LATE NIGHTS WITH A GHOST.

GHOST 2

“ If I wasn't with Mark... then who exactly was I with?"

The question echoed inside my head over and over again.

It wasn't the fact that I had slept with someone that terrified me.

It was the possibility that the person wasn't Mark.

That couldn't be possible.

It just couldn't.

Mark had already left the country yesterday. That was the whole reason I ended up at the bar in the first place. I remembered crying. I remembered drinking until everything became a blur.

But after that…

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

My legs suddenly gave out,as I dropped slightly on the kitchen floor. Tessa ran to me, holding me steadily. Lots of emotions running through me.

I looked at Tessa with a tear filled eyes. “I'm a mess… I'm a big mess, Tess.”

“No you're not.” Tessa said, sitting down next to me on the floor. “It's not your fault, it's just mark. He's a big jerk.”

I sobbed, shaking my head. It was all my fault. If I hadn't been so stupid with him,it wouldn't have ended this way. I gave Mark everything. I didn't have enough yet I gave him enough. Even when Josh, my brother was starved, even when he had to drop out of school, I didn't care because I was giving everything to mark. Why does it have to end this way.

“Tess… Tess” I sobbed as I buried my head on her shoulder, crying. “I'm done for…”

“Aven…Please pull yourself together.” Tess said,also sobbing. “You're tearing me down, seeing you cry. Pull yourself together.”

I stopped crying for a second, sniffing. I lifted my head up from her shoulder, looking down at my trembling fingers.

“How would I pull myself together when I've let everyone down.” I broke down again. “I let everyone down. Josh would never forgive me. I'd hurt him so much because of Mark.”

“He'll forgive you. You're his sister, you're his family. You're all he has right now.” Tess said. Standing up, pulling me along. She guided me to the living room. And sat me down on the sofa.

I sighed. Looking confused at the same time. “Then who was I with last night?”

Tess blinked, but sighed anyway. “Why does it matter? It's just a one night stand… that's not the worse you've done.”

“But still…” I sighed. “Why would someone take advantage of me like that? He might be well aware that I was drunk,yet he did what he did.”

Tess shrugged, “you do have a point but… what can you do?”

I stood up abruptly. “The bar…” I suddenly said.

Tess looked at me confused. “What?”

“There must be someone that can have an explanation on what happened or who it was…” I hurried to the kitchen, grabbed my bag and back to the living room. “I'll be back, give me a minute.”

“You must be crazy Aven!” Tess yelled out… but I was already leaving the apartment.

★★★★★

I stood outside the bar for a few seconds before finally pushing the door open.

It felt... different.

Last night, the place had been packed with loud music, drunken laughter, and flashing lights. Now, it was almost empty. A few workers were wiping tables while soft music played through the speakers.

A bartender noticed me first. With a broad smile on his face.

"Good afternoon cutie. What should I get you?"

"Hi..." I forced a smile. "Um... is your manager around?"

He looked at me curiously. Smile flattered.

"Did something happen?"

"No... well..." I scratched the back of my neck. "I just need to ask him something."

He nodded. With… I guess a sigh of relief..

"Give me a minute."

He disappeared through a door behind the counter. A few moments later, he returned with a middle-aged man whose hair was beginning to turn gray. Also very familiar for some unknown reason.

The man smiled politely.

"You wanted to see me?"

I nodded.

"Yes... but..." I glanced around at the people nearby. "Could we talk somewhere private?"

He looked slightly surprised but gestured toward a small balcony overlooking the parking lot.

"Sure."

The cool afternoon breeze brushed against my face as we stepped outside.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

I wasn't even sure how to begin.

The manager waited patiently.

"So..." he said gently. "What's on your mind?"

I let out a slow breath.

"I was here last night."

He frowned, studying my face.

Then recognition lit up his eyes.

"Oh..." he said. "Yeah. I remember you now."

"You do?"

He nodded.

"You came in pretty late." A small chuckle escaped him. "You'd had quite a bit to drink."

Heat rushed to my cheeks.

"Yeah..."

"I even told you to slow down, because you came here by yourself drinking alone last night" he continued. "You looked like you were about to drink yourself unconscious."

I looked away, embarrassed.

"Sounds like something I'd do."

His smile faded when he noticed how nervous I looked.

"Is everything okay?"

I hesitated.

"I... honestly don't know."

He waited.

"My boyfriend..." I laughed bitterly. "Well... ex-boyfriend now... Cheated on me yesterday."

"I'm sorry."

"I got drunk because of him."

The manager's expression softened.

"I thought..." I swallowed. "I thought he came to pick me up."

I looked up at him.

"But I found out he had already left the country before any of that happened."

Confusion spread across his face.

"So now..." My voice came out almost as a whisper. "I don't know who I left with. Just woke up in a limo this morning.."

The manager stayed quiet for several seconds.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I wish I could tell you. Besides, lot's of our VIP customers comes with those.."

"Did you... happen to see me leave with anyone?"

He rubbed his chin, thinking hard.

"Honestly?" he admitted. "No."

My heart sank.

"It was one of our busiest nights with important guests. I kept running between the floor and the office. I remember seeing you drinking by yourself..." He paused. "But after that... I lost track of everything. By the time I noticed it again, you were gone."

I closed my eyes for a brief second.

"So there's nothing?"

He suddenly snapped his fingers.

"Wait..."

Hope shot through me.

"What?"

"The CCTV."

I stared at him.

"You have cameras outside, don't you?"

"We do."

"Can I... please see the footage?"

He hesitated for only a moment before smiling.

"I don't usually show customers our security recordings..."

My heart dropped.

"...but judging from the look on your face," he continued, "I'd be a terrible person if I said no."

I almost cried with relief.

"Thank you."

He nodded toward the hallway.

"Come with me.”

He led me through a narrow hallway before stopping in front of a small room.

He pushed the door open.

"This is our security room."

I stepped inside, glancing around. Several monitors were mounted on the wall, each showing different parts of the bar. A desktop computer sat beneath them, connected to what looked like a recording system.

The manager pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Let's see..." he murmured as his fingers moved across the keyboard.

The monitors flickered as different dates and times appeared on the screen.

"You said it was last night, right?"

"Yes."

He nodded.

"Then it shouldn't take long."

My palms had already started sweating.

Please…

Please let there be something. Anything.

The manager clicked on another file.

"There we go."

The outside camera appeared on the monitor.

He dragged the timeline backward before pressing play.

At first, nothing seemed unusual.

Cars drove past.

People walked in and out of the bar.

Some were laughing. Others were too drunk to even walk straight.

He increased the playback speed.

The time in the corner of the screen began changing rapidly.

Then…

A long black limousine slowly pulled up in front of the entrance.

My heart skipped.

"Wait!" I blurted.

The manager immediately paused the video.

I pointed at the screen.

"That's it."

He looked at me.

"The limo?"

I nodded eagerly.

"Yes... that's the exact limo."

Just looking at it made something twist inside my chest.

It looked exactly like the one from my memory.

The same glossy black paint.

The same tinted windows.

The same elegant design.

"I'm sure that's the one."

The manager pressed play again.

For a few seconds, nothing happened.

Then the back door of the limousine opened.

Someone stepped out.

I unconsciously leaned closer to the monitor.

A man.

He was wearing a dark suit.

Tall.

Broad shoulders.

His posture was calm, almost effortless.

My breathing caught.

"Can you pause it?"

The manager paused the video.

I squinted at the screen.

His face…

I couldn't see it.

The streetlights barely reached where he was standing, and the camera quality wasn't helping either.

Everything from his shoulders upward looked blurry.

"Darn it..."

I whispered under my breath.

The manager replayed the clip.

The man lifted a phone to his ear, as if answering a call.

He stood there for a second.

Then he turned and walked away from the limousine.

I frowned.

"Where's he going?"

"I don't know," the manager replied quietly.

We both kept watching.

A second later…

The screen froze.

I blinked.

Then it suddenly went black.

"What?"

I looked at the manager.

"What happened?"

He frowned and clicked the mouse a few times.

"Hmm..."

He tried playing it again.

Nothing.

"It's gone."

"What do you mean it's gone?"

He sighed.

"The camera malfunctioned that night."

My face fell.

"It shut off around this time."

I stared at the blank screen in disbelief.

"No..."

"There should be more."

"I'm sorry," he said apologetically. "The maintenance team fixed it the following morning, but everything during the outage was lost."

Lost.

Just like that.

The answer I had desperately been looking for…

Gone.

I wrapped my arms around myself, refusing to give up.

"Can you play it again?"

The manager looked at me before nodding.

"Of course."

The clip was replayed.

The limousine.

The man.

The phone call.

Then darkness.

"Again."

Without complaining, he replayed it.

I watched every movement carefully.

Every single step.

Every tiny detail.

Again.

Nothing.

"One more time."

The manager smiled sympathetically.

And played it again.

The third time.

The fifth.

The seventh.

By the ninth replay, my eyes were beginning to hurt.

I still couldn't make out his face.

It was impossible.

I sighed in frustration.

"Again."

The manager quietly restarted the footage.

This had to be... what?

The eleventh time?

The man stepped out of the limousine once more.

Phone pressed against his ear.

Walking away.

I followed his movements carefully.

Not his face this time…

His clothes.

His hands.

His shoes.

Anything.

Then…

Something caught my eye.

"Pause!"

The manager immediately stopped the video.

"What is it?"

I stepped closer to the monitor.

My heartbeat quickened.

"There..."

I pointed at the side of the man's neck.

The manager leaned in.

For a second, neither of us spoke.

Peeking out from beneath the collar of his suit…

Was part of a tattoo.

It wasn't very clear.

Most of it was hidden.

But the little I could see was enough.

A dragon.

A black dragon stretching up the side of his neck.

I stared at the frozen image.

His face was still a mystery.

But maybe...

Just maybe…

This dragon tattoo was the first real clue to recognizing the man I'd spent that night with.