Page 10 of Chasing Ghosts
“You're stronger than that.” She puts her hand on mine and looks me right in the eyes. “You know that, right?”
“I'm not sure about being stronger,” she just went to the heart of my deepest worries, “but I know I…I’m sick and tired of not knowing the why of it all, and I want to find out more than ever now.”
“You’ll find them, sweetie. I know you will. And you are not your aunt. You have people who will believe in you and help if you ever need it.”
“Thank you, Roxie. That means…so much.”
“Anytime. And I mean that. Anytime, day or night. I’ll be there, so don’t you worry, hon. We’ll find those answers for you.”
After she leaves, I sit for a little while in the feelings bombarding me. Happiness that I found Roxie and told someone other than my grandmother. Sadness that I’m going home tomorrow…and that Mac was so…well, not who I thought he was. And why did he have to discuss me with Ripley of all people? Just out of curiosity, when did he tell her he wanted me off the island? The first night we came to the island when she spent the night? The time they spent on the boat? Or did they go home with one another the night of the first meeting when he acted like I was something he scraped off his shoe?
I know I shouldn’t be upset, but damn it, there’s an ache in my heart that feels like it’s only going to grow. Is it disappointment I didn’t get a chance to work with him or…something else?
Yeah, okay. I can admit that I was -am- attracted to him. Who wouldn’t be? He’s…perfect. Those eyes, that charm, the smile, all of it just makes him magnetic, and I was kind of wonderstruck meeting him and speaking with him and being a part of something with him.
I fall asleep thinking about him. In my dreams, I’m alone again. In my sleep, I walk up the stairs to Room Twelve and open the door -something I would never do when I’m awake. Infront of me, a man and a woman are in bed together…making love. I can only see her from behind, her hair loose and flowing down her back as she swivels her hips. Sounds that can only be associated with sex come from the room, and even though I don’t want to step inside, I realize I have to.
I come to stand at the end of the bed while never taking my eyes off the couple. The way she is moving against the man is sensual and erotic on an elemental level. The muscles in her back flex and clench as she moves, while the man under her moans out in pleasure. I should be disturbed by the fact that I am in the same room with two people while they are having sex, but, for some reason, I’m not ashamed or disgusted with myself. There is something almost natural about being in the room.
Even though it feels natural, I still drag my feet going around the bed so I can see who the two lovers are. I do eventually step up to the side of the bed and gasp at what I am seeing. The two people in bed…they look like…! The female on top looks like…me! She has my face, my eyes, my hair. My eyes look down even as some part of me, fully lucid, screams not to look. The man under the doppelganger me has me gasping even harder.
“Oh God!” I say the words, but no sound comes out as I take in the face…of Mac Temple. Clone-me stops rocking her hips and notices me for the first time. Her eyes…aren’t normal. They almost burn with something lit from within that I don’t have inside my own.
“Love’s the only way!!!” Her voice is so loud and jarring that I jump back from the bed only to have her reach out and grab me by the arm. “Love is the only way!!! Now run!!!”
The skin burns where she touches, and no matter how hard I try to pull away from her, I can’t. My heart is beating so hard and fast, I think it might fly out of my chest, and the Clone-Mac looks up at me and screams over the clone-me.
“Cori! Wake up!”
My eyes flash open as I struggle to get my breathing under control. It takes me a few blinks before I realize what is in front of me. And where I am.
“M…Mac?”
“What the hell is going on?!”
Oh shit! How did I get down to the dock, and how the fuck is Mac here with me? Why? What is going on? And what have I done?
Chapter Nine
Mac
The last thing I remember is playing back the recordings Roxie and Cori took in Room Twelve and really listening to what I was hearing. Now, I’m standing in front of her…on the fucking dock! In the rain!
Yeah, I saw the video feed of something touching Cori’s hair so much it lifts it off her shoulder, and yeah, I heard the response to the questions being asked.
Are you Mr. Anders?
Reverend.
The damned thing said Reverend, correcting Roxie.
Was this your room when you lived here?
Thirteen
What do you want?
Thirteen
