Revenant: The Apparition Series, #2

1

THE MOURNING AFTER

News travels fast .

It should have been a momentous occasion when Jade arrived in the student parking lot of Sol Vista High School on Friday morning. Just the night before, Jade’s step-father had given her a new car. And while she did indeed show up in her new car, it wasn’t as great as she hoped.

Jade would have relished the attention and envious looks she would have received as she pretended to look for the perfect parking space. Really, she would just be loop around the lot to show off her car and announce her arrival among the elite ranks of student drivers.

As she drove through the lot—the pavement still wet from the previous night’s rainfall—Jade still received several looks. None of them, however, were envious. They were looks of pity, sympathy, and judgement.

What should have been an exciting day was beginning to feel no different than her first day of school back in October. Being the new student on campus four weeks into the school year, seventeen-year-old Jade Foster was the subject of scrutiny.

The fact that Jade kept to herself didn’t help her leave any positive first impressions. With her sullen demeanor—and the fact that she constantly hid behind her long, dark bangs accented with a dark purple streak—Jade quickly became known as the creepy, quiet girl. Only recently had she finally been able to shake that reputation.

Now it was about to make a dramatic return.

Jade parked her car and shut off the engine. She didn’t get out right away. She was regretting her decision to drive. For weeks, Jade had either walked to school or bummed rides off her new friends. Most recently, she rode to school with her boyfriend, Derek Masselin.

That was never going to happen again.

It had barely been four hours since Derek died from the severe injuries he suffered after losing control of his car and crashing into a utility pole. Jade couldn’t help but feel the accident was somehow partly her fault—because Derek was on his way to see her.

Jade felt if she hadn’t encouraged Derek to sneak over to her house in the middle of the night, he might still be alive. What caused Jade to feel even more guilty was the fact that she had decided not to go through with what she promised Derek would happen when he got there.

It was supposed to be the perfect end to a perfect Valentine’s Day date. However, while waiting for Derek to arrive, Jade came to realize that her intention of allowing Derek to be her first was not grounded in any real feelings of love or connection. It was an act of desperation. Jade felt she was only doing what was expected of her. Only she came to realize the flaw in her thinking.

Any expectations were all in her head. Like most teens—like most people, really—Jade was so used to people making judgements about her, she was just hearing what she imagined other people would say about her if she either did or didn’t go through with it. None of it was real. And in the end, the only thing that really mattered to Jade was her integrity.

Once Jade had come to that conclusion, though, it was too late. Derek was already on his way. She could have called Derek, even texted him, to at least tell him not to come. She didn’t even have to give him a reason. Not yet, anyway. Just keeping him from getting on the road could have prevented the accident, Jade thought.

But at the time, she felt it was best to tell Derek in person that she wasn’t ready. And she wanted to do it sooner rather than later. That meant Derek was coming over regardless if she went through with it or not. So the accident was unavoidable, she thought. And all her fault.

Jade tried to find some relief from her guilt in laying at least some of the blame on Sean. If it wasn’t for him, Derek wouldn’t have lost control of the car in the first place. When a ghost suddenly appears next to you while you’re driving, it’s not unreasonable to think that you might freak out and lose control of the car. It didn’t help that the streets were slick from the fresh February rain. That made it even easier to blame Sean for Derek’s accident.

But that reasoning didn’t stick.

Sean Clayton has been haunting Jade ever since she moved to Sol Vista. Over their time together, he had grown to care for her to the point that he even confessed his love for her. Though Jade had come to love Sean in return, she didn’t see how a romantic relationship with a ghost was even feasible.

Jade instead chose to focus her affections on Derek, since it was easier in her mind to love the living. But Sean had become very protective of Jade and didn’t want to allow her the opportunity to go through with her plan to make Derek her first. It wasn’t so much the act that Sean objected to, it was the fact that Derek was still secretly seeing his ex-girlfriend.

Derek was not good enough for Jade, Sean thought, and he decided to scare him away. But Sean’s good intentions backfired when he scared Derek while he was driving to Jade’s house. In his panic, Derek lost control of his car. Sean tried desperately to help him regain it. But that only made Derek fight against him even harder until the car crashed.

The more Jade thought about it, the more she realized that Sean wouldn’t have appeared to Derek had Jade not encouraged Derek to come over in the first place. Once again, Jade had to conclude that the fault of Derek’s death rested solely with her.

Sitting in her car, Jade prepared herself to act as though she knew nothing about the night before. Her initial plan was to show up at school and pretend to be shocked about the news of Derek’s death. Since their late-night tryst was supposed to be a secret, Jade figured she couldn’t already know about Derek’s death as far as anyone else was concerned. Jade thought if it appeared that she knew, it would implicate her involvement. And that would invite a lot of questions that she didn’t want to answer.

You okay?

The question caught Jade off-guard. She forgot Sean was in the car with her. It was easy to do since Sean didn’t make himself seen for the entire ride to school. He didn’t want to distract her while she was driving. Not that Jade would have lost control. Jade just worried that being able see Sean next to her would be a reminder of how Derek’s accident happened in the first place.

Still, Jade was glad she wasn’t driving when Sean spoke. His disembodied voice made her jump. Jade turned and looked at the passenger seat next to her just as Sean materialized in it.

I am so far from okay, she answered honestly. But it helps that you’re here. Jade offered Sean a brave smile.

Sean returned one of support.

Jade thought this would be easy. She figured no one else knew about Derek, so she could feign ignorance. Then when Derek didn’t show up at school, people would start to ask questions. And, more than likely, they would ask Jade.

She thought she could pretend not to know anything and that she was just as clueless as everyone else. That way when the news finally did come out, Jade could be just as shocked and surprised and no one would ever know what she was up to the night before. But when Jade got out of her car, the looks she received from the other students in the parking lot told her there was no sense in pretending.

Everyone already knew.

It wasn’t a surprise when Jade thought about it. All it took was one person to hear about the accident and post the news online. Maybe they’d sent out a mass text message to everyone in their address book. In an age of instant messaging and status updates, it would only take moments for someone’s secret to be public knowledge.

Jade regretted her decision to come to school even more. She thought if everyone knew about Derek’s death, they probably guessed that Jade was involved somehow. Maybe they all thought she was responsible. Maybe they blamed her, too. And the fact that she showed up only hours after the accident made her seem cold and heartless.

All Jade wanted to do was start her car back up and go home. But so many people had seen her already, Jade figured it would just make her look even worse if she left.

Then Jade thought that the fact she showed up at school in a new car would make her look even more insensitive. It seemed particularly showy, given the circumstances. And since Derek was notorious for driving a car that many—including Jade—considered less than roadworthy, arriving in a newer, safer car only made it appear as if Jade was all the more inconsiderate of the situation. The best thing Jade could do, she thought, was to stick to her original plan and pretend not to know of the previous night’s events.

Jade retrieved her books from her back seat. She closed the car doors and set the lock and alarm from her keychain. While Jade maintained a calm façade, inside she was a bundle of nerves. She could feel the heavy stares coming from the few students around her, even though they were trying to avoid looking directly at her. That only made their glances in her direction even more obvious.

The silent treatment bothered her because Jade figured they were doing it for one of two reasons. It was either because they didn’t know how to approach her, or they just didn’t want to approach her. And Jade couldn’t decide which was worse.

As Jade made her way from the parking lot to campus, someone finally called her name. Jade turned, ready to face a friend. Instead, she caught sight of Carrie Barclay, an annoying red-headed girl from Jade’s first period physics class, hurrying in her direction. Jade politely stopped and waited for Carrie to catch up. She recognized a look of concern and sympathy on Carrie’s freckled face.

Didn’t expect to see you here today, Carrie said.

Why not? Jade asked innocently.

Carrie blanched. She realized that Jade must not know about Derek and she didn’t want to have to be the one to tell her. At the same time, Carrie was shocked that Jade hadn’t already heard.

Oh, my God, you don’t know?

Jade shook her head. Carrie stopped walking and grabbed Jade’s arm. Carrie looked into Jade’s eyes with the most solemn expression. She knew what she was going to say but when she tried to say it, it wouldn’t come out.

Derek … there was a … he’s … Jade, I’m so sorry.

Carrie, what is it? Jade asked. While she knew the answer, Jade was not only keeping up her innocent appearance, she was trying to see what was being said about Derek. To see if anyone knew the true story.

"Derek … died last night."

What?! Jade tried to sound incredulous, as if she didn’t believe Carrie. That’s not funny, Jade said as she started to walk away.

I’m not kidding! Carrie called after her.

Jade stopped in her tracks. She turned to face Carrie, this time with a more serious expression.

There was a car accident, Carrie continued. Derek crashed. They rushed him to the hospital but it was too late. I heard he died instantly. He didn’t feel a thing.

Jade knew that wasn’t true. Only a few hours earlier, Jade was at the hospital alongside Derek’s mother hearing the gruesome details of Derek’s injuries. And then only a few moments after that, Jade witnessed Derek’s disembodied spirit standing outside his operating room, waiting to return to his body.

He never did.

Jade could only recall the horrifying image of Derek’s ghostly form swirling into nothingness. Into that place where damaged souls go. Into the Dark.

Derek definitely felt an unimaginable pain. While he may not have been conscious to experience the physical pain from his accident, the emotional torment of leaving his life behind was agonizing.

Jade tried not to let the memory affect her, but she couldn’t help it. Her eyes welled with tears almost immediately and she could feel the same sinking feeling in her stomach she had felt only hours before. Carrie naturally assumed Jade was just imagining the sickening scene of the accident and she impulsively drew Jade in for a sympathetic embrace.

I’m so sorry, Jade, Carrie said. I’m so, so sorry.

Jade stopped pretending. Given everything that happened in the past few hours, Jade hadn’t allowed herself to really feel anything. If she had the presence of mind in that moment, she would have realized that she was indeed in shock. And Jade hadn’t allowed herself to truly process what she had experienced. All the emotions she kept at bay for the last four hours came flooding to the surface with a vivid memory for each.

Jade’s mind filled with numerous mental images all at once: Derek’s tormented soul, the discovery of his infidelity with his ex-girlfriend Amy Edelman, the fear of losing Sean as he fought to protect her from Blackstone—a Feeder ghost bent on consuming Jade’s life energy—and then Jade’s realization upon Sean’s safe return that she truly loved him.

Then there was the appearance of her father’s ghost.

Jade had longed to be reunited with her dad since his sudden death over a year-and-a-half before. Many nights she’d lay awake, wishing he’d come in her room for one more kiss on the cheek, one more hug, one more late-night board game before bed. But he was gone, and all Jade could do was miss him. Jade missed her father even more when her mom remarried.

Even though Ray Dunleavey was a nice enough guy—and he seemed to truly love Jade’s mother—Jade thought he was an idiot. She was well-aware of the possibility that she didn’t like Ray because she didn’t want anyone taking her father’s place. In that respect, she wouldn’t have liked anyone. And it didn’t matter that Ray had made it clear that he had no intention of replacing Jade’s father. Given Ray’s tendency to try to make everyone like him, Jade had long since concluded that even if he hadn’t married her mother, she still would have thought Ray was an idiot.

Jade’s father, on the other hand, was her sense of comfort—her sense of home. So when she moved out of her old house and into a new one in a new neighborhood, Jade missed her father even more. She was elated when she thought his ghost had come to visit her, to return that comfort. Only it wasn’t her father haunting her. It was Sean.

While Jade was disappointed at first, she and Sean connected in a way that she never expected. Both of them were alone and lost when they found each other. Their new friendship made the absence of her father more bearable for Jade until finally she had come to love Sean the way he loved her.

Jade’s father always said that if he wasn’t the man in her life, someone else would be. And now Sean was. That was fine with Jade. Until her father’s ghost actually did return.

It had barely been two hours since Brian Foster appeared to his daughter. It was a bittersweet reunion. After everything Jade had just experienced with Derek’s accident and witnessing him disappearing into the Dark, her father was exactly the person Jade wanted to see. But he couldn’t stay. All he had time to do was tell Jade that Sean was dangerous. Before he could explain, Brian disappeared, promising to return and protect his daughter.

A flood of emotions came rushing to the surface and Jade couldn’t hold it together any longer. She finally burst out sobbing in Carrie Barclay’s embrace.

Carrie just held Jade as other students passed by. They surveyed the scene with either curiosity or understanding. Whatever the case, no one else got involved. Carrie simply assumed that it was only the news of Derek’s death that caused Jade’s breakdown. She never would have guessed nor believed everything Jade was going through in that moment.

Jade felt the strength in her muscles fail her. Suddenly, Carrie found herself not just holding Jade, but holding her up. She feared if she let go, Jade would collapse to the ground.

After a few moments, Carrie finally felt the need to get Jade more help than she could offer. Carrie knew Jade should go home, but she was in no condition to drive. It didn’t occur to Carrie to take Jade home herself. Getting to class and avoiding a tardy took precedence over taking care of a friend in need, even if they weren’t exactly friends.

Carrie decided the best thing to do was to escort Jade to the office. Certainly, the school nurse or Jade’s counselor would be able to help. Then, Carrie figured, she could get to class.

Jade walked alongside Carrie, her arm draped over Carrie’s shoulder for support. When they reached the campus entrance from the parking lot, they were met by Mr. Hoffman, a math teacher from Carrie’s freshman year, who was directing students towards the gym.

Carrie tried to protest, saying she needed to get Jade to the office, but Mr. Hoffman wouldn’t listen. He had his instructions and he was going to follow them to the letter.

Along the way, Carrie and Jade were met with a couple more teachers, funneling the flow of students to the gym. Jade walked more on her own accord at that point and tried to explain that she needed to go home. Her pleas fell on deaf ears as each teacher insisted that every student was to proceed directly to the gym.

As they walked, Jade could overhear other students speculating about the reason they weren’t going to class. While the consensus was that people were generally happy to skip class, they weren’t happy with the possible reason why. They supposed they were going to an assembly about Derek’s death. But it wasn’t Derek’s death that was upsetting them. It was the dread of having to sit through a boring grief counseling assembly.

Jade felt disgusted. No one seemed to care that Derek was dead. They were certainly shocked and many expressed disbelief, but Jade heard no real remorse. The whole situation was little more than an inconvenient incident. To add insult to injury, no one seemed to know exactly how Derek died. She overheard the common theme of the car accident, but the details were always different.

The cavernous gymnasium resonated with the reverberating sound of the entire student body talking and clamoring for seats. Each class was delegated to a particular part of the gym’s bleachers. The freshman and sophomore classes sat on the visitor’s side of the gym while the juniors and seniors sat on the home side. The center aisle on each side divided the classes as well so each quarter of the bleachers sat each particular grade level.

Carrie and Jade found their way to the senior section. Jade’s friend Alison Szarek came bounding down the bleachers to meet her. She wore her blonde hair in its typical ponytail and it bounced behind her as she made her way to Jade.

Seeing that Jade was going to be in the company of friends, Carrie asked Jade if she’d be all right. Jade nodded and thanked Carrie for her help.

Anytime, Carrie said. If you need anything, I’m here for you. The sentiment was sincere, but it just seemed ironic that as soon as Carrie said it, she left Jade’s side to join her own friends in the upper seats.

Alison threw her arms around Jade.

Oh, my God! she exclaimed. I’m so sorry, Jade. Are you okay? What are you even doing here?

Alison was the one person Jade didn’t have to lie to. She knew Jade’s biggest secret—Sean—so there wasn’t any reason to have any other secrets between them. It was a secret they shared because Alison had a ghost haunting her house as well. He wasn’t nearly as nice as Sean, however. It was Blackstone.

Blackstone was dark, sinister, and looked as though he had burns all over his body. And he seemed to set his sights on Jade upon meeting her. Blackstone was what Sean called a Feeder—a ghost that absorbs the energy of the living in order to maintain its existence. Their common secret and common experience ended up bonding the two girls for what would probably be the rest of their lives.

It’s hard to explain, Jade said.

It’s so horrible, commented Alison. I heard he got …

Alison stopped herself. The image in her mind was too gruesome. But Jade had to know what she knew. Or at least what she thought she knew.

What.

Alison took Jade’s goading to mean that she didn’t know the actual details of the accident and Alison was reluctant to share. At the same time, she didn’t want Jade to hear about it from anyone else. She put her arms on Jade’s shoulders as if to brace her.

I heard he got sliced in half.

Jade let out a short burst of a laugh. She couldn’t help it. As awful as the accident was, the fact that the story had twisted so much as it was messaged from student to student just struck Jade as absurd.

No, Jade said.

How do you know? Alison challenged. She answered herself before Jade had a chance. Oh, my God, you were there. No, you couldn’t have been. You’d be … Alison cut herself off. She didn’t even want to think about Jade’s death.

I was at the hospital, said Jade. I was there when he died.

Alison was speechless. She wanted to know more but it wasn’t the time or place. Besides, Vice-Principal Stritch was calling the student body to order.

2

A WAKE

It wasn’t so much Stritch’s voice that grabbed everyone’s attention as it was the screeching feedback from her microphone. When she spoke, though, some felt it was hard to tell the difference.

Good morning, everyone, she said carefully into the mic. When it didn’t squeal again, she continued in a very somber tone. As many of you are aware, we tragically lost one of our own last night. Derek Masselin was killed in an auto accident.

For the few students who hadn’t checked their Facebook—and that was a very small few—the news was met with gasps. A low murmur of conversation rolled through the crowd.

Jade sat uncomfortably in the bleachers. She sensed almost everyone who wasn’t already looking at her was at least thinking about her. However, Jade didn’t hide behind her long, black bangs the way she usually did when she felt everyone’s eyes on her.

Instead, Jade scanned the gymnasium, looking for Amy Edelman. She wanted to see how Derek’s crazy, clingy ex-girlfriend was taking the news. Especially since Jade had just discovered that Derek was still secretly seeing Amy the entire time he was dating Jade.

Amy, however, was noticeably absent from the assembly.

Jade was both relieved and disappointed. Amy was actually the last person Jade wanted to see. She would have been a reminder of how deceptive Derek had been during his relationship with Jade.

To some extent, Jade thought Amy’s behavior was more despicable than Derek’s. She couldn’t really figure out why, but ultimately she decided that it was only because Amy was still alive. It made it easier to be angry with her.

Jade burned with fury at the thought of Amy’s face. She wanted nothing more than to punch it as hard as she could. Knowing that, Jade figured it was best that Amy wasn’t there.

Jade realized Vice-Principal Stritch was still talking. When she finally started to listen, Jade wished she hadn’t. Stritch was using the tragedy as an opportunity to hold an assembly reiterating the dangers of drinking and driving.

While the other misconceptions about Derek’s death were amusing in their outrageousness, this one was just plain offensive. In fact, it was flat-out wrong. And Jade didn’t know if Stritch was misinformed or being intentionally misleading. She figured it was the latter.

Margaret Stritch was one of those administrators who was more like a nanny than anything else. She had an agenda for everything. And everything was, as she liked to put it, a teachable moment.

She would make events fit into her world view even if they didn’t. Jade thought Stritch was an idiot. And she wasn’t alone in her assessment either. Of course everyone knew about the dangers of drinking and driving. It’s just that some kids have good judgement and others don’t. No matter how many assemblies you held or school district-sanctioned videos you showed, nothing was going to change that.

Jade wanted to call Stritch out on her lie. However, doing so would be an announcement to everyone that Jade knew the truth. And that would invite a bunch of unwelcome questions and unwelcome attention. She was uncomfortable enough when she had all the kids in one classroom looking at her. The entire student population would be too much to take.

Not only that, but it would embarrass an administrator in the middle of an assembly. Jade certainly didn’t want to deal with the disciplinary action that would surely follow.

What Jade found most offensive, though, wasn’t the students’ apathy or the staff’s manipulation. It was the whole idea of using the assembly to teach rather than remember. Jade felt if there should be an assembly about Derek’s death, then it should be a memorial for him.

To Jade’s relief, Principal Seavers thought the same thing and quickly squelched Stritch’s educational assembly. He took over the microphone and gave a simple eulogy. Then he asked that the basketball team dedicate their game that night to his memory.

It was the perfect gesture, made even more perfect by the fact that the team not only won the game, they stood center court in silence for one minute when the game was over instead of celebrating loudly. The entire gymnasium joined in, including the players and fans of the opposing team.

As Seavers spoke, Jade found it more and more difficult to maintain her composure. Certainly no one would have blamed her if she broke down into tears. Everyone knew she and Derek were a couple.

It would have been completely reasonable for her to cry, given the circumstances. Many didn’t know what she was doing at school in the first place, or why she even stayed once she allegedly found out about Derek.

Nevertheless, Jade fought back her tears. Only because she didn’t want to call any more attention to herself. Ironically, the fact that she wasn’t crying made people stare at her even more as they wondered why she was so stoic, so unfeeling.

To the contrary, Jade felt a flurry of emotions. Her disgust over the original intent of the assembly countered with Seaver’s touching words about Derek were about to send Jade over the edge. She only managed to keep control of her feelings when she felt a hand on hers.

Then she remembered.

Sean was sitting next to her. She looked to her left and Sean revealed himself to her. No one else could see him.

Sean had become quite adept at matching Jade’s energy so she would be the only one who could see and hear him. The comforting look in Sean’s eyes put Jade at ease and she was able to endure the remaining minutes of the assembly.

Seavers closed out the assembly with the announcement that grief counselors were available for anyone who needed them. There were more people who needed them than actually went, though.

None of Derek’s friends went. Especially his sports buddies. They were trying to be men and kept their emotions in check. They thought it was a sign of weakness to seek help in their sadness. It didn’t occur to them that expressing their feelings actually made them stronger, better men. Emotions, like muscles, have to be used in order to be strong.

The few students who did go to counseling went for one of two reasons. Either they knew Derek personally or they had a common personal circumstance where someone close to them had died in a similar manner and Derek’s accident triggered repressed emotions.

Jade fell into both categories. Still, she didn’t take Seavers up on his offer. While she saw the potential benefit, Jade thought having to deal with Derek’s death would only lead to having to deal with her feelings about the loss of her father as well. She wasn’t prepared to do that, yet. Especially now that he had just appeared to her again.

Jade went through her morning classes, trying to act as normal as possible. Sensing her desire for normalcy, pretty much everyone left her alone. But the sympathetic looks she received from teachers and students only drew more attention to the matter, even though no one spoke about it.

At lunch, Jade found her usual seat next to Alison in the cafeteria. A slight hush fell over the crowd as she made her way to her table. She did her best to ignore it. Alison was the only one to actually say anything when Jade finally sat.

How you doing?

Hard to say, Jade replied. It seems like no matter what, people are going to stare at me. I hate it.

Hey, at least this time it’s because they’re concerned about you. Not because they think you’re …

Creepy?

Well, yeah.

Jade looked around. Where’s Gus and Rachel?

I don’t know, Alison said, happy to have something normal to talk about. Something’s going on between them. Jade shot her a look. Oh, God, not like that, Alison said, laughing. There’s just some weird tension between them and now they’re not even speaking to each other.

I noticed that at Christmas, Jade said. At Gus’s sleepover. And again at Chris Holtzer’s party.

Alison waited for Jade to say something else but her train of thought had apparently derailed.

You okay?

Yeah, Jade said, snapping back. Just thinking about that party reminded me of Derek.

Jade just sat there, staring at the table.

Maybe you should eat something, Alison suggested.

Jade had to assess her situation for a moment. I forgot to bring a lunch, she said, realizing.

Why don’t you just buy something?

I didn’t bring any money, either.

Well, I’ll buy you something, Alison offered.

It’s okay, said Jade.

You don’t have to pay me back. It’s no big deal.

No, I just … don’t feel like eating, Jade said. I think I’m just going to go home.

You sure?

I shouldn’t have even come to school in the first place, Jade said. Alison agreed quietly.

Call me later. Let me know how you’re doing.

Jade just smiled in acknowledgement, then stood up and left the table. Walking through the maze of tables as quickly as she could, Jade tried to avoid eye contact with everyone on the way. She was successful until she reached the doors.

Aaron Holmes