Ghost Boyfriend

poetry

"He's not in there," Mark reappears in front of me.

"What do you mean he's not in there?" I gape at him in disbelief. "It's been scarcely three minutes you've been in there. Go search properly! Make an effort!!" I almost yell.

We're standing outside Reece's flat and I've explained the layouts of the entire house to Mark, feeling giddy with positive adrenaline. Everything is supposed to go according to plan. All he had to do was go in there and check up on Reece and now he tells me Reece's not in there. He doesn't even sound interested in this whole stuff.

"He doesn't leave for work until ten!" I wave my gold Rolex at him. "And it's not even eight! How can he not be in there? Did you double-check the bathroom? See if he's taking a pee in the toilet?"

Mark shakes his head. "No. There's no soul in there and it's a mess. Scattered pizza boxes, accessories here and there, clothes trailing out the door, bed sheets ripped..."

"Wait up," I raise a hand to stop him, thoughts spinning around these details. "Did you just say the sheets were ripped and there are clothes on the floor? How can this be! He's supposed to be a virgin until he gets married! That's what he told me six years ago, and now he ends up banging Tina."

This is s**t. I didn't expect one bit of it. Well, no wonder Tina's looking all breezy and sparkling like she recently won the lottery. One s*x with Reece and her skin's shimmering. It's wrong. I feel cheated. He had s*x with her, not me. How biased he must be.

"Let's get out of here," Mark says curtly. "This is stupid and you don't look - "

"I'm fine!" I yell, causing him to flinch backward. "Go in there and check again! Look in the stores, the dining area, his study...turn the chairs upside down if you have to. We just need to find something either connected to your murder or his regret at not having s*x with me. Get in there and shake some paperwork!"

"But - "

"Look," I say fiercely. "Tina might be his girlfriend. She might be the lucky boll who's gonna be stuck with him for life but it doesn't imply they've had s*x yet. Perhaps they argued, ripped their clothes off and fought. There has to be a way that happened." I break down to small sobs. Deep down I knew the truth and the fact that it was with Tina of all people is appalling. I mean she's so thin and has twiggy arms! Her legs are busty like pillows too. How is she better than me then? What in the universe did I do to deserve this wrecked love life of mine?

Mark disappears again and the air down my lungs turn turbulent. This is unbearable. I've reached my limit. Perhaps it'd be best if I concentrate on helping Mark instead. Who knows? He must've been my one true love but now that he's dead, love dies with him too.

This realization chokes me. I can't fall in love anymore.

I'll never find true love.

"Whoops! I found something!!" I break off from my thoughts to see Mark jumping in triumph. "It'll break your heart though but what the hell? You're already broken."

I can't help wanting to punch him.

'Dear Tina.

'I wish every day could be like today, beautiful and sweet just like you my queen'

M

Mark recites, shifting his gaze on me.

I can hardly breathe with my face flushing scarlet, smoke pumping out my ears. He writes her poetry! He adores her while all I asked for was for one little ride with his d**k.

Maybe I should really start getting into that 'long commitment' thingy.

Men are cruel...no not all men (I'm an exception) some are!

The straight ones who pretend to be bisexual and freak out last minute when it came down to s*x.

"Is that-is that the only thing you found out about?" I say quietly. "Wasn't there poetry of me at all? Or something which shows I existed in his life?"

He CAN'T just move on! We never even had a proper breakup!

Oh, wait. Gawd. I turn to Mark, eyes shining. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Reece and I never broke up! We're still in a relationship. He never said 'It's over' to me."

He scoffs. "Yeah right. Like you didn't unintentionally wrap things up with your s*x demand. He's looking for a commitment, he's searching for true love while you're only interested in having a swing with the stick between his legs. He's smart to not reach out to you afterwards which implies you have to work on yourself. Give up this motive of yours and let's get out of here!"

I stare at him in horror then understanding. He's got a sordid point, Reece isn't even that pricy to have s*x with me. There tons of better-looking guys who'd give anything to have my bounty. "You know what this is stupid. Let's get out of here." I say slowly, turning to start working away, head down as I almost bump into a pair of bored-looking girls. "He's my past and all I've got to do is go buy a new thong and off to night bars I go! It'd be fun to end up with an HIV, or some weird diseases - "

"That's not what I meant!" Mark looks shocked. "I didn't say 'Peter! You're single now so go spread your legs.' No. Ew. I meant moving on. Like, focus on finding true love."

"Well, that's just great cause finding love died with you too!" I flare, glaring at him resentfully. How dare him tell me to focus on true love. He was my true love.

He looks puzzled. "Excuse me?"

"Never mind," I puff out my cheeks. What's the point of explaining a thing over and over. He still won't budge. "I'm sick of you anyways. You're not being helpful at the very least."

"But what about my murderers? You mentioned Reece as a suspect." he has no problem keeping up with me.

I bit my bottom lip, thoughtful. If Mark couldn't find Reece home, where else could he have gone to? Work? It's not even nine. He's always been a tardy guy.

"Alrighty. Luckily for us where his office is located. It's off a few blocks so we don't have a problem walking but keep in mind I'm not going in with you. You'll have to search for him yourself. I'm done for the day." I yawn as a passerby shoots me an odd look. Immediately, I raise my mobile phone to my left ear as though making a call. Gosh, I'll have to do this more often if I don't want people looking at me as though I've lost my mind. Humans are so mean.

"Okie!" Mark trots off.