Chapter 24 In Love with A Ghost
Annalise and Caleb had an amazing relationship first they were best friends, to high school sweethearts, to an engaged couple, they lived together in a one-bedroom apartment in downtown Bridgeport, Indiana they both had amazing jobs and were the center of each other’s world, they had a loving bond that never could be broken not even through death but one day that all changed. It was a cold snowy day, and the city roads hadn’t been plowed yet, so they were a mess, and he was driving home from work and the next thing he knows a truck comes from out of nowhere and T-bones him. Caleb Curtis was laying in the morgue trying to make sense of what happened, His life flashes in front of his eyes, he sees her, he smells her perfume, feels her touch, he takes his last breath and he’s gone. The accident was horrible, Caleb was hit from the side smashing the driver’s side killing him instantly. He saw himself floating outside his body watching the EMTS and fire rescue pull him out his car, he saw the truck that hit him, it was brand new Ford Raptor, except for now the front was all smashed in, the driver was banged up pretty bad ended up going to the hospital with a concussion and few cuts and scrapes. The police were there taking of the accident, getting information, and trying to find out what happened. The head officer of the police was on the phone trying to get a hold of Annalise who was in a meeting at work and couldn’t pick up the phone, but he kept trying until she finally left the meeting and picked up. “Miss Marks this is Officer Tindal with the Clark County Police Department, we have tragic news for you, I regret to inform you that your finance Caleb Curtis was killed in an accident, a red Ford Raptor came of out nowhere and T-boned him. Annalise’s heart sunk into her stomach, she felt her knees grow weak, she fell to the floor and fainted. Miss Marks, you there, Miss Marks, hello? Hello? Miss are you ok? Miss? He hung up”. A co-worker came to aid after the meeting was over, “Annalise are you ok? Annalise answer me, please her coworker said, shaking her. He takes a cold cup of water from the water cooler and threw it on her. She slowly opened her eyes and looked confused, what, what happened? I don’t know her coworker answered I found on the floor passed out. Last thing I remember was talking on the phone talking with an officer about my finance, I think he’s dead, she said with a tear in her eye and her voice was shaky. He was in a car accident, oh Annalise’s coworker said I’m so sorry. Thank you she said accepting the condolences.” Just then her phone rang again, and it was the police officer calling back, “Miss Marks I’m so sorry to bother you again but could you go down the coroner’s office and id your finance. Ok, she answered. I’ll be there as soon as I can, ok thank you he said, I’m sorry for your loss Miss, thank you, bye.” She took a moment to herself she broke down and cried, she lost the person in her life that meant everything to her, and he was gone in a blink of eye, she didn’t even get to say goodbye, how unfair is that. She gained her composure, wiped the tears from her eyes and went to her car. It was a long, slow elevator ride, she walked to the parking garage to her car and drove to the police station to the coroner’s office to id her fiancé. It was going to so hard to see him like this, she went to the police counter and the secretary was there to greet her, “hi there, how may help you? Hi, Annalise answered, I’m here to id my finance, ok go down the hall the elevators are to your left and the coroner’s office is the last room on the right, thank you Annalise retorted.” She walked down the hallway to the elevators and hit the button to go down, the coroner’s office was in the basement. The elevator stopped and the doors opened she walked out and looked for the coroner’s office passing everyone till she found the last room on the right, then she saw him, she saw laying on the cold, metal, table covered a white sheet. She started to get choked up. The coroner came over to her and greeted her, “hi I’m Sahara, I’m so sorry for your loss, thank you Annalise choking through the tears. She walked to Caleb and the coroner slowly lifted the sheet. Annalise took one look her heart shattered. Yes, Annalise said, this him this my finance Caleb Curtis. Once again, her needs got weak and she fainted. Her head hit the floor hard leaving a bump Miss, are you ok, miss? Sahara grabbed smelling salt from the medicine cabinet, tore it open and she waved under Annalise’s nose. Annalise whiffed at cringing her nose, her head felt sore and red, and she had a bump. Sahara wrapped in a bandage and gave her some ice. Thank you, Annalise, said, looking at her dead finance, it was last time she was ever going to see him. After she felt better, she thanked Sahara for everything, and she left.” She lost her best friend, her lover, her childhood sweetheart, her soulmate, she couldn’t believe he was dead. They had such an amazing life together they lived together they were engaged and now all it’s all over. Annalise cried as she looked down at her love, she threw in a rose and said her goodbyes. She was the last one to the funeral, she couldn’t bear to leave it didn’t feel right not without him. How could she go on living without the love of her life? She remembered the day that they met. She was only six and it was her first day of kindergarten she was scared because it was her first day, then Caleb came up to her on the school playground and starting up a conversation with her and they eventually came best friends. He got her through some of the rough times of her life, and she got him through some the roughest times. In high school Caleb fell in love with her and she fell in love with him too. He asked her out over the summer she said yes. They had a fairytale romance, it was the best romance she ever experienced in her life, she found her soulmate, her love, her best friend and now he’s gone forever. Annalise would never recover from this. How would she be able to live without her best friend. She sat in the car as her family drove her to the reception after the funeral and she couldn’t stop sobbing, she kept calling out his name over and over. Annalise’s mother was sitting the backseat with her desperately trying to console her daughter, she would rub her arm with one hand and rub her back with the other telling her it would be ok. Annalise felt empty without Caleb, she never hears him breathe, never hear his heartbeat, never hear him call out her name, she’d miss him lying beside her every night. Going on without him was going to be torture. After a long night of sad condolences, faking smiles, talking about Caleb, Annalise was done; she was exhausted, sad, the day had gotten under her skin all she wanted was to go back to her apartment. After every family member had left her mother was washing in the sink and Annalise was drying. “How are you doing love? Her mother said a loving, kind voice. Oh, I’m ok hanging in there, I miss him Mama she replied with a tear in her eye. I know you do sweet girl, I do too, her mom said with a smile. I don’t how to go on without him, we’ve been together since forever. I know baby girl I remember the first day you had a play date and came over he was the cutest little boy. I always knew you guys were meant to be. Yeah, he was Annalise retorted with a smile. I know this hard right now, but you will get over this, he’s always with you and watching over you, thanks mom Annalise said hugging her mother.” She walked into her house it was going to be hard to live without him, she walked into her empty apartment it still smelled like his cologne and it was lofting through the apartment, she took a minute and inhaled his scent, she smelled his sweat, his masculinity, God she missed that smell. Going on without him was going to be hard. Life without her best friend was going to be the worst, she lived everyday with him from college up till now. She’d miss his touch, his breath, his sweet, kind words, everything. She sat on the couch and picked up a picture that sitting on the coffee table and stared at it and she cried and cried, and cried, until she cried herself to sleep. Meanwhile back at the crime scene, Caleb was lost and confused first he woke up to find himself floating above his body watching everything that happened to him was he really dead was he having an out of body experience? He did see light just after he died but he didn’t go into the light. He didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye to Annalise, he had unfinished business and he wanted to know if his accident was accidental or it was murder. The police were still at the crime finishing up and Caleb was there watching everything, he was went to the other driver’s truck and looked at license plate, it was a vanity license plate with the words HOT BOD, Caleb went into the truck and started searching for id, he looked in the center console, then he looked in the glove compartment, there he found an insurance paper with the other driver’s name on it, he tried to grab but his hand went right through it, he tried again but no luck, being a ghost was hard; he tried to focus think of Annalise he said to himself, he thought of her and then he tried grabbing for the paper again this time it worked, somehow Annalise gave him energy even after death, he was able to hold it in his hand. He looked at the name on it was Chad Turner. He wondered if the police saw this and the license plate, maybe if they ran it through CODIS they find something on this guy. Caleb wanted to know if his was accidental or murder until he found and got justice, he’d wouldn’t be able to leave and be stuck on earth, he knows he couldn’t leave until he saw his Annalise again. He didn’t know, he was so confused. One minute he’s alive and the next he’s dead and floating around like some ghost. Am I a ghost? Am I really dead? What do I do now, where do I go? What happens if I stay? He asked himself. How was he going to live without his Annalise? How could he go on without her? He’d never see her, touch her, or talk to her ever again. He couldn’t not ever see her again even as a ghost, but he had to see her again, and tell her goodbye. He made his way from the scene of the crime to Annalise’s apartment he floated to the door and walked right through it. There she was right there on the couch sleeping like a beautiful angel, he sat down beside her and stroked her hair and took in the moment, how beautiful she was, she was his whole life the one he loved for, worked hard far to give her a future with them and now it was lost, he hated to be without her it was torture his heart shattered. How life be so unfair and cruel, he was living and breathing and now he’s dead and all happened in the blink of an eye. Annalise was dreaming and she kept calling “Caleb, Caleb, I’m here my love he said in a love whisper”. He killed him that she couldn’t hear him or even know he was there, and would she even believe she’d been a skeptic when it came ghosts but he wanted to know he was around watching over her, he had to somehow prove it to her. He got up went and gathered everything that meant something to both of them, he grabbed a photo album, their yearbook, a gold diamond heart necklace, and a pair of the pearl earrings. He put them on pile on the coffee table where Annalise could see them. Caleb sat next her all night and watched her sleep, the next morning Annalise woke up early and saw the pile of stuff on the coffee table she recognized everything on the table, she began to cry. He’s been here this whole time watching over me, I knew it. exclaimed. The thought of Caleb watching over her made her smile. But over time Annalise began to get over her grief of losing Caleb and she wanted to move on. Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. Annalise finally felt better she was no longer feeling sadness or grief. Annalise Today was