Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Journey's End ❯ Chapter 5

Journey's End... Part Five

"Oh hell," Nicole blurted out.

Nicole rushed over to where Sam lay flat on her back on the ground. The redhead knelt down by the young woman's side, feeling for her pulse. It thumped steadily against her fingers, and a cautious look showed no other sign of injuries.

"Well, can't let her lay there forever," Nicole murmured, getting one arm under her legs, the other beneath her shoulder. With a grunt she hefted the smaller girl up, walking to the living room couch and setting her down.

"I'm sorry," the familiar voice said softly. Laura looked oddly insubstantial, her body more ghostly, even as the blonde gazed down at Sam sadly.

"Why are people so scared of you?" Nicole finally had to ask.

Laura shook her head, straightening up as her skirts swirled around her legs. "I don't know," she shook her head, "I never had." She smiled, an odd little smile, "Maybe I should be asking you why you are not afraid."

Nicole opened her mouth to reply, trying to find something to say, but Laura was simply gone, no trace of her remaining. "Damn," she muttered softly.

"Ohhh," Sam groaned softly, the brown haired young woman bringing her hand up to her head and wincing in pain. "What happened?" she asked.

"You fainted," Nicole offered.

Sam sat up hesitantly, her long braid swinging as she shook her head. "I saw her," her eyes went wide as she said softly, "the ghost."

"She apologized," Nicole said with a quirky little smile, "right before she disappeared on me again." She gave Sam a bit of space as she asked, "Do you want me to get you something to drink? Some coffee or tea maybe?"

"Coffee, please," Sam managed faintly, blinking her brown eyes.

"Could I ask you a dumb question?" Nicole called out from the little kitchen as she made her up a cup of coffee.

"I guess so," Sam sighed.

Nicole carried the cup in and carefully set it down on the table, "What scared you about Laura? I still don't get it."

Sam blinked up at Nicole a moment, then picked up her cup and sipped at the hot fluid. "I felt so chilled," she said, "it was as if someone had poured ice into me." She looked up at Nicole and in an awed voice asked, "She doesn't scare you at all?"

"No," Nicole shrugged wryly.

"Wow," Sam blinked. Her cheeks went red, "Oh god, I can't believe I actually fainted in front of my favorite author! I'm so embarrassed!"

"I'm your favorite author?" Nicole smiled to herself wryly as she tried to change the subject, "I'm very complimented."

Sam blushed cutely, "I've been following your books for years." She looked up at her shyly, "Are you going to be writing any more books in your series?"

Nicole decided to be safe and say, "Yes, I'm working on plotting out the next book right now." She looked at Sam curiously, "If I wrote a very different book than my romance novels, do you think you'd want to read it?"

"Oh, yes," Sam beamed.

"Well, maybe I'll let you read that after I finish this next book," Nicole offered with a smile. Sam's beaming smile was remarkably cute, and not long after that Sam left after apologizing once again for fainting that way.

Nicole watched the young woman's older car pull out, turn around in the yard then bump and rattle it's way down the lane and out of sight. 'Nice kid,' she mused. She left the living room window and went back to the kitchen, unloading the 'Welcome wagon' box and stowing things away.

Checking the kitchen shelves Nicole frowned to herself slightly, noting she had managed to clear most of the food. "Guess I need to go shopping again," she said with a sigh. She walked to the front hall and grabbed her coat before calling out, "I'm going out!"

Laura watched her go silently, blonde hair curling around her on the gentle breeze. A simple look at her had sent Sam crashing to the ground, but Nicole... she was unmoved by the instinctive fear that Laura roused in others.

"Maybe I don't have to be alone anymore," Laura murmured softly.

The ghost turned back to the interior of the house, looking over her home. The furnishings that Nicole had brought in had changed the look of the rooms, and to her that was all to the good. It no longer brought forth those painful memories of what once had been.

Laura simply faded away, reappearing in an upper story room. The bedroom had a different scent than the rest of the house, a bit of perfume and deodorant. Nicole's room was neat, only a few items left sitting out, the bed just a bit messy.

She hesitated beside the bed, Laura reaching down with a ghostly hand to stroke the covers. "I shouldn't," she murmured softly. Laura shifted, her clothing swirling around her as she settled onto the bed, laying back there on the strange bed, sighing softly.

Laura curled up there, slowly becoming more and more transparent until finally... she disappeared once again.

Nicole bumped down the rough lane, coming out onto the main road. After that it was much easier to make her way to the town, eventually cruising down main street. On an impulse she stopped in at the library, getting out of her car and walking inside.

"Good evening," the young man stood at the front desk, beaming at her happily. His sandy brown hair fell into his eyes, dressed in white shirt and dress pants. He straightened up a bit, not recognizing her and said, "Do you want to apply for a library card?"

'Obviously they don't have many new comers,' Nicole found herself noting. She smiled at him, "Sure, why not." She produced her identification, rooting around in her wallet for a current piece of mail to confirm her new address.

The young man transferred the information to his computer and Nicole smiled. 'Glad to see someone doesn't know who I am,' she thought.

"Here you go," he handed her the barcode marked card. "My name is Daniel, it's nice to meet you Ms. Richards," he beamed.

"Thanks," Nicole took the card and put it in her wallet. She frowned in thought looking around at the shelves of books, computer stations and archives, "I was wondering... how did such a small town get a large library like this?"

Daniel smiled cheerfully, unoffended by the question. "The library was founded more than a hundred years ago," he explained, "by a wealthy landowner. His daughter was such an avid reader he founded the library for her sake."

"Whatever happened to them?" Nicole asked curiously.

Daniel sighed softly and confided, "The daughter died tragically and the family moved away. Still, they set up a trust for the library that's helped us keep it running."

Nicole felt that odd itchy feeling, as if she should have known this. "What was the family's name?" she asked softly.

"Reid," Daniel said thoughtfully, "the Reid family."

'Laura's family,' Nicole thought to herself in surprise, 'of course.' She smiled at him as she headed over to the shelves, "Thank you very much."

To be continued...