The Haunted_Edit Copy 4-7-17

of emotion it pretty much anchored me back to the ground and let
me get control again.
I sat down on the couch beside Gunner, and he blinked
sleepily at me. When he saw my face clearly, his eyes shot open and
he jumped up. “What happened?”
“He’s dead. Tucker’s dead.” My voice was the product of a
hollow chest. Wherever my heart had gone, it was buried
somewhere so far inside me I couldn’t feel it anymore. It couldn’t
take all the sadness it was drowning in earlier.
The way Gunner’s face broke almost found it again, but I
swallowed hard to keep it away as he fell into my arms.
A few days later, I was dressed in a black dress with dark
purple flowers on the bottom and standing beside a casket with two
people I had never met before. The woman had gray hair tied back
into a loose bun and the man was tall and thin and looked so much
like his son it was unreal. Tucker would have grown up to be a really
handsome older man.
His mom gripped my hand from time to time, as if she found
some comfort in touching the person Tucker had been closest to
before he’d died.
A lot of people walked up to me and hugged me. Most of
them I didn’t know, but it was wonderful to feel the kindness of all
the friends he’d made along the way. And I did recognize Anthony,
Adrian, Brad, Jamie, Richard, Daisy, Susannah, Ethan, and the rest
of the members of Lark Hollow Paranormal Research. And Gunner,
of course, but he was there for the entirety of both the viewings.
Whenever I needed a little strength, I’d glance his way and he would
give me a sad smile of encouragement.
Whenever I looked in the direction of the body in the casket,
I was amazed yet again by how peaceful he looked. His eyes were
closed, and I found myself longing for him to just open them again
and warm me with all the love they held. I knew it would have been
safe; there was no more demon in there now. But there was no more
Tucker, either. Just an empty vessel, with two souls gone at the same
time.
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