Haunted

Gabriel had been checking out his mail, his headphones over his ears as they typically were, blocking out almost all external stimuli when he heard a vibration coming from his right side. This caused him to peel the headphones from his ears as he looked over at the woman, analyzing the situation for a moment before realizing what she had said. “Oh cool. What is it? If you don’t mind me asking of course.” He asked, his monotone voice lacking tonality but somehow sounding calming.

Reyna glanced at her side, recognising Gabriel and giving him a friendly smile. “It’s a book, and when it’s about a book I never mind you asking,” Reyna replied. The two frequently discussed books together, amongst other things. “It’s the 80th anniversary edition of the Hobbit that was released last year. I might have mentioned it before but they re-released the first edition, so now I can read it without paying a fortune for an actual first edition.” Anyone who knew anything about Reyna knew how much she loved Tolkien, there was a reason she had the first line of the Hobbit tattooed down her rib cage. 

“Sometimes I wish I grew up in a place where it snowed all the time. But… I guess I got enough,” the girl shrugged. “I’ve… kind of? Yeah, I’ve been moving around since I was like…? Eighteen. It’s scary but kind of cool. You learn a lot,” she said giddily. “Eight years? Oh, that’s so nice! What brought you to Seattle?” 

“I loved the snow when I don’t have to do anything but drink hot chocolate after building snowmen and having snowball fights. The rest of the time it was annoying,” Reyna replied. “That is a lot of moving. I’ve moved twice in my life, well three times if you count the move from uni dorms to here. I wanted to move back to a city, I was looking at universities and my brother already lived here so it made sense.” 

“Oh, it’s a very long list,” Sabrina nearly sang, tilting her head to the side slightly. “Would you look at that,” the dancer breathed, somewhat surprised, “I had no idea.” Opening her own mailbox, she discarded some junk mail towards the trash and only kept the envelopes on hand. “I haven’t seen you since quite literally last year. Hectic schedule?”

“As a fan of Harry Potter one day we shall sit down and discuss this,” Reyna replied with a small. She loved discussing books, even more so when the person disagreed with her and they could a little debate. Reyna nodded in answer to her question, “I always have more work this time of year. It’s cold so people want to do something indoors, it’s darker so people are more aware of the dangers, and it’s January so people are still on their get fit kick.” 

Joel decided to drop the conversation there. He could tell she was getting uncomfortable, and he certainly didn’t want to push his friend. Especially not when he was so close to getting her in his bed. Sure, it wasn’t like it’d be the first time, but that didn’t matter. She was hot the first time, and she was still hot now. Besides, she was a good friend beyond that, and he enjoyed her company regardless. “That isn’t a yes or no, Reyna.” Joel chuckled, a finger coming to her chin and tilting it up to him. He would kiss her, but certainly not without her permission. 

Reyna was grateful that Joel didn’t push the topic, not that she expected him too. It was what made Joel a great friend - he didn’t pry into her life. Reyna wasn’t one to open up, and in the past, that had led arguments with friends who were fed up with knowing almost nothing about her. With friends like Joel Reyna knew she could have a good time without worrying about such things. Reyna rolled her eyes slightly if anyone else had tilted her chin up like they’d have received a swift kick to the shin, but by now she was used to Joel’s dominated nature. “But where’s the fun if I say yes so easily?” She teased. 

“Ah, so she knows better than to ignore your requests” he teased. Every Christmas as a kid, his mother did the same trick and pretended not to get the present he was the most desperate for, eventually revealing it after Sam had unwrapped all the others. “Good thing the tree is still up,” he pointed to the almost dead pine tree in the lobby. “Otherwise you would have had to wait until next year.”

“I think my family knows me well enough by now to know never to ignore me when it comes to books,” Reyna replied jokingly - despite the words been rather true. When she was still young enough to write Christmas lists her family always knew to pick the books from the list first as they’d be what Reyna wanted the most. “Tree or no tree I could not wait a year. I’d have to myself another copy of it.” 

“Aw, well… at least you got some of each, right?” She questioned, giving the other a smile. “That’s what I’ve kind of liked about moving around these past few years, all of these new temperatures are just amazing,” she said happily. “Of course, yeah. That’s what I’ve found to be nice about this place so far. You can literally go anywhere and–I don’t know, it’s just so nice.” 

“That’s true, and it’s always living in a place with snow because then you get days of school,” Reyna chuckled. “I haven’t really traveled much, and all the places I’ve lived have had semi-similar weather. Do you move around often then?” Reyna asked, not one to pry but asking out of politeness. “It really is great, I’ve been living here for eight years now.” 

“That’s further than I’ve travelled my whole life,” he said with a toothy smile, almost jealous of how far travelled a Christmas present was. He’d had plenty time to travel further afield at eighteen but, of course, he’d chosen New York which, he supposed, held its own type of exotic. “Well, at least there’s something positive about them forgetting to tear the decorations down,” he replied, glad he’d argued over the benefits of the tree. “Presents are always better when they feel festive. Or just because, really. Presents are always good, aren’t they?”

“It’s not that great of a journey, although the destination is nice,” Reyna responded with a smile. Reyna partly grew up in Scotland, moving there when she was ten and her accent still remained rather Scottish despite not living there for about ten years. “They are always good, and to be honest, I wanted this present is so good already that I don’t think any amount of festive spirit could make this it any better.” 

Tanner was grabbing his mail on his way back from his run. It was hardly anything, mail from distant family consisting of cards and kid drawings and junk mail, but his mom would always remind him if he didn’t check it so he tries to make it a habit for her. That’s when he heard the over excited murmuring over his workout playlist.

Tanner looked over as he saw the young woman, holding a parcel in her hand and a huge smile on her face. It was infectious as Tanner smiled back over at her as he pulled out his headphones. “Oh man. I would check my mail more often if I could have the same reaction as you.” 

Reyna glanced up at her neighbour and laughed lightly, “Oh, my mail is rarely this exciting, or this awaited.” She replied, still smiling. It was rare that Reyna showed so much emotion, and it was typical that when she did it was over a book. “It’s a Christmas present from my sister, it got held up in customs for some ridiculous reason.”

At the mention of a book, Kyle wanted to roll his eyes as far as they could humanly go. Who even got so excited about things like that? Instead, he moved closer to the woman, feigning interest. “Ah, I can be excited about a book too,” he assured, a playful smirk on his lips. “Maybe you can tell me more about this special edition back at my place. I’ve got a bottle of wine with your name all over it.” His eyes quickly traveled to the package in her hand before meeting her gaze again. “Reyna, was it?”

“You remembered my name, I feel honoured,” Reyna replied with a teasing tone to her voice, a smile playing on her lips and he closed the gap between them slightly. “Why do I get the impression that you have no interest in my book what so ever,” She commented, hugging the book to her chest. Reyna wasn’t going to let him think he was winning this entertaining little game they seemed to be playing. “Still, I’m sure we can find something to talk about over that glass of wine.”  

“Oh, it’s so unique—” Grace complimented, not even thinking twice about the boundaries some people put up. She considered herself an open book, although she did live in a certain state of denial. “I’m Grace, by the way. It’s lovely to meet you.”

“Oh, well thank you,” Reyna replied. It didn’t seem that unique to her, but then she did have four siblings with similar accents to some degree. “Grace suits you,” Reyna complimented. The girl seemed so joyful and friendly that a name like Grace just fitted. “I’m Reyna.”

Ramona turned her head to see Reyna coming out of her apartment, a weak smile appearing on her face as she allowed her friend to help her up, gingerly kicking off her shoes before allowing Reyna to bring her farther into the apartment, “N- Nothing really, happened, I just. I couldn’t help it.” She cried, gaining her composure momentarily before breaking down once more, leaning onto Reyna’s shoulder as the tears continued to fall down her cheeks. Ramona felt helpless and genuinely low for the first time in forever and for the most part she didn’t know how to cope with it. It was Joel who had helped her through this time in her life as well as her parents, and in that moment she felt like she had no one. While she and Reyna were good friends and she loved the girl to death, they had never really talked about Ramona’s previous cocaine addiction, leaving her feeling vulnerable and in some ways naked when it came to talking about these things. As soon as the other woman wrapped her arms around her Ramona’s breathing calmed slightly, it was nice being held when everything felt like it was spiraling out of control. She returned the favor, loosely wrapping her arms around Reyna’s waist.

Reyna closed her eyes briefly, feeling for her friend. She knew how it felt when the walls came closing it and it felt like they was no escape. Reyna couldn’t blame her for taking an easy way out, she understood the urge to do anything to take the pain away. Her brother did the same, and Reyna knew she may have followed a similar a path had her grandfather not introduced her to martial arts. “Ssshhh, it’s alright,” Reyna cooed comfortingly. “I understand and we don’t have to talk about it.” Reyna wasn’t going to force Ramona into telling her what happened. Sometimes talking wasn’t what you needed, and sometimes all you needed was a good cry and a friend to comfort you. If Ramona wanted to confide in Reyna that she’d happily listen, if not Reyna would respect that. Reyna and Ramona were good friends, but they had never really spoken much about deep and personal things, not that Reyna did with anyone, and Reyna understood it could be tough to let someone cross that line. One of Reyna’s hands rested on Ramona’s head as she gently stroked her hair, just like her grandmother used to stroke hers. Reyna was ready to support her friend it anyway. She was a strong person, some may argue too strong, and had more than enough strength for the two of them. “Is there anything you need?” Reyna asked. “I can get you some water, or maybe a blanket?” 

Barbie was simply picking up her mail on her way back to her apartment, something she wasn’t used to doing but was glad to be doing, normal things, she called it. She looked curiously at the girl as she was exited for her mail, wishing simple things in life would excite her as much. “Well, I wish mail got me that excited, this is probably all bills.” She said joking.

Reyna looked up from her parcel at the other brunette and smiled, “Trust me, it’s not often I get this excited about my mail. Usually, it is bills or leaflets for things I have no interest in.” Reyna laughed. “Part of my excitement it just pure anticipation. It’s a Christmas present from my sister so I’ve been waiting for it for a while.” 

Hearing the book title immediately made the brunette perk up, her gaze fully on Reyna before it lowered to the package on hand. “Special edition?” Sabrina repeated, obviously intrigued. “That must have been difficult to find, I have to admit I’m slightly jealous and very glad you didn’t say Harry Potter.”

“What have you got against Harry Potter?” Reyna asked with an amused smile. “And it wasn’t that difficult at all. It was released last year, a lot of bookstores sold it and there was a website dedicated to it that you could buy it from.” Reyna said, not that she had bought it herself as it had been a gift but Reyna had sent out web links to all members of her family. 

“That is a bloody brilliant gift,” he exuded cheerfully. Sam remembered reading all the Lord of the Rings books as a kid and while fantasy books never really appealed to him that much, he appreciated the nostalgia. “Did you ask for it or does your sister just know you that well?”

“It is, it has been torture having to wait for it for so long,” Reyna replied, grinning at the other's enthusiasm. She always loved it when someone showed an interest it books, especially when it was a book by one of her favourite authors. “I asked for it, it was the top of my Christmas list. It was bolded, highlighted, underlined with a border of stars.” 

Smiling a bit, the girl shrugged her shoulders. “Fair enough,” a small laugh passed her lips. “I can’t imagine a life without different seasons. That’s like life without… seasons,” Addie pursed her lips, knowing very well her words didn’t make sense but, not caring to think of an example. “Yeah, I just started coming here recently. It can be pretty nice when people don’t bug you,” she mused. 

“We have the seasons in Scotland, it just tended to be snow, rain with sun, sun, rain,” Reyna joked, exaggerated how bad it could be. Not that the weather wasn’t often like that. “I don’t think I would like to live in a place that has the same kind of weather all year round though,” She continued in agreement. “Some places just have hot and hotter weather or cold and colder weather.” Reyna nodded as she listened, “I don’t come up here that often, but sometimes a change of scenery is nice.” 

“Ooh, so it’s a book? What about?” her brows quirked up, seeing how she was a book nerd of some sort as well, just a very specific one. Fumbling around with the box, Rachelle couldn’t but smile even wider at Reyna’s correct guess “Mhm, rampant rabbit vibrator. The signature Moregasm Black one. It’s a bit shorter in length and of average girth, but with the thin walls I’ve got, I had to try something quieter that also works for shower-time.“ she explained, well aware of what an oversharer she was, but oh well. “Guess you could say I’m somewhat of a nerd too. I know my stuff.”

“It’s the Hobbit, and yes, I do already have multiple copies but this is a special edition,” Reyna replied. She knew she hadn’t exactly told Rachelle what the plot was about, but most people knew roughly what it was about. Or at least that it was linked to the films where Orlando Bloom played a hot elf. Reyna wasn’t uncomfortable by Rachelle’s in detail description of her parcel. Not only was she used to it by now but Reyna shared the same belief that such things should be talked about freely - to a certain degree anyway. “Nerds come in every shape and form. I’m a book nerd, and well, you’re a sex toy nerd.” Reyna replied with a light laugh.