Page 95 of The Ghost of You

Not without you here

I would give anything to have you back

To reverse the crash that made this all a mess

Where did we go wrong?

But I can’t make it up to you

I sit alone in a bar

Wondering how I could have been so wrong

I never thought the day could come

Where you wouldn’t be next to me

You broke my heart

Threw it all away

For a girl I never knew

All these years I’ve let pass

Tying me down to you

Why can’t I let you go

I’m so tired of living with the ghost of you

These words arelike a window to her soul I never knew. And I don’t think she ever intended for me or anyone to see these.

I pick up all the papers and walk to her front door. And that’s when I find her passed out in the hammock on her porch. A bottle of tequila nestled in her arm. An entire stack of paper on the coffee table barely held in place by an empty beer can.

“Shit.” I kneel next to her, my palms gripping her face. “Anna. Wake up, Anna.”

Fuck.

I grab my phone to call 911 when she shifts in the hammock. Her eyes flutter for a second before closing again.

I pick the papers up and shove them in my jacket. I know she wouldn’t want these memories lost. I pull the tequila bottle from under her arm and lift her into my own. She is frozen stiff. She murmurs something I can’t make out as I carry her across the driveway and into my house, laying her gently on the couch. She barely moves. I throw the papers onto the table as I let Brutus out. I run upstairs and run a bath before I head back down. Brutus is pawing at the door, no doubt unhappy about the snow and cold.

I head back over to the couch and lift Anna into my arms. She is still passed out and I hope she isn’t sick from the cold. I carry her up the stairs, stripping her of her cold clothes. I rip my uniform off quickly, lifting her off the bed and step into the tub with her in my arms. I rest her against my chest as I rub warm water over her shoulders.

She is so cold.What the hell was she doing outside?

After a few minutes, I release my death grip on her as she starts to move.

“Noah?”

My hand lifts and cups her face. “I’m here, baby.”

I don’t say any more words before she breaks down into a fit of tears. I know at that moment her story is much deeper than she let on. I gently lift her out of the tub and carry her to bed. She rolls into my arms, gripping me fiercely, and cries herself to sleep. In the morning we need to have one hell of a talk.

* * *

I wakeup to find Anna staring at me.

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