I stared down at it with shaky hands, an uneasy and awfully familiar feeling soared through my body, settling itself in my chest, causing my heart to beat irregularly.
I began shaking, my breathing changed as I looked down at the fabric, tracing the rip with my eyes, trying to piece together the feelings and memories. With no avail, every time I felt as if I was getting closer to the answer, it seemed to slip from my grasp and continue being behind a foggy mist out of my reach.
I averted my eyes to my backpack, I grabbed it and shoved the shirt into it. I gripped the strap and swung it onto my back.
I walked over to my door and looked around before pushing the door open.
-
I briskly walked, urgency running through my body. "It's dangerous here, Y/n." I heard her voice, it was scared. "I need answers, Camila." She was trying to keep up behind me. "You don't understand, you won't find anything." I ignored her, knowing nothing I would say would be worth it.
"Is this really what you want?" She was pushing the subject. I stayed silent once more, entering the city.
"Where are you going?" She asked. "The police." I answered back. "Do you really think they'll tell you anything?" I shook my head. "If they don't, I'll try somewhere else."
I got closer to the police station, as I walked closer to it, I felt her grab my hand and pull me back. She stepped in front of me with her arms out. "Stop it, Y/n."
My breath hitched, it really was her. Her face was so, weird though. Not weird, but angelic, familiar.
"Camila..." Her brown eyes began glistening, tears forming, she spoke in a shaky voice. "I will tell you, but going to them, you'll find nothing. They're just as clueless as you are."
"Why do you say that?" I said lowly. "Just trust me."
-
"We're alone now, tell me." She crossed her arms in front of her and began rubbing them with her hands, avoiding my eyes. "Can we at least sit down?" I nodded and sat my bag down, I sat down on a rock, across from her.
She brought me to the same forest where we hugged, she probably wanted isolation and I was completely fine with that.
She sat down in front of me. She stayed quiet though, not speaking a word.
"Do I know you?" I asked softly but curiously. A light smile spread on her lips. "If you wanna put it that way." I blinked. "How long?"
"We've been best friends since we were fourteen," My eyes widened, that shocked me. I had a feeling I knew her, but not that long. "We got detention together, I was there only because I was marked down absent when I wasn't. You were there because you didn't want to go to class, that's what you said. You called me 'new girl' because I didn't go to detention often. I remember that day you said you were determined to never skip again because you hated detention."
I remembered going to detention, everything she was saying, but, she wasn't there. She was a missing piece.
"Long story short, ever since then you persisted to make me less of a shy person, by asking for my number and talking to me in the halls. It took you a year to finally get me comfortable with you," She chuckled but then frowned again. "I fell for you."
I felt my heart skip a beat. She looked up at me, giving me a lopsided smile. "You were this sweet and cool person," She paused for a few seconds, her mouth opening and then closing. "How could I not? Only, I couldn't admit my feelings, to you or anyone." She shook her head.
"Until one night you invited me to a party, we were sixteen by then, and I said yes. I drank, I smoked, I did everything out of my comfort zone. We sat in a circle and someone dared you to kiss the most attractive person." I was surprised by her memory, I barely remembered any of these events and was starting to wonder if she was lying to me. But for some reason, something was telling me to trust her.
"Out of all the pretty girls and attractive guys, you grabbed me and kissed me." She let out a soft breath.
"That was the first kiss I ever had, I was a prude but right then I felt so amazing. Too amazing, like something was wrong. So I stood up, and went to the bathroom, without knowledge that someone was following me."
"That's when it happened?" She nodded. "He spiked my drink. I'm just glad I got to you before he did anything. It was terrible, but I didn't know it happened when I woke up the next morning in your bed. I thought I got too drunk."
Memories began filling in, I nodded along, wanting to know more.
She fluttered her eyes and looked up at me with a straight face. "I only know what has happened now because my life flashed before my eyes so intensely that everything, every memory came back."
She looked up at the sky, then back to me. "We didn't kiss again, but I was still so in love with you. I kept pushing it away though, you were my best friend, nothing more. And that leads us to the last day of the school year,"
The dream.
"I was wearing the shirt you have in your bag, we somehow got away with skipping graduation and just getting our diplomas, but we still had to sit through one last day. We decided to walk, and I remember I had this unbearable urge to just hold your hand. So I did, though it was seen as harmless, I didn't think it was. You insisted that we'd stop at the Dream cafe for some coffee, so I agreed. We still had enough time."
I backed away slightly, suddenly remembering what she was about to say. What I had been suppressing for so long.
"It began raining, a storm broke out, so you gave me a jacket you kept in your bag." She nodded to my backpack.
"In that moment, I just pulled you aside in an alleyway and kissed you, you kissed me back. It was both the worst and best day I ever experienced."
Her hands clenched. "There was no one around, just us." She stared downwards. "You went inside the cafe, just a little away, got us coffee and we continued. Everything was fine, we were finally over with school and starting our new lives. Then I decided to walk down that street again, the street we kissed and the street where our 'spot' was but then someone grabbed me. I don't know who it was or why, but they were forceful and rain began pouring, thunder crashed and it silenced my screams. Dying was the worst feeling you could ever imagine."
I gripped my legs harshly, trying to process everything. "I don't remember the rest, but I do know the police haven't found my body. Only a shirt torn and covered in blood."
She traced her hands on the rock below her. "At the edge of the forest," I looked around.
"Why do I have it?" I asked. "Because it was yours, they closed the case, Y/n. And you forgot about me, you continued your life. You forgot to protect yourself and that's okay. I forgive you, but I felt so lonely, so lost."
Her voice trailed off. "So you're a ghost?" I asked. "I'd prefer phantom, that's better." She let out a soft laugh. "I'm sorry." I said. "I'm so sorry," Tears fell down my face. "I should've walked with you, made sure you were okay but I just..." She reached out and grabbed my hand. "It's in the past."
I looked up at her. "Why are you here?" I asked. "Because, I need you to find me." My eyebrows furrowed. "I'm bound to this earth because my death was never solved. I am tied here because of unsolved business."
"Why me?" I asked. She shrugged. "Because I know you can find me."
I closed my eyes. "Shouldn't you know where you are?" She sighed. "That's the one thing I can't seem to remember."