FOURTEEN

As much as I wished I could trust Hunter, I just had a horrible feeling that Benjamin would still be around.

I didn’t sleep again. 

I got away with not taking my meds and being that Hunter left before Kelly and Andrew got back, I went to the store and got a couple cans of Red Bull.

I hoped that just because I couldn’t see Benjamin didn’t mean that I couldn’t feel him. 

I was sitting on my bed watching TV, when at around three in the morning, my suspicions that he was there were confirmed when I felt something brush against my arm. 

I quickly got up, closed my eyes and started trying to send him away.  I couldn’t see him and I couldn’t hear him, but I could feel his tight grip around my neck.  Even if I could have screamed, I wouldn’t have been able to. 

Then I felt him letting go of me.  I stood there, gasping for air. 

The noise and movements were coming from my bed.  I could see the movement of a body on top of my bed, and then, all of the sudden, I could see them both.  Benjamin was on the bed with Hunter holding him down with one hand while punching him with another, warning him that things would get worse if Benjamin ever came near me again. 

Benjamin laughed at Hunter, glanced in my direction, and vanished.  Hunter got up, fixed his clothes and then looked right at me.  My terrified gaze locked on his eyes made him realize that I could actually see him.

He took a step closer to me.

“Don’t come any closer!”  I warned him.

He put both hands up as if surrendering.

I knew he couldn’t be a ghost; there was just no way.  I mean… people at school saw him, talked about him…

“Why couldn’t I see you?”

He shrugged.  “I don’t know.  You are probably just tired.  I knew he was back and followed him in.”

“Sorry to break it to you, but we have an alarm.  True, he didn’t set it off, but you would have, so how did you do that?  And for the record, I’m not that delusional so don’t you even try to blame this on my lack of sleep.”

He took a step forward.

“Please, just stay away from me.”

“Look, Kayla… I can help you, but there are things that I cannot tell you.”

“Fine, then thank you for helping, but I want you to leave.”

“Suit yourself!” he said in an annoyed tone.

He walked out of my room and whatever way he left the house, the alarm never went off.

I ran to the window.  There were no cars outside.  I checked the alarm and it was on. 

I should never have talked to him in the first place.

I figured that Benjamin would stay away if I stopped talking to Hunter, and if sleeping pills were what was supposedly keeping me from seeing or hearing them… well, that was my solution.