Betwinx (Paranormal Erotic Romance Novella) (8 page)

“It’s okay. It was just a surprise, that’s all.
Besides, n
o one lives forever in the physical plane.
”

“So, are you telling me that the man I saw is a ghost?”
Valerie asked.

“
Yes
, he is
.
It is said, that because
the lovers
died on the day they were to be married,
while they were making love
,
they
can
onl
y be released into the light b
y
someone
who
can see them and who
ha
s
found the s
ame kind of love they once
shared
.
Until that day, they
are
destined to come together once a year on Halloween
.”

“They blow up year after year?”
Valerie asked.

“
No,
they don’t.”
Delores shook her head.
“
They are allowed to experience
one another as if they were still alive. They move among us in the hopes that someone will see and acknowledge them. But there is the chance that
only
one of them
will
be seen. If that happens, the one left behind will be destined
to return to the house alone every year
. Since the house is to be
torn
down, that is probably
why you’ve seen
Travis
now
.”

“
Hold it!”
Lorna
shouted. “If they’re tearing down the house where do we return to if we’re not seen?
”
They could be separated for eternity?
The realization of Delores
’
words rocked through her.
She’d seen
Travis
’s reflection in the mirror and window. Valerie and Delores could both see him too. But
her reflection was missing and…
“
Oh, no.
”

“
I
ca
n’t see
Lorna
,
”
Valerie said.
“Do you see her?”

Ms. Delores shook her head. “I wish I could.”

“No, no, no…” Tears rolled down
Lorna
’s face. She buried her head against
Travis
’s chest. “
I’m
still
invisible to them but you’re not
. I’m going to be left behind.”

“That’s not going to happen.”
Travis
held her tight. “I’ll find someone who can
acknowledge
you. I won’t go into the light without you,
Lorna
.”

“Y
ou are in love
, Valerie
.
” Ms. Delores said.
“
Maybe blondie is the one to see her.”

“He doesn’t love me
.
”
Valerie’s cheeks burned in embarrassment.
“
We’ve only been dating a month.”

“You’
ve loved him
for
a long time
, haven’t you?
How do you
know he doesn’t feel the same
way
?” Ms. Delores took a sip of her coffee. “
You asked me what you’re supposed to release
Travis
from. The answer is that you will release him from the physical plane where he is now into the light.
Tonight, you must go to the Hutchinson house and
do this
. It is your destiny
because
you were chosen to be the first to see him
. Make sure you take blondie
and his sister
with you
.
If
your boyfriend
sees
Lorna
, then you will know his feelings for you are a deep and lasting love.
I
f he sees her, then she will go with
Travis
into the light.
”

“But
…
this is just a local ghost story right?
” Valerie glanced over at
Travis
.
“
I’m not really supposed t
o help him into the light am I? I don’t have any clue how to do that.”

“It is not just a ghost story. This is very real
.
Give me your hand.
”
Ms. Delores took her hand
when Valerie offered it
and
studied
the palm.
“D
o
yo
u see th
ese
line
s
right here? It shows me that you a
re destined to do great things.
This is one of them.”

How c
ould
this be true? She was just a regular girl from a small town
in Maryland
who moved to Florida. She’d always helped people but helping a ghost?
She wasn’t even psychic, not like Ms. Delores.
“
I’m not sure if I can do it but I’ll try.
What about this guy John? Is he hanging around too?”

“John ha
s moved on. You don’t have to worry about him.”

“How do you know these things, Ms. Delores?”

“
Lorna
was my best friend from the time we were five years old until her death.
After she died, I became obsessed with developing my psychic abilities so that I could ta
l
k with her.
” Ms. Delores leaned back in her chair.
“
I know these things because I’m able to
contact the spirit world.
Like you,
I
too
watch the realm.”

* * * * *

Travis
stared
over
Lorna
’s head
at the girl sitting
on a stool at
Delores’
kiosk
. The ocean breeze picked up tendrils o
f h
er long blond
e
hair
and fluttered it around her shoulders.
She glanced his way.

Could she really be the one to send him into the light?
Could this
wisp
of a girl contain that kind of power?

He looked down at
Lorna
’s
tear-stained
face.
He hated to see her
so
upset.
He
ran the back of his knuckles along her cheek
. Long eyelashes fluttered open.

“Do you remember the explosion?”
she asked.

He shook his head.
All he remembered was making love
to
Lorna
and
then he
had been standing
in a gray fog. A man who called himself a Master had come to him in a ray of light. He
had
recited
the
rules
and then disappeared. Every day since then he’d wandered around in that fog, waiting for the gateway to open
on Halloween. It appeared as a clear view of the house that he could step through, crossing over into the physical dimension.

“How could we have forgotten so much? How could we be so oblivious to what
happened that day
?”

“We only remember our reality.” He kissed her forehead. “We don’t remember what John did because we didn’t know he was
even there o
r that he
killed us.”

“I should have listened
to him,
Travis
. I should have known that he would
tr
y
to keep us apart.
”
Lorna
clenched her jaws.
“This just makes me so mad!
It’s my fault we’re dead, that we’re
stuck in between worlds.”

“No, it’s not.
You didn’t know he was a murderer.
”
He knew
Lorna
would tear herself up with guilt thinking it was her fault that a manic had lost his mind and
killed
them. She needed a distraction and he needed time to figure out a way for her to be seen too.
“You know what this reminds me of,
Lorna
?”

“What
?”
She sniffled.

“Do you remember our first Halloween
day
together?
”
He leaned in, nibbled on her earlobe, and then trailed kisses down the line of her jaw. “
It was hot, just like today, and we went swimming and then
I
bought
you
a vanilla ice cream cone.
It was swirled so high that
you
didn’t think
you could
eat it all.”

“But
I did.
”
She
gazed at him.
“
I could really go for one
of those cones right about now. How about you?”

“
Ice cream
would
taste
good but I can think of something
that I like to eat even better
.”
He slid his hand between her legs and rubbed her mound.

“Then we should go somewhere so you can have a snack.”
Lorna
shook off the upsetting feelings
of
anger to grin at him
. She may only have a few more hours with
Travis
and she wasn’t going to waste them worrying about what happened twenty years ago when they were fresh out of
college
.
“L
ook
at that
.”

His gaze followed to where she pointed. A white pickup
drove toward the ocean.
“Surf Naked”
was
written in large white letters across the back window.
Travis
grinned.
“
I think we should
‘Get Naked’ instead of surf
ing
naked.”

“I think you’re right.”
Lorna
pulled his hand from her crotch and linked her fingers between his. T
he girl named Valerie walk
ed past them
into the ice cream shop
to sit with her boyfriend and another girl
.
The store’s
bright yellow and blue trim hosted
pictures of various ice cream dishes
displayed on
the windows.
The
storefront was all glass, including the door. Inside,
a few tables lined the wa
ll.
A small window faced the sidewalk for
beach
customers who didn’t want to enter the
shop
. A woman with short brown
hair
handed a
guy
a
chocolate
cone.
He licked the
dark
ice
cream.

“That looks delicious.”
Lorna
pause
d to
watch him
lick
the ice
cream
. He took change from his pocket,
laid it on the windowsill and slid it
over
to the woman inside
.

“I hope you’re talking about the ice cream and not him.”
Travis
felt a pang of jealousy rising from the pit of his stomach.

“Of course, silly. I was just dreaming
of
a
vanilla cone. You know how I love
them
.”

“What could I get for you?” The woman said to
Travis
.

“Is she talking to you?”
Lorna
gripped his
hand
tighter.

“I don’t know.”

“
Maybe I can help you decide.
The butter pecan is delightful.
Or how about the caramel swirl?
Maybe a banana split?
”
She grinned at him.

“I think she
i
s
talking to you,
Travis
.
Say something to her
.”