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  I was suddenly startled out of my day dreaming by my phone, which I had forgotten to put on silent. "Hey, Grandmama. I'm still about thirty minutes or so away from Knoxville."

  "Well, I was just callin' to see how your trip was goin'.” She was really calling to make sure I was still alive. “Is the bus nice?"

  "Oh, yeah, the bus is great. I owe you big time."

  "Yes, ma'am, you sure do." I could tell she was smiling when she said it. "But we'll settle that when ya get here. I'm gonna go ahead and leave here in a bit and head to the bus station. I don't want ya gettin' there and havin' to wait on me."

  "Okay, just be careful."

  "Oh, I'm always careful. I love ya and I'll see ya in a bit."

  "I love you, too."

  I was excited to see the house. She had sent me pictures of it and it looked beautiful…in that big, old, spooky sort of way. My room was decorated in a Victorian style, which I loved—girly, yet grown up at the same time. There was also a little river on the property that she said you could hear from the house. She already had a hammock hanging in the back yard, which I was sure I'd be spending a lot of time in. It seemed like a charming country getaway and I couldn't wait to soak it up. I was so over living in that big city.

  When the bus pulled into the station, there she was, waving like she was welcoming not only me, but the entire bus home. You couldn't miss seeing her with that bright moo-moo looking thing she was wearing. I didn't realize just how much I had missed her. She met me with a big hug that was stronger than what you would expect from such a small woman. We unloaded my stuff from the bus and headed home.

  "I can't wait for ya to see the place."

  "I can't wait, either. I am a little nervous, though, especially with it being such an old town with a lot of history. Should I be?" She knew what I meant.

  A smile came across her face and she shook her head. And even though she had answered my question, I felt like she really hadn't, so I pressed her further. "So, the house is okay? Free of any…you know." Sometimes I hated even saying it.

  "I don't know if I’d go as far as to say that. But there's no reason to be nervous, so don't worry."

  "Oh, Lord. When you say don't worry, that's exactly what I do."

  She grinned at me and continued to sing the rest of the way home. As we pulled up in the driveway I was immediately in love with the house. It looked like a fancy, cream colored dollhouse that I would have begged her to buy me when I was little. It was an old, two-story house that had a porch that went all the way across the front. The shutters looked original to the house, with scrollwork around the top of them. The Victorian grandeur of it didn't do anything to abate the spooky factor, though.

  "Don't worry 'bout gettin' your stuff yet. Let me show ya 'round first."

  "Sounds good to me."

  She let me in through the side door which led into the edge of the kitchen and dining room. The kitchen was fully equipped with an island and a breakfast bar, which I wasn't expecting in such an old house. I knew she had done a lot of remodeling, but I didn't know she had done that much. From the kitchen it flowed into the living room, which was open and airy and had French doors that opened into a sunroom. It was beautiful. She took me around the island, past a small bathroom, and down a short hall that led to what was supposed to be a parlor. It looked like a disco library. This was definitely Grandmama's space. It had memorabilia from her past performances, as well as some of her hippie stuff, and a lot of books.

  "Ready to see your room?"

  I nodded and we headed back into the hall. The stairs were nestled right next to the living room across from the bathroom, and seemed to have the original woodwork and spindles. I ran my hand up the smooth rail until we reached the top where there was a bathroom that she informed me would be all mine. We turned left and she showed me her room first. She had her own bathroom and closet that she had remodeled from one of the old spare bedrooms.

  "Nice, huh?" she asked proudly.

  “Pretty snazzy,” I agreed.

  Then she motioned me back into the hall toward my room. She had already gotten most of my stuff brought over when she moved in, so all of my furniture and belongings were already here. She had added some new Victorian things as well, but it all blended together. I loved it.

  After standing there just looking at everything I felt an arm come across my shoulders. "Well, what do ya think? Ya gonna stay?"

  "I don't know. Let's look out back and I'll let you know," I teased.

  She took me outside through the door in the sunroom. It led out onto a huge back porch that had not one, but two porch swings. There was also a table and chairs, several potted plants, and three ceiling fans. I looked at her approvingly as I walked down into the yard and slithered into the hammock. I literally had to slither to keep from falling out the other side. After lying there for a few minutes while she piddled in the yard, she strolled over to me and smiled.

  "Well, I guess the look on your face answers my question. I knew you'd like it."

  "No, I don't like it—I love it. You couldn't have picked a better place for us."

  With a nod and a smile, she turned and headed back around the house. "Your stuff ain't gonna carry itself in!" she yelled over her shoulder.

  I reluctantly, and slowly, climbed out of the hammock and headed toward the car. I was admiring the flower beds that she had always loved to work in when for a split second I thought I saw someone out of the corner of my eye by the edge of the house. I turned to see who it was, but when I looked, they were gone. I just shook my head and kept on walking.

  "Oh, great…here we go."

  Chapter 3

  INSECURITIES

  Beau

  When Malyn got outta the car, I 'bout died—again. She was beautiful. She had long, dark, straight hair that glistened like water does when the sun hits it. She was short and appeared to be thin, but it was hard to tell ‘cause her clothes were so baggy. She had on a pair of jeans with the legs cut out of 'em, which was odd, but looked good on her. Her shirt was bright orange and looked like she stole it from a pretty big fella. Her skin was pale like a porcelain doll, which really made her light brown eyes stand out. I'd never seen anybody like her in my whole life.

  I tried to stay hidden from her like Nellie told me to do, but I wanted to follow her so bad. I wanted to hear how her voice sounded, how she talked. I didn't know why I had to hide in the first place. It's like Nellie forgot that livers can't see me. I watched Malyn go in the side door, but I stayed outside. I was afraid that if I snuck in that Nellie would know I was there or that Malyn…I don't know. Maybe Malyn was like Nellie and would know, too. That would be nice. But even so, I just stayed outside and waited. Even though I knew Nellie couldn't do nothin' to me, I had respect for her, so I did as I was told. If she wanted me to stay away, I would.

  When I heard 'em comin' outside, I moved to the side of the house so I could watch 'em and hear what they were sayin', but stay out of the way. Malyn went straight to the swing that Nellie had attached to the trees. She seemed to have trouble gettin' in it, which almost made me laugh out loud. After a few minutes I heard Nellie say somethin' about her likin' it here and I listened for her response.

  "No, I don't like it—I love it. You couldn't have picked a better place for us."

  I agree. Nellie couldn't have picked a better place. For once, I didn't want to scare the intruders away from my home.

  Nellie turned and headed back toward the car. After waitin' until Nellie fussed at her to come and help, Malyn slowly tried to get up from the swing. She was finally out of it and walked down the path near the flower garden. She stopped to look at the flowers, so I leaned around the house to get a better look at her. Then all of a sudden she turned towards me. I wasn't used to bein' seen, so I was slow to hide 'til I realized that she was lookin’ right at me. I moved like lightenin' back around the corner of the house to hide, wonderin' what made her look my way. Then I heard her mumble somethin' to herself as she wal
ked away. Here we go again? What was that supposed to mean? Did she see me? Is that why Nellie said to stay hid, ‘cause she can see me? I had to know.

  I waited until Malyn was busy in her room before I went in and found Nellie. She was foldin' laundry in the main room. I passed my hand through hers to get her attention. She shuddered and smiled, but continued to fold laundry.

  "I wondered when you'd come outta hidin'. I guess I should've told ya before she got here today. I wasn't sure that there was a need to just yet, though, so I waited just to make sure. But after talkin' to her when we got up to her room, I knew I'd have to talk to ya 'bout her."

  I hoped that she'd start makin' sense soon, ‘cause so far I wasn't followin'.

  "Ya know how I can sorta feel things? How I can sense when you're around?" She paused like she was waitin' on me to answer her. When she didn't continue, I reached over and passed my hand through hers again. "Well, Malyn can't feel things, but she can see 'em. She saw ya today. She said she didn't make out anything but a dark shadow. I guess ya moved too quick. But I did tell her 'bout ya. I hope that's okay." I was so surprised by what she told me that I just sat there. "Is that okay?"

  I touched her hand again. It was more than just okay. I wanted to meet Malyn, but suddenly I got self-conscious. What did I look like? What if I was scary? I did drown, so there's no tellin' how I might appear. What if she saw me and I scared her so bad that she wanted to leave? Maybe I didn't want to meet her after all.

  "So, are ya ready to meet her?" She reached down and grabbed another towel. "I'm a little anxious myself to see how this goes and see if I can find out who ya are."

  I sat completely still. I in no way wanted her to think I was sayin' yes.

  Realizin' that I wasn't answerin' her, she asked again. "Do ya want me to introduce ya to Malyn?"

  No. I don't want her to see me.

  I guess Nellie understood that I was sayin' no ‘cause she just nodded and said, "I understand. I'm sure this is all new to ya. Just take it slow and when you're ready just let me know. But ya do realize that she can see ya. Unless ya hide forever, you're gonna have to meet her sooner or later."

  Right now, I was choosin' later.

  * * *

  It was dark outside so I decided to stay out of the house. I figured that she wouldn't go wonderin' 'round outside at night, so I should be safe. I laid on the tree swing for a while, lookin' at the stars. I didn't have as much trouble gettin' in it as she did, but it didn't move around with me like it did her. It's fairly easy layin' and sittin' on things. Now tryin' to go through 'em was a different story. It took a lot outta me when I went through stuff. And I could go through almost anything, except for the ground. I tried just stickin' my foot into it one day just to see if I could, but I couldn't. I couldn't pass through the border of our property, either. I tried goin' with my family when they moved away. I followed 'em for a bit, then I just stopped. They kept goin', but I couldn't. It was the last day I ever saw 'em.

  Not wantin' to remember my past and feel sorry for myself, I got up and occupied my time with some of the animals that had decided to wonder out. The night time actually went by faster than the days did. I guess it's ‘cause it's more creepy wonderin' 'round at night and that's when all the critters came out. There were so many snakes here that I got kinda bored with 'em. I was lookin' for a skunk or a coyote, but none ventured my way. All I got to do was startle a couple of deer that were bedded down in the nearby field.

  Before I knew it, the sun was startin' to come up. I went down toward the river and sat on my tree stump to watch the sunrise and to think. I had a decision to make. I was stuck here. I didn't know why, but I was. I couldn't leave or go anywhere else. She knew I was here and I knew that I wasn’t gonna be able to play hide and seek for the rest of my…whatever this was. So I guess Nellie was right; there is only one real decision I have to make. Was I gonna meet her sooner or later?

  The sun was peekin' up over the mountains when I got up to go inside and see what the livers were doin'. As I turned 'round and headed up toward the house, somethin' in the upstairs window caught my eye. When I looked up and saw what it was, I froze. Malyn was an early riser.

  Chapter 4

  GONER

  Malyn

  I had talked to Grandmama last night about seeing the figure by the edge of the house. She then proceeded to tell me that we weren't alone here. I had assumed as much by the way she acted when I had asked her about it on the way home from the bus station. But all she could tell me was that it's a boy who died here and that he meant us no harm. It's rare that she's able to communicate with them like that, so I was impressed—with her and our dead roommate. She said she would introduce us, but wanted to talk to him about me first. This entire situation was just plain weird.

  I kept peeking around my room as I tried to fall asleep, seeing if he had snuck in. I can't feel them like Grandmama can, I can only see them. They look just like regular people to me. When I was little I couldn't tell them apart from real people. Now that I'm a little older and more used to it, I can usually tell if someone is dead or not. Sometimes I'm caught off guard and end up talking to a dead person in public, but that's rare, thank goodness.

  I had no visitors to my room, so my first night in my new home was surprisingly quiet and restful. I was glad, though, because I knew today was gonna be a strange one. It wasn't every day that I was introduced to a ghost by my grandmother.

  She always woke up at the crack of dawn, which meant I usually did, too. It's like she hated being awake by herself. She usually started breakfast early, and I was starving, so I decided to go ahead and get up. I figured if she had some help cooking that my belly might get some food a little faster.

  I walked over to the window to open my curtains and see what kind of view I had. The sun was up over the mountains just enough so that I could see the rolling landscape. The river was pretty close to the house, running along the edge of the property. I'd have to ask Grandmama if she had seen any snakes. I didn't like snakes, or any other reptiles. I didn't like animals much at all, really. But snakes or no snakes, the view from my room was awesome. I could see the mountains, part of the river, and colorful wildflowers growing in the fields. Tennessee could be breathtakingly beautiful at times.

  I continued to check out the yard and the huge trees and wild flowers growing at the back of it when I noticed that one of the trees had been cut down. All that was left was a huge stump, which I thought was odd. But what was even odder was the fact that someone was sitting on it. From this distance, it was hard to tell much about them, but I could tell it was a guy and that he seemed to be dead.

  He just sat there looking out over the river banks like he was deep in thought. As I watched him, he got up from the tree stump and walked back this way. When he got close, he looked up towards the house and stopped like he had just seen a ghost. He was looking right at me. He just stood there, staring at me with an intense look on his face—his handsome, model type face. He had dark, disheveled hair that looked like it needed to be cut, tanned skin, and the most piercing blue eyes I had ever seen. Even from here they looked like blue diamonds. He seemed tall, but most people seemed that way to me, so it's hard to judge. He also looked muscular, more from manual labor rather than from lifting weights. His clothes were definitely from another time. He had on brown pants that were tattered at the bottom, and tucked into them was a thin, light colored, long sleeve shirt that buttoned half way down the front. His feet were bare.

  Realizing that I was gawking, I tried to compose myself. I could tell I had surprised him, so to keep it from being awkward, I smiled and held my hand up like I was gonna wave, and dropped it back down. When I did, the intense look left his face, and what replaced it almost looked like relief. I was probably the first person who had ever actually seen him since he died, so I guess that would feel strange. His look of relief turned into a grin that completely melted my heart—he had dimples. I stepped away from my window and decided to put some cl
othes on instead of going down in my pajamas. Dead or alive, this was a cute guy that I was about to meet.

  I scurried down the hall to my bathroom so that I could make myself presentable. I decided to wear some sweat pants that I had cut off into shorts, which I do to a lot of my pants when winter is over. I grabbed the matching sweatshirt and pulled it on over the tank top that I had slept in, since it was still a little chilly. Layering shirts was something I did rather often. LeLe once told me that it looked like the stripper fairy had sprinkled her magic dust on me. Her comment would've made me mad if it wasn't so true. I have the body of a stripper and it's covered with the skin of an alien. I'm so pale that I look more like a ghost than they do. I brushed my hair and took one last look at myself before I headed down to the kitchen.

  My stomach howled with excitement as I smelled the aroma floating up the stairs. Grandmama was making my favorite—French toast. I sat down at the bar to listen to her sing, which I had missed. Even though she hadn't been on a stage in a long time, she was still a star, and I was lucky enough to have a front row seat.

  "I saw him this morning," I told her. She stopped flipping the bread and turned to look at me with great interest. "It was by accident. I was looking out my window and saw him down by the river. I watched him to see what he was doing and he started walking toward the house." I remembered that smile he gave me and it made me smile.

  She must've noticed the look on my face and blurted out, "Oh, no," startling me. "Now, Malyn, there's one thing ya gotta remember—he's dead."

  "I know that. But to me they look like we do. And he's cute. I can't help it that he's cute, can I?"

  She cocked her head to the side and looked at me curiously. "What does he look like?"

  "Like a cover model for Hillbilly GQ." She just stood there looking at me over her glasses. "What?"