The Ghosts of You and Me (unfinished)

GHOSTS OF WINTER
Carolyn M Stewart



Chapter 1

         The final bell rang, waking Winter out of a sound sleep. After a moment she realized where she was...school. Sighing heavily, Winter looked around, hoping that nobody had noticed that she had fallen asleep. Usually Mr. Kane's classes were pretty cool but for some reason today's lecture had made her feel like she was a narcoleptic or something.
         Nobody was staring at her. Which is a good thing, she reminded herself. Winter put on her coat and saw her English teacher shooting her an annoyed look. Oops...guess I shouldn't have dozed off. She grabbed her things and left the classroom.
         "Sleep good, Winter?" Asked an amused voice from behind her. She turned around and found herself facing Parker Addams.
         Parker Addams had moved to Edgefield less than two years ago. In the two years that he had been here he had caused quite a stir...record for any rebel. Parker's intense blue eyes and shaggy brown hair that often masked them gave him the appearance that he was an all around American Boy. And in some aspects he was. He had been on the football team at his last school, got good grades and didn't get into trouble...much.
         Around the same time that Parker had come to Edgefield, Evan moved to the same sleepy town.
         "Go away, Parker." Anytime anyone got around him for more than ten minutes violence was usually the end result. Getting written up and suspended definitely wasn't on Winter's to-do list. She turned on the heel of her shoe and walked out of the English Building. Parker followed her.
         Winter kept walking, almost running into a dozen other uniform clad students in the process. Maybe he'll get bored with me and go bug someone else. Then I can wait for everybody in peace. As Winter crossed the quad she blinked her eyes a couple times before they adjusted to the sunlight, relishing the way the sun warmed her skin and the chilly Autumn air that blew her long, wavy auburn hair off her shoulders.
         Without missing a beat Parker fell into step right beside Winter.
         "What do you want, Addams?" She demanded.
         "Nothin.'" Parker shrugged his shoulders bemused by her suspicion. "Just lookin' for some friendly conversation."
         "Go somewhere else then," she told him harshly. "Because you won't find any here." Parker didn't have what could be known as a good reputation with most of the student body and she really didn't want to be associated with it.
         "Ouch." Parker put his hands into his pockets. "Y'know, you could really hurt a guy's feelings talking like that.
         "I wasn't aware that you had feelings." Winter could tell that she was getting mean, but sometimes Parker just rubbed her the wrong way. She looked at him and for a moment she could see hurt in his dark blue eyes. It passed and was replaced by something unreadable. Winter smoothed out the skirt of her uniform, regretting the comment she had just made. "I'm sorry," she told him finally.
         "It's fine. But as much as you'd like to think I'm the bad guy, I'm not. Keep that in mind." Parker smiled a secret smile, then turned around and walked away. Winter stood where she was, staring at Parker until she couldn't see him anymore. She looked at her watch.
         "Crap it's three-thirty, I'm late!"
















Chapter 2

         Winter groaned and started running. Though she was sure that no one would be waiting there, there was still a possibility that somebody still might be there. Thankfully there weren’t that many students left on campus, so she didn't have to worry about inadvertently smacking into anybody. When she got to the shade trees where everybody meets up after school, Evan was starting to pack up his things.
         Evan, like most of her friends, looked extreme compared to most of the other students who attended Edgefield Senior High. His short, neon blue hair was spiky today. That fact alone had always been funny to Winter since she was pretty much a Plain Jane. Evan's emerald green eyes always seemed to shine a little bit brighter whenever Winter was around him. Not that she ever noticed that.
         "Hey Evan! Sorry I'm late."
         "It's okay," he gave her a goofy little grin. "By the way, I finally finished it." He unzipped the front pocket of his backpack and pulled out a homemade mix CD. "Sorry it took so long," Evan told her as he handed it to her.
         "Nah, it's cool." Winter shrugged off her backpack and put the CD inside. After zipping it back up she looked around. "Uh...we're missing some people. Where's everybody else?"
         Evan fiddled with a zipper that had gotten stuck. "They left like five minutes ago. Figured since you were late that we'd all just meet up at Theory later on tonight."
         Evan and Winter started walking off campus. "Hey, why were you late? You're usually freakishly punctual."
         "Thanks." She rolled her eyes at Evan. "I fell asleep in Kane's class," she told him. "Sound asleep until the bell rang. Shakespeare just couldn't compare with the allure of a mid-day nap."
         Evan winced. Mr. Kane had always been one of the tougher teachers. Falling asleep in one of his classes was never a good thing. "Ooh! You are so going to be getting extra homework on Monday."
         "Yeah I think that I can pretty much count on it. Could be worse though. I could've fallen asleep in my Math class. At least I'm good at English. "She laughed. "It's weird though."
         "What's weird, falling asleep in class? That's not that weird, y'know. In fact normal people do it all the time. Especially on Fridays."
         Winter shrugged off his comment. He was always insisting she was strange in one way or another. "Oh, who ever said that I was normal? Besides, I'm not the one walking around with neon blue hair."
         "Touché`"
         "I thought so." She giggled then got back to Evan's question. "No, it's weird cause I was pretty much on time to me y'all but then Parker showed up."
         The amused smile on Evan's lips morphed into a tight line and his eyes narrowed as soon as Winter mentioned his name. She couldn't really blame him. One of the last times Evan and Parker were in the same area they ended up getting into a fist fight. He'd never mentioned what had started the fight though and anytime Winter asked he always shrugged it off as 'stupid guy stuff' and changed the subject. "What did he do?"
         "Nothing," she told him. "That's the weird part. He said he just wanted to talk, a friendly conversation."
         Evan laughed, a mocking tone marring the sound. "There's no such thing as a 'friendly conversation' with that guy."
         "Evan," She sighed. "The whole time that he was talking he didn't say anything derogatory towards me or you."
         They crossed the street and headed to Garden Ridge, the housing development that they lived in. Evan ran his hands through his hair and laughed again.
         "Winter, I know that you like to believe that there's good in every single person in the world--"
         "Because there is!" She exclaimed, interrupting him.
         "What about Hitler?" Evan challenged. "I mean there really wasn't any good in that guy"
         "Oh my g---Evan! You cannot seriously be comparing Parker Addams to Adolf Hitler. I mean, yeah the guy is a jerk but he's definitely not in the same category as Evil Dictator Guys. That's just crazy."
         He gave her a look that clearly said it wasn't. "My point is," Evan continued shushing Winter when she tried to speak again. "Parker isn't a good guy. Just trust me on this, okay?" He thought for a moment. "Why are you sticking up for this guy anyway?"
         They turned the corner, now walking down Calla Lilly Lane. All the streets in their development were creatively named after various flowers and plants. Both sides were lined with beautiful trees that were showcasing all the colors fall had to offer. She took in a deep breath of Autumn air and exhaled. She loved this time of year.
         I just think that everyone deserves a second chance." They stopped walking and Winter looked at him. "Don't ya think?"
         "Yeah," he sighed and shifted uncomfortably. "Just...not him."
         "You got a second chance, Evan.'
         "That was a completely different situation, Winter." Evan sucked in a breath of air. "I almost drowned!"
         Winter scolded herself internally and wished that she could somehow take the words that she'd said back. "I'm sorry," she said for the second time that day, stumbling over her own words. "I wasn't trying to rub it in your face or make you feel bad or anything. It's just that maybe...maybe Parker isn't the Big Bad that everyone has made him out to be."
         Evan shook his head and walked away from Winter. She followed him.
         "Look, can we just forget that I stuck my foot in my mouth?" She asked him. Evan didn't answer her. He didn't even turn around. Winter walked a little quicker and caught up to him, putting her hand on his arm. Evan finally stopped walking away and faced his friend letting her hand fall away from his arm.
         "I know that you didn't mean anything by what you said." He held her by the shoulders, an arms length away and looked Winter in the eyes as he spoke. "But you really shouldn't even be talking to him. Believe me: he's bad news." He looked rueful now.
         "Evan, what's up with you?" Winter asked, noticing the change in his demeanor. He shook his head and let go of her shoulders.
         "Nothing. Nothing...Um, look I've got to go. You can get the rest of the way by yourself, right?"
and lighten the mood. "And if I get lost I can always ask for directions." He gave her a half-hearted smile.
         She watched sadly he started walking in the opposite direction. She walked the rest of the way home alone, feeling almost as if she'd been dumped. Which is kind of stupid really. Considering the fact that Evan and I have never dated and he's never even looked at me like I'm a girl. By the time she got to her house on Lavender Lane and fish out her house key she'd managed to shake that just dumped feeling. Winter unlocked the door and stepped inside. Ahhh, Home sweet home.


Chapter 3

         As soon as she stepped inside, she was greeted by a small ball of fluff who rubbed against her ankles purring contentedly. The sand colored tabby cat mewed loudly and looked up at his owner pitifully. Winter picked up her cat, scratching him between the ears as he sat in her arms. "Hey Spaz, how you doin'?" She asked the cat. He began to purr even louder.
         Winter shook her head and laughed, wondering how something so small could make such a big amount of noise. She walked into her room, letting Spaz jump out of her arms and onto her cluttered desk as she shrugged of her book bag and flopped herself onto the bed. Winter's nickname for her bedroom had always been ''The Haven." One of the few places that she could feel safe and relaxed whenever life got to crazy...not that it'd had ever gotten that crazy, but still. It was hers completely. She'd managed to save up enough babysitting money to re-do her room. Or at least repaint it. The lavender walls she'd painted the summer before were now covered with posters and pictures of her friends and family.
         For awhile Winter just laid there staring up at her ceiling which she had painted black then added glow in the dark stars. Her own perpetual night sky. She felt herself falling, her eyelids becoming far too heavy to keep open. Her breathing slowed and became deep.
         It was dark and there was a soupy mist that seemed to get into every nook and cranny of where ever she was. Winter shivered and walked along aimlessly. For some reason, even though it was pitch black, she could see a little bit. And she could hear a voice calling her. Beckoning her forward. Winter walked towards the voice unconcerned with her location. Where ever she was it was familiar.
         "Hello?" She called out as she wandered further into the thick darkness for what seemed like hours. Was the voice that had brought her this far gone?
         "We were wondering where you were," a voice said. Parker's voice. The darkness lightened and she could make out the forms of her friends. Parker was at the forefront of the group and Evan stood silently behind everyone else and watched. Well this was weird. "I'm glad you made it," he said with a smile. He held out his hand.
         Winter took his hand, letting him bring her forward until she was standing right in front him. Parker smiled again then turned around. Still holding on to her hand he walked forward to a small cluster of chairs that had been arranged in a semi-circle. "What are we gonna watch a movie or something?"
         "Actually I wanted to show you something," he informed her. “Close your eyes.”
         "O...kay?" Winter closed her eyes.
         Winter's friends each took a seat while Parker led her to a small platform in what seemed to be a corner that the light couldn't reach into. Evan stood where he was, watching.
         “Okay, open your eyes,” he told her after a minute.
         Winter opened her eyes and found herself staring down at a coffin. “Um, Parker you do remember that Halloween is at the end of the month, right?”
         “Look inside.”
         Winter sighed. “Alright but when something jumps out and says “boo!” I’m kicking you in your balls. I hope you know that.” She lifted the lid and gasped. “Parker this isn’t funny.”
         “I never said that it was.”
         “I don’t understand,” Winter told him. She looked up into his eyes. “What does this mean?”
         “I told you not to trust him.” Parker looked back towards her friends.
         “Who, Evan? Of course I can trust him.”
         “Are you so sure about that?” He asked her. “Look closer.”
         Winter did as he said and looked back down, her eyes now unable to look away from the coffin…more specifically at what was inside. Her, surrounded by hundreds of pictures. Some of her and Evan but many more of just her alone. “I still don’t understand,” Winter murmured to herself. She wrenched her view away from the coffin and looked back up at Parker.
         “Just be careful,” was all he said. Then he was gone.
         Winter turned around, looking for Parker when her eyes landed on Evan who still stood quietly, hands in pockets. She walked towards him resolutely. “Hey Evan you wanna tell me what the heck is going on here?” She stopped in front of him and put her hands on her hips.
         “I’m sorry,” he told her as he took his hands out of his pockets and wrapped his arms around her. Winter relaxed and hugged him back.
         “Sorry for what?” She asked him.
         “This.” He spun Winter around so that she was facing away from him and in one swift movement stabbed her with the knife that had been hidden away. He held her to him as she looked down at the knife protruding from her stomach and stared up at him wordlessly as blood blossomed from the wound staining her white shirt. He knelt to the ground and looked at her. His expression was sad as he kissed her tenderly. “I love you.”
         Evan got up and walked away. Leaving Winter lying on the ground as the dark mist engulfed her. She screamed.