The Outcasts

Chapter 7

"That Cyrus guy seemed off," Jem said that very same night. "Couldn't you tell?" He had appeared in my bedroom doorway with his arms crossed over his chest while a concerned look was knitted across his brows. Cyrus did act weird, but that was because we had just met and though he and I were the same with abilities that were unknown and bizarre to both of us. I couldn't help but think about how unaware I was of it. I could only chalk it down as me not wanting to fully believe that things such as this thrived in the world that I live in today. After a brief moment of silence, to which Jem must have realized, he asked, "Everything alright? You seem quiet."

I fiddled with the seams of my sleeves as I attempted to process all that was recently happening. "Yea," I said in a quiet voice. "M-my brain is still processing what Cyrus said." I stammered. "I can't help but think that my life had....has...more meaning to it than I led myself to believe." My gaze strayed to my window where the sun was still peaking behind the horizon.

"When my existence was still," I heard Jem say. A part of me noticed that his tone held sadness and I knew that he suffered a death that he couldn't possibly remember...aside from the fire and how my apartment was rebuilt where he had died. "Tethered to the physical plane, I had this belief that all of us were meant for something much greater."

"You're not talking about Christianity and God are you?" I turned my head away from the window and gave him a side glance that told him that I was paying attention but didn't bother to say anything else, only because I was waiting for him to reply.

Jem shook his head in response. "My beliefs went beyond that, Cora," he replied once more. His eyes sparkled as if he wanted to say something else at that moment.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, clearly wanting to make sense of what Jem was talking about. I heard him breathing a sigh which was a light sound in the confines of my bedroom.

" I'm saying that," he said as he uncurled his arms from his chest and used his shoulders to push off of my door jam. His tone was light as he glided across my room and sat down on the bed next to me. "There are other religions and deities that we...the people on this earth....worship."

"I am well aware of that," I replied as I too breathed a sigh and continued. "I just don't have any sort of belief in anything, toward anything." The truth behind why I don't believe in God or anything outside or above was because of how my parents spoke and acted and in a way I didn't want to end up like them even at a very young age I saw and learned that I could be better than my own parents.

"Everybody is different," Jem replied, pulling me out of my thoughts. "This applies to you as well. Just..." his voice trailed off as he brushed loose strands of my hair behind my ear.. His touch was solid which felt weird because he was a ghost. "You are more than what you appear to be." He gave me a smile, his teeth were whiter than pearls against the soft glow of the lamp.

"So it seems," I said calmly. "Do you think that my parents have something to do with what is happening with me?" The question hung there like a piece of thread hovering in thin air. My Parents didn't want anything to do with me so the answer might not get answered.

Jem only shrugged as if he didn't have a clue. I hardly spoke of my parents while living here and I couldn't ask him something that he doesn't even know. "That is a matter that you should discuss with your parents." Jem made the suggestion as if it were easy and it was not.

"I haven't been able to bring myself to talk to either of them since," I stopped myself only because of what had happened last time. A memory flashed before my eyes. My younger self standing in front of my mother who was lying unconscious, while my father knelt beside her looking up at me with disgust. I took a deep breath and decided to tell a white lie instead of explaining the whole story. "I got emancipated." The last part was just the above whisper. and with Jem sitting next to me I was certain that he heard that.

"You don't need to explain," Jem assured me. "Whatever happened back then is in the past. If you choose to tell me, then I will only listen," I let my breath out slowly. I stayed silent. :Just like I had when you didn't realize that I was here." He grinned and, by the look of it, he seemed cocky.

I chuckled lightly. "I knew that you were here the first week that I had moved in." The confession rolled out of my mouth without me thinking about it and I quickly covered my lips with my hand as I felt a blush creep its way to my cheeks. I bit my bottom lip as I fell silent.

"How come you never asked?" Jem wanted to know. "I believe that you and I would have gotten acquainted faster." He laughed, the sound making my insides feel a tad weird, but in a way, it felt nice.

"I was clearly busy at the time," I began, my hand indicating my room and the apartment before us. "So there was no time to ask questions about whether anyone resided here, spirit wise that is." I gave a small grin. "Plus I didn't know what to say."

"Based upon my observation of you," Jem said with a light chuckle. "Cora," he said, brushing his fingers across my cheek. His touch was cool and still semi-solid. "Didn't you have any loyal friends to rely on growing up?" I shook my head to tell him no because in some way I always remained the outcast of anyone that I befriended. A loner who believed that trusting others was as dangerous as inviting them over to your house. It was better this way, at least for me anyway. As for Jem, he was the only person that I called friend and with him being around and talking to him...it meant a lot that he was there.

"I wasn't one to make friends or to open up to anyone," I said, breaking free of my thoughts once more. "When I was growing up," I stopped myself for a moment, debating on whether to tell him another memory from my childhood. "I remember an incident at my elementary school when I was younger. I had spoken to spirits and ghosts before and the other students that stood by watched and later told me that it was creepy that I could do such a thing. Soon after, they began to call me the freak of the school. I was constantly bullied even by the people that said that were my friends." A few tears had slipped from my eyes, revealing the hurt that I had kept inside of myself since then. "I shut myself off from everyone and everything. My parents didn't know anything about me until I decided to tell them a few years later." I scoffed at the thought of them both. "That was a mistake because when I did, both of them decided that I was crazy and delusional. Disowned me right on the spot." I realized that I was rambling, but I didn't think that Jem would have cared. I quickly wiped my tears and got to my feet, going to my closet, I pulled out a pair of sleeper shorts and a soft blue tank top. "It's alright though,' I said, turning to face him. "I think that I was better off without them." My voice broke at the end and while Jem sat there on my bed in silence, it made me wonder what he was thinking.

Jem scratched his brow. "What happened to you wasn't your fault," he assured me softly. "Nobody in your past could accept that you were...special. No matter how difficult it was on you to get past it. You did it on your own." He got up and went to the window but turned to look at me instead. "Cora," his voice seemed to rumble through every fiber of my being. "You pulled through the harshest of struggles and came out stronger and more beautiful than ever." At that last statement, I blushed. I couldn't grasp the comment but it soon sank like a ship going under the ocean.

"Thank you," I whispered softly, but it sounded shaky to me and I ignored it. "You're the first person who has said that...and, of course, the other thing as well." My heart did a flip and it thudded loud enough to the point where I heard it beat like a drum in my ears.

"A past like yours, Cora," he said again, his gaze never leaving mine and there was something about his eyes that made me want to drown in them. I had never had a boyfriend and all these emotions and feelings were in fact all new to me. If I only had supportive parents to explain all of this, then I would most likely understand. His voice brought me back to earth. "Defines you as a person and how you go about your future...all depends on you." Jem soon glanced down at the articles of clothing that I still held in my arms, then looked back at me with a small smirk. "I will let you get changed and ready for bed."

I could only nod, because in some way I had nearly forgotten that I was even holding my pajamas, though the warmth was clear on my arm. I didn't say much in return and with that he disappeared in thin air. I shook myself a little bit before turning towards my bathroom that lay off to the right of my window, pulling out the elastic from my hair, I picked up the brush off of my vanity and began to run it through my hair, freeing it of any type of tangles and then turning the shower. While I waited for the water to heat up, I quickly undressed and hopped in, hoping that this would help relieve the stress and aches in my body.

As midnight came tolling, I found myself still awake in my bed. The restlessness that I was feeling didn't go away. I was concerned about sleeping. About dreaming. I was scared that I was being completely honest. These nightmares or whatever they were... were getting to me. I wasn't about to get trapped in another dream without a way to escape. And also by an unknown being who was clearly after me. I felt like it needed something from me aside from causing terror and destruction, but in my thoughts it made me wonder what it was. Outside of my window, I heard the owls hoot and insects chirp their night song but at the corner of my eye I saw movement, then a voice. "Can't sleep?" I heard Jem say lightly, but he still somehow scared me and once he realized after I put my hand to my throat in defense. "I didn't mean to startle you." Jem apologized and hid a grin on my behalf.

"It's alright," I said as I clicked on my lamp which rested on the table next to my bed. I rubbed my eyes and peered at him through squinted lashes. "What are you doing?" I asked as I sat up in bed and leaned on the back backboard and waited for him to reply.

"Spirits like us don't have the ability to sleep," Jem said sadly. "So, in a way, I am restless." He bit his lip and looked down at the floor. "I should be fine though, Cora."

"It makes sense," I told him. "Would it make it any easier for you to..." My voice trailed off, debating on whether or not I should invite him to lay down next to me. The thought of someone else in my bed aside from myself, caused my heart to skip yet again. What was so special about Jem that made my body do things that it shouldn't? In the time that I had lived here, it never occurred to me that I never even had a single person over as had a guest let alone a man, but this was Jem. A spirit that had died here and can't seem to find any peace. I promised him that I would help the best I can to get him the answers he needed. The only thing was...Where was I even supposed to start? In a sense, however, asking Jem to lay down next to me was still innocent, especially in that department but as I sat there, with my bed head and sleepy expression, it made me wonder if me asking was a mistake and since Jem hasn't responded; I felt a surge of heat rush to my cheeks. I bit my lip and looked away, placing my gaze on my cell that was on the nightstand. The screen black and on charge. "I'm sorry..." I began but Jem slowly raised a hand to stop me.

"You don't need to explain anything," he assured me with a smile. "The nightmares that you have been having must not be easy for you." The look that he was giving me made my insides churn and yet again I questioned why he made me feel this way. I haven't tried dating or anything of the sort but the thought was running through my mind made me think. Does Jem care about me? Like in that sort of way or was it more friend than..?

"I've been on my own for the longest time," I gave him a half grin as I tried my hardest to explain. "As you already know, I grew accustomed to being alone and a part of me is truly scared of what is to come." I made the confession as easy as drinking water. The fear that I felt was still there right in arms reach just waiting to escape. It lived inside of me, like a virus, dormant and waiting. For how long....I don't know. These nightmares had a vice wrapped around my very soul and what these beings wanted from me were unknown. "I have no clue why these beings want me but it's enough for them to crave. To taunt me until hey get it"

"Do you believe that these dreams are real?" Jem asked with a hint of concern, peaking his tone and I quickly nodded in return.

"If I had some type of power ability and seeing spirits wasn't real." I attempted humor but it didn't ease the tension that I was feeling. "So yes I do believe that these nightmares or whatever they are...is real." I licked my lips and continued wearily. "I'm hoping that Cyrus is doing his part in searching up whatever is happening to the both of us."

"I doubt that he has," there was a hint of mistrust in Jem's tone as he spoke of Cyrus that I instantly caught. I looked back at him and saw that he had rolled his eyes back. "I already know that I can't trust the guy but how can you?"

"I'm not trusting him," I said back in a tone that reminded him of who I was. "I am being on guard and super cautious." I wasn't around many people but I also learned the true value of trust. It needed to be earned one way or the other. It 'trusting others'' wasn't on my bucket list. I think it never will be if I was being honest with myself. I threw my blankets off of my legs and stood all the while relieving myself of any tiredness that might have come over my body.

"So trust but also vigilant?" Jem's eyes seemed to say, No damn way am I trusting some guy that I don't even know. For which I can't blame him. Neither of us knew Cyrus and with him just showing up at random soon after the mental connection that he made with me, it raised red flags for both of us. It made me feel uneasy about the entire situation, but there wasn't anything done about it. How would I know how to place a block up on someone who willingly chose to stalk me and come to my home unannounced? In my opinion, however, I was still new and quite inexperienced at this power thing. As if sensing my tension, Jem said softly, "Cyrus showing up yesterday wasn't at all your fault, Cora." When he was talking, I was slowly walking to toward my door to head to the little kitchen to make myself a cup of tea to calm my nerves, however, what Jem said made me stop with my hand on the door knob to listen. "I get that this whole thing is still new to you and you had no physical control over the situation, but you can't always put trust in people that you do no know."

"You have a point," I uttered in return to the last thing that he had said. "I put my trust in you after realizing that I wasn't crazy or talking to myself. As for Cyrus," I took a breath and thought of the next thing that came to mind. "Until we have more information, Cyrus better have the answers we seek or else..." What was I going to do? Kill him? Even if I was capable of doing such a harsh act, would I have the guts to follow through?