. If anything, it hardened. “Why me, Casper? What makes you think I would be remotely inclined to help you with this situation?”

I hesitated, not usually being so transparent with my feelings. But at this point, I kind of had no choice but to wear my heart on my sleeve. “There’s something about you, Tabitha. Something…special. We have a connection. I felt it the moment we met. You’re different. You might not believe in this stuff, but Sweetberry Hollow does. This town has its own magic, and whether you know it or not, I suspect you’re connected to it somehow.”

Tabitha’s eyes widened, her lips parting slightly. “Connected to it? You think I have some kind of magic power or something? I don’t even believe in this stuff.”

“I know you don’t,” I said gently. “But I do. I don’t know what I believed before, but things have obviously changed. All I know that whatever magic is in this town, I think it runs through you, too. Whether you want to accept it or not.”

She let out a frustrated sigh, turning around and putting her glass in the sink with a clink. “This is insane, Casper.”

I saw her shoulders drop slightly as she stood there, as if the tension was easing just a little. I hoped that meant I was getting through to her.

Finally, she turned, her brown eyes meeting mine again, filled with uncertainty. “Okay. I’ll help you. But if you’re lying to me, Casper…I swear I’ll find a way to kill you off for good.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that. Even in the middle of all this chaos, Tabitha was still Tabitha. Fierce. Strong. Beautiful.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” I said softly. “Whatever happens, I’m going to protect you. And when I come back to life, I’ll prove to you that I meant everything I’ve said about how I feel about you—about us.”

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