Spirits (Spirits Series Book 1) Read online

  Spirits

  By Destiny Patterson

  CHAPTER ONE

  “Journey,” my mom says from the front passenger seat of her Suburban.

  Yeah that’s my name, I’d like to say it has some cool meaning behind it like: ‘life’s journey’ or some crap like that, but the sad truth is I was named after an old rock band. Awesome. My brother should be glad he didn’t get named Lynard or Axel or something retarded, although it would have suited his dumb-butt. She wanted to name me Sapphire because that’s how blue my eyes are but Dad talked her out of it, said his daughter would not have a stripper name, all of this I learned a few years ago of course.

  “Freak, mom’s talking to you.” Drew says.

  I shoot him a look that says ‘die maggot’ before responding with language that will surely land me on restriction.

  “Yes?”

  “What are your plans before school starts?”

  My dad glances at me through the rear view mirror; I know he’s hoping to hear I plan to hang out on the beach, meet new people and all that junk. Maybe I should say that just to appease them…

  “ Not sure, get settled in and look for a job probably.”

  “Honey what do you need a job for?” Dad asks.

  “Uh, so I can learn about being responsible and all that stuff.” I respond.

  Most parents would be pushing their kids to get one, not mine; they say you’re only young once, enjoy it, we’ve got you covered. Drew takes full advantage of it, of course. We might be identical twins but we act nothing alike, thank God for that.

  Drew rolls his eyes at me, “I’m hanging at the beach and scoping out chicks, thanks for asking.”

  Dad grins hugely, “Son I already knew what you’d be doing.”

  “Anyway, I was hoping to get a car…” So I can drive my happy rear back to Manhattan as soon as I graduate. I’m totally not looking forward to being stuck in Savannah, Georgia for a whole fudging year or so. I freaked out at my parents when they sprung the news on us. It’s not like I have a ton of friends, I have a hard time making and keeping them so this really sucks.

  “Me too, think you guys can hook us up?” Drew asks.

  “I don’t see why not. As long as you keep your grades up.” Mom smiles.

  Don’t they realize he’ll be thirty and still living at home if they don’t make him do things for himself?

  “Once I find a job I’ll pay you back.” I insist.

  “Nonsense.” Dad says, “Think of it as an early birthday gift.”

  It’s pointless to argue with them, “Fine.”

  I tune Drew and Dad out as they start talking about cars. I don’t care what I get as long as it runs. Okay that’s a bit of a lie. I don’t want a clunker. I foresee me not really fitting in to begin with but pulling up in a hooptie will do nothing for my social status. I try to act like I don’t care whether or not I fit in but truth be told I do. I hate people looking at me like I’m an oddity. In a way I’m hoping this can be a fresh start, and I know that’s what my parents want.

  “So I was thinking we should go shopping tomorrow,” Mom says with a huge grin on her face, “I’m sure they don’t have half the stores we’re used to but we’ll make the best of it.”

  “That would be nice.” I try to sound excited as I fake a smile.

  “You are a terrible liar. If she believes that she’s more clueless than I thought.” Kadence smiles.

  Putting my headphones on I lower my voice,

  “You know she doesn’t like it when I talk to you.”

  Drew turns around glaring. “Weirdo.” He sneers.

  “Since when do you care what she thinks?” Kadence asks.

  Mom gives me a worried look through the rear view mirror and I pretend to be singing along to a song, which seems to ease her. Ignoring Kadence has never been an option. We were best friends from elementary school until a year ago when she died, although that didn’t stop our friendship. I don’t know why but she stayed and has been with me ever since…

  5

  “Journey,” Kadence said waking me up from a dead sleep.

  “How did you get in? Please tell me you didn’t wake up my parents to let you in.” I said sitting up rubbing my eyes.

  She laughed and sat on the edge of the bed, “Are you kidding?”

  “Then how’d you get in? If Drew charged you again I’ll kick his butt and get your money back.”

  She smiled, “No, no one let me in.”

  I gave her a confused look.

  “You’re totally nonobservant when you’re half asleep.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t freak out, promise?”

  “Oh jeez, what did you do this time?” I asked looking for a new piercing or crappy tattoo.

  “I’m dead.”

  I shook my head in disbelief, “I just talked to you a few hours ago this isn’t funny Kay.”

  “I know, but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.”

  I tried to shove her off my bed, that’s when it sunk in. I couldn’t touch her.

  “Kadence!” I shouted hysterical, “What happened?”

  “Be quiet your parents will hear you.”

  I couldn’t stop the tears from spilling, “No, please tell me this is a joke.” I still didn’t want to believe that my best friend, the only person that didn’t look at me like I was a freak, was gone.

  “It was an accident, I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to mellow out. Apparently certain pills and drugs shouldn’t be mixed with alcohol.” She shrugged.

  “So stupid!” I shouted at her. “Where are you?!”

  “You mean my body?”

  I shook my head angrily.

  “At Tyler’s, I don’t think they know yet.”

  “At the party?”

  She nodded yes.

  “The one you tried to get me to go with you to?”

  “Yeah.” She frowned.

  I covered my face sobbing.

  “Hey.”

  “I could have stopped you if I’d been there.”

  She laughed, “ Don’t fool yourself, you know how stubborn I am.”

  “I could have!”

  “No, you couldn’t! Don’t blame yourself!”

  “But…”

  “Shut up or I will leave your butt here to cry alone!”

  “No, please don’t. What am I supposed to do now? How could you be so selfish?! Do you know what this is going to do to your parents? How about all your friends? What about me?!” I had never wanted to hit her before but in that moment I could have beat her to death. Fortunate for her she was already dead.

  “I’m sorry.” She said trying to hug me, “I know it was a stupid thing to do.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “But I won’t leave you, I promise.” She curled up on the bed beside me and stayed all night.

  The next few days were awkward. Everyone in my house tip toed around me, afraid I was going to go out of my mind at any second, not like they thought I was all that stable to begin with. She may have been dead to everyone else but she wasn’t to me. I still got to hang out with her everyday; it was like she never died. She even insisted I call her mom and tell her what she wanted to be buried in, of course after countless hours of her harassing me I did, which felt very odd. The day of the funeral was… sad yet funny. It took all I had not to laugh and keep a straight face. Kadence nearly threw a fit when she saw herself lying in the huge black casket, which she approved of but everything else was wrong.

  “Pink and not even a good shade! Baby effing pink! I hate baby pink and she knows it! Look at my freaking hair all pulled back tight in a twist, why didn’t they leave it down like I always wore it? And I�
�m not even getting started on my makeup! Okay I am! Who the heck did that to me?! What did they do, hire a circus clown’s makeup artist? My cheeks shouldn’t look so red, I’m dead for heaven’s sake!”

  “I think you look very respectable.” I whispered.

  “Respectable,” she scoffed, “What the heck?!”

  “Okay, you look very pretty, very lady like.” I rolled my eyes and my mom held her tongue as she pushed me forward.

  Kadence sat beside me as the service began.

  “We are gathered here to honor the memory of Kadence Marie Pratt.” The preacher stated.

  “Did they have to use my middle name? I tried to keep that a secret, it ruins an awesome name like Kadence.” She huffed.

  “It’s not so bad,” I whispered and my mom pursed her lips at me.

  When it came time for the singing Kadence sunk down in the pew. “Someone seriously needs to tell my cousin she can’t sing. This is embarrassing to me.” She grumbled and covered her face, “I wish I could enter my body and tell her to shut up!”

  I shook my head and tried not to laugh as I endured Sophia’s attempt at singing.

  After the burial my parents dropped me off at our apartment because I refused to go to Kadence’s. They assured me I was being rude and disrespectful, but I didn’t care what they or anyone else thought and I told them that. Drew went with them, which I thought very uncharacteristic for him. He and Kadence weren’t close. Sure they had made out a couple of times but they were just fooling around. Kadence was the type of girl that ran from commitment.

  That evening once Kadence had stopped ranting about how horrible the funeral was I decided to ask her the questions that had been gnawing at me for days.

  “If you could go back and know it would end like this would you still do it?”

  She looked at me thoughtfully for a while. I thought she was refusing to answer until she finally spoke.

  “Honestly I’m not sure. I mean I miss everyone but I can still see them and I didn’t lose you, it’s like it never happened.”

  “But it did. They can’t see or talk to you, they don’t know why you did it.”

  “I didn’t commit suicide Journey, it was an accident.”

  “Why would you mix all that crap, why would you take drugs in the first place?”

  “Because I didn’t want to deal with what was going on in my life.”

  I shook my head at her. “It’s not a good enough excuse for me.” I said angrily, she started to butt in, “Shut up and listen Kay! Your problems would still have been there when you sobered up, you can’t run from them and I’ve told you that before. I know most people thought you had the dream life but I knew you, knew you hated your parents being to busy with their own lives to worry about yours. I get it, life is hard and sucks at times but I was always there for you. Always willing to listen to you complain about anything and everything. You can’t tell me you don’t regret it, I won’t accept it. I thought you where stronger than to just give up!”

  She started crying and I felt badly for taking my frustrations out on her.

  “You are right. I was being stupid and selfish. I did give up, I knew what was going to happen and I didn’t care. I thought, sure, my parents, the rest of my family, and friends will miss me for a while but they will move on with their lives and I will become a distant memory but I knew you would see me and that we’d always be together.”

  I wanted to slap her and yell at her some more but it wouldn’t have done any good and it wouldn’t have changed anything so I calmed down.

  “Do you regret it now?”

  “Yes. Seeing my parents so upset made me happy at first. I had finally gotten to them, but it doesn’t do any good because I’m not there for them to make up with me, to tell me they are sorry and that they will be better parents from now on.” She stopped, choking on her sobs while she wiped her tears away. “I feel bad now…” she laid her head in my lap, “I really am sorry for what I did.”

  “I know. Are you going to move on?”

  “This is it for me. There was no white light waiting for me at the end of a tunnel.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I fell asleep and when I woke up I was standing over myself. I stood there for a while thinking I was having a crazy dream, an out of body experience or something. I waited to wake up then I got bored and started walking around, everyone was so loud, so messed up and stupid, they were getting on my nerves. I began to wish I were with you, that I would have spent the night at your house watching sappy movies, eating popcorn with M&M’s and talking about boys. The more I thought about you the more my surroundings began to fade and then I was in your room. That’s when it hit me. I went to your parent’s room and tried to wake them up before I woke you up. When you tried to push me off the bed and couldn’t I knew for sure that I had passed.”

  “So you are stuck here?” I asked.

  “I guess so. I mean I’m not the first person this has happened to right? Haven’t you talked to others like me?”

  “Yes, although some of them don’t know they’re dead.”

  “How could they not know?”

  “Maybe they just refuse to believe, I’m not sure. Why don’t you ask?”

  “I haven’t left you since it happened and I haven’t seen any around, have you?” Kadence asked puzzled.

  I shook my head, “No just you, now that you mention it… That’s strange.”

  “Why? Did they come around often before?”

  “More than I cared for them to. There are a few regulars that come around, but I haven’t seen any of them since you showed up come to think of it. I wonder why…”

  “Huh, guess the dead don’t like me much.”

  “Doesn’t hurt my feelings any.” I admitted honestly.

  5

  “Wake up!” Drew shouts at me, “We’re almost there.”

  Ugh, Joy! “Great.” I fake another smile. I’m getting way to good at this mess.

  “Isn’t it exciting.” Mom says all chipper.

  “I hope you two like it. There are a few renovations your mother and I plan on doing but for the most part its all modern.” Dad says.

  “And we got it at a steal!” Mom adds like Drew or I really care.

  Did you know that Savannah, Georgia is the most haunted city in the United States? I didn’t until I did my research. I just want to tell my parents, thanks. I hope they have a nice psychiatric ward close by because I have a bad feeling I might end up in the nut house. Kadence has made it clear that she will be checking out the area, which I’m not sure if she can do, she hasn’t left me that I know of. I mean I don’t always see her but she says she doesn’t go anywhere and when I leave the apartment she seems pretty darn happy to get out. I don’t understand it; maybe she’s just not trying hard enough. I hate to say it but for the last few months I’ve been wishing a knowledgeable spirit would pay me a visit so I could pawn her off on them for just a little while. The only place she doesn’t follow me is the bathroom and I’m glad she respects my privacy in that sense.

  “Wow, look at all the trees.” Kadence says as we pull into the driveway.

  I nod my head so she doesn’t think I’m ignoring her, not like that’s really possible or anything.

  “Yeah you are definitely getting me a car before school starts. This driveway never ends, I’d have to leave an hour early just to catch the bus.” Drew says leaning forward.

  “That’s a bit of a stretch but, yes, we will go looking once we’re settled in.” Dad chuckles as I refrain from smacking Drew in the back of his head.

  “Dude, you guys bought a mansion?” Drew says excitedly.

  “He’s such a freaktard!” Kadence shakes her head, ”Tell him it’s an old southern plantation.”

  “Actually, it’s an old southern plantation.” I say in a tone I reserve only for him to let him know I think he’s a moron.

  “You are both correct.” Mom informs us, “When it was built in 1774 it was a mans
ion, it was owned by a wealthy family. From what I understand they are buried somewhere on the property.”

  “You’re kidding right?!” I ask quickly and annoyed.

  “Not at all Journey. It was common in those days to have a family plot on your land.”

  “This is just faneffingtastic!” I huff flopping back in my seat.

  “Watch your mouth young lady!” Dad warns glaring through the rear view mirror.

  “Yes sir, I’m sorry.” But not really, it’s like they want to drive me crazy… My thoughts have been confirmed.

  “This is going to be interesting.” Kadence whispers like everyone else can hear her.

  “Oooohhh.” Drew groans trying to sound like a ghost. I don’t bother holding back this time. Quickly leaning forward I smack him on the back of the head.

  “Ouch.” He says rubbing his head, “Why’d you do that?”

  “Because you deserved it!”

  “That’s enough you two.” Dad says parking the car in front of the house.

  “Drew, apologize to your sister, that was uncalled for.” Mom says turning around to give him, what I’ve come to call, ‘the butthole face’. It’s when she puckers her lips so tightly it looks like, well you know. Yes it’s gross but comical at the same time. She reserves it for when she’s really upset, like she wants to spew a stream of ‘you’re in serious trouble’ with a mix of profanities but she’s to lady like and has to hold it back.

  “Sorry.” Drew says without sincerity.

  “Yeah.” I nod my head and roll my eyes. Whatever.

  “Are you two ready to check it out?” Dad asks opening the car door about to climb out.

  “Hecks yeah!” Drew bails out the door before I can even get unbuckled.

  “Sure,” I tell him taking my sweet time as I look for Kadence but she’s already gone.

  “Hey,” Mom loops her arm through mine and smiles, “It’s going to be alright, it’s a fresh start for you. No one here knows… your past. You can fit in. Okay?”

  Which to me translates to, ‘Journey, honey, no one here knows you’re a freak, don’t ruin it.’

  “I’m going to try.” I nod, looking down. I wish she wouldn’t make me feel like this. She knows I’m not lying but she acts like I can turn it off.