Ghost In Red

　　---    

　　“Mimi, do you happen to know anything about OJ’s mom? About where she is right now? We wondered if she knew about her daughter’s horrible condition. And maybe she could stop her ex-husband with the plan of letting OJ die. We will find her.” I curiously asked the woman, hoping that she knew a thing so that our search agenda would be easier.    

　　“Oh, I’m so sorry, girls. I had never heard anything about Nica since that moment she left about eleven years ago. I wish I could help you. Don't worry. I’ll try what I can do, too. I’m going to ask Oliver about it.” She answered, and I saw OJ made a sad face and sighed.    

　　I nodded my head in response and thanked the woman.    

　　We talked more about stuff, and thankfully, Mimi understood our situation and disregarded the matter about me breaking into the mansion she’s been taking care of while OJ’s family is away.    

　　When Mimi and the police officers left, my sister-in-law called me to talk about a few things in the living room. I do know that my homies need to know about what happened that caused men in uniform to come into our house. I mean, these kinds of things don't happen daily, and I certainly need to think of lots of excuses and reasons to tell them. Or do I need to tell them the truth, too? I don’t think so.    

　　As I was about to climb down the stairs to head to the living room and OJ was following behind me, my soul almost jumped out of my body when the front door went slam open, and here showed up my neighbor, blaring, “Sydney! Where is Sydney?!!! Did the police take her? Why? What the hell happened?”    

　　I just looked at Emma with a weirded-out face and continued going down, and when she saw me, she gasped in surprise. “Oh, b*tch! You’re here! Thank goodness! What happened? What were they here for?”    

　　“Could you lower down your voice, Ems? My nephew might come out prematurely because of your loudmouth.” I told her as I walked to where Wendy sat, and Emma crushed me into a big hug.    

　　“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m just glad you are okay, Syd. So, what really happened? Where were you last night? What did those men want from you?” She asked me a series of questions and sat beside me, and OJ sat beside Wendy.    

　　“Just one question at a time, alright? Wen, I know you want to know, too. And in case my brother would ask, kindly tell him. Alright?” I began and looked at the girls here one after the other, and they both nodded their heads.    

　　“So, yeah, here was what happened. Meredith Cruz only came to ask me if I knew anything about who the burglar was that broke into the Hunters’ mansion or did I happen to have seen that person in the picture before. And I told her that I didn’t. End of story. You don’t have to worry about anything. Everything is fine.” I confessed with half-truth, and Oj winked at me. I don’t want them asking lots of questions and getting worried about my mental health. I know they would all think I am insane. It’s better this way that they won’t know anything about OJ’s presence and what we were doing.    

　　“That’s it? Boring. Alright. Then tell us where you were last night. Wendy said you got home at about two AM. Two f*cking AM, Syd! Where have you been after you left the party?” Emma remarked and asked me another hot seat question, and the ghost here seemed excited to know what excuse I could create and tell these inquisitive ladies here.    

　　“I… uh… I left the party, and… I went to visit Mom and Dad. I stayed there for a little while, and then when I was about to go home, I found out that Adam’s motorbike had no gas as the gauge was broken. And it was freaking midnight. I damn pushed it till here! Imagine how far the cemetery was. That was what happened last night. It was indeed a great night. Mhmm. Any more questions? No? Nice.” I explained and omitted quite a few details, and they seemed convinced. Thank goodness!    

　　“A question.” Emma raised her left hand, and we all looked her way. And she continued, “Did you guys already eat dinner? My parents went out to visit my grandma, and I’m all alone---”    

　　I cut her off as we all know that she was really here for the food. “You’d have to cook if you will eat here for dinner, Ems. Nothing is free nowadays. Wendy shouldn’t tire herself feeding girls with hands, feet, and no other impairments other than their mental states. Alright? Let’s go ravage the kitchen.”    

　　“Okay! I’ll be honored to watch you cook, Syd.” My silly, friendly neighbor cheered, and I only raised my left eyebrow at her with my unimpressed face.    

　　“Oh, Sydney! You know how to cook? Wow, that’s awesome! Could you teach me some of your best dishes?” OJ commented and excitedly asked, and I chuckled.    

　　“Okay. You can watch and learn how to open a can of Spam. Let’s go!” I let out, intentionally telling both girls here with me, and I stood up from the couch to go to the kitchen. And I heard Emma groan, and Wendy giggled.    

　　“Haha. Very funny. I know you can do better than that.” The ghost remarked sarcastically, and she went ahead to the kitchen. Yep, I know, and it would be my pleasure to cook with you someday. Mhmm, couple goals.    

　　---    

　　After eating dinner, Emma went home, saying she needed to study hard for the coming quarterly exam starting the day after tomorrow. And the exam is the least I should worry about right now. There is something more important than that that I need to accomplish.    

　　I am quite getting a bit nervous as to how I would tell my brother and his wife that I would go to Illinois tomorrow. I don’t know what excuse I could tell them, and I just know that they can never stop me from doing what I need.    

　　When I heard my brother’s bike pull over and park in the garage, I waited about thirty minutes to let him eat dinner and talk to his wife. However our conversation would go, I don’t care. This will be now or never.    

　　OJ and I finally went downstairs in the dining room to tell my homies about my plan for tomorrow. And I sat in front of my brother, and OJ sat adjacent to me on Wendy’s seat. Adam looked at me while chewing a grape in his mouth, and I clasped my hands in front of me on the table.    

　　“Dinner?” He asked, showing me a piece of grape, and I shook my head. “No, thanks. I’m done.”    

　　“Okay. Are you going to ask for money?” He asked and shoved the fruit in his mouth, and I shook my head in response.    

　　“Oh, what is it then? Wait, when was the last time you asked me for money?” He asked, trying to remember, and I shook my head again, saying, “I never did. And I am not going to ask you for some. Don’t worry.”    

　　“Heh, alright. Are you going to tell me about the people who went here earlier? Wen-wen already told me.” He answered and took another grape in the bowl at the middle of the tabletop, and I inhaled deeply to try to relax.    

　　“No, not that, Dam. I need to tell you and Wendy something else. Something important.” I replied, and the woman washing dishes at the sink turned to look our way.    

　　“Mmm, interesting. Are you pregnant?” He answered and seriously asked me something that made my eyebrows meet in turmoil, and I scoffed, “No! You’re being ridiculous, Adam! Why would I be?”    

　　“Because you got ovaries?” He answered and cackled at his quite idiotically witty response, and I groaned in frustration and rolled my eyes at him. And OJ just laughed with him. I know that every conversation we have would never go like how a normal talk between siblings will be, or maybe this is what a normal conversation between siblings sounds like. I don’t know. Maybe he is just a moron.    

　　“Aha! I know! Did you get yourself a boyfriend? Huh? A girlfriend? Are you gay? Bi? What else? Lesbian? You… Do you want to come out of the closet? It’s okay. We support you. I know Mom and Dad would be cool with it, too.” He guessed and totally sounded like a jerk, but a nice jerk. And I heard OJ gasp and clapped her hands in joy, hearing my brother's words.    

　　Indeed, it’s nice to hear, but yeah, that’s so nice of him. I didn't see it coming, and I guess it won’t be too hard for me to be myself soon. Damn, I just realized that it was only me who had been thinking all this time that coming out of the closet would be so freaking hard. I was wrong in so many things. Awesome!    

　　“Uh… well, thanks. But umm, it’s not about that. I just want to tell you both that… tomorrow… I… I will be going to Chicago. I got a flight tomorrow at one in the afternoon. I’m going to do something very important. Also, I think I’m going to miss all my classes for quite a few days. Yep. That’s all.” I finally voiced it out, and the two adults here looked at each other in wonder, and then they both looked at me. And Wendy went to sit down with us, making OJ stand up and sit near me on the tabletop.    

　　“Come again, Syd?” Adam asked, and I let out a breath. “I said… I am going to Chicago tomorrow afternoon.”    

　　“Don’t you have your quarterly exam, Syd?” Wendy asked, and I nodded my head. “Yep. I wrote an excuse letter, and I’d let my pals inform my teachers of my absence.”    

　　“Wait, wait. In what mad world would you… What are you going to do in Chicago all alone?” My brother asked, sounding a bit puzzled and bothered, and I moistened my lips and answered him, “It’s classified. None of your concerns. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. That’s all you need to know.”    

　　“What? None of my concerns? You are my f*cking sister, Sydney. What are you going to do there? That is so far away.” He belted, and I stood up and was about to go back to my room.    

　　“You don’t need to know. Okay? I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself. Good night.” I answered, and I snapped my head to look at Adam when he slammed a hand on the table. Hmm. What now?    

　　“Sit down, Sydney Roswell. You are not leaving this room without being clear and concise about what bullsh*ts you are up to. Sit. Down.” He ordered sternly, using a tone I only heard from our father, and I stared at him in a bit of shock. Why is he like that all of a sudden? Does he want to act like a damn real older brother now? Wow! What a surprise! That never happened.    

　　I didn’t argue and tried to appear respectful as his younger sibling, and I could feel OJ and Wendy staring at me with worry on their faces.    

　　“If you are going to stop me, I’m sorry to tell you that you can’t. I’m old enough. And if you want to know my purpose in going there, I bet you wouldn’t believe me. So, no. That’s all you need to know. Just… trust me. I’m not doing some bullsh*ts there. Alright?” I explained, but the look on his face tells something that he needs to hear more.    

　　What else am I going to say?    

　　“Try me. Do tell, Syd. I don’t want to worry about your safety. Who knows if… you are meeting some people you met on those awful dating sites, and then you won’t know if they are good people or not? What if they are going to do something bad to you? Kidnap you, or whatever? You shouldn’t trust people so easily.” He ranted, seeming genuinely concerned, and I can’t blame him. Our parents told him to take care of me, and I know he is just doing his role other than being an a**hole to me almost all of the time.    

　　I looked him in the eyes, and I let out a sigh. “Here you are again being ridiculous, Adam. I am not meeting… people. Fine, I’m trying to help a friend. She needs me. I’m saving a life. We are going to find her mother to help us. That’s it. No other nonsense. Are you happy now? You don’t have to worry, because I am not a child anymore. What I want you to do… is trust me. Trust me. I’ll be okay. I got this. Thanks for the… concern. I really appreciate it.”    

　　I smiled when he nodded his head lightly, and he took a deep breath and told me his approval after a moment of silence. “Alright. Okay. I understand. You do you. Just tell us what you need.”    

　　“We will be just one call away, Syd. Take good care of yourself there.” Wendy said, and I warmly smiled at her in response.    

　　“Thank goodness, they understood.” OJ let out in relief, and I felt good, too.    

　　“Yeah, good luck. Just don’t call us and say you are not coming home anymore because you found a baby daddy there to settle down with. He is going to eat these fists of mine first before you. Are we clear?” Adam warned, and I just laughed at his face.    

　　“F*ck off! I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. Because if I’d be settling with someone… It won’t be a he. Good night, you both!” I replied and confessed something before I stood up to head to my room. And I left them even before they could react to what I just said.    

　　I climbed the stairs while smiling to myself. That's… that was crazy.    

　　And as I was about to lock the door of my room, I saw the ghost had been covering her mouth, trying not to scream in delight as she had been following me. Then she looked at me with a priceless ‘what-the-heck?’ look on her face, and I just shrugged my shoulders in reply while smiling widely.    

　　Uh-huh. I just came out to my family, and I indeed feel so happy about it. It’s an amazing moment in my life, truly.