Living Dead Girl

She was meeting Tyler today and that had perked her up. She wanted to turn her phone off because she knew that if there was an emergency se needed to handle, she’d never hear the end of it at the firm she worked for if she didn’t answer. As she walked up and saw Tyler her smile grew. “Thank you for wanting to hang out I think I was going fucking crazy and ready to kill an intern at the office for fucking up an important case. You just saved a life today, Ty.” Though, technically if she hadn’t used her family name to prove her worth, she too would have been at the intern level, but she was a Ryback so the world thought and she’d do anything she set her mind to. As she neared, she hugged him. “Is this a meet up where I need to ask, where I need to hide the body?” She was joking of course.

Isaac rubbed his eyes. “So how do we get her to move on?” He didn’t notice how he just slipped into it becoming his problem along with hers. It was a thing he did without thinking about it now. He would see what she was dealing with and just want to find a solution without realising. 

When she spoke about her real dad, his heart dropped. She had expectations that he wasn’t sure this guy could fill. He got it, that intense want for a parent to just give a shit, to actually be the person they were supposed to be but he also knew that they were human. They screwed up, they made bad choices and they had to live with it. “Nina…” He said softly. “You are wanted and cared about and loved. You’re all of that with me. And you don’t need a guy who was literally just a donor to prove your self worth.” He pulled her to him, his lips going to the top of her head. “I know you want this. And it’ll probably be fine, you have to take the chance to know. But just know you got me, okay?”

It always took her a moment when Isaac simply went from this being just her problem to their problem. She had to stop herself from grinning wide at just his question when this whole thing wasn’t even a smiling matter. “That’s one side of things that I didn’t explore much in Occultism, how to get them to move on. But I’m sure there are books on it. We can do some research maybe. See if we can find anything. I’ve also sort of been asking around to see if this has anything to do with me being brought back…” It was still a concept that she wasn’t used to, being brought back to life. She hoped this had nothing to do with it, but she wasn’t going to rule it out.

Her heart practically skipped a beat when he told her she was all those things with him. She truly felt it everyday. She gave him a gentle squeeze, closing her eyes to revel in the sweet moment. “I’m so grateful for you. Everyday I am. I don’t honestly think that I’d be able to do any of this without you,” she said, honestly. “You give me the strength to do the impossible. Right now the impossible is figuring out what to say. Would I just say ‘hi I think I’m your daughter?’”

“Yeah, I do. Who are you trying to get in touch with?” Dominic smiled. “Even in the whitest background, the smallest stain would draw your eyes towards it, it’s better than being oblivious to your own mistakes. Being able to focus on the good is a mental exercise, is a test of strength to not lead those wrong doings haunt you and divert you from keeping doing good. We all make mistakes what separates people is what you do after you’ve made them and how you deal with the consequences and how you bounce back.”

She rummaged into her purse, her fingers touching the card she’d looked at so many times. She took a breath and pulled it out, handing it over to him. It had the name Terrance Hamilton on it, and it had his office number. “Do you know anything about this person?” she asked, waiting to see if he had any insight. “How’d you get so wise? You’re just always so…I don’t know insightful. I kind of envy that. I wish I could have my shit together like you seem to.”

To my best friend, my sister, a part of me that I’d be lost without:

Happy birthday, Alex. Words can’t describe how much I love and care about you and how glad I am that you’re in my life. I have a few things that I hope that you love. I have a matching shadow box with our photo in it too, but it pretty much sums us up. A blonde and a brunette with an unbreakable bond. To keep with the friendship vibe, I also have a mug for you that is us completely. I plan to be in your life until we’re old and senile and then we’ll start over again and be new friends.  Now the jacket and heels…those are for your “bad ass” persona and when you’re feeling like being a badass and we go out, fake kill someone and just go to the club ;). I’ve got to have you looking the part at least!  I hope this day is filled with happiness!

Love always,

Nina

Alex: Hey just a heads up my birthday dinner is Wednesday. I have one of the seats next to me ready for you.

Jackson rolled his eyes. “Pssh, he know like I know. You ain’t gotta worry.” He shot Nina a look. “Trust me, he’s gonna propose.” Another raspberry left Jax again. “He stupid if he don’t.” The conclusion in his tone sat there for a bit as he paused for emphasis. “I mean…” Jax trailed off, his hands out like they were ready to do so if she actually fell. “What can I say? I ain’t know.” He shrugged. “’Cause you know me. I’d never let you fall. You know I got you.” A smile curved his lips and a chuckle left him when she told Jax he was setting himself up for a non Nina Ryback disappointment. The half smile broke into a full one as he burst into laughter at Nina pointed out his pout while mentioning King. “It’s my face! What? I can’t even do nothing now?” He asked, frame still shaking with amusement. “King say what about his daddy though? You miss him too?”

Jax nodded, his bottom lip jutted out slightly as he nodded. Sure, he could distract her. “Ok, you ugly.” Nina said to distract her. She didn’t specify how.

“You sure?” He asked, talking about Nina not sicking her ghost on him. “I mean, don’t everybody have a couple ghosts hunting them? I wouldn’t mind letting you ease your mind a bit. I’m a RA so you know I don’t mind babysitting.” At the mention of Max, he shook his head. “Man, you better not tell him to go easy on us. He’s crazy as hell when he wanna be. I don’t know about you,” The palm of his right hand hit his chest as he spoke. “But I like using my legs. Don’t tell you tell him nothing.” Jax’s eyes spun in their sockets again as he laughed at his own dramatics and Nina’s comment about critiques. “You’re gonna be my private critic now? Grad school got you that bored?”

His words cause Nina to chuckle and even blush a little, but she played it off with an eye roll. “I don’t doubt it. We’ve been through a lot and he’s still around even when my shit is so messy that most probably would have bounced by now.” If she could shed leave her damn self. “Well...” she quickly turned her back and let herself start to fall backwards. “Catch me!” She said with a grin. She trusted him so of course she’d test to see if he truly would catch her. If she was falling. She pointed to his face then. “No, not if it’s pouting on my direction because it’s against the rules of conversation. It’s not allowed to happen because I am not immune!” She gave him a playful shove. “Did King say that or did King’s daddy just slip some words into his mouth? But if you must know I might have. I mean he could always just tell his daddy to come around more.”

She didn’t know what she had expected him to say hit that had not been it. When he said that she was ugly, she was caught off guard. “Ugly? Please with this face? These eyes and these lips and my cute nose? Boy, you need glasses? How many fingers am I holding up?” She held up the fingers. 

“I don’t understand a lot about occultism so I don’t even know if there’s something to be done to get… I don’t know rid of her or if you’re gonna have to endure her… I don’t know how long but that just means it’s been too long.”

“I can probably ask some of the occultism professors and see if they know anything. I just feel like I’ll go insane if she’s with me for too long. Or someone may have me committed before long.” She tried to joke and make light of the situation but she knew that it was not funny if she was stuck.

“Listen you got the boss ass bitch thing on lock already don’t sweat it.” Emily looked where Nina was looking, although she obviously couldn’t see anything. “Yeah I mean, I suppose they don’t have anything better to do. I mean, they’re dead.”

“She’s extra annoying though, Em. She’s really mad that I killed her and it’s different because now I see her. If it was regular occultism, I’d just hear her, but I see her now.” She was so confused as to how this was possible. “Part of me wonders if it has something to do with you know, my resurrection.”

Veronica frowned.  She never was fond of the occult and the idea of ghosts always made her nervous, but she brushed that off.  “It’s okay.  You have every right to take your time to do this, Nina.  Ghosts can learn to mind their own business.  There is no reason you have to rush if you don’t want to.”

“I know, V. I just...part of me wonders if my not so friendly ghost is right, you know? Time isn’t a guaranteed thing and what if I miss my window of opportunity? What if something happens to this man before I can meet him too?” She had a million different worries going through her mind right now.

“Oh,” Jax fought back a laugh. “So, you’re about that life?” The joke in his tone was evident. Jax’s brows rose towards his hairline at being sung to. “Oh shit!” He let out, surprised. “You sing too?” At the press of Nina’s finger, Jackson’s chin lowered, his gaze on the digit. “Damn, just when I thought I knew everything.” His chest shifted with a light chuckle. “There you go again, changing the game on me.” Jax took a playful step back. “Excuse me, I forgot you’re hella fancy.” He paused, his eyes scanning the field as his teammates headed to the locker rooms before landing back on Nina. “So, what’re you doing here, SBC? Don’t tell me you just came by to see little ol’ me.”

Nina grinned. “Of course I am. Depending on what kind of bloody moves she’s talking about I might be about that life too.” She chuckled as she nodded. “I do, not often, just on occasion I also enjoy spitting those bars, just fyi.” When he said that she was fancy, she nodded. “To quote Cardi B, And I jus checked my account, turns out, I’m rich, I’m rich, I’m rich,” she said doing a shimmy as she rapped it. “I did tell you I would come see you out here, didn’t I? You’re flying a little low.” She winked. “My critique of the day. Secondary reason is to see Max.” She really had no true critiques but she just wanted to mess with him.

“You know, that seems like a totally logical hierarchy to me. Nicki Minaj is a staple. So what’s with the yelling?”

“I aspire to be as boss as she is. One day I will be.” Nina looked over at the ghost and then answered, “Oh there’s a ghost in here that won’t leave me the fuck alone. Honestly, I never knew the dead could be so annoying.”

“What the fuck?” He looked in Nina’s direction to see that she was most definitely not talking to him. Hell, she wasn’t even looking in his direction. “Oh, Nina, I knew that white boy would have you losing your mind.”

Derek’s words had both caught her off guard and made her laugh. “He didn’t ‘Get Out’ me. I promise. We don’t even own tea cups. Though, after I saw that movie I almost threw out the spoons too.” She visibly shivered. “I was talking to a dumb ghost that was poking her nose in my business and I didn’t ask her to.”

At Nina mentioning that the ghost didn’t like her all she did was stand there quietly. “Okay— that’s a little rude considering I don’t even know Cecilia, but whatever. She’s dead it’s not like her opinion actually matters.” Rolling her eyes as she sat down, she silently hoped she was setting on Cecilia and crushing her. “Can we get rid of her somehow? There’s gotta be a way right?” Asking as she looked around trying to pinpoint were Cecilia might be. “Dad? So you’ve tracked him down finally? Can I ask what he looks like and why you think he’s your dad? Did your mom say anything when you spoke to her down there?” Rambling off a couple hundred questions before she realized she actually needed to give Nina a minute to answer everything.

“Cecilia said that your opinion doesn’t matter either. Of course she said more but I’m not repeating it. She also stuck her tongue out at you.“ Nina sighed. “I don’t know possibly? I’m new to this.” She saw Alex looking around and she pointed to the left. “She’s over there.” Nina nodded. “It was as simple as just opening the box my mom left me. She gave me his card. He works at the company. I’ve never seen him, or if I have I wouldn’t have a clue. Me and Ty called once and I chickened out and gave him the phone. I don’t know he looks like.” Part of her didn’t want to put a face to a name it’d make  it real.

“Ah I’m sorry to hear that, if you need anything and I can help I’m here. It is, like I spend a couple of years between graduating and coming back so I kinda only remembered the good times, like PTSD I blocked the stressful not so great parts. Oh yeah, I could see her getting a little… upset over him but he seems nice, I don’t know him that well but I do know you and I believe you’re a good person so I think you only have to be yourself to deserve good things.”

Nina was just about to pass up on him helping with anything, when she realized that Dominic actually knew people in the company better than she did. Or she hoped he would. He actually had worked there, she merely hung out and played around whenever she was there. “Actually, you still remember people from the company, right? If there’s someone that I sort of want to get in touch with could I give you his name and maybe you can tell me if you know anything about him?” she asked curiously. “I wish I could only remember the good times. I remember all the bad times more than anything. Maybe one day. He’s the nicest. The sweetest too. I really do hope that’s true. But I think I’ve got enough good things. My luck is probably about to take  downward turn now.”

Nic gave her a semblance of a smile, a slight chuckle leaving his mouth when he did. “Number two? I can’t believe you let someone steal your spot, boo.” He reached his hands across the table to grab hers. “So you killed a witch and now she’s stuck with you even when you don’t want her to be. That sounds like hell. Especially since she’s annoying the fuck out of you.” He squeezed her hands lightly. “You know you’re going to look crazy if you’re yelling at this woman out loud, right? I wouldn’t call you crazy, but I’m pretty sure people will start questioning what’s up and start asking questions that you don’t want to answer because it would require a lot of explaining.” He let go of her hands and then looked around the room before looking back at her. “Do you think it’s got something to do with what happened to you? Or is it just a weird Occultism thing?”

She shook her head. “Never, I sort of gracefully stepped down. I figured your girl might want the top spot. See, I love you enough to let you go,” she said in jest. “It is hell, especially since she hates me.” One of the corners of her mouth rose at the squeeze to her hand. “I know, I mean I feel crazy as fuck. I haven’t even been that secretive with this. I’ve been slightly distracted making up in my mind to call my supposed dad. Oh by the way Cecilia says you’re hot.” She rolled her eyes. Damn ghost. “I don’t know, it could because I can see her. Regular Occultism, I can just hear them. Sense them. She’s clearly standing there.” She pointed in front of her as if Nic should see her too, but she knew no one did, just her.

“Well I understand why she’d be angry….” He said taking a deep breath. “But I’m sure she can also see why you did what you did. Isn’t there a way to make her go to… wherever it is she should be at?”

“She’s an unreasonable bitch witch. You know, this is like a full on haunting, so I don’t know. It’s like the rules of ghosts changed when I killed this one witch. She just stuck around. Annoying me. But I can handle basic annoyances I suppose. You guys just might think I’m crazy for talking to myself. By the way, I’ve missed you how long has it been since we’ve watched something on Netflix and you were my front spoon!”