Andy

Andy lies in bed beside me in the darkness, combing his fingers through my hair and weaving the strands into loose braids to keep him busy while we talked.

I didn’t want to keep bringing up the events that had brought us to this moment, but I couldn’t avoid it either.

“Did you ever suspect that it wasn’t... You know, Ashley?” I murmured quietly, my mind preoccupied with all kinds of things.

“There were red flags,” He admits with a disappointed sigh. “But I was so excited to have him back, and for the five of us to be together again that I kept making up excuses for him and coming up with reasons why it wasn’t so. I’m pissed at myself about that, now...”

“It’s not your fault.” I reply quietly, not fully believing it myself. It is his fault. He didn’t want to listen to me, he was blinded to the things I tried to tell him and look what became of it.

“It is.” He disagrees, “It’s my only job to make sure that you’re okay. I failed that. There are no excuses to be made.”

We lay in silent for a few minutes before I speak again. “So really, what comes next? Are we really going straight to California?”

“It’s our best shot of getting away from him.”

“But he followed us the first time... What would stop him from doing it again? He’s fascinated by me, he’s not just going to walk away while he’s still winning the game.”

“You’re right.” He sighs, “I guess it’s our best shot at protecting everyone we’ve endangered here. CC, Jinxx, Jake, Eliza... They’re all in danger now.”

“About Eliza... Charles said he saved her.” I frown, looking ahead at the moonlight trying to break through the storm clouds outside, dimly illuminating my bedroom floor. “He said that he... Saw her fate already. He said he knew that she’d get into a car accident later that night anyway, so taking Reece right then at the school had spared her.”

“Doesn’t mean he has a conscious.” Andy mutters with bitter disgust in his voice.

“But think about it... Why would he bother if he’s supposedly a ruthless killer?”

“What are you saying?”

“What if he isn’t a killer? I mean, wouldn’t his slayings be major stories even now, all these years later? Kids love spreading scary stories and that one is too good to be passed up. I’ve lived in Pendant my whole life and never once heard those stories.”

“Do you think he made it up?”

I frown, biting on my lip in deep thought. “There’s one way for us to find out.”

“How’s that?”

“The bones under his house. He left multiple skeletons underneath the crawlspace, they’d still be there if he were telling the truth.”

“Is that tomorrow’s venture?” He asks, voice reluctant.

“Don’t think we have a lot of options at the moment...” I sigh, a shiver running down my spine when I realize that out of all the places in town, that’s the one we’d be most likely to find him.

“One more thing...”

“What’s that?”

“He said he knew when and how Eliza would have died... How did he know that? Was it just a guess? Was he being sarcastic?... Is it another ability?”

He is silent so long I start to wonder if he’d fallen asleep. “Andy?”

“I don’t know,” He admits, shrugging a bit. “It could be, I suppose.”

“How’s that bump on your back?”

“Nothing’s changed... Still no clue what it is.”

I purse my lips and think in silence for a few minutes for something more cheerful to talk about. “Once we get to California, you can give me a proper tour. We didn’t have much time last time. We’ll have new places to explore.”

He chuckles, but it still sounds saddened.

“I’m still tearing you away from your home,” He murmurs, “Neither of us can deny that my involvement in your life has made things much more difficult for you and it was what spawned all this moving trouble to begin with.”

“I know...” I reply quietly. “I know things are harder, and it terrifies me to admit that for once in my life, I don’t know what comes next. Everything is so unpredictable now, but we can still find the positivity in it, I think.”

“Ash... You are a light in the dark.” He laughs, pressing his face into my shoulder and sighing.

“Do you remember the day we officially met?” I ask, feeling the warmth of the memory spreading over my heart, shooing all the tension to the shadows. “I was obsessed with learning more about you and I got way more than I expected to... Obviously I did not expect you to just show up in my house, but you know...”

“I gave you a panic attack.” He recalls, laughing quietly.

“And I screamed louder in that moment than I have in my entire life... I’m surprised the neighbors didn’t hear it. For the rest of the night, I left the lights all on and was freaking out. Who could I tell? Who could I confide in? Had I imagined it all, or were you really there? It was my curiosity that won over in the end when I decided to wander off into the woods behind the school, daring to speak your name.”

“It was a good choice.”

“Hm.”

In the last twenty-four hours, I’d found myself frequently wondering if it was a good choice. Just thinking that makes me feel so guilty when he is still so committed to me and I’m the one shying away now.

Morning comes, and I get ready for school in silence, a brisk chill has invited itself into the room overnight, prompting me to check the window to make sure that it is still locked.

I look out my bedroom window, the glass is fogged up with moisture, but I can just barely make out the tops of the trees beyond my yard. I mentally kick myself, reminding myself again that I’d be late for school if I kept fretting over who is watching me from the woods... Or what.

Andy is quiet when I come downstairs, occupying himself in the living room, thumbing through my Dad’s Bible left on the end table.

“Ready to go?” I ask him, giving him a smile that surely looks weak and stressed.

We opt to walk to school. I’m ashamed to admit I don’t possess the confidence to board the school bus this morning with the burning stares of all the other kids fully aware of Reece’s prolonged absence. Maybe know one would even think of my involvement, but when they’re all staring at you longer than necessary while you navigate to the back to find a seat, you can’t help but feel like a criminal.

It stopped raining sometime in the middle of the night, leaving behind glossy puddles along the sidewalk and everything glazed over in a thin sheet of fresh droplets.

The sound of wet gravel crunching under my boots as we walked was the only sound accompanying me as Andy mostly kept to himself, lost in his own head. It saddens me that every time I want to speak to him, I have no clue what to say... I have no clue how to fix any of this.

Within fifteen minutes of leaving home, we’re walking onto school property and it’s teeming with life. With all the noise being crossed conversations about crazy stories from prom, I was easily able to fly under the radar and get to my locker before I had an encounter with anyone.

I was standing in front of it, head down, hood up, putting in my combination when someone jabs me in the ribs. I look up, startled, seeing that it was Andy. He looks at me, then nods in the direction of the problem.

I turn to look, and it’s Eliza. She’s been pulled aside further down the hall into the corridor, mostly out of sight of the other students. She’s talking with someone and is looking very distressed.

“Are those officers?” Andy asks, raising a brow in confusion, looking stressed.

“...Yes.” I murmur, feeling the sinking feeling in my heart as any potential the day had to be good had just been scrubbed away. I grab what I need from my locker and quickly lock it up, gesturing secretly to Andy to follow me.

I detour into the girls’ bathroom, and after checking all the stalls, I turn to face him.

“Now what? Clearly it wasn’t all a figment of my imagination like I’d hoped and clearly people are starting to notice Reece’s absence and are looking for answers. They’re already talking with Eliza, it won’t take them long to work their way down to me once they start questioning other students and they start recalling all our fights and confrontations.”

He doesn’t offer up the cliche “We’ll be fine.” he just buries his hands in his pockets and hangs his head, looking completely lost.

“What do I do?” I ask, my voice getting shrill with panic. “What if they ask to talk with me? My parents aren’t home, I have no one to vouch for me... I’m fucked.”

“You’re going to keep your head low and not attract any unnecessary attention. I think your best course of action is pretending that you don’t know anything happened. Go on as usual, go talk to Eliza, and send her your love and support. She’s going to need it right now. Acting completely oblivious and supportive of your best friend may help them glaze over you for now.”

“How long?...” I sigh, completely hopeless. “A kid went missing, and not just a neighborhood stray, but the son of one of the most prestigious families in Pendant, and the son of my pastor. His disappearance won’t just fade from memory, people will want justice, they want suspects, and evidence... And there is plenty of it on me.”

He goes to try and hug me, but I put my hands up before he gets too close, freezing him in his tracks. I look into his stunned blue eyes, feeling my throat tightening realizing that I can’t be close to him right now. It kills me to think of dealing with this without him, to do anything now without him backing me. But I can’t concentrate on this with all our own drama thrown into the mix.

“I can’t... We can’t... I just have to deal with this, okay?”

“What do you mean?” His face twists in confusion, then heartbreak.

I feel the squeezing in my chest, the pain of restriction as the hurt tears free, threatening to make me cry some more. I hold my breath for a few moments and sigh when it subsides.

“Andy, I love you, but right now, I just need to deal with my human obligations before they land me in trouble that not even your ghostly powers can make better.”

“I know you’re angry, you have every right to be, but I am not going to let this put a wedge between us. You’re not putting us on hold because you’re scared.”

“Andy... You can’t just fix it this time.” I sigh, shaking my head, heart pounding hard.

“I am with you.” He insists firmly, “You are not alone, and I am not going anywhere.”

I open my mouth to argue, but then the bathroom door swings open and a girl walks into the closest stall to my left. I sigh and look back at him, unable to finish my sentence with the witness nearby.

He shakes his head regretfully, hurt burning in his eyes as his lips twist into a grimace. “You have your time to yourself. I’ll talk to you after school.”

“You’re leaving?” I whisper, being wary of the girl in the stall.

“Fuck no. I’ll be nearby, but just not visible.”

His lingering look of longing sadness breaks my heart. I watch him flicker and fade and it feels like it’s the last time I will see him.

I know he is with me as I exit the bathroom, I can still feel him nearby. It feels like the week following his funeral, everything reminded me of him, and I could always feel him near, but could never see him. He was always there, but just out of reach.

I take a deep breath, but my heart is still pounding and I feel faint. I spot Eliza at her locker in the crowd and start toward her with an uneasy feeling in my stomach.

I feel my shadow following closely behind until I am next to her.

“Hi, Eliza.” I greet her with a smile. Don’t you mess this up.

“Oh... Hi, Ash.” Her brow creases in concern and she looks down then behind her down the hall.

“What’s wrong?

“I’m not really sure,” She admits, not really looking like she’s got all her ducks in a line. “Reece hasn’t answered any of my texts since Sunday night and when I went by his house yesterday, his parents said he hadn’t come home but assumed that he’d just stayed at a friend’s house. Well, today he is being declared officially missing and the cops were just by to talk with me. I don’t know what to do.”

“He’s gone?” I ask, allowing shock to color my voice, praying that it sounds convincing enough. It hurts my heart to lie to her face, but she wouldn’t know the difference. She doesn’t even know Andy exists or that Ashley was ever a thing.

“Yes... I don’t know what to do. Should I go look for him? I know where all his friends live and where he likes to go when he wants to be alone. I need to know if he is okay.”

“I’m sure he is.” I assure her, feeling really guilty lying to her face.

“Would you mind coming with me to look? Maybe having someone else will do some good to bounce ideas off of. We could leave right after school.”

“Oh... Sure. Of course.” I nod, “Let me know whenever you are ready to go.”

The bell rings and she throws me one last grateful smile before rushing off to class. I turn, half expecting Andy to be there so I can talk to him, but he is not. He’s giving me a taste of what I requested and I must admit that I hate it so much so far.

I trudge off to my own class, feeling like the center of attention the entire time even though I am not... Feeling like everyone knows the dirty secret I harbor about their classmate.

It’s unusual to attend a class not saturated in Andy’s shenanigans. Normally he’d be screwing with the other students or bothering the teacher to keep himself busy during the hour.

I focused on my work as best as I could but it was not without its troubles. I kept feeling the piercing eyes on me, and would turn or look up to verify but no one was ever looking. I cast my gaze downward again, knowing the pressure I feel is from Andy’s gaze somewhere in the room.

I kept having trouble concentrating on my work. More often than not I was busy fretting about the trip with Eliza later where I’d be driving around Pendant faking my confusion and concern, pretending to not know where her boyfriend is at that very moment.

Furthermore, I have reason to believe that many of my answers regarding Charlies will be found at Apture House. I still have so many questions, questions that I either hadn’t thought of when we were having honest-hour or ones that I hadn’t had time to think through and decide upon their importance.

Now I need to know, for my safety, Eliza’s safety, and everyone around me. I need to know if it was all real.

If things work out well enough today, I’ll probably be headed to Apture either after get back from being with Eliza, or tomorrow after school. Once my parents get home, I suspect that it will become a craze to get packed and moved to California to be with my grandmother.

As sick as it makes me to think that I have to return to Apture again, it makes me feel a little better knowing that I’ll know more of the truth. If those skeletons are still there, it’d mean he told the truth about the sprees. He was too proud of his killings to scatter the bones in the woods and hide his trail.

I’m hopeful that there will be more evidence of malicious intent to be found in the house, things that other people skimmed over in their visits to the old farmhouse. Now that I know what I am looking for, I am confident that I can find the evidence that I need.

While I absently doodle on the margins of my schoolwork, I think back to the day I first took Andy to Apture. It was partially sunny, an eave of rainclouds hanging over us as we walked, a gentle drizzle accompanying us as we walked up the dirt road, listening to Brother by Gerard Way and singing along.

I remember jokingly insulting him a few times, joking about how noisy he was in his Prophet jacket with the handcuffs on the back.

They were certainly simpler times, but only because we were under the fog of assumption that being there was safe. We didn’t know that were being watched and that I was being targeted, and when I sang for him in the rain, neither of us knew that there was a third listener. How Andy did not know he was there, I do not know.

When I think back to the week when I first met Andy, the week before his funeral, two key memories stick out as being my favorite. It’s this one, and the one where we broke into the funeral home and defaced his corpse to better represent himself.

The shock of his parents seeing him like that the following morning broke my heart a bit, but it was also warming because Andy got to go into the ground the way he wanted to. It was bad enough that they used his preppiest photos on his funeral booklets, so he ought to have at least one thing go his way.

The night we had to dig him up, the eyeliner was still intact, and looking as stylish as ever.

~~~


I left with Eliza after school had ended. I hesitated for a moment, staring at her car which would be my prison for the next hour or so.

“Mind if I put my bag in the backseat?” I ask her, knowing that I need to find a way to smuggle Andy in. Of course he could just do his ghost thing and walk through her car door, but I figured that as a reward for putting up with my shitty attitude, he shouldn’t have to.

“Yeah, go ahead.” She replies as she climbs in on the drivers side, double checking her mirrors and securing her seatbelt.

I open her backdoor and toss in the bulky backpack, lingering for a moment to give him the opportunity to slip inside.

“Where to first?”

“I think we should check his friend’s houses first... He might still be holed up there.”

“Didn’t his parents contact all his friends to verify that he wasn’t there before filing a missing person’s report?”

“They made the effort, but Reece was very secretive about his social life. His parents didn’t even know half the people he associated with. I did because he’d take me with him on weekends to hang out while him and his friends smoked pot and drank their parents’ liquour.”

I nod in agreement, watching the landscape and suburb neighborhoods rush by as she drove into the shadier part of town.

“These people... Would I know them? Do they go to our school?”

She shakes her head, “No, they were connections he had.”

“Connections?”

She peeks at me out of the corner of her eye, contemplating the decision to tell me.

“I’ll be honest with you, but you need to keep it to yourself.”

“Done.”

“Reece made some extra cash selling recreational drugs on the west side. It wasn’t anything bad, just marajuana. His connections ended up becoming pretty alright friends and on nights when we were fighting or he wanted to be petty, he’d sleep at their house.”

I frown. “How often was he home?”

“Not much,” She shrugged. “It’s not that him and his parents fought, they were actually pretty close... I guess he just found comfort in his independance and likes to earn his own living.”

“His Dad is the pastor at my church...” I say absentmindly, his face coming to mind immediately. The man is such a sweetheart, I can’t imagine hurting him like I have.

“Yeah, his whole family is pretty religious... Reece, even... He fell back on it when he lost his way, but he’s never been much of the devotional type. He has a hard time giving his complete self to anything.”

A few minutes of silence pass while I ponder a couple of different details.

“When did you last see him?”

She thinks hard for a moment before responding. “I’m honestly not sure... I can’t remember a distinctive last memory. We were dancing a bit, then we were arguing... Then my next memory of the prom is me by myself. I don’t know where he went.”

The first house she pulled up in front of didn’t look as shady as I expected. It was a single-story brick house with an unkempt front yard.

I began undoing my seatbelt, looking up at the house with grim uncertainty from the passenger window. I know we won’t find him here, and I know that none of his friends will know his whereabouts...

This is a fruitless guilt-driven mission I am on just to drive a sick point home... Why can’t I just tell her the truth? Explain everything to her again? Somehow going through the process of telling her about paranormal involvement and memory-erasing spirits to explain why her boyfriend is at the bottom of Talia Lake feels much easier than putting her through this.

I walk with her to the front door, but she doesn’t use the doorbell nor does she knock normally on the red door. Instead, she raps a four note beat onto the wood that sounds unfamiliar.

Secret knock, I guess, because within about thirty seconds, the door opened, revealing a big burly man with wary eyes peering out into the bright afternoon from the shadows of his home.

For a moment he looked like he was going to gruffly tell us to get lost, but then recognition came over his face and he opened the door wider to grant entry.

We squeeze past him into the hallway, all my alarms are going off in my head, screaming of danger being in a stranger’s home. I try and trust Eliza on this, following her reluctantly as the man leads us down the hall into an adjacent room that turns out to be a large living room with a pool table and cigarette butts ground into the grey floral carpet.

The whole room stunk of weed immediately, which flared up all my innocent alarms, screaming at me to get out because my parents would be pissed if they sniffed out weed on me.

“Eliza,” He greets her in a chill fashion, indicating that they’re close. “What brings you and your... Friend?... By?”

“This is my friend, Ash.” She gestures to me briefly before getting right down to the point. “Aster, have you seen or heard from Reece since Sunday night?”

He frowns, flopping down in his sagging Lazy Boy recliner. “Sunday night?...” He thinks hard for a moment before pulling out his phone and scrolling through.

“Nope... Last message he sent me was Saturday afternoon. He has not stopped by, nor has he spoken to me since then. Why?”

Eliza fidgeted uncomfortably before spilling it, never one to hold out on suspense for the sake of drama. “He’s missing.”

“Missing?” Aster sits up in his chair, interested and concerned.

“We went to prom together on Sunday evening, but we got into a fight and I think he left early. Since then, no one has seen him or heard from him, and it’s at the point now that this morning while I was at school, the cops stopped by to ask me a few questions...” She gives him a severe look.

“Shit...”

“Yeah... So if you have any ideas of his whereabouts, I’d love to hear them right now. Reece needs to end his disappearing act or the whole town will be turned upside down in chaos.”

“Well you already know all the hideouts, I’d check those... Oh, and check with Zeke... I know he’s a complete fucking creep, but he kinda runs the underground scene. If Reece has gone into hiding, he’ll know where to find him.”

With that, Eliza said her goodbyes and I gave the strange man a polite wave on our way out. We were headed deeper into the sketchy part of town in search of a ghost.

Notes