“No problem. You’d do the same for me.” She smiled. “Darcy is chomping at the bit to find out what is going on. I say we don’t add the extra ghosts for her to stress about on campus. Let’s maybe not let her know about anyone but hallway dude. I don’t think she has walked in Hayman since then. She says she is super cool with all of it, but honestly she is obviously scared to death.” She laughed, “I know, I know she isn’t supposed to know really, but she does, and a little information will keep her at a safe distance, without causing her to never sleep again.”
I swallowed my last bite. It was stupid to think Darcy would just drift away and not ask any more questions. Camryn was right, if she knew a few things, it would make her feel in the loop without involving her more than she needed to be. No reason for her to be scared. I nodded. “Good call. What would I do without you?”
“Well, the dorm gods said you would not have to find out. Stuck with me for the rest of the year babe.” She laughed again. “The good news is Darcy is likely transferring at semester.” She shook her head. “Ok that was kinda cold. Good for you, not having to worry about her knowing more, and well kind of good for me, since I can focus on throwing and let the running stuff go.” She sighed, “She is getting the opportunity to throw at a D1 school. It is closer to home, and honestly, I would take it too.” She smiled. “But don’t worry, I’m not that good! You’re stuck with me.”
I took another fry. “Well, thank you. Even though you called Tyler.”
She shook her head and raised her brows, “I didn’t call anyone. He texted me, and I told him what I knew. He came to the hospital and offered to bring us back.”
“Well, I guess that means I owe him a thank you too.” I ate a bit more, but my appetite wasn’t back yet.
“So, are you really ok if it’s gone?”
“Oh yeah. I hoped when I got here it would go away. I was counting on it never coming with me to college. Honestly, if I were simply normal it would be awesome.” I said the words, but part of me wondered if it was true. Would it be ok? Would it bother me if that strange shadow I carried around had finally lifted?
Chapter Ten
Classes continued, but for me they were all modified. Apparently, a protocol was in place for people with concussions. I sat in an office with our accommodation’s specialist, reading me questions for quizzes, asking me constantly if I had a headache-which I did most days.
Because of my new schedule, finals didn’t look like they did for the rest of campus. I hadn’t seen Tyler, couldn’t go to full classes yet, and since I wasn’t supposed to be texting, left him a voicemail. Break was going to start in two days. I barely saw anyone lately. The stupid fall had messed up everything. Because the concussion rated so high, I wasn’t allowed to do much. I spent more time sleeping and resting than I had ever in my life. It amazed me how I could be tired after all the sleep I had. Classes were so weird, basically being tutored instead of traditional lecture. I missed the schedule I’d constructed for myself. I missed the small social circle I had started to build. And if I was being completely honest, I really missed Tyler.
And time moved slowly.
For the first time, I was completely alone. Even growing up, just on the edges of my vision, I could see the ghosts from the college, or town. Walking down the street, a normal person would see nothing but a solitary girl, but I always had an entourage, even though I worked hard to ignore it.
Now, it felt empty.
I tested walking by Blachley Hall, just to see.
I stood outside the dining hall, stalling, glancing at the window, waiting to see something.
I took the outside stairs, where I’d first seen the boy in the EMT jacket back in my dorm.
Nothing.
“So still no Casper sightings?” Camryn asked a few different times.
I smiled each time, “Nope, just as normal as you. All fixed.” I’d laugh lightly and change the subject.
Inside however, I didn’t know how to feel about the loss of my extra sight.
For years, I battled against it, I wanted nothing but for it to be gone, but now that it was, I felt naked, exposed. Constantly uneasy. Likely because I knew spirits existed. I knew they walked around regularly, and the normal person was too dumb to doubt.
I’d been privy to their company, therefore I caught myself consistently looking for signs to see them again.
Christmas break stretched from almost the beginning of December to the second week of January. Campus closed and the break allowed for even international students to travel back home to see loved ones.
My old truck puttered the familiar route back home to Albion. Grandma’s kitchen was grand central station, and she was busily baking when I walked in the small kitchen.
Dropping off my baggage, and spending a few hours chatting, seeing if I could help grandpa setting the few little decorations outside, or helping grandma package up her mini loaves of zucchini and pumpkin bread she made for friends and neighbors. It felt like I had never left.
Finally, in the early evening, I allowed myself to take the walk I’d been looking forward to.
Walking on the old campus felt eerily silent. Birds rustled a few empty tree branches, but other than the occasional burst of wind, the grounds echoed with nothing. No feelings, no voices, not even
