Raina felt the paranoia creep in again so she crawled into her coffin and pulled her knees up to her chest. Looking around at her bedroom, she wondered if anything were out of place, though she would have no real way of knowing because her life and bedroom were always in total chaos. The opposite of an obsessive compulsive cleaner, she intentionally put things in her own way and drove herself to madness; it was an unfortunate habit for as long as she could remember.
She hated the lack of structure and acute disorganization in which she lived but had found ways to make it work for her. Raina learned to thrive under the pressure of her wayward lifestyle but wouldn’t have recommended it to her worst enemy. Having never allowed peace in her life, she wouldn’t know serenity if it smacked her in the face; it was a practice she was finding more difficult to accept as time went on.
The television in the corner crackled and it made her jump. Always set at a low volume to provide the requisite background noise, its sudden disruption with static told her she wasn’t alone. A breeze passed her ear with both purpose and direction but it wasn’t an uncomfortable sensation. On the contrary, the knowledge that another presence was close made her feel less lonely and she relaxed deeper against the hard inner wall of her coffin. She allowed a small smile to escape her drawn, tired face and waited on pins and needles for the greeting from the other side. Never certain what form he would take, Raina always became most excited in the moments before he spoke.
Sam had a sense of humor she had never encountered in either human or vampire. He had first appeared to her when she was a little girl in desperate need of a friend and though he couldn’t intervene in her physical world, Raina credited him with having saved her life on more than one occasion. He had supported and empowered her throughout her most difficult moments and had been the only one who could find his way past the thick wall she had erected.
Because of his strong resemblance to Sam Elliot, Raina had dubbed him Sam and had found in him a best friend and a trusted confidante. When she had tried to introduce him to her human family, they hadn’t been amused. Unaware ghosts were invisible, Raina hadn’t understood why her family was so frustrated by him and eventually learned to just pretend he didn’t exist when they were around. Though her pack couldn’t see him either, their reaction had been kinder than her real family’s and they embraced his essence whenever she announced his presence in the room.
Raina pulled her knees in closer to her body and used them as a pillow. Sensing the humor of Sam’s presence, she giggled out loud. He always chose one of three personalities and she looked forward to seeing whom he came as this time. Her heart raced with the possibilities and when she could no longer take the anticipation, she spoke first.
“Some crazy people develop multiple personalities,” she laughed. “I have you.”
She heard the chair leg scrape the floor by the window and saw the shadow of a woman, though she couldn’t discern which woman it was. Sam obviously hadn’t come as himself and that left only one of two choices.
“Lucy?” she called out.
“Hello, crazy lady,” sang the reply.
Raina squinted into the darkness but still couldn’t make out any facial features. Disguised as Lucille Ball, Sam loved to pretend she was married to Satan and was visiting from hell. Though unsure why he had decided upon the copper-topped