Phantom Touch #1 (Ghost Paranormal Romance)

The rest of the party had me sitting out on the porch. I quickly noticed there weren't any pillows on the wooden chairs. I thought maybe they'd been put away for the season, but Ashley set me straight when she noticed me shifting uneasily atop the planks of the seat. "Sorry about having no cushions. Someone's been coming by for years and swiping them at night, so my parents always hide them inside."

  "Oh, no problem. I'll adjust." I grimaced. My butt was going to need adjusting later, too.

  Ashley made periodical trips into the house just to make sure things didn't get too out of hand. Her parents would have killed her if the partiers had wrecked the place. Brent was useful in scolding people to quiet down or stop drinking. They didn't stop doing what he asked them to stop doing, but it slowed them down before they did some seriously stupid things. Well, all except for Rob. He did the stupidest thing of them all by bringing up that spooky tale just before midnight.

  "Anybody wanna go with me to the graveyard?" he shouted to the group. Even from outside I could hear him loud and clear, and Ashley was right beside me when he did it. She got so pale I thought she was going to faint. "Come on, let's all just ride out there and see if we can find that ghosty."

  Ashley slipped her hand into mine. "Please tell him to stop," she whispered to me. Her eyes were big and her lips trembled. "Nobody's allowed up there at night, especially so close to Halloween."

  "I'll try my best," I promised her. I patted her hand and slipped my own out of hers so I could stand. Through the window I saw Rob by the door with a beer in one hand.

  "Come on, guys, stop being such pussies," he yelled at the others. They were all standing in the middle of the room with uncertain expressions.

  I stepped inside and tapped him on his bare shoulder. He swung around so fast he nearly clocked me with his arm. "Could you lay off on all the noise and beer? You're acting like an idiot," I told him. He probably heard what he wanted to hear because a stupid grin slipped onto his face. He leaned in and breathed his beer breath all over my face.

  "Come on, Jess, you wanna go see the ghosty with me, don't ya?"

  I waved my hand in front of my face to brush away the smell. "All I want to do is get out of here before you make a bigger idiot of yourself." I held up the keys and jingled them in front of him. "And since I'm in charge of the car, I say we go now." That got his goat.

  "Whadda ya mean trying to take my car?" he slurred at me. I didn't like the dark look that crossed over his face and I took a step back. He stumbled toward me and thankfully tripped over the welcome mat. I stepped out of the way and watched him teeter forward. He fell through the open door and face-first into the porch boards. The crack of his head against the wood made me flinch, and Ashley and I ran up to his side. The party inside stopped and Brent stepped out just as Ashley was checking his pulse. She breathed a sigh of relief, which meant I could start breathing again.

  "Well, the good news is it knocked him out cold," she told us.

  "And the bad news?" I asked her.

  "He's still alive."

  "Hardy-har-har," I replied, and glanced up at Brent. "Think you two can help me drag his worthless corpse to the car?"

  With their help we got Rob into the backseat. After that much fun the party was called off on account of stupid, so it was time to leave. Everyone got into their cars and drove off, but I stayed to help with the cleanup. Brent was nice enough to stay for that, too, and I think it was because he liked Ashley.

  "You two don't have to stay here just for me," she scolded us. "I've just got to vacuum the place up and do some rearranging, and then my parents will never know I had a party."

  "Did they know you had one to begin with?" I asked her, and she shrugged.

  "Kind of. I said I was going to invite a few friends over and they all came, but that's beside the point. You two need to leave, especially since that jerk could wake up any minute." She took hold of both of us and marched us to the door.

  "After that much beer I don't think he's going to wake up until next week," I pointed out.

  "Then you need to take Brent home. His ride left and he doesn't have a car," Ashley countered.

  "You wouldn't mind, would you?" Brent spoke up for himself as we were pushed out onto the porch to our awaiting car.

  "I guess I don't really have a choice." I weaseled my way out of Ashley's grasp and turned around. "But you're sure you don't want us sticking around for a bit? I mean, you're going to be all alone here." All around us there was only silence and darkness. Only the soft lights from inside the house made me stop thinking about that graveyard.

  In reply to my question, Ashley gave me a big, fake grin. "I'll be fine. Besides, I've got my dogs out back I plan on sleeping with." Brent jerked a little at the thought and I couldn't help laughing. Ashley covered her mouth as she giggled. "They're too big to sleep on the bed, so they're usually on the floor beside it."

  "Oh, yes, well, I knew that." He pushed his glasses up against his nose hard enough to leave an imprint. "But we should be going. I have a test tomorrow."

  "Don't we all?" I asked him. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around Ashley in a great big hug. "Now you take care of yourself."

  "No problem there. I'll see you in class Monday," she promised as we pulled apart.

  I gave her a smile and got into the car. Brent was already in the passenger's seat, so we headed off down the road with sleeping beauty in the back. It was quiet in the vehicle as we drove through the woods, and I glanced over to my quiet companion. He was just staring straight ahead, but his eyes were far away. I smirked.

  "You thinking about Ashley?" I teased him. He actually blushed and turned away from me.

  "I-I was just thinking about stuff," he countered.

  "I don't think you're the type of guy to be thinking about stuff," I argued. He was the epitome of the geek, stuff just wasn't a description for all the comics, video games and science info he had floating through his mind. "Besides, she is really cute-"

  "Ahh!"

  I screamed when Rob grabbed me from behind and wrapped his strong arms around my neck. The car swerved across the road as Brent jumped to help. He managed to get one arm off me so I could breathe, and I got one hand to control the wheel. The boys battled it out between the seats while I slammed my foot on the brake. It must have been a washboard spot because the car rumbled over the ground and the back suddenly skidded while the front went the opposite way. We were all flung to the side and the car came to a stop perpendicular with the road. My eyes widened when I saw where the headlights were pointed. Up the road to the graveyard.

  Unfortunately, I didn't get much time to panic about that because Rob was making me panic about him. He tried to grab me again while Brent was picking himself up off the passenger side floor. I was too fast for him and sank my teeth into his arm. He screamed and his arms slithered back, which gave me plenty of time to open the door and jump out. I turned around in time to see him kick his door open and stumble out onto the ground.

  Brent followed suit, but not before Rob picked himself up and staggered toward me. That's when I saw something in his hand reflect off the clear sky above us. He was holding my knife, the one that went with my costume.

  "Come on, Rob, knock it off," I pleaded with him. "Just put the knife down and get back in the car so we can go home."

  "You tellin' me what to do again?" he slurred. I backed up the road as he stepped toward me. "You wantin' to control me like I'm some pet or somethin'? You're just a worthless whore!"

  "No, that's not what I'm trying to do at all. I just want to go home." My foot caught on the incline of the road and I went tumbling backwards.

  Rob stopped at the driver's side door and his eyes looked inside. I heard Brent yell when Rob dove into the car waving the knife in front of him. The passenger side door flung open and Brent scrambled out. He fell on his side and crawled away, eluding the knife-wielding maniac that was once my b
oyfriend. Rob pulled out of the car, but paused at the wheel for just a second to grab at something. When I caught sight of his hand I saw that he was holding the car keys. He meant to keep us here.

  "What the hell are you doing?" Brent shouted at Rob. His eyes were wide and he kept on the other side of the car.

  "You damn assholes," he mumbled. He clumsily stuffed the keys into his pants pocket and the flashlight hung out. If I could only grab it we'd have a good chance of getting out of there.

  I held out my hands toward him to show I didn't mean to harm him, even if he meant to harm me. "Come on, Rob, you don't know what you're doing." I'd never seen him so drunk and angry before. His blurry eyes glanced between us, and I understood what he was thinking. He thought I was cheating on him with Brent. "It's not what you think. I was just taking him home. The party's over, so we have to get you back to your apartment." I took a step toward him. Bad move.

  Rob stuck the knife out toward me, and his lips turned up in a sneer. "You think you're gonna fool me with that shit? I got some brains in this head and I ain't gonna believe nothing you're saying."

  "But it's the truth!" Brent spoke up. Rob took a threatening step toward me and I noticed Brent glance around the ground. He dove for a large branch on the side of the abandoned path, and hurried around the car to confront Rob. "Come on, Rob, just put the knife down and we can