Ghost In Red

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“Fine. This will go a little shocking or rather flabbergasting. Are you sure you want to hear it?” Sydney began after taking in a deep breath, and I nodded my head in response while feeling quite excited and happy at the same time.    

“Of course! Come on. I won’t freak out. I promise.” I answered and showed her a warm smile, encouraging her to tell me.    

The nervous girl walked to her bed and sat at the edge, and then she let out a sigh, looking at me.    

“I like you. Yeah, you’re right. I really do like you, OJ.” She confessed, making my mouth hang open in surprise and delight.    

She said it. Yes, she said it! She likes me back! Am I in reality? Oh, heck, yeah!    

“Really? I mean… yeah, I’m right. I’m so damn right about it the whole damn time! You just love to deny it, but you are never good at hiding it. You are obvious as sh*t, Sydney Roswell. Haha! ” I rejoiced and stood up on the couch to do a happy dance as I felt so ecstatic about everything I heard from her. Then I stopped when I heard her say something.    

“No. Actually… It’s not.”    

I looked at her with a puzzled face, and she stood up and walked to her left, heading to the corner of her room.    

“What do you mean ‘no’?” I curiously asked her, and she stopped and turned to look back at me. Is she messing up with me?    

“I don’t like you.” She said with a grim face, making me raise one eyebrow, and she smirked.    

“What? No. You said it, Syd. Why not? Because you love me? Oh, you love me, don’t you? You do!” I asked and guessed, quite confident about it. But then, the blonde just laughed at me.    

Well, damn, isn’t it a precious moment when she laughs? She’s so beautiful.    

“Oh, you are so funny, Hunters! But, no.” She replied after composing herself from her hysterical laughter, and I felt my heart sink. Why not? I don’t believe her.    

I didn’t say anything in response, and I pouted my lips as I felt a bit of dismay.    

She faced her back on me and took something like a rope by the wall, and she pulled it.    

There, opened the entrance to the attic, and a rope ladder came falling. She grabbed it and climbed up.    

Oh, I think she’s going to show me around her loft. That isn’t actually just a sleeping loft but a damn art gallery. Paintings are everywhere posted on the wall, while some are on wooden easels, including the canvas where I am on it.    

This girl is undoubtedly good at hiding. I’m certain that not a lot of people knew about this, not even her homies. I don’t know about her pals, though. But heck, she’s so good with her left hand. Amazing, indeed!    

“Wait. Why is the light on? I always turn it off whenever I leave.” I heard Sydney mumble, and I looked at her, wearing a grin on my face.    

“Ahem! Uh… I did it, Syd. I turned it on.” I said, and she showed me a skeptical look on her pretty face.    

“I did. Let me show you.” I told her, and she motioned me to go on.    

I tapped the part of the wall where the switch was, and I cringed a little when I felt tingles, but the light indeed turned off.    

“Cool! So, now, you’re a poltergeist, huh? Congratulations! You now have a superpower, Elektra. Way to go, Oj.” She said but sounded like taunting me, and I just laughed sarcastically in reply. She chuckled and turned on the light again by hitting the switch.    

“Wow! Look at all those pieces of art of yours. They are amazing, Syd.” I let out in awe and looked at her, smiling so proud.    

“It’s just a hobby.” She answered shortly, and walked to the particular canvas here on an easel that had caught my attention so well from my visit here earlier. It's a painting of myself.    

“Oh, nice hobby! So… is painting me... another hobby of yours? I don’t believe you don’t like me enough to paint me. You can’t take back what you confessed to me down there, Sydney.” I remarked and confidently claimed, making her laugh softly.    

“Nah. It’s true. I don’t like you. Because… It’s an understatement.” She answered, and we both looked at the painting of me.    

“What? Do you mean… you feel more than liking me? The like-like? More than that? Is it love? Am I right? No? Yes? Maybe? Tell me.” I said, confused but hopeful, and she didn’t say a thing, but instead, she touched the surface of the canvas.    

I could see her sweet smile as she ran her left index and middle finger on the painting.    

I won’t say I am beautiful in physical appearance, yet I know I am not that ugly… only average. But geez, this painting looks like a photograph of me from afar. All of her artworks are. Is she still a human? Hmm. I doubt that.    

“I guess you only saw this canvas of you, didn’t you?” She asked and turned her head to look at me, and I blinked my eyes, trying to process what she said.    

“What do you mean with ‘only seen this canvas of me’? There are more of them?” I asked her to confirm it, and she just smiled. What the hell? She must be bluffing.    

I looked at the painting again and pointed to her what I noticed from it when I first saw this.    

“Hey, tell me, Sydney! This number… What does it mean? 197? What? Is it a date? Or… maybe I’m wrong that it must have been the number of the canvas that you have painted in all. But I guess not since the others around here don’t have numbers on them. What is it?” I curiously asked, and she pursed her lips that caused her dimples to show up, and she let out a deep breath.    

“You see, Oj, listen. I may sound extremely weird or a total freak, but I don’t know how you'd react. I just want you to know that... I’m completely thinking normal. I swear. But I've kinda been asking myself lately if I am really sane or not. You know… never mind.” She babbled, and I could feel her troubledness even from a hundred miles away.    

“You know what, Roswell? You really love teasing people. Can’t you just talk straight to the point? Like… I know you ain’t straight, but still, talk like a normal person talking to another normal person. Please. Now, talk.” I commented and saw her rolling her eyes at me.    

"Alright. Don't be too excited. We're going there. What I mean is… you might get uncomfortable with what I will be telling you. Are you sure you want to hear it?" She replied, and I looked around me and grunted in a bit of frustration. This b*tch is hard. I don't know, but I like and hate her at the same time.    

"Me? Uncomfortable? Pssh! You are the one talking to a ghost here. You should be the one feeling uncomfortable. But yeah, no. It's going to be okay. Tell me what it is so that we can move on to another thing that we should be talking and doing." I answered and turned my gaze back to the painting before me.    

"Okay. Well… umm… see, yes, I don't like you. Liking you is not… maybe, not the right word. Because… I am obsessed… yeah, obsessed with you. And this one, it's my 197th painting of you. I started when we were still in grade school. Fourth grade, particularly. Mhmm. Now, tell me if I am not a freak. You should be overwhelmed and find me weird. Super weird." She explained, and clearly, fidgeting, and I snapped my head to look at her to see if she was fooling around. 197 what?    

"No way! You gotta be kidding me!" I let out in disbelief, and she licked her lips before answering me.    

"Do I look like I'm joking?" She asked and smirked, and I blinked many times to understand what she had told me.    

"Shut up! Let me see them." I uttered, and she went near a big double door cabinet at one corner here. And then she opened it, revealing a lot of canvases placed neatly on top of another.    

That's a lot. And… they… are all… paintings of me? Insane.    

"Seriously? Damn, who would have thought?" I muttered, and she showed me one painting where I still look about ten years old. And it has the number 51. And there are a lot more here. All me. Awesome! I'm not surprised. I am stunned.    

"You are a mad girl, Syd. You aren't weird or a freak. You are mad… madly in love with me. I love you, too, though." I asserted, still feeling so shocked, and she laughed at my confession.    

"Oh, shut up, biatch! I never said that. Get your sh*t together. I'll show the rest to you once you can finally touch something. Let's get down." She chuckled and closed the cabinet.    

"No! We have so much to talk about, Syd." I whined, and she crossed her arms on her chest and looked at me with an unimpressed face.    

Like, there is so much to know and discuss about us. I am still dumbfounded by the things I heard and saw this early today, and I know there are more.    

"And we have so much to do, also. I'm going to walk my dog. Are you coming?" She said and began walking, and I quickly followed her. Well, we could talk while walking Kitty.    

She was about to turn the light off, but I asked her a question that made her pause.    

"So… are we girlfriends now? I don't see a reason why we shouldn't be. You like me like I like you. And we like us. So yeah. We should be together. Plus, we are soulmates. Come on, Syd. Don't leave me desperate out here." I asked her, and I saw how her lips formed a smile. I really am not going to let her go away without saying yes to me.    

"Whatever you like." She answered and turned off the light, and I gasped.    

"Really? Is that a yes? Yes? Tell me it's a yes! Come on, say yes! Verbally, Sydney!" I asked her, astounded as heck, and she just chuckled.    

"Yes. Now stop being so annoying, or I'll feed you to the winged and horned bugs here." She answered and headed to the ladder to get down. While me here? I am hyperventilating. She said 'yes'! She's my girlfriend now! How is that going to make me calm down anytime soon? Never! I have a girlfriend!    

"I'm going to close this now! Good luck dealing with the erratic attic monsters there!" I heard her yell, and I hurriedly went down.    

Oh, damn, it's happening! We are official! This day is the best day of my life! This feeling is way better than me, being with all of my exes combined. Damn, I never thought that Sydney was everything I needed to feel this kind of spark.    

Oh, I am so damn excited to be back finally. I'm going to proudly come out and announce who my angel is that made my heart beat like crazy. I and Sydney… Sydian? Why not!    

I was about to hug Sydney as I finally got on the floor, but then I, we, almost lost our sh*ts when we saw what was before us.    

"Who are you talking to, Syd? Are you with somebody?" The red-headed person asked, and I looked at my girl, who is probably panicking right now.    

"Hi, Vid, Ems, Kev! What are you, guys, doing here so early in the morning?" Sydney greeted the people at her doorstep, and they all looked at her with a hint of uncertainty on their faces.    

Oh, no! She's surely in serious trouble.