Ghost of a Chance

Chapter 7 Death

He knew better. He wanted her so bad though. To have Drew in his arms for just one night though could never be enough. He didn’t know what was to come, but he didn’t want to take everything that she had been holding onto in one night and then be gone the next day. If he was to leave, he would marry her first. At least then he would feel as though he had done the proper thing by her. He would talk to Liza about that. Surely she could arrange a preacher to come here and marry them.

“Drew, I can’t make love to you. As much as…”

There was a loud crashing noise from the living room that made them both jump. Liza came sprinting out of the bedroom with a towel still on her head and Brendan held out his hands asking them to stay put.

He reached the living room and saw that the curtains had been lit with fire around the large window. The window had been busted out and lying on the floor in front of it was a stone with a piece of paper wrapped around it.

He quickly ripped the curtains down and stomped on them. Once he was sure that the fire was out, he bent down and opened it. Drew, who had disobeyed and snuck in behind him, noticed that the writing was in the same symbols that had been spray painted on the walls.

“What does it say?” Drew said over his shoulder.

“It says to get out and that this is your last warning.” “Oh! Is that all?” She said sarcastically. “I thought that maybe it was an invitation to a party or something.”

Brendan whipped around then to face her. He shook the stone in one hand as he pointed at the window with the other. “This is not a joke, Drew! What if you had been in bed? You could have burned to death in your sleep! Do ye not understand what kind of danger you are in?”

“No, Brendan! I don’t understand! I don’t understand a damn thing! It isn’t every day that a woman shares a home with and befriends a ghost! It isn’t every day that that same said woman is threatened by some pissed off witches! If breaking a damn crystal ball is that horrible to them than they shouldn’t have made it out of crystal… crystal breaks! I will go back in the morning and I will apologize. Would that make you feel better? Do you think that is going to fix everything?”

“Drew, are you sure that witches did this?” Liza asked staring at the paper in Brendan’s hand.

“Do you mind?” She asked and held out her hand for the paper.

Brendan hesitated for a moment, when he looked at Drew she shrugged and walked towards the dining room to get the wine so he handed her the paper. Liza sat down then on the couch and looked it over.

“Well, it is Wiccan alphabet” Liza said as Drew came back in with three glasses and a freshly opened bottle of wine “but it doesn’t make any since. If a witch wanted to cause you any harm she would have kept something personal of yours and would have already done the damage with a spell or a hex.”

“I haven’t been missing anything. Maybe they ran out so fast when they were here that they forgot to grab something.” Drew said annoyed. The night wasn’t turning into the glittery fairy tale that she had hoped for.

“They were in your house?” Liza asked.

“Yes, it was just a couple of days ago. When I came home, right after leaving their shop and going to the doctor, there was spray paint on my wall in the same writing as the note.”

“So, you think that they beat you here, had time to spray something on your wall and leave again before you saw them when you would have left the shop before they did?” Liza asked.

Drew sat down next to her friend then. “I went to the doctor after I left the shop, they would have had time while I was there.”

“Not everyone has access to thi s alphabet though. It is a sacred, secret language that they use. Who else could it be?” Brendan asked.

Liza laughed. “Things have changed since your time, honey. You can find out just about anything that you want now days just by Googling it.”

“By what?” He asked confused.

“Never mind that.” Drew said impatiently, “Liza, is there something that you know that you aren’t telling us? I mean, you obviously know that Brendan isn’t just a gay companion.”

“Brendan? If the Wiccan alphabet was such a secret in your time, how do you know it?” Liza asked.

“Liza? How do you know what time he is from?” Drew was starting to get defensive and most definitely suspicious.

“Ok, ladies. Let us calm down and take turns, one person at a time. Let us start with MissDrew. Why ‘tis it that you bought this house in the first place?”

“That is easy. I bought this house because I found a flyer on my front door after I had been evicted from my apartment. I needed a place to stay and it just happened to fall into my very low price range. I’m not afraid of ghosts or witches and so I guess that made me the perfect candidate.” Drew said. “Plus, I fell in love with it the moment that I saw it. What does that have to do with anything?”

“How is it that you received a flyer upon your door? Who left it there?” Brendan asked.

“Well, I don’t know. The old, fat, cigar smoking great something grandson of yours that sold me the place I guess. Why?” Drew asked.

“Were there other flyers on other doors around the town?” Brendan asked.

“I’m not sure. I didn’t go up and down the streets looking at people’s doors. But I suppose mine was the only one I noticed anywhere. Are you by chance implying that someone put that sale ad on my door purposefully?”

Brendan looked at Liza who was looking at the broken window. There was something about the woman. She was hiding something; he could feel it in his newly fashioned bones.

“Alright, so I will go next then.” Brendan said. “I know the witch alphabet because Lezetta taught it to me. Did ye say grandson?”

Drew sucked in air and sat up straight, “You knew that Lezetta was a witch?” She asked in surprise and in disgust.

“Aye,” He said. “You see, she was a good witch, a healer. She made right by people and would never have caused harm to a soul.”

Drew rolled her eyes. “Well, if she was such a good witch then whom the hell killed your sister and who tried to cut my damned face and hand off in the cemetery?”

“I know not the answer, Miss Drew. I believe from the bottom of mine heart that it was not my Lezetta. I also know that I had no children. Where on earth did ye hear such nonsense?”

His Lezetta, Drew thought. Well, wasn’t that just great. Here she was falling in love with the a*shole and he was still claiming another woman as his own. Well, he was a ghost and she was a witch. Maybe they did belong together. Maybe she was just in the way after all. It’s a damn good thing that he hadn’t wanted to sleep with her; he was obviously still in love with the stupid witch.

“Wiccan isn’t all about black magic and torture and murder, Drew. There is a lot of good that comes from Wiccan magic. Just like voodoo. It all depends on whose hands the power is in. It isn’t the power that a person holds that makes the person; it’s what is in the person’s heart to do with the power.” Liza said.

“Well, isn’t that just the sweetest thing I have ever heard in my life? You should put that on a Hallmark card.” Drew said sarcastically as she stood up and headed towards the bedroom.

“Where are you going?” Liza said when she and Brendan both stood up at the same time.

“I’m getting my purse. I’m obviously not going to find anything out sitting on my ass around here with you two.”

“Drew, please wait!” Liza said. “I haven’t gotten tell you what I know.”

Drew stopped and turned around. “Please do, Liza. Please tell me what it is exactly that you know. Because I am sure that you have the answer to all of life and death’s mysteries.” Drew said angrily.

“Drew,” Brendan said putting his hands on Drew’s shoulders, “Sweetheart, please calm down and let us listen to what your friend has to say.”

“I am calm, and I will listen to what my friend has to say but don’t you dare call me Sweetheart.” Drew said pointing her finger into Brendan’s chest.

She couldn’t help but see the hurt in Brendan’s eyes and feel the pain in her own chest.

“You know what? I think I have had enough for one night. Enough!” She yelled as Liza started to speak again. “I’m going to bed. I will call the police about the window tomorrow.”

She turned back towards the hallway then and slammed the door to her bedroom once she was on the other side. She didn’t care what Liza knew. She didn’t care about Brendan and his stupid dead girlfriend. She couldn’t believe how stupid she had been. She had almost given herself to someone who didn’t even love her.

As hard as Drew tried sleep wouldn’t come. She had so much on her mind and the fact that Brendan was pacing the floor above her, back and forth, back and forth didn’t help matters any. What the hell was he doing up there? She tried putting the pillow over her head but that didn’t help either. She started to get up out of bed when she heard a large thump from upstairs and then it was quiet, finally. She assumed that he had finally dropped onto his bed and went to sleep. After a few more minutes of cursing him under her breath she finally went to sleep.

Of course there were dreams. Dreams of being in that great big house all alone. She had never felt emptier inside, and she felt as if she were going to go insane. She ran through the house crying his name, “Brendan? Brendan, please answer me!” He wouldn’t answer her though, he was gone.

When Drew awoke the next morning she had made up her mind that it was time for that talk with Liza and to apologize to Brendan for being so stupid. She knew that it was just jealousy that had made her turn on him like that.

Her first stop was Liza’s room. When she came to the door though it was open and there was no sign of Liza. She went to the front room and looked out of the broken window and saw that Liza’s truck was gone.

“Fine!” Drew said out loud. “You could have at least come to tell me that you were leaving.”

Since she couldn’t talk with Liza she figured she may as well go ahead and face the music with Brendan. First she was going to go and make some coffee. If she was going to confront the man she was going to need a shot of caffeine and a clear mind.

Drew kind of figured that Brendan would have heard her rustling around down stairs and would have joined her by now but he didn’t. Once she finished her coffee and ate a piece of toast she set off to find him.

“Brendan?” She called up the stairs, “Brendan, can we talk please?”

No answer.

“Great.” She said out loud. “He gets a new body and he is going to use it to sleep all of the time.”

She stood at the bottom of the stairs for a moment hesitating. Should she go up there anyway? He had taken her up there the night before. She assumed that was her ok to go. Besides, he had told her that she was welcome to use the library so, why not.

As she headed up the steps she remember the first time that she had attempted to climb them. The cold air had snapped at her and her whole world had changed after hearing his voice for the first time. She walked past the first room and it gave her the chills. Just knowing that someone had died in that very room was unsettling.

When she came to his bedroom door she found it closed. Drew knocked on the door then cleared her throat when there was no answer. “Brendan?” There was still no answer. “Brendan, I’m coming in, we need to talk.”

After waiting another moment to give him one last chance to tell her to get lost she opened the door slowly and stuck her head in. There was no one there. She opened the door further and stepped in to get a better look. The mirror was still turned around she noticed. There was no sign of Brendan.

“He must be downstairs.” She said to herself but something inside told her that she wasn’t going to find him there either.

Drew spent an entire hour searching the house for him. She searched the kitchen and the dining room, she searched the servant’s rooms and the ballroom, she searched every bedroom and bathroom and both sitting rooms, there were no signs of Brendan what so ever.

After calling his name for what seemed to be a million times she remembered her dream from the night before and sat down on the couch and cried. She had been right, last night had been her only chance, and she regretted not taking it. Even if it would have made today ten times harder, she wished that she could have had that one night at least. So, he was gone. He was really gone.

The day went by so slowly. She cried most of it and then had given that up for a soak in the bath. She went up to his room one last time, just to look around and to smell his scent that still lingered in the air, then went to bed and cried herself to sleep.

Brendan wished so much that he could hold her. It was killing him to hurt her this way but he knew that with time it would be better for her. She would heal and be able to live her own life. After pacing the floor the night before he started to rub his face and saw right through his hands. When he dropped to his knees on the floor, the world went to black and he woke up again, just as he had done the night of his murder, in a tunnel with everything fading around him and feeling so cold. He was invisible and that was the way that he knew he would stay, for all of eternity.

Well, it had finally come, the day of Liza’s stupid Labor Day party and Drew wanted to do nothing more than to forget about it and go straight to bed. She had pretty much been a zombie for the past week and she wanted to stay that way.

If Liza hadn’t already called her three times that day making sure that she was still coming she would have just not shown up. She couldn’t let her friend down though. Plus, getting out of the lonely old house was probably the best thing for her right now.

Drew clad in a pair of ripped jeans and a tank top, her favorite gear, stopped at the door to take one last look around. This had been the first time she had left the house since before Brendan had disappeared. She missed him so much. Every day she waited for the piano to play or for him to pop up while she was taking a bath, but he never did and it showed in her mood. She felt as if her heart had been ripped right out of her chest. How could someone that she barely knew have affected her life so much?

“I’m going to town. Do you need anything?” She said and her throat tightened up automatically as there was no reply. She ducked her head down in a slow pout and closed the door behind her.

Brendan stood with his hand on the door, “What on earth would I ever need from town ye silly girl?” He said out loud shivering at the sound of his own voice. It sounded so hopeless and empty.

Drew slowed down as she passed the cemetery. She wondered if Brendan’s spirit now wandered there or if he had moved on to bigger and better things. She knew that evading whoever’s space that had been in there before was probably a bad idea, but maybe they had moved on as well. She decided that she was miserable enough to take that chance. She needed to speak to Brendan, even if he couldn’t answer her.

As she stepped through the gates of the cemetery she immediately felt the temperature drop. She swore that she heard whispering which sent shivers down her spine but kept her shoulders high anyway and walked briskly forward to Brendan’s grave. The limbs that had fallen from the tree that hung above cracked beneath her as she knelt down before his tomb, making her almost jump back up again.

“Relax, Drew, you are here all alone. There is no one else.” She said closing her eyes and laying her head on Brendan’s tomb.

“Brendan, if you ca n hear me, I am so sorry for the way that I acted that last night that we were together. I was jealous and angry and that is no excuse I know, but it’s the truth.” She sat back and sighed. She needed to find the right words, but there were so many of them running in her mind that she didn’t know where to begin.

“I miss you. My house…our house,” she corrected, “isn’t a home without you. I need you there. I’m so lonely, Brendan. I’ve been alone most of my life but I never knew lonely until I lost you. I know that sounds kind of corny, right? Actually, I think it might be a country song, but I hope that you understand what I mean. I understand if you are in a better place and don’t want to come back, but if you aren’t and you want to come back, please hurry"

Drew wiped the tears that fell from her eyes. She felt the warm breeze that had passed her way before and imagined that it was Mary Ann. Maybe this time it was Brendan. Maybe he heard her and was forgiving her and would come back. Something told her that wasn’t true though.

She stood up to leave when something tripped her. Drew looked back to see a root jutting out of the ground beneath Brendan’s grave. She didn’t remember seeing that before. For a moment she thought that she saw Brendan. When she started to run to him someone pushed her back. That’s when she saw her, the one with the bright green eyes and snotty look upon her face. Only this time she didn’t look like a snob, she looked so young, innocent and scared.

“Run, Miss Drew!” The girl said. “’Tis only trickery!”

As much as she wanted to push the girl away and run to Brendan, Drew turned around and ran out of the cemetery. She didn’t know why but she believed the girl. If it had been Brendan in there he wouldn’t have let her leave. Or would he have?

The drive across the Ponchatrain to Liza’s house was long and painful. She had so much on her mind. The thought of suicide had never crossed her mind in her life, no matter how bad life got, but the thought of being with Brendan for all of eternity was very tempting. The dark water far below was calling her name. She shook her head absently as if to clear the thought from her mind forever.

“Drew!” Liza screamed as she came out of her ranch style home surrounded by a white picketfence. Liza’s home was truly the symbol of the picture perfect family. The swing sets in the back yard and the toys that were scattered throughout as well just emphasized the fact even more, and for the second time in her life and in the past couple of weeks, Drew saw the bitter green color of jealousy.

“Hey, Liza.” Drew said, trying to sound cheerful but knew she was lacking.

Liza ran to her and gave her a big hug. “Come on, Sweetie, everyone is around back.”

The night ended up being pretty fun, agains t Drew’s will. Drew had a little bit too much to drink but at least it had helped her to relax, missing Brendan so badly that it hurt and facing other things that she couldn’t explain had taken a toll on her. Liza had invited a few of her fellow teachers and her husband had invited a few of his friends as well. The yard was full of chatter and laughter from the children who were all in their own little world. What she wouldn’t give to be like them, to only worry about which flavor of ice cream you wanted or which game to play next.

When the children started to play a game of spin the statue, Drew couldn’t help but to go back and watch them. One of the boys spun and froze with his arms up in a zombie like pose. When the girl tapped his nose he walked like a zombie but he refused to be a zombie when she guessed what he wasinstead he said that he was a ghost. This made Drew’s eyes tear up. She remembered being young and being afraid of ghosts. Her childhood ghosts were much different than they were now.

As the crowd started to dwindle Drew tried to sneak away as well but she wasn’t quite swift enough to sneak past Liza. “Where do you think that you are going?” Liza asked.

“I’m going home silly.” Drew said as she walked towards the driveway. “It’s getting very late, and I was thinking about taking some paintings to the Quarter tomorrow.”

“Oh, no you aren’t. You know better than to drink and drive, especially when you are riding that metal horse of yours.” Liza was obviously talking about her Harley. It was a general rule of Drew’s not to drink and drive, and like Liza said especially not on the motorcycle but she couldn’t stand to be there another minute. She needed to be home. Even though it was so lonely there, she could still feel his presence, even if she was just imagining it.

“So, we haven’t really gotten to talk, just the two of us I mean, since that night. Why didn’t Brendan come with you? I figured that you two love birds would be inseparable by now.” Liza grinned.

“Because he left, he is no longer with us anymore.” Liza dropped the pile of empty paper plates that she was holding and placed her hand over her mouth.

Wide eyed she asked, “What do you mean he is no longer with us?”

“I mean, Liza that I know that you know very well he was already dead, and that he was the ghost in my house, and you knew that eventually he would move on to a better place and he did. He is gone. I don’t know why you pretended to not know who he was at first, but I am not stupid, I know that you knew.”

“I’m so sorry, Drew. What happened?” Liza’s eyes began to tear up.

“Oh, don’t you cry!” Drew yelled. “I have been trying so hard to hold myself together since that morning when I woke up and you were gone and he was nowhere to be found. I cried myself through that day and I am not going to cry over it anymore. I’m done. He is gone and that is that!”

“Drew, honey, please don’t yell at me. I love you, and I’m not the one that you are angry at. I am so sorry that you are going through all of this pain, but are you sure that he is gone? I mean, where could he have gone really?”

“I don’t know, Liza, wherever it is that people go when they die. I mean wherever they are supposed to go. Maybe all of the commotion that we were making made God realize that he left one behind and so he came and got him. Who the hell knows?”

Liza looked sincerely confused. “I don’t understand.” She said. “Why now?”

“I just said that I don’t know. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” She started to walk away and then turned to Liza again, “You think that I don’t see how you and your family are? Do you think that I don’t want that for myself? Because I do! I never realized until I got to feel Brendan’s lips on mine that I do want all of that. I want the barbecues and the crab boils. I want the parties and the walks in the park. I want the holding hands and the sneaking secret little kisses in when you think that no one is watching. I want that so bad, Liza. I want it with Brendan and I can never have it. It’s not fair! What did I ever do to deserve that? What did I ever do to be given a taste of what love can be and then have it all taken away from me?”

She leaned against her bike now and rubbed her head. She was trying so hard not to cry but the alcohol was getting the better of her emotions.

“Do you love him, Drew? I mean really love him?” Liza asked her friend.

“So what if I do? He is gone. It damn sure doesn’t do me any good now, does it?”

Pamela, Liza’s four year old daughter, stuck her head out of the front door to holler at her mother, “Mamma, are you going to tuck us in or not?” She said with her hands on her hips.

Drew started to turn away then stopped and looked at Liza one last time, “Children.” She said. “Children are so innocent aren’t they? They have no idea what is really out there. Most adults have no idea, Liza.”

“I’ll be right there, Sweetheart!” Liza called back.

“What if he wasn’t gone though?” Liza said to Drew again. “What if he was just waiting for you to say those words to him, those three little magic words that could change both of your lives forever?” Drew thought that Liza was just getting a little bit too excited over a hypothetical situation. It was pissing her off even more that she was toying with her emotions which wasn’t like Liza at all.

“Liza, he is still in love with his Lezetta. It wouldn’t matter if he was here with me right now or not, he doesn’t love me… he loves her.”

Liza seemed to be off in her own world, thinking. So, Drew took the opportunity to climb on her bike before Liza could wrestle her back. “Ok Drew, but do you love him?”

“Good night, Liza.” Drew said and put on her helmet.

Liza was pacing now. She was up to something but Drew had absolutely no idea what it could be. She watched her sit down on the steps of her house and stare off into Liza land.

Drew wasn’t sure what exactly was going on in Liza’s brain and she honestly didn’t really care at that moment. She snuck off on the motorcycle before Liza could come back to reality.

Drew knew better than to drive while intoxicated, especially on a bike and on such a big weekend for sobriety checks as Labor Day weekend. The air had cooled off quite a bit though and it was helping sober Drew up a little. Once she hit the long bridge over the Ponchatrain the air was so cool on her skin that she was shivering. Why hadn’t she thought to bring a jacket?

Driving into New Orleans, it never ceased to amaze her how the city never seemed to sleep. There was constant traffic and lights that never seemed to burn out. She tried to avoid downtown as much as possible and stayed on one of the main highways for as long as she could.

She finally made it to her drive and was thankful that she hadn’t gotten in a wreck or into any trouble with the law for drinking and driving. The goose bumps that had already spread over her entire body seemed to reach down deep into her soul as she drove past the cemetery. She tried not to even look in its direction, afraid of what she may see.

When she walked in the front door she was so over whelmed with his presence that she dropped on the couch and began to cry.

“I miss you so much, Brendan. If only I had gotten to see you one last time. I didn’t even get to tell you good bye. I didn’t realize it before or I just didn’t want to admit it but I love you. I love you so much!”

She sobbed and sobbed until she couldn’t find the strength to sob anymore. She got up and went to the kitchen for a glass of wine. Instead of grabbing a glass though she opted to drink out of the bottle. She figured that she was probably going to drink the whole damn thing anyway before she ended up puking, passing out, or maybe even both.

When she walked into her bedroom taking her fifth chug on the way there from the kitchen, she saw him sitting on the edge of the bed and dropped the bottle.

“Brendan?” She said through tears. “How?” She ran to him then and threw her arms around him. “I’ve missed you so much, Brendan. Where did you go? How are you here?”

“I don’t know.” He said pulling her face up and staring into her eyes. “Did I hear you say that you loved me?” Drew was speechless. So what if she did love him? He didn’t love her back.

“Yes, I did say that. It doesn’t matter does it, and what do you mean that you heard me? You weren’t here! You couldn’t have heard me!” She said, drawing away.

“I’ve been here all along, Love. I just thought it would be better if you didn’t have to think of me anymore. I didn’t want to hurt you. I was invisible again, I didn’t want you to have to go through all of that loneness, I’m so sorry, Sweetheart.” He said reaching for her hand.

“Don’t touch me!” She said pulling back. “You have listened to me call your name time and time again this past week! You have heard me crying for you! You thought that it would be better to just disappear completely out of my life? How could you possibly believe that” Drew’s head was spinning. She wasn’t sure if it was the wine or the emotions. Whichever it was she knew her brain had just had too much. “And once you saw that it wasn’t true, how could you just cower in the corners watching me and not do or say anything?”

Just as Brendan started to speak they heard the front door slam against the wall. Brendan grabbed Drew and pulled her close to him then told her to stay put this time. As he started to walk out of the room he heard Liza screaming frantically at Drew.

“Drew? Drew, damn it, I can’t believe that you drove all the way home on that blasted motorcycle after you had been drinking!”

Liza was obviously furious. Drew couldn’t believe that she had driven all the way there though, just to yell at her.

“Liza, what are you doing here?” Drew asked as she pushed her way past Brendan into the living room.

“I was so worried about you that I had to make sure that you made it home safely!” Liza looked over then and saw Brendan standing by the bed. “Oh, Oh!” Liza exclaimed. “I thought that you said he was gone!”

Drew rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I thought that he was. Now, all of a sudden he is back and telling me that he never left. He obviously just enjoyed watching me suffer.”

“Drew,” Brendan said calmly, “ it is not the truth. I did not think that I could come back to you in this form. If I could not be with you, the way that you deserve, I thought it best to let you get on with your life, the way that it was before you ever met me.”

Liza seeing that Drew had made it home safely and knowing that the two of them needed time on their own to make their love work and to break the spell that had too long ago been placed on them both, quietly snuck out of the door smiling.

“Brendan,” Drew said, running her fingers through her helmet tussled hair and pacing the floor, “my life was so… different, I guess is the right word, before you “poofed” your way into it. I had a job that I hated, I had no place to live, I had a past that I couldn’t stomach, and the only person that I had in the world that I could depend on was Liza. You have given me so much. I know that it is crazy.” She walked to him then and took his hands in hers. When she looked in his eyes she saw confusion. She wished that she could remove Lazetta from his heart and his memory forever.

“What in either one of our lives is normal though? Nothing makes any since. It doesn’t matter though because while you were pretending to be off in the unknown somewhere, I was learning that as much as things didn’t make sense, it made more sense having you in my life than my life ever made sense before. Does that make sense?”

Brendan laughed. Drew was obviously at a loss for words but he caught her meaning in her eyes. She loved him and that made all of the sense in the world.

He pulled her toward him and placed her arms around his strong neck then picked her up and carried her to her bedroom.

“Miss Drew, I want to help you put your past behind you. I want to show you that there is more to life than to be afraid all of your waking days. I want to show you that there is more to making love than just wickedness that men desire. That isif you’ll have me. I promise I will never hurt you again.”

Drew doubted that last part. She knew that he would hurt her again, one day when she needed his confirmation on his love for her. He would tell her that his heart is with Lazetta and not with her. She didn’t care now. She wanted him, and it was time to let everything else go.

She was just about to tell him so when there was a knock on the door. Before Drew could get to it though, Liza opened it and poked her head in.

“I’m so sorry. I know I should probably just let you two be alone but…”

Liza knew it was time to talk. She had to get out the truth so that they could live their lives happily with each other. So that Brendan could have his second chance of life and Drew could finally come to terms with her life.

“Drew, there is a history in my family that I never mentioned before to you because I wasn’t really a part of it before and because I thought you wouldn’t be my friend anymore. On the same day that you got an eviction notice, I received a phone call from my mother who had received a phone call from her mother.” She said facing her.

“My Nana has told me the story of the O’Keefe’s and of my great-greatgreat grandparents, Lezetta O’Keefe and Brendan O’Keefe.” She looked up at Brendan then with an apologetic smile. “You see, Brendan and Lezetta were my great-greatgreat grandparents.”

“That is not possible!” Brendan yelled. “Lezetta and I never made love, and we were never married. We were engaged to be married this is true, but she wanted to wait until our wedding night which never came. It is not possible that you could be who you say!”

Drew was up pacing now. It seemed that everything in her life had lead up to this moment, to this house and these people. Something told her thatit wasn’t coincidence.

Liza looked back at Drew now. “I’m only telling you this because that is what I was told by my Nana. You see, there has been a bond in the sister hood that has been passed down for quite some time, one that I am now supposed to carry out.”

“Youare a witch as well?” Brendan asked.

“You’re a witch?” Drew echoed.

“Sort of, it is in my blood but I had always chosen not to use it. I have been sworn into the sisterhood, yes, and it is my duty to help where I can, but I don’t practice Wicca or LeBlanc on a regular basis.” Liza replied.

“Wow, this just gets better and better.” Drew shook her head and then sat back down to rest her head in her hands. “Did you put the flyer on my door, Liza?” Drew asked.

“Yes, I did. I’m so sorry. My Nana’s instructions were to get you to this house. When you were evicted I saw the opportunity. Everything happens for a reason. It is all written in the stars. You can’t just change the stars!” She apologized.

“So, if you were told to murder me righ t now, would you do that as well?” Drew asked through tears that had begun to burn her throat.

Liza looked down at her hands. “I couldn’t do that, Drew. I didn’t think that you were in any real danger moving into this home. If you will remember correctly, I am the one that told you that you were crazy for moving into this house. I didn’t know about Brendan or the house or the cemetery until after I came to visit you and you had drawn all of those pictures. I could see in the chalk drawing of Brendan and Lezetta and Mary Ann that you drew that something was wrong, very wrong. So, I went to my mother to find out more.”

“What did ye find out, Liza. Please tell us all that you know.” Brendan chimed in.

“I found out that my great something grandmother was born in 1860 by a Brendan and Lezetta O’Keefe…”

“Lezetta died in 1859 and I in the same year.” Brendan said. “So, you see that is not possible.”

“Your tomb says that you died in 1860.” Drew said.

“Nay, it was only a month after Lezetta was burned that I was murdered myself.”

“What month did Lezetta die in?” Liza asked. “June, St. John’s day. The people believed that Lezetta had used Mary Ann as a sacrifice on the eve of their celebration.” Brendan said.

“My family history states that she died in Feb ruary of 1860 giving birth to her daughter and that Brendan, that would be you, hung yourself three days later right over her grave.”

“ This is true, I was heartbroken for my sister and for Lezetta but I did not kill myself. That I know for a fact. I also know that both Lezetta and Mary Ann were killed the same day in June of 1859. Lezetta was burned on my property in front of the house while I was trying to view the body of my dead sister.”

Drew stood up and took Brendan’s hands. “Brendan, this is very important, did you see the body of Lezetta with your own eyes?”

“Nay, ‘twas nothing but burning bones when I returned. Only the ring that I had given her myself lay in the pile of ash and bones at my feet.”

Liza and Drew looked at each other then. Something told them both that those hadn’t been Lezetta’s bones lying at Brendan’s feet. But that didn’t explain how she could have had Brendan’s child if he had died three days after her original tombstones date. Ugh, it was all so confusing. According to Brendan he died a few days after Lezetta but according to Liza, Lezetta died eight months after Brendan had hung himself on Lezetta’s grave which, according to Brendan, didn’t happen at all. The fact was though that there were descendants and there were two graves with two dead bodies. At least there was supposed to be!

“Brendan, why is it that you don’t want anyone to go upstairs?” Drew asked.

“That is where I was murdered and where I always end up. ‘Tis my own personal hell up there I suppose.”

“Well, would you mind if we went up there?” Liza asked.

“I’m not ready for anyone to go there yet. I can’t see when I am in that room. Everything is black. I would like to go there first, in my new state, before I can allow you up there. Do you understand?I need to be able to see it for myself.”

“Brendan? I’ve seen the light on in there before. If you can’t see when you are there then how do you know where you are?”

“The door is always open, love. It won’t close. The light shines in there through the door way but ‘tis a long room. I cannot see all the way to the back. I cannot see where my body lies, and I’ve never seen the light on in there.”

Drew and Liza gasped at the same time. “Are you saying that your body is still up there?” Liza said.

“I never saw anyone come in and get it. So, I assume it is.” Brendan said sadly.

“Ok, hold the phone!” Drew stood up and almost fainting grabbed the back of the couch.

“Brendan,” she said trying to catch her breath, “are you saying that your dead and rotting corpse is upstairs in a room, right above our heads?”

“Drew!” Liza said, “How about a little bit of love for our friend?” She smiled at Brendan apologetically.

“Love? He is a ghost, Liza! As much as he has made himself look human, and a very good looking one at that,” Drew added when she looked him up and down, “how could I love him? He isn’t real. Once he figures out what the hell happened to him and his body is properly buried where will he go then?”

She started to pace the room then once she found her balance. “He won’t be returning to his death bed above the stairs anymore, Liza, he will be going to heaven, if there is one, or to his new grave just like his sister and Lezetta. He isn’t going to stay, Liza! He will be gone and then what?” She walked towards the door then. “I am supposed to be alone all over again? I can’t handle it! I don’t want any part of it.”

With that she ran out the door and slammed it behind her. Liza and Brendan heard her start up the Harley and peel out. Liza started after her but before she could get out of the door Brendan grabbed her arm.

“Let her be. She has a lot of emotions to sort through and I don’t blame her for anything that she said. She will come back as she has nowhere else to turn and she knows that this is her home, not just her house.”

Liza started to protest, “In the mean time,” Brendan said sternly making Liza shut her mouth, “you have some explaining to do. I wasn’t born yesterday, dear heart. You are hiding something else.”

Liza cleared her throat then with a glare she shook Brendan’s hand off of her arm and walked toward the kitchen. “I brought something for Drew the last time a came over, it’s an Ouija board. I didn’t realize that you two had already gotten so closely acquainted, I thought that it may help bring you two together.”

“A what?” Brendan asked.

“Oh, I guess they didn’t come out until the late nineteenth century.” Liza said. “Um, well, I will show you.” She said as he followed her to the kitchen. She reached into the large brown paper bag and pulled out a box. She sat the box on the table and took the lid off.

Brendan, standing over her shoulder, saw a board with letters, numbers, a yes and a no at the top of the board, and good bye at the bottom. Underneath the board she pulled out some sort of wooden contraption with legs and what looked like a glass window in the middle of it.

“An Ouija board.” Liza said, pointing at the board. “You use it to speak to spirits. You ask them questions and they are supposed to answer them by spelling out words or by pointing to the yes or no.”

“If ye want to know something all ye have to do is ask me.” Brendan said. “I’m right here.”

“Yes, I realize that now. Maybe we can use it to speak to someone else, Lezetta perhaps or maybe even Mary Ann.”

“Aye!” He said grabbing the board and shaking it.

“Hold on there, Mr. Pirate!” Liza said, gently taking the board from his hands. “Let’s go sit it in the living room. I’m not sure how it is going to work with you already being a spirit and all.” She poked the flesh on his hand then with her finger. “Well, sort of. On the plus side, Drew must love you or you wouldn’t still be standing here.”

Drew was heading down the driveway ready to get the hell out of dodge when she saw the candles burning in the cemetery. “What the hell?” She said to herself and slammed to a stop, fish tailing the bike and almost flipping over.

She caught herself then stomped toward the cemetery. She wasn’t going to let some bitch that was buried six feet under scare her. This was her property and she could have them removed any time that she wanted. Well, maybe not legally though she didn’t imagine that the law came out here checking on old grave sites too often.

“Is someone there?” Drew hollered into the gate. No answer. She was tired of that too. Damn spirits just seemed to pop up and talk or move things around whenever they felt like it. At their own damned convenience.

“Ok, I’m coming in. I’m ready to talk. I know you can talk to me. Brendan talks to me all of thetime.” Just then she felt a cold breeze that sent chills up her spine.

“Fine, we don’t have to talk about him. We can talk about whatever you want.” She walked towards Lezetta’s grave where the candles were burning. All of a sudden they blew out one by one leaving it very dark inside of the cemetery, leaving nothing but the moonlight shining on Brendan’s grave.

“Great.” She said aloud. She stopped in front of his grave and ran her hand over his name and the dates. “If you are still in the house thenwho is in here?”

Just then she felt another harsh cold breeze in her face. She felt someone strong and tall pick her up and throw her against the fence behind her. She screamed before she hit the fence. The spirit picked her up again and threw her into Brendan’s tomb. Just before she hit her head on the tombstone she heard a deep male laughter. If she would have had time, she was sure it would have given her goose bumps.

Liza and Brendan had just sat down in front of the Ouija board when they heard a faint scream. “Drew!” Brendan said then ran out of the front door. Liza tried to follow after him but he disappeared right in front of her eyes.

“Shit!” She said. She looked up at the stairs to see if he would emerge from the open door. She saw nothing at first. Then she saw a faint light. “Brendan?” She whispered.

“Go. Please, go and save her.” He said faintly.

Something was wrong, Liza thought. The curse wasn’t going the way that it was supposed to. She was just there to give them a little bit of a push. What happened? He went from being flesh and blood to a faint light and a very small echo of a voice. He should be walking her through the gardens by now. Why he was still stuck in that damned house was beyond her.

She would have to deal with him later. First she had to find out what was happening to Drew. driveway trying to listen for another nothing. As she approached the cemetery she saw the candles burning. “Shit! Shit!” She said. There was something going on here and it couldn’t be good.

She ran down the scream. She heard

Liza entered the cemetery at the speed of a snail. She was familiar with witchcraft. It was in her blood. She was into the white witch craft though. She didn’t mess with the darkness and she could feel in her witchy bones when she saw Drew lying unconscious on top of Lezetta’s grave with candles lit around her that there was no kind of white magic going on here.

“Drew?” She whispered when there was no one around it seemed. “Drew? What is going on?”

Wh en Drew didn’t answer she looked around as far as she could see in the candle light. She sneaked in a little closer to Drew trying not to disturb whatever was going on there without being caught. She could hear whispers but she wasn’t sure where they were coming from.

All of a sudden there was a loud boom and the ground shook beneath Liza’s feet. She tried to catch her balance but instead fell into Drew’s limp body. Liza caught a glimpse of the tombstone that lay at Drew’s head. For a brief moment it was cracked open. Then, right before her eyes she watched it slowly begin to close.

She had seen enough. She shook Drew to try and wake her but there was no movement. “Damn it, Drew!” She yelled at her friend. “We have got to get the hell out of here.”

Liza threw Drew’s arm over her shoulder and pulled her down off of the grave. Drew was by far stronger than Liza but luckily she seemed to be skinny as a damn rail these days. She dragged her across the cold cemetery floor and as she crossed through the iron gate she heard a woman scream and then laughter that chilled her to the bone. When she was on the other side of the fence she heard a young girl’s voice scream, “No!”

“That place has serious issues.” Liza said breathlessly as she looked back at the cemetery that had grown dark. It seemed that the moonlight didn’t even want to be within it any more.

She pulled Drew into the doorway as far as she could and with all of the breath that she could muster up she yelled, “A little help here!” and fell to the floor in front of her friend.

She opened her eyes and then watched a very transparent Brendan carry Drew to her bedroom. He laid her on her bed and then knelt down beside her.

“Good to see you coming back into yourself.” Liza said as she sat on the other side of Drew.

“Is she alright?” Brendan asked. “I think so. She has a pretty good sized knot on her head but other than that she just needs to rest.” Liza said with an uneasy look as she held her hand on Drew’s head.

“What is it?” Brendan asked.

“I’m not sure. She is breathing ok. She doesn’t seem to be herself though.”

“Do ye think?” Brendan asked sarcastically.

Liza had to laugh. She was sure that if Brendan knew what he sounded like compared to the people today he would understand why what he had just said sounded so funny to her ears.

“I’m sorry.” She said looking serious again. “I mean that everyone has ora around them. Drew’s is hard to tell because she changes color all of the time. She is a very moody person. Obviously, otherwise you two would be married and starting a family by now.” She tried to explain when Brendan cocked an eyebrow.

“There is something else that I can’t really explain; it is just something that I have learned from healing. You know how everyone has their ownscent?” She asked him.

“Aye, I suppose.” He replied.

“Well, it’s sort of like that. There is still a hint of Drew’s scent, however there is something else there that wasn’t there before.”

“You mean like this ring on her finger?” Brendan said as he lifted Drew’s hand and eyed the Claddagh ring that he had given to Lezzetta so many years before, seeing it on Drew’s delicate hand made his stomach turn.

Brendan carefully put her hand back to her side then reached out and wiped the hair from Drew’s brow. He then kissed her lips gently. “She is the most beautiful creature I have ever seen. The first time that I saw her sleeping I thought that God had finally sent an Angel to save me.”

Liza saw that Brendan was coming back. She could almost see him completely again. “You two really are meant to be together, aren’t you?” She said.

“I hope so.” He said letting a tear run down his face.

“I think it is time that we tap into the other side, Brendan.” Liza said softly. “There is a lot going on out in that cemetery that I think we may need to know about.”

They left Drew to rest in the bedroom and came back out into the living room to sit in front of the Ouija board again. “Would you like another glass of wine?” Liza asked grabbing the bottle that they had sat next to the couch.

“No, I don’t believe that my body is up to the simple pleasures again just yet. I seem to have lost some of the sensations that I had from before. I couldn’t feel Drew’s soft lips.” She saw that his eyes were beginning to tear up but he wouldn’t let them fall.

“Ok, let’s just get started. Put your hand on the pointer.” Liza said as she did the same. “Now, in order for this to work properly you have to barely touch it. Don’t try to move it yourself, just let the spirits guide.”

Liza realized that what she was saying was ridiculous considering there was already a spirit on the board.

“I’m not exactly sure how to get this going.” She said as she closed her eyes. “Is anyone there?” They waited but the pointer didn’t move. “Maybe we should call for your sister?” Liza asked.

“Aye, I would like to speak with her. She tried to contact me once before.”

“She did?” Liza asked wide eyed. “What did she say? If she contacted you before then this should be easy.” Liza said then they both looked down quickly as the whole board shook furiously.

“Hello?” Liza asked. “Mary Ann? Are you here with us?” She looked at Brendan then with an assuring but nervous smile.

“Mary Ann? We need your help honey. I think Drew is with you. I think that Drew has joined you in death.”