Out of the Darkness

180 Anna's POV

"Don't be so hard on yourself," he continued. I leaned up to look him in the eye. "Colby, you know as well as I do, that I don't have much time. Lilith is going to keep coming at you, and using me to get to you. I won't let that happen. I'll disappear forever, before I let her use me to hurt you." He held my gaze and took my hands in his. "You won't hurt me. I've been careful about what I say around you, as much as I hate it. I know that you wouldn't hurt me, no matter what." I took my hands from his and looked away. "That's not true. I hurt you that night in the pool. I caused you to bust your lip. I made you bleed." "That was an accident," he pleaded with me. "You weren't in control of yourself. You saw what happened and you haven't let it happen again. And you know what? I don't care if you don't believe it! I believe it. I believe in you!" I squeezed my eyes shut against the tears that threatened to come. "Why?" I asked, my voice shaky. I was well aware that Sam and Christine were just an audience to our conversation, but I couldn't make myself care. "Why do you care so much? Why do you believe in me? You don't even know me! Hell, I don't even know me! I'm dangerous to you. You'd be better off just telling me to disappear from your life." "No, he wouldn't," a soft voice whispered. I glanced at the older lady who was sitting on the other side of him. "What?" I asked, kind of annoyed that she was butting in. "He wouldn't be better off if you just disappeared, or if he told you to disappear. Once someone loves you, it leaves a hole when you aren't there to fill it. That's worse than anything. The not knowing, the emptiness...it's horrible. Worse than any pain. Death would be a welcomed silence, I would think." I stared at her, seeing flashes of the girl she was when she was younger. She had been through so much pain in her life. Her eyes told me that much. But she didn't know me. She didn't know what I had to deal with. "Death hasn't been much of a silent escape for me," I replied, quietly. "You've been a lot of help today and I really appreciate it, but you should butt out. You don't know anything about me, or us. You shouldn't speak on things that you don't understand." My voice stayed quiet and I never yelled, but even I could hear the steel lying underneath my words. "I'm sorry. You're right. I just lost someone a long time ago, and it still hurts not knowing what happened to her." Her eyes were still filled with tears, and even though I meant what I said, I felt the sudden urge to hug this woman, to comfort her. So I did. It was automatic, and I didn't even think about it. I just stood up and stepped towards her. She stood and I wrapped my arms around her. Her sobs came in heavy, as she returned the sentiment. Her arms came around me, squeezing like I was her best friend. In that moment, it felt like I was. It was the most natural thing, and it felt almost familiar. Like I had hugged this woman many times before this. I stayed there, holding her, until her sobs subsided, then I let her go and stepped back. She hastily wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I'm sorry I got so emotional. It happened such a long time ago, but it still feels very fresh sometimes. Especially today," she replied, her voice shaky. "It's okay. I'm sorry that I was rude, but I still meant what I said. I'm sorry for your loss but this isn't about you. It's about me, and you really don't know what you're getting yourself into. This is dangerous," I replied. She nodded, gave me a watery smile, and sat back down. I took my seat on the other side of Colby, and met his gaze. He gave me a small smile and took my hand in his for comfort. "I guess we should get started then," I said, smiling at Christine. "Aw, look, we're all friends again. Such a touching moment," Sam spoke up, out of nowhere. "Oh, shut it," I laughed. Colby ran his hand through his hair and stood up. "Maybe we should take it to another room or another place though. Jake and Corey will be home eventually and I'm not sure when exactly." "Maybe we can go to Christine's?" Sam suggested, raising his eyebrows, questioningly. She shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. My husband will be home in a few hours and my daughter is visiting right now. I wouldn't even know how to begin to explain this." "What about a hotel?" Colby asked, looking around at everyone. "We can just say that we're going to be working on a video and we won't be back until tomorrow." "Okay, yeah! Sounds like a good idea to me. I'm in!" Sam exclaimed. "Can we make it haunted?" "NO!" Colby and I shouted together. Sam laughed and held up both hands. "Okay, geez, it was just a suggestion." "I think we've had enough haunted to last a while," Colby said, grinning at me. "I'm a ghost and I'm sick of the haunted for now," I joked. "Well, I can't stay the night, obviously. I have to get home to my family, but I can tell them that I have to work late. That should give me a little more time." "Okay, I guess we need to go pack up a change of clothes then," Sam said, standing up. Colby stood, and looked down at me. "I'll be right back." I nodded, and watched them walk out. "Don't forget my doll!" I yelled. I heard laughing in return so I knew that he had heard me. I grinned to myself, and settled back into the couch to wait on them. I felt eyes on me, so I turned my head to see Christine staring again. "Can you not do that? I know it's weird to see a ghost as a solid person, but I'm still human. Or kinda. I still get uncomfortable and you staring at me, makes me uncomfortable." She blushed and looked down at her lap, to pick at her manicured nails. "I'm sorry," she said. The more I looked at her, the more I could see the girl that she used to be. I was positive that she had been a betty. I also couldn't shake the feeling that I knew her from somewhere. "Are you sure that I don't know you from somewhere? Maybe when I was alive?"