The clock flashed 3AM. Music was blasting through the radio – it was Bruised and Scarred by Mayday Parade; Rebecca and I’s favorite song. We were singing aloud at the top of our lungs and dancing in our seats. She started making funny faces and dancing like a loon, her long brown hair dancing in the wind behind her head. I was laughing, one hand on the wheel as I drove down the dark highway at 65 miles per hour. We passed a few lit up buildings and our eyes connected – her hazel and my blue – for just that one second. I turned back to the road and nearly screamed, slamming my foot on the brakes.
I prayed to every god imaginable and thanked them for seat-belts as my car slid to a stop in the middle of the road. It was so late, there were no cars in sight and I was grateful for that, too. A giant buck was sitting in the middle of the road before me, staring imperiously at me in between my headlights. He was lucky I hadn’t hit him, but I think my car was pretty lucky, too. “You okay, Becca?” I asked, nervously, glancing over at her to make sure even as she nodded shakily.
I heard a click as she unbuckled her seat-belt. “I’m going to see if I can herd him out of the way,” she said bravely and I wasn’t surprised – she’d always been an animal nut. She was reaching for the door when I heard it. It was a loud zooming noise and I grabbed her arm. “What’s that noise?” I asked, biting my lip.
She tilted her head and I could tell she heard it too, but she couldn’t tell where it was coming from. My eyes scanned the area – the buck was in the middle of the road still, no cars were on the right, a road to the left that was merging into the highway, and... I paused and looked back. I could see headlights in the distance and I sighed in relief. “It’s just a truck or something,” I said, dismissively, pointing to the light, but I still had a really bad feeling in my gut.
Rebecca squinted down the lane before turning back to me, pushing her glasses up the bridge off her nose, her thick, bushy hair blocking my view. “Okay, I should probably handle the buck, then. We need to get him off the road as soon as possible.” The bad feeling kicked at me again and when I realized I still had a grip on her arm, I tightened it. I could tell she was confused. So was I. I just suddenly didn’t want her to get out.
“Rebecca,” I started, before the world exploded. I was being flipped, cut, and jerked around; all I could see was glass shattering, crushed metal, and a body flying… When everything stopped, I was disoriented and upside down. I was confused. I tasted copper and felt warm sticky liquid all over my body. I didn’t know why I was crying until I felt sharp pains throughout my body.
“B-Becca… Becca…” I groaned, jerking weakly at my seat-belt. A moment of darkness… I had my cell phone in my hand… I called 911… voices in my ear… somebody sobbing… was it me? “H-Help,” I cried, before gasping in pain. “Help us, please.” Someone asked me where I was… I couldn’t think. “Driving,” I muttered. “We were driving…” I couldn’t breathe and black spots were encroaching on my vision, but I whispered,” Highway I72,” before losing consciousness.
----
“Miss Caern?” said an unfamiliar voice. I heard a more familiar tone call my name – Brooklyn. Brooklyn Caern, yes… that was my name. I was sixteen, I remembered. I had black hair, blue eyes. I had a best friend named Rebecca – my eyes shot open. My first thought was: “Why is everything so white?” My second thought was: “Where’s Rebecca?”
Apparently, I’d voiced my questions out loud because I heard a relieved chuckle at my first comment and then I saw my mother Elizabeth’s face… that froze at my question. I narrowed my eyes, my brain moving along sluggishly. All I knew was that I had to know Becca was okay – “Where’s Rebecca?” I asked again – trying to sound demanding, but only managing to cough up a lung. I was fed a straw and I slurped cold, refreshing water from the tube – I’d never felt so grateful to a piece of plastic. When I had drank my full, I cleared my throat and looked my mother straight in the eyes – her brown, doe eyes; kind smile; frizzy black hair didn’t help my cause – and repeated my question.
My mother glanced at the nurse, who nodded. A familiar feeling in the pit of my gut formed. My mother took my hand – my suspicions grew. Our eyes connected again. “Brooklyn, sweetie,” she began – and I felt tears building for a reason I dared not yet confirm. “You and Rebecca were in an accident. The man driving the truck said his brakes stopped working and you were just sitting there in the middle of the road.” My mother cleared her throat noisily and looked at me imploringly. “Honey, he hit the left side of the car and… Rebecca didn’t have her seat-belt on. She was thrown from the car…” She hesitated and I knew, without a doubt, that I didn’t want to hear what she said next.
“Rebecca didn’t make it, baby, I’m so sorry.” Everything went fuzzy. I didn’t know the difference between my mum and the nurse. I felt my lungs seize. Was it normal to feel like you couldn’t breathe? The room was swimming and I felt my lungs begging for air – was I drowning? At that thought, reality slipped away and I was lost.
Now You See Me; Now You Don't
It had been six months, eleven days, and nine hours since Rebecca died. I remembered the funeral like it was yesterday – Rebecca’s mom, Jane, asked me to make a speech. I played our song and told the entire congregation how it was like growing up with the sun. “Rebecca could make anyone happy; she made me happy,” I’d said. “Nothing’s changed, everything is still the same. The sun shines, birds chirp, the earth’s beauty remains. I feel like the grass should burn and the sky should fall – because it feels like the world has ended. Rebecca would want us all to laugh and be merry, but I could barely get out of bed today. So, maybe tomorrow,” I chanted. “Maybe tomorrow.”
It was a depressing speech, but it was real. I barely got back to my seat before I was sobbing unashamedly. The funeral wasn’t the worst thing that I’d had to go through. Some students organized a vigil at our school. Rebecca was my best friend, so I went. I barely made it through without strangling everyone. They cried as if they knew her – we’d all gone to school together for years and Rebecca and I were the weirdoes that everyone talked about. They didn’t know how competitive she got when playing a game; they didn’t know how she refused to ride a bicycle but loved motorcycles. They didn’t know we’d both gotten illegal tattoos on our fifteenth birthdays that matched – how my right ankle spelled Becca and her left one spelled Brooke. Maybe I wasn’t angry that they cried and didn’t know her – maybe I was angry because they’d never again get the chance to.
It had been a lonely six months without my best friend. For the first few months, I’d had to use crutches just to move because my left leg had been broken. Crutches were bad enough, but I’d broken my arm too, so it was even worse. I’d used my casts as an excuse not to move much and mostly stayed curled up in my window seat crying or watching the world go by. After the casts came off, my mum and dad (James Caern) began trying to pull me back into the “land of the living”. Eventually, I just began to use a mask around them. It was less effort pretending to be happy than actually being happy. I’ll admit it – I was drowning in guilt and despair and I didn’t want to be saved.
However, my parents still forced me out of the house. That’s when I first saw them. They looked just like anybody else, so I didn’t think anything of it until I saw a man walk straight through another’s body – but, no, of course not, it was just a figment of my imagination, right? Wrong. Dead wrong.
It began happening more and more – a man getting run over, nobody noticed; a woman jumping off a building, nobody screamed; a guy my age with a black shirt screaming in the middle of the street, nobody heard. I stopped asking my parents if they saw things when they began discussing whether they should send me to therapist. I wasn’t sure I didn’t need one, but I still didn’t want to go. I didn’t know what I was seeing, I didn’t know if I wasn’t insane after all. It was scary.
Everything disappeared Thursday, February 25th. I’d mentioned it was six months, eleven days, and nine hours since Rebecca died. What I didn’t mention was that it was a Thursday, I was in school, and it was currently noon aka lunch time. As per usual, I’d bought some lunch and took it outside. Instead of heading to the tables, however, I’d walked behind the cool and settled into a shady alcove. I was reveling in being alone for the first time that day when suddenly I wasn’t alone at all.
“Hey,” he’d said. I’ll admit – I stared at him like he was an alien from Mars, but I’d had a good reason. For starters, despite living in England, I didn’t live in stereotypical London. I live in a small borough with an even smaller school and I knew every kid in town. I also knew that there wasn’t a single kid in town that would talk to me – the freak girl whose best friend died last summer. Aside from that, who in the bloody world would bother somebody who was sitting alone in an alcove?
“Uh, hello?” I asked uncertainly, raising my eyebrow at him while wincing internally at the hoarse quality of my voice.
“I’m Theodore,” he stuck out his hand, voice way too cheerful. “Theodore Lisbet.”
I stared at him before shaking his hand warily. “Er, Brooklyn Caern, nice to meet you,” I said politely, because never let it be said that British people can’t have hospitality, too.
“What’re you doing over here sitting by yourself?” Never mind, I’d thought, hospitality is for southern Americans. I glared at him. He had no business nosing into my business. What’s it to him, anyway? I can sit wherever I want, I ranted internally.
“Listen, mate, I don’t know you, but let me give you some advice,” I drawled, envisioning my blue eyes as icicles stabbing into his soul (okay, I was a little dramatic). “Stay out of other people’s bloody business, okay?” With that, I turned my attention back to my food. I didn’t expect him to sit next to me, give me a particularly devilish smirk as he ruffled his blonde hair, and say: “Nah, I’m good, sweetheart.”
I punched him in the nose hard enough to send him flying and only had time to register absurdly shock filled green eyes before I spun on my heel and stormed off. I’d never been driven out of my alcove before. I’d never been approached in my alcove before. And I was not prepared for Theodore Lisbet. Little did I know that was only the beginning, because Theodore Lisbet would never keep his nose out of other people’s bloody business.
Coincidence? I Think Not
“I didn’t exactly drown,” began Theodore. “My best friend Bradley and I were swimming one day a few months ago… we were just messing around, but he’s a lot stronger than me. He was holding me under the water. He just… he held me for too long. I need to tell him that I forgive him, because I know he’s blaming himself.” The story was a punch in the gut. The parallels reminded me far too much of my own situation. I had been driving that night. We were stopped, but I’d made that decision. There was no one else on the road. I hadn’t thought to drive around. The thoughts haunted me day and night. Only Theodore had been able to drive them from my mind and now this… I didn’t blame him. What kind of person would I be if I did? My heart was aching already, though, and I couldn’t help it one bit.
Theodore sent me a sympathetic look – I’d told him everything; he probably knew how I was feeling at the moment. I wanted to change the subject, so I asked him where Bradley’s house was. I was beyond surprised when he led me to Luna’s door. I stared at it for a few minutes, both eyebrows raised in a disbelieving manner. Had I really stumbled upon the mother of Theo’s best friend? Small towns, I mused with an eye-roll. I couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty, however. I knew my mom had been very upset when Rebecca died – I bet Luna had felt the same way with Theodore.
“This is it. His name is Bradley,” I cut him off. “I know – his last name is Ackles. I met Luna earlier.” He blinked at me in surprise and I couldn’t really blame him. I didn’t believe the irony myself. I sighed and walked up to the door for the second time that day. This time, I used the eagle door knocker. I don’t know why.
Luna opened the door again and she smiled serenely. “I knew you’d be back,” she said simply, before opening the door wider to let me in. It was a little weird, but I’d always liked weird so I walked inside. As Theodore followed, I could’ve sworn Luna looked right at him before glancing back at me. My gut told me I hadn’t imagined it, so this time – I trusted my gut.
“Can you see Theo, Luna?” Theo and I stared at her as she nodded happily. Nobody could see the ghosts but me for months and now suddenly Luna could see them, too? “How can you see them? I don’t understand,” I admitted, furrowing my brow. Luna simply smiled at him. Not that big of a surprise.
“You’re a necromancer, Brooklyn. I’m a witch. Essentially, anyone with a magical core can see ghosts in your presence,” she explained – for once sounding quite serious. “I can tell you more later on, but for now you should go to Bradley’s room. Theodore knows the way. I’m sure Bradley will be excited to see his friend.” I narrowed my eyes. Luna specifically said that Bradley would be excited to see Theo… which means Bradley has a magical core as well. I was glad I could focus on that and my mission, because I didn’t really want to focus on the fact that I was apparently a necromancer and – oh yeah, witches are real.
I stared at Bradley’s door for a long time. I didn’t know what to expect when I opened the door and I didn’t know how this meeting would go. For Queen Elizabeth’s sake, I didn’t even know what the boy looked like. However, at the insistence of Theo, I gathered my courage and knocked. “Coming,” I heard his voice. It was gruff, kind of like mine was and still sometimes manages to be. The door opened – I was blown away. I stood dumbstruck for several moments. He had thick brown hair that looked like it was styled ‘windswept’, blue eyes like mine right down to the last drop of sadness, pale skin… he was utterly gorgeous. I felt my cheeks flush before realizing he was just as shocked as me – which reminded me… magical core, ghost best friend, shock of his life.
So, naturally, I did what I did best. I stepped forward to introduce myself, tripped over thin air, and nearly face-planted. Strong arms caught me, probably more out of reflex than anything else, and I looked up to find those deep blue eyes staring back at me. I cleared my throat and quickly stepped back again. I stuck my hand out and proceeded to word vomit all over the floor. “Er, hi, I’m Brooklyn Caern. Your mum thinks I’m a necromancer and Theodore’s kind of become my best friend. He’s a ghost,” I added helpfully. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
He looked even more stunned which, yeah, totally understand, but he shook my hand anyway which got him major perks. “I’d introduce myself, but you apparently already know who I am… um, come in.” He gestured inside his room.
We went in. It was fitted with dark greens and grays which made me grin at Bradley even though I’d just met him and it totally wasn’t the right time. “Totally inappropriate timing, but your room is wicked, mate.” I heard Theodore spluttering rather distantly but I chose to ignore it for the time being. Bradley looked highly amused. I tried to resist the urge to drool. I think I managed.
“Thanks,” snorted Bradley, looking a lot more cheerful than first glance, which was probably helped along by seeing his best friend again. I could still detect guilt, though, which… totally understandable. I frowned internally – I was thinking totally way too much. I needed to stop before I transformed into a typical teenage girl. I shuddered in horror.
I blushed when I noticed Bradley giving me a strange look, only to elbow Theodore in the ribcage when he started snickering. “Shut your bloody trap if you know what’s good for you, Lisbet!” I hissed quietly. He grunted in pain, but kept quiet.
“Uh, so, basically – Theodore wants to talk to you,” I said lamely. “I think you could still see and hear him if I stepped outside, so I’m going to do that. Theo, tell me if it doesn’t work.” I darted out the room before either could protest and shut the door. I waited a few minutes, but Theodore didn’t come, so I smiled and sat down on the floor by Bradley’s room to wait. Hopefully, everything went well. I wanted Theo to be happy, even if it meant losing him forever. I suppose that’s what true friendship is all about anyway.
Maybe Tomorrow
Nearly an hour passed before the door opened again and I’d migrated to the couch in the living room. Luna gave me hot chocolate with marshmallows and I might’ve fallen in love just a little. We talked and got along great, despite the age difference. She told me about witches and wizards, magical schools, supernatural and mystical creatures. She showed me her magic wand and then told me about the darker sides of magic. After she told me about her husband’s death at the hands of a dragon named Norberta, I reciprocated and told her my life story. How I lived a normal life until the death of my best friend, how I started seeing things that made me think I was crazy, how I met Theodore and it was all history after that.
We gained an understanding that I was surprised about. Normally, adults didn’t open up to kids like that, but she looked at me seriously and told me she saw maturity and darkness inside of me and knew I’d understand. I didn’t know how to take that, but I smiled all the same. We were laughing by the time Theodore and Bradley came out. I noticed Theodore was smiling sadly, but his eyes were bright. Bradley’s blue eyes were red-rimmed like he’d been crying, but where once sadness had filled them; joy now brought their sparkles to life. And then Theodore looked at me.
“I’m ready,” he said and I nearly broke down, laughter dying like a single ember in the rain. I stood up, because it seemed like I should. We met in the middle of the living room and stared at each other for awhile, before I hugged him tightly and he hugged me back. I didn’t want to let go, even though I knew I had to. If I did have to let him leave, at least I could get a goodbye this time, instead of the horrible situation I was forced into with Rebecca.
Speaking of Rebecca… I stared at Theodore and cleared my throat. “If… uh. If you see Rebecca, could you tell her… could you tell her I miss her? Could you tell her I’ll never forget her and that I’ll always love her?” Theo nodded and I hugged him again, whispering in his ear,” Thank you. I’ll miss you as well, Theo. I knew you for a lot less, but I love you just as much. I’ll even get a tattoo of your name,” I promised, laughing suddenly. It felt like a moment to laugh. He laughed, too. Then, we separated for the last time, my gut told me. And true to record, I had to watch Theodore fade away not a minute later.
I stayed talking with Luna and Bradley for a few more hours and the three of us bonded in a way you just couldn’t without something miraculous happening. I eventually had to leave and we said our goodbyes, but Luna made me promise to visit as soon as possible. I agreed, before setting off. I had to get home in time for dinner, which was an odd thought after the supernatural turn my life had suddenly taken. I couldn’t quite believe it. I’d lost two friends in such a short amount of time… I thought of Luna, her soft blonde hair and gentle heart, and Bradley, the memory of his sad blue eyes sparkling with joy etched into the back of my eyelids possibly forever. As my house came into sight, I knew I couldn’t see them again tonight. I’d already been gone for nearly the entire time. They would probably need time to regroup anyway.
I thought back in time, so many months ago, to the speech I gave at my best friend’s funeral. I’d been getting up out of bed for a long time now and Theodore had made me feel a semblance of happiness again, but as I connected the parallels between me and Bradley, peace drove away the guilt in my heart. Rebecca would never blame me for the accident that happened and I could finally accept that after everything I’d learned. I stopped at the door of my house and thought about the night I had in front of me. With my guilt finally gone, I could try to be happy again. “So, tomorrow,” I whispered, smiling sadly up at the setting sun. “Tomorrow.”