Beep

Beep

Beep

Alex grimaced and rolled over, hoping the alarm would just disappear. When this unfortunately did not happen, she rolled back over and slammed her hand on the clock, effectively turning it off while also knocking it off the table. Alex cursed and sat up, running a hand through his shoulder length hair.

The covers were tangled hopeless around her body, and Alex sighed. A couple minutes later she managed to get out of the bed and pick up the alarm clock, and another ten minutes later she was walking out of her room.

“Tyler! Hurry up or you’ll be late,” Alex called as she passed his room. She got no response, but he wasn’t her problem. Alex rubbed her eyes as she walked down the stairs, which began to creak behind her. It must be Tyler sneaking up in an attempt to scare her.

“Boo!” he yelled.

Alex turned around, glaring. “Tyler! Get dressed.” Suddenly she grinned. “If you don’t, mom will be pissed.”

Tyler frowned. “Yeah, whatever,” he said, dejected. He walked back to his room a little quicker while carrying one of his ever-present toys. Mom would undoubtedly have to pry it out of his hands in another ten minutes or less.

Alex walked into the kitchen and grabbed an apple. She heard her mother arguing with Tyler upstairs and smiled vaguely. Served the twerp right.

“Tyler,” her mother said, “you are in the fifth grade. You can’t take toys to school anymore.”

“But mom,” he whined. Alex tuned them out while grabbing a glass of water. Troy, her father, walked into the room from the garage, covered in engine oil as usual. He put a wrench in his tool belt as he moved towards the sink.

“Hey, Alex! Top of the morning.”

“Dad, it’s too early for this,” Alex said dully.

“Such a night owl,” he said. “You should go to sleep earlier.” He grinned and moved to put an arm around her shoulders.

“Dad!” she laughed, “you’ll get oil all over me.”

His smile widened. “And?”

Alex laughed and dodged him. She put the glass in the sink and tossed the remainder of the apple away.

“Sarah!” Troy said happily as her mom walked into the kitchen.
“That boy,” Sarah said wearily. “Oh Alex! You’d better hurry if you don’t want to be late.”

Alex looked at her watch and paled.

“Shit! Gotta go. Have fun with your cars dad.” She dashed out of the room while her mother yelled after her for cursing. Troy was laughing.

2

She pulled into a parking spot and jumped out of the car, almost tripping in the process. “Really? Could today get any worse?”

“Hey Alex!”

Alex turned and saw her boyfriend sauntering towards her. She smiled. “Well hurry up!” she demanded. He grinned as he caught up to her.

“What’s the rush, huh? Who cares about this dump? I mean..this school?” he laughed.

“Kyle,” she said, exasperated.

He kissed her cheek. “You can run if you want, but I’ll go at my own pace.”

She sighed and didn’t speed up. He grinned and wrapped an arm around her waist.

“You remind me of Troy sometimes,” she muttered.

He grimaced. “Your dad? Come on Alex. He’s cool and all, but that’s not really a compliment.”

Alex laughed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. You’re just so lax, that’s all.”

“Hmph.” He paused. “You wanna go somewhere tonight?”

“I can’t. homework,” she said.

“You can’t do it later?”

“Kyle,” she said, smiling.

“Okay, alright. See you later then.”

She nodded and he opened the door. Alex walked as quickly to class as she could without getting in trouble. She glanced to the right for no particular reason before opening the door. She saw a girl standing at the end of the hall whose eyes pierced Alex’s, and then the door closed.

Alex turned and stared at the door, thinking that maybe the girl was in the class too and was just late. For several seconds, nothing happened.

“Um, Alexandra, why don’t you sit down.”

Alex twisted around and blushed. The whole class was staring at her, and her teacher looked a little concerned. What else could go wrong? She must have jinxed herself in the parking lot. Everyone was snickering. She smiled. “Right. I just…okay.”

It was going to be a long day.

Alex twirled a strand of hair in second period while staring out the window. She couldn’t stop thinking about that girl in the hallway. She had looked normal. The only thing was her eyes. Alex didn’t understand. She sighed and turned her attention back to the teacher, only to regret it. She hated statistics.

A few minutes later she looked at the clock. Class would be over soon. She looked out the window again and almost screamed. The girl was standing outside about ten feet away from the window, simply staring. Alex fought down her panic and forced herself to breathe.

She glanced around the classroom to make sure no one was watching before taking a closer look at the girl. There were bags under the girl’s eyes, as if she didn’t sleep often, and she was wearing a tattered white dress that when down halfway down her calves. She wasn’t wearing shoes. Alex looked into the girl’s eyes and shivered. They were dark black.

The bell rang and Alex looked away for a moment. When she looked back, the girl was gone.

3

Outside at lunch, Alex couldn’t stop thinking about the girl as Kyle talked with his friends. Who was she, and why was she following Alex? Moreover, how come no one else had noticed her and made her go to class, or home. Maybe she wasn’t even a student. Alex rested her head on her hands and stared at the fountain the school had built the year before.

“Alex!”

She jerked her head. “What, why are you yelling?”

“I’ve been calling your name for like thirty seconds now,” Kyle said. “Are you alright?”

Alex frowned. Should she tell him about the mysterious stalker? No. He would just think she imagined it or something. She smiled. “I’m fine. I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately. Hey, do you still want to go out tonight?”

Kyle narrowed his eyes. “I thought you were going on a date with your homework.”

Alex smiled sarcastically. “Very funny. Do you want to go or not?”

“Of course.” She smiled and scooted closer to him, wondering where the girl was now. She looked around nervously and then joined in the conversation.

She didn’t see the girl for the rest of the school day. Alex hooped her arm through Kyle’s as they walked to their cars. She glanced around nervously as he talked about the motorcycle he was fixing up.

“Earth to Alex,” he said, jogging her from her thoughts. Alex looked at his confused face. “Seriously, are you alright? You’ve been zoning out all day.”

Alex smiled. “I’m fine, really. I’m just a little preoccupied.”

Kyle frowned and slowed down. “You’re not fooling me,” he said, waiting for an explanation. Alex thought about what he’d say if she told him the truth.

“Do you wanna go to the library?”

“Who goes to the library on a date?”

She laughed and freed her arm from his, reaching her car. “I’ll drive home and you can follow me so that we are in the same car. Okay?”

Kyle jumped in between her and the car, holding her arms securely. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“I promise to tell you after I drop my car off.”

He searched her face and finally sighed. Kyle let go of her arms and began to walk towards his own car. “You promised.”

Alex nodded and got in her car, already planning out her explanation. She put in a heavy metal CD and turned up the volume, wishing to never see the creepy girl again. She stopped at the last light before her house and gazed off to her left. Looking in the window of a gas station, she saw those eyes.

Alex froze. The girl in the gas station was staring at her and no one else seemed to notice her. This time the girl looked different though. She was soaked and water dripped from her hair to her feet. Her makeup ran down her face, but she didn’t seem to care. How could no one see her?

Someone behind her honked their horn and Alex realized that the light had turned green. Glancing back, the girl was gone. Alex sped the rest of the way home.

4

Kyle stared at her as he waited for her to start. Alex took a sip of the soda in front of her and played with the menu.

“Alex, stop procrastinating. Tell me what’s wrong. Is someone bothering you?”

Alex laughed. He thought she was being harassed by a boy or something. He was so close and yet so far away. “That’s not it,” she muttered. She stared at the menu and then pushed it away. “I’m not hungry.”

Kyle stared at her. “What’s wrong?” he repeated.

“You can’t laugh.”

“Okay.”

“And you have to take my word for it.”

“Alright.”

Alex sighed and looked at her lap. “There’s this girl…following me.”

Kyle narrowed his eyes in confusion. “Tell her to go away or get the cops. Do you want me to talk to her?”

“That’s not it, Kyle. She’s…I’m not sure anyone but me sees her.”

Alex waited for his response. Instead, she received an awkward silence.

“What the hell are you talking about? Explain.”

Alex laughed. At least he didn’t dismiss her immediately.

Alex hesitated. “I think she’s a ghost.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“I know! I know…I can’t explain it. I just want to go to the library and check it out or something. I have a theory.”

“You’ve read too many books, or seen too many movies. Alex, this is nuts.”

“I said that you have to take my word for it,” she reminded him.

“Well yeah, but—"

“Please trust me,” Alex begged softly. Kyle stopped talking and looked away. There were several seconds of silence and Alex wondered if he would believe her. Maybe she should just—

“Okay. So this girl is following you, and that’s what’s been freaking you out the whole day?”

Alex nodded, relieved.

“Okay. Fine. We’ll go to the library.” He stood up and threw some bills on the table. “Let’s go.”

“Thank you, Kyle.”

He smiled and twisted his fingers between hers. “I’m always here for you. If you’re right, then we’ll find out. If you’re not, then you have to give up on this. Okay?”

She nodded and they walked to the car.

5

Alex flipped through the newspapers, her eyes glued to the text. She was sitting in a chair at a library table. Kyle stood behind her, glancing around. “So you asked the librarian?”

“Yes,” Alex said, with a touch of irritation. “She gave me these.”

“What exactly are you looking for?” he asked.

“A drowning.”

He blinked and looked down at her. “What?” When she didn’t respond, Kyle pulled a chair out from the other side of the table and rested his head on his hands. “You wanna tell me what’s happened today to make you think that this girl drowned, or is even dead? She could just be a creepy stalker.”

Alex sighed and looked up at him. “Fine. I’ll tell you everything, but then you have to either help me, or be quiet.”

He nodded, and less than ten minutes later she finished her story. The drowning part hinged on when the girl was in the gas station, soaking wet.

“How do you know—”

“Kyle, our agreement.”

He nodded. “Fine, fine. So she’s dead for some reason or another. Are you looking at murder, or suicide, or maybe even accident? There are tons of possibilities.”

Alex half ignored him as she flipped through the pages. “I don’t know. I think its murder.” Kyle silently watched her. She was obviously really freaked out to be this determined. She turned another page. For a moment, her heart stopped.

“Kyle, Kyle, this is it! It’s her!!”

Kyle jumped out of his chair so fast that it fell over. He dashed around the table and leaned over her shoulder. What looked like a school picture of a young teenager stared up at them from the article. Her name was Gabriella Lee, but her friends called her Gabby.

“She was only sixteen,” Alex whispered. Kyle’s eyes scanned the page.

“This is a few years old. It says they suspected the boyfriend but never found any proof on him nor anyone else. It’s probably a cold case by now.”

“This is the reason,” Alex said.

Kyle looked at her. “What are you talking about?”

“This is the reason she is appearing to me. She wants us to find proof on her killer so that she can rest in peace!”

Kyle knelt down quickly and put his hand over her mouth. “Sheesh, Alex. Not so loud.”

She moved his hand and lowered her voice. “There isn’t any other explanation. How old would her boyfriend be now?”

Kyle looked at the date on the paper and did the math in his head. “He’s five years older than we, so twenty-two.”

Alex scanned the paper and found his name. “Brandon Smith.” She turned to Kyle. “We have to find this guy.”

She jumped up and copied the newspaper article. Then she grabbed his hand and rushed out the door. She was so excited that she almost didn’t see Gabby standing across the street, who was still soaking wet and staring at Alex and no one else.

“Why are we stopping?” Kyle asked. Alex looked at him.

“You don’t see her?”

He looked at Alex and then where Gabby was. He looked back to Alex. “Where?”

Alex sucked in her breath. “Only I can see her…She’s looking right at me.” She started to cross the street, pulling Kyle along.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

Alex reached the other side of the street. Her heart was pounding as she walked up to Gabby. She stopped a few feet away and stared back. “What do you want me to do?” she asked.

Kyle looked around to make sure no one was watching. “Alex, as far as these people know, you are talking to yourself like a psycho.” He turned. “Oh shit!”

“What?” Alex asked, panicked.

“I can see her,” he whispered. Alex’s eyes widened. Gabby must have known that Kyle was helping, and he wouldn’t believe until he could see her himself. Gabby looked at Kyle and the blood drained out of his face.

“Looking good, considering the circumstances.” His joke wasn’t even funny to him. Gabby didn’t smile, and instead returned her attention to Alex. She mouthed a word and then turned and began to walk away.

“W-what, what did she say?” Kyle stammered.

“Follow.”

6

“A bar? What the hell are we doing at a bar?”

Alex sighed. “Kyle, would you have some faith?”

Gabby turned to make sure they were still following. She smiled and gestured for them to follow before literally walking through the door. Kyle’s jaw dropped. Alex stared for a few moments, and then laughed.

“Come on, she wants to show us someone inside, presumably.”

They walked inside and saw Gabby standing next to a young man sitting at a table by himself. It wasn’t Brandon. Gabby looked at Alex and pointed at the man. She mouthed another word.

“What’s she saying now? That’s not the ex,” Kyle said. Alex looked at him.

“She said, help. I think she meant that he can help?” she looked back and Gabby was gone. The man was eating dinner by himself.

“Let’s talk to him,” Alex suggested.

“Wait, wait, wait. We can’t just walk up to a random stranger and say, ‘hey man! What do you know about this murder case that happened five years ago?’”

Alex smiled. “I’ll ask him if he knew either of the two and see where the conversation goes from there.”

“And you’ll do this somehow without freaking him out? Okay, sure.”

“I’ll say that I was a friend of Gabby’s.”

Kyle looked at her strangely. “Please tell me that when this is all over we can go on a normal date and forget about all this.” Alex smiled and nodded. Kyle sighed. “Alright, let’s go freak him out.” Alex laughed and they walked towards the table.

Alex sat down in front of the man and Kyle sat on the right. The man looked up from his drink and stared at them oddly. “Do I know you?” he asked.

Alex smiled. “Not directly. We were friends of Gabby.”

He continued to stare at them. “I don’t know what you’re—”

“You remember, don’t you? Gabriella Lee. She was Brandon’s girlfriend a few years ago.”

Emotions flickered across the man’s face. “Aren’t you a bit young to be here? Don’t make me get the manager to kick you out.”

Alex froze. She didn’t know how to counter him. Kyle frowned. “No need to get defensive. It’s not like we are drinking anything.”

Alex smiled at Kyle, thankful for his quick retort. “That’s right,” she said. “We’re not hostile. We just have some questions we’d like to ask you.”

The man stared at her, waiting. As Alex thought of what she would say, the air suddenly got colder and someone whispered in her ear, “Matthew”. Alex looked at Kyle, but he was looking at the man. Thanks Gabby.

“So Matthew,” she said casually.

The man stiffened. “How did you know my name?” he demanded. Was he afraid of her? He must be hiding something. Kyle was looking at her strangely, no doubt wondering how she knew Matthew’s name. She smiled at him, hoping he would play along.

“That’s unimportant,” she said, dismissing the question. “Instead, I was wondering what you knew about Gabby’s death.”

Matthew straightened up in his chair. Tightening his hand on his glass, he narrowed his eyes and examined Alex and Kyle. He took a swig of the drink and then laughed. “I already talked to the police when she died. Go read that transcript.”

Alex smiled. “Yes, you told them that you didn’t know what happened. You told them that there was no fighting or hard feelings between the couple that you knew about,” she said.

Matthew laughed again and took another swig of his drink. “That’s right. So why are you here? You know my answer.”

“You were lying, weren’t you?”

Matthew almost spat out his drink. He chocked for a moment and eventually swallowed it, beating on his chest for a moment. When he looked at her, his eyes were watery with pain.

“You know why she died, don’t you?”

Matthew regained his composure and began to poke at his food.

“…Matthew, what happened?” Matthew began to mumble to himself. Alex leaned forward, trying to make out his words.

“Stupid, stupid idiot…knew this would happen sooner or later…”

Alex narrowed her eyes in confusion and sat back up. “What happened, Matthew?” she asked again.

Matthew face contorted and continued to jab his food, becoming more violent. And then suddenly, he stopped. His face went blank. He grabbed his drink, some sort of alcohol, and took a long swig.

“How did you figure it out? And how did you find me?”

Alex shook her head in growing annoyance. “That’s irrelevant. What’s important is that you tell us what happened that night.”

Matthew was nodding slowly. Doesn’t matter anyway,” he said to himself. “No one will believe them anyway,” he muttered. Alex and Kyle exchanged glances.

“Alright,” Matthew said. “I’ll tell you.”

He took another swig of his drink. Alex frowned.

“It kinda started before that night, actually. Gabby had suspected that Brandon was cheating on her for a few weeks. It just so happened that Brandon was incredibly stupid that night, at Prom with Gabby, and he got caught kissing another girl. Meagan, her name was.”

Matthew paused, sighing wearily, and took a smaller gulp of his drink. “Gabby got mad; I mean she was pissed off. She started walking home and Brandon followed her to the bridge in the car, trying to get her to get back in the car,” he continued. “He kept apologizing and just wanted to give her a ride back home, you see, because it was starting to rain, and anyway, he couldn’t just leave her there. But she lost her temper and began yelling at him.”

Kyle held up his hand, signaling Matthew to pause. “Wait, hold on. How do you know all these details?”

Matthew finished his drink. “He told me the whole story afterwards.”

Kyle nodded. “Okay, go on.”

“Well,” Matthew said, “at this point Brandon was really angry and I guess he wasn’t really thinking straight. His memory was a bit fuzzy at this part. He didn’t even remember half of what she said that got him going in the first place. But the important thing is that he was so mad that he turned off the car and got out.”

Matthew stopped and lifted his cup, and then quickly realizing it was empty, raised his hand for the bartender. Alex put her hand on his wrist and lowered it.

“How about a water?” she asked. He nodded and signaled the waitress. He took a deep swig and swallowed slowly. He seemed to be hesitating now.

“Matthew,” Alex pressed gently.

“He got out of the car,” Matthew continued, seemingly ignoring her. His eyes were misted over. He wasn’t thinking clearly because he was reliving his memory of the confession.

“The rain was getting worse. He was mad, so mad. He grabbed her arm and demanded she get in the car. He tugged her, but she wouldn’t have any of it. She wouldn’t listen, and she fought against him. She told him that she hated him. That’s when his calm broke.”

He stopped talking. Alex’s heart was racing. “Matthew,” she said, but he still wasn’t listening. He was still in that far away place. Then his eyes began to water.

“He slapped her. He was just so mad. She got even more upset at this point, an in a fit of anger, Brandon pushed her. He didn’t mean to do it! It was just supposed to be a shove,” Matthew insisted.

“It was just supposed to be a shove,” he repeated, “but he pushed too hard. She fell off the bridge and into the river below. Brandon panicked and went to the police station. He told them that they had been attacked by a stranger and that she had fallen into the river.”

“But when they got there she was already dead. Gabby was never a good swimmer and it didn’t help that she was in a dress during a storm…it must have been hell.”

Alex stared at her hands folded in her lap. Kyle put his hand on hers and she grasped it.

“Matthew, you need to get Brandon to confess,” she said. Matthew stared at her and then began to laugh.

“Like he would do that,” he managed. Alex frowned.

“How can you laugh after telling that story?”

Matthew stopped laughing immediately. He looked at the floor. “He wouldn’t confess. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do.”

“That’s not true! Even if he won’t confess, you can still give another statement to the police. Just tell them what you told me…put Gabby’s spirit to rest.”

He looked at her like she was drinking. “I don’t believe in that ghost stuff,” he said. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.”

Matthew pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Alex covered her nose and looked over his shoulder. She narrowed her eyes. Gabby was standing behind Matthew, her hair still dripping. Kyle was staring at her, eyes wide and scared. Matthew was confused.

“What are you staring—” he turned around and yelled. At the same time he tumbled out of his chair. “What the f—”

Alex slapped her hand over his mouth and smiled. Everyone was staring at them.

“I’m sorry. He’s just had too much to drink. We’ll leave now.”

The bartender glared at them. Alex waved at him and dragged Matthew out, still covering his mouth. Kyle followed close behind, urging her to hurry up. When they got out, Alex removed her hand and Matthew jumped away from her and looked around, eyes darting everywhere.

“What—how—what just happened?” he stammered. Alex smiled.

“That was Gabby. She really wants you to reassess your statement to the police,” Alex said, trying not to laugh. Matthew couldn’t keep still and looked around again.

“Okay! Alright. I’ll do it, okay? But that doesn’t mean that anything will happen.” He fidgeted his hands and twirled a lock of his hair. Alex narrowed his eyes.

“B-but,” he said, eyes still darting, “I’ll do it anyway. Okay?”

His voice was cracking. He let go of his hair and shoved his hands in his pockets. Alex smiled and nodded. He whipped his hands out of his pockets and dashed to his car. It took him several tries to open the door. When he backed up, he almost hit a post. Alex and Kyle watched his car disappear.

“Is it over?” Kyle asked. Alex closed her eyes and felt a breeze. A huge wave of relief passed over her and she sighed.

“Yeah,” she breathed. “I think so.”

“Then I have a great celebration plan,” he said, suddenly smiling. Alex laughed and grabbed his hand.

“Alright,” she said. “Let’s go on that date.”

7

The next day Alex hopped down the stairs and ruffled Tyler’s hair.

“What the heck, Alex?” he complained. She laughed and walked into the kitchen. Her mom raised her eyebrows.

“Someone is in a good mood,” she commented.

“What are you talking about, mom?”

Her mom laughed. “You’re practically glowing.”

“Hmph.” Alex grabbed an apple and took a bite. “Hey, mom, have you seen the paper today?”

Sarah pointed at the table without looking and Alex looked down. She picked up the paper and looked at the front page.

‘Murder case verdict in conflict! Confession points to another: Case reopened.’

Alex smiled and grabbed her backpack to go to school.

FINIS