“I did it because I love you.”
“Liar.”
“And I did it because I know you need this to heal.”
I pointed at him. “You’re a chef, not a psychologist.”
“But you must admit that sometimes I know you better than you know yourself.”
“Fuck you, Saint.”
He took another step closer. “You need to forgive him.”
Tears left my eyes. “You didn’t have to watch my mother dangle in the air.”
He looked down at the ground. “Actually. . .Ivy, I did.”
Sorrow lodged in my throat.
He whispered, “That day changed both of us forever.”
Shaking my head, I backed away and grabbed my coat. “One at a time. I can’t do it all this week. I can’t.”
“Please, don’t go, Ivy.”
I put the coat on.
“Let me walk you to your villa at least.”
“I need time. . .Saint. . .I could love you. I could open my heart to you. But my father. . .I need. . .more time.” I wiped the tears away, but more came. “It hurts to even think about it. Right in my chest. It’s painful. I don’t want to deal with this. I just want to fucking be happy.”
“Maybe you would be happy from giving him a chance.”
“I. . .don’t know. Just leave me alone.” I rushed out of there, terrified of listening anymore.
Outside, cold darkness hit me. It was snowing. Swirls of flakes obscured the path in front of me. Still, I hurried along, hoping I was going in the right direction.
Dad is here. I can’t deal with him right now. Maybe. . .next year or. . .
My stomach knotted with sorrow.
My heels crunched loudly as I headed forward. I squinted, trying to catch the numbers on the villa.
A dark voice sounded around me. “I-v-y.”
The air rippled around me.
I froze in terror. “W-who was that?”
No one replied.
I glanced around and could make out nothing but snow falling within inky darkness. Within the air, there was a different type of cold. The sort that brought terror and chills to the spine. The sort that a coat or blanket wouldn’t get rid of it.
Horrified, I hugged myself. “Who’s there?”
The silence grew thick and the hairs on the back of my neck prickled with a sudden awareness that I was no longer alone. And whoever had said my name would not be a friend.
I inched away, deciding to run back to Saint’s villa.
Okay. I’m going to run fast, even if I have to kick off these damn boots. Fuck that.
I turned around to race off and spotted a dark figure in front of me. My blood iced. I tried to scream, but the sound lodged in my throat.
The thing was huge and tall, rising over seven feet in front of me. I didn’t know if the being was a man or woman. Due to the scary deep voice, I figured it was male. He wore a huge, ragged cloak with a hood that covered his face. And the cloak didn’t appear to be made from fabric—at least not one that could be found on earth. It moved back and forth on its own as if living too. The bottom of the cloak spilled out onto the snow like black oil. There was a slit by the neck, but I didn’t see any skin or form of a body, just darkness. The sleeves were long and hung over so far that it hid his hands. The ends of the sleeves touched the ground.
That dark, deep voice sounded from the hood’s blackness. “I-v-y.”
I trembled and ran in the other direction.
Before I could get a few steps forward, that being was in front of me too.
H-how did that happen?!
It towered over me. “I-v-y.”
“W-who are you? W-what are you?”
“It is t-i-m-e for your last lesson.”
“What?” I raised my hands in the air. “No. Not this again. I learned it. I love Saint. I. . .”
“Come.”
I shook my head. “I’m not going anywhere. I learned the lesson. I opened my heart to love. I won’t go.”
“Y-o-u must.” He raised one of his arms to his side. A black hand peeked out. Moving on its own, the cloak dropped to the ground, stretched out, and widened.
I inched back.
The sleeve continued to get wider and bigger. He raised his arm higher. And then a spark burst within the fabric. A rip began and widened the material. And then it appeared to be some sort of other reality within the long, wide sleeve—some type of small opening to another realm.
The dark voice grew louder. “Come.”
My lip quivered. I pointed to the hole that continued to widen in his sleeve and reveal some other world inside of it. “Go in there?”
“Yes.”
I shook my head.
He pointed his other finger at me. This one was white, instead of black.
“You will come.” He flicked the white finger.
A threatening chill cut through me. My knees grew weak.
I crashed to the ground. “No. What’s happening?”
Invisible cold hands grabbed at me, inciting prickly sensations on my skin. I screamed. It felt like thirty hands snatching at my body and yanking me forward. I reached out for thin air, trying to move away. They pulled me toward the opening.
“No!” With no control, I moved in the direction of the black robe. “I’m not going in there!”
“Come.”
“No!”
The world went dark.
Chapter 19
Blue Christmas
Within the ghost’s robe, darkness clogged my throat and blinded me. I heard nothing. Cold wind flickered along my skin. And there was this blackness all over—within me, around me, spilling into my pores, and gnawing at my soul. It was as though it would take my life. I fought to stay in control but all I could do was scream.
And then it all stopped.
I lay on something.
Where am I?
I opened my eyes and took in the scene around me. Moonlight reflected off the snow in a silvery glow. Where it didn’t glow, shadows surrounded. And they were odd, moving and forming into odd shapes. Wind twisted through the skeletal treetops, bare of leaves and dripping with sharp icicles. Still, I didn’t feel cold. Yet, I hugged myself and looked down at my clothes. I no longer wore the maid of honor gown. I now had on those damn white pajamas.
Why did that happen? What are the rules to this place?
I unfolded my arms and rose from the ground.
Where is that creepy ghost?
The huge shape crept out of the darkness. “I-v-y.”
“Yes. Yes. I’m here.” I hugged myself again and stepped back. While the other ghosts were enchanting and calming, this one provided no comfort. All of my senses screamed that something horrible would happen to me.
There it stood, towering over me. That dark robe swayed back and forth and yet there was no wind. I waited, but he didn’t move toward me.
I studied the creepy being. “So. . .you dated my mother?”
No words came.
This must’ve been right after she died. Surely she would have been in a depressed mood. I mean. . .what really could be under that robe besides things that would bring nightmares.
He lifted the other arm.
I edged back.
The white hand pushed out from the sleeve.
He has two different colored hands? Why? What’s going on?
With his white hand, he pointed in my direction.