“He was just invisible!” the girl exclaimed in astonishment.
“Chelle?” Gerard said in disbelief.
He couldn’t believe his eyes and yet she was standing right there. She looked exactly like he remembered.
“How do you know my name?” Chelle asked, narrowing her eyes at the tall dark haired guy standing a few feet away from her.
“It’s me, Gerard,” he told her, dismayed by the fact that she didn’t recognize him.
“No,” she shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know you.”
Rae watched Gerard’s expression fall and wondered who the girl was and how he knew her. All she knew about Chelle was that she arrived about three weeks ago and Tatiana found her wandering around the hospital. She was currently residing with Tati and Ray. It also seemed as if Frank had taken a liking to her which wasn’t so unexpected considering his reputation with girls – Erin and Alex to be specific.
“How do you know Chelle?” Frank asked also curious.
“She’s my sister,” Gerard informed them.
A sharp intake of breath could be heard from Chelle.
“She was in the car with me when I was in the car accident,” Gerard continued, not taking his eyes off Chelle’s face.
She looked terribly confused, but also scared.
She shook her head again, “I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“It’s okay, Chelle. It’s normal for you not to remember,” Nana consoled the distressed teen.
Nana looked up at Gerard and he understood that she meant he should give them some time.
“Gerard, are you sure that Chelle’s your sister?” Rae asked, following him into his and Frank’s bedroom.
He sat down on his bed and looked up at her.
“Yes, Chelle’s my sister. She’s seventeen years old. She’s shy around new people, but only until she gets to know them, then she’s really outgoing. She’s been dancing since she was five. She also has two tattoos – one on her left wrist that says Seize the day and another on her foot, the Libra sign,” he told her. “She stopped playing with dolls when I started killing them by breaking their heads off. We waged war every time she stole my sketchpad. All of that put aside, we were extremely close. I would help her whenever some douchebag bothered her and protected her from guys who would break her heart. She did the exact same for me. We told each other everything. I remember where we were going when the accident happened,” he breathed shocked. “Her friend, Annabel, was in the hospital. We were on our way to visit her when the other car hit us.”
“I remember,” Chelle spoke in the doorway and Gerard and Rae looked up at her. “I remember, Gerard,” she whimpered, walking over and sitting down next to him.
He wrapped his arms around her comfortingly.
“It’s okay,” he soothed her.
Rae got up to give them some privacy.
“What happened?” Gerard asked as soon as the brunette calmed down. “Why are you here?”
She looked down guiltily. She knew her brother would be angry and disappointed when she told him the truth.
“Chelle?” he asked again.
“I committed suicide,” she blurted out.
A deep frown appeared on his face as he looked down at his sister. It saddened him to know that his little sister had committed suicide. It troubled him as to why she would do such a thing.
“I’m sorry, Gee!” the girl started crying, burying her face in his chest. “I just couldn’t take it anymore. It was all just too much. When you died, everything changed. It killed me when you died; Mom and Dad too. Mikey…” She sobbed loudly. “I was practically living with the dead. To top it all off, Annabel also died in the hospital only a day after you did. And then Kyle broke up with me and… I just couldn’t take it anymore. I missed you so much and knew that everything would be okay once I saw you again. That’s when I decided to kill myself. I woke up in a hospital and thought my attempted suicide had failed, but then Tati explained everything to me… It’s not so bad here on Una,” she admitted, sniffing as she wiped away her tears. “I’ve already made some friends here and now you and I are reunited.”
He couldn’t help smiling back at her. All this time he’d been worried about her and here she was. It broke his heart to know that she gave up on life, but even though she was dead, she was happy.

*

Bob was on his way home. It was already dark out, but that was okay. He could handle the Rebellions. His home wasn’t too far from where he was anyway. A few dim streetlamps lit the way, but they barely made a difference. A cool breeze was blowing and he stuffed his hands deep into his pockets. The windows and doors of the buildings he passed were boarded up or bolted shut. Una was completely different from the world he left behind. People on earth always wondered what death was like, but nothing they came up with will ever compare to this. He remembered his first few weeks on Una. He was stubborn and refused to believe anything Nana told him, but she was patient. She kept teaching him and informing him about life on Una. It’s only when Gabby showed up a few months later that he came to his senses. Seeing the small girl struggling alone, but fitting in nonetheless, touched his heart. Since then he’s been very protective of her and it’s been five years.
Sometimes when he thought about it, he wondered what life back on earth would’ve been like now. What would’ve happened if he didn’t die that night when… He shook his head to dispel the memories of his death from his mind. He certainly didn’t miss his old life. He didn’t miss his family or the friends he didn’t have. He left behind an empty life, but now he had a good life. He had friends, friends that have become family. He didn’t have to listen to his father shouting or his mother crying anymore; didn’t have to endure the physical assaults anymore. He didn’t… want to remember it anymore.
As he turned the corner onto the street he lived on, he heard a quiet whimpering. He carefully followed the sound until he knew he was near. It sounded like a girl crying. The sound came from behind some dead bushes against a fence, two houses from his own. Slowly, he pulled away the dead leaves to reveal the whimpering heap on the ground. He cautiously reached out to her, but she recoiled from his touch, obviously frightened.
“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you,” he assured her in a quiet voice.
A pair of eyes appeared from behind her arms and looked at him warily.
“Shh,” he hushed her, hanging his jacket around her shoulders and then gently picking her up.
She was shaking from the cold and he took long strides to reach his house faster. He hurriedly unlocked the door and kicked it open only to kick it closed again as soon as they were inside. He lay the girl down on the couch and went about lighting the fire. He then boiled some water and made her some tea. When he returned to the living room, he noticed her sitting up close to the fire, bathing in the heat of the flames. He slowly bent down to place the cup of tea in front of her.
“Thank you,” she murmured gratefully.
He cleared his throat, “Uhm… Are you hungry?”
She looked up at him wide-eyed.
He smiled back warmly, “I’ll make you something to eat.”
After about ten minutes, she sauntered into the kitchen still clinging onto his jacket around her.
“How are you feeling?” he enquired, genuinely worried.
“I’m okay now, thanks to you,” she said gratefully. “Thank you for doing all of this. I would never have survived the night.”
He nodded, “I’m Bob.”
“Ashley,” she said, offering him a small smile.
Now that she was standing in the light, he could take a good look at her. She was an average height of about 5’7. She had a pretty face surrounded by dark brown hair. Her hazel eyes stared back at him through a pair of thick, black rimmed glasses perched on her small nose, her thin lips spread into a smile.
“Now all you need is a proper dinner to warm you up from the inside,” he smiled, turning back to the old black stove standing behind him.

Notes

Sorry this took a while to update. I've been swamped. To everyone who still reads this, though, thank you! I appreciate it!