Chapter 2
“I’m going to kill myself,” Jackie huffs, plopping into the armchair. “I swear if I have to watch them kiss one more time, I am going to find a way to kill myself. You better start preparing my obituary now. Or my tombstone. Here lies Jackie Taylor. Cause of death: other people living their dreams.”
”You’re already dead.” Laura Lee points out. "And you don't have a grave. Also, that's not a great epitaph. It should have meaning."
"Well, I meant it when I said it. I hate other people living my dreams. That should have been me!"
Laura Lee doesn’t look up from the book she’s reading (because ghosts can have hobbies in the afterlife!), as she is unamused by her friend's antics. “You need to stop obsessing over this so much. It's not good for you.”
”I can’t! She’s everywhere I go!”
”That’s because you happen to follow Shauna everywhere she goes.”
She shifts in her seat, glowering at the blonde. She swears Laura Lee is fighting off a smile. “I do not,” She sniffs. “I just happen to run into her occasionally. Like… every day." Her hands wave in the air. "But it’s a coincidence.”
Finally, the book closes. It appears her friend has had enough of her bullshit. Hands clasped in her lap, Laura Lee expressionlessly gazes at her. It's a major contrast from her normally comforting disposition. "I don’t think you’d know what a coincidence is even if a dictionary smacked you in the face. We have one upstairs if you'd like to read about actual coincidences. Perhaps it would do you some good.”
Jackie curls into the chair, stunned. And also probably akin to a rejected dog. “Since when did you get so sassy?”
”I’ve had a lot of time on my hands. Like an eternity.” She deadpans. "And also, you've rubbed off on me a little."
For the first time in a while, Jackie genuinely laughs. It almost sounds weird to her ears (thank God Shauna eating her real-life ear didn't match the afterlife. Jackie can handle being depressed, but not being one-eared AND depressed). “It does get kinda boring, doesn’t it?”
”Absolutely.”
"You'd think the afterlife would at least have a television or something to watch."
"It's basically the Yellowjackets TV show out here. The remaining ones are super dramatic. And also a little insane.”
“I think you’re a little insane,” Jackie grins, spirits somehow lifted. "Do you remember the time I got you to yell a bunch of curse words into the sky? You couldn't handle seeing me sad after I got here, and it was the first thing you thought of to cheer me up."
FLASHBACK.
"Jackie, you can't mope around forever," Laura Lee frowns, kneeling next to the saddened girl who is staring longingly into the meat shed. Murmuring and sobs echo from inside, and Laura Lee's hand grips Jackie's shoulder a little tighter. She doesn't need to see Shauna grieving her, not when there isn't anything the two of them can do about it.
"Considering I'm dead, I can," Jackie turns, attempting to hide her sniffles, but her voice wobbles. "Please go away, I just want to sit here forever."
"I know what will cheer you up."
"Nothing?" Jackie turns, staring at her with tear-stained cheeks.
The blonde shakes her head, gently wiping away her tears before standing up. "No," She says. Instead, she stares up into the sky. "I, Laura Lee," She yells at the top of her lungs, using her hands as a microphone. "Fucking hate the stupid cunts who crashed the plane. I, Laura Lee, cannot stand every bullshit thing that has happened since. Whoever worked on the plane and caused its mechanic failure has a bitch ass mom. And she's probably also a whore that doesn't love you. And I don't fucking care that I said a bunch of curse words, either! All of you pussies deserve it! Suck a fucking dick!"
She sounds like a preteen who just discovered the use of profanity, but it's the thought that counts. Jackie cannot help the smile that twitches on her lips. "I totally didn't expect you to do that," She laughs.
Laura Lee sits down and crosses her legs. The two of them sit across from each other, their knees barely touching. Her face is flushed and there's amusement dancing in her eyes. "Yeah, I didn't expect to do that either," She breathlessly admits. "I just didn't know what else to do."
"I think you pissed the sky off. You just cursed out its entire bloodline," Jackie furrows her eyebrows together. With a frown, she pretends to be serious. "You better be careful. It might seek revenge."
"Then let it," She declares. "You hear that, sky? Fuck you!"
The two of them burst into laughter. Temporarily, they are able to ignore their sorrows. Somehow, that was the beginning of true ghostly companionship.
Laura Lee sheepishly smiles. "You're never going to let me forget, are you?"
"Obviously not." Jackie jokingly salutes.
"I'm doomed."
"We all are."
Just then, the cabin door creaks open. Javi, holding a reddish-brown rabbit, enters the room. The ghost rabbit calmly blinks at them, unfazed by suddenly being adopted. Javi widely smiles, his boyish dimples appearing. "Look who Crystal and I found!" He excitedly says, patting the fur atop its head. "We named him Pumpkin."
"Only because this one right here is Patches," Crystal announces with jazz hands. As if on cue, a white rabbit with patches of black fur jumps into the cabin, and the woman swoons. "Aren't they just the cutest?" Her shrill baby-voice says. "I think they're in love, too. Pumpkin and Patches, the true stars of the afterlife! Move aside, Laura Lee and Jackie."
"Are you seriously telling me rabbits have a better love life than me?" Jackie incredulously asks. Nevertheless, she bends down and boops Patches on her pink nose. Patches stares up at her with floppy ears and beady eyes. She can't speak, but Jackie is sure if she could she would be saying And what about it?
Frankly, she has a lot of nerve.
Pumpkin excitedly wiggles out of Javi's grasp, eager to embrace her lover. The two rabbits gently touch noses, ears twitching. Then, they both hop over to the fireplace and curl up together in the armchair. Oh. Okay.
"Oh my god, they really do," Jackie pouts. "Two gay rabbits."
"Can we keep them? Please?" Javi begs. His eyes are wide with excitement. This is the first time she’s genuinely seen him happy about something- most of the time, he somberly visits his brother. It’s good to see him smile and behave like an actual kid.
Jackie can't resist saying no to the boy. None of them can, they all have a soft-spot for him. She playfully ruffles the top of his head and his face scrunches. “Of course, kiddo.”
He tackles her into a hug. “You’re the best!”
”You’re cleaning up after them, though.” She sternly warns. “If they make a mess in our home, I am kicking their ghostly rabbit behinds out.”
Laura Lee’s eyes widen, a sudden display of horror. “Wait,” She whispers. “You don’t think they… you know…”
”What? Shit?” Crystal asks. “They’re ghosts. I don’t think they can.”
“That is not what I meant,” Jackie rolls her eyes. “And stop cursing around Javi.”
”What?” Javi crosses his arms, frowning. “I drowned in a lake and my brother ate my literal heart, but you draw the line at cursing? What kind of moral compass is this?”
”He has a point,” Laura Lee shrugs. “I think he can handle hearing the word shit.”
“Exactly!”
“Okay, okay, fine. But no one is allowed to cuss around the baby, or else,” Jackie huffs.
“No one is going to corrupt your baby Theo,” Crystal teases, and Jackie hates how her heart flutters at the mention of him being hers. The baby being Shauna’s and hers. Their little gift. “Where is he, anyway? I miss him already.”
”He’s asleep upstairs,” Jackie answers. “And if you wake him-“
Before she can answer, Crystal is already making a beeline to the stairs. “Can’t hear you,” She hollers, voice sounding distance. “Too busy with my baby.”
Jackie fumes.
“He isn’t yours!”
A few days pass: Patches and Pumpkin are cuter than ever, and Jackie continues to sulk about her love life. Or, rather, lack of love life. Is it really insane for her to expect Shauna to mourn her forever? Jackie doesn’t think so! If the roles were reversed, Jackie would never move on!
(Neither has Shauna, but Jackie’s sheer jealously is blinding).
She’s upstairs in the attic, a book and baby perched in her lap when the stairs creak.
“I’ve found a way to haunt Misty’s dreams.” Crystal beams, sitting down next to her. She cranes her neck, curious on what Jackie is reading. “You’re reading the dictionary?”
”I wanted to… enlarge Theo’s vocabulary,” She defensively replies. Then, her eyes comically widen. “Wait, you found a way to speak to Misty?”
“I normally just scream at her while she screams back.” She giggles. “But last night, I told her there would be one way to forgive her and that’s if she drowned herself in rabbit’s blood-“ Jackie quickly covers Theo’s ears while he happily babbles.
”Hey, language!”
“Sorry,” Crystal raises an eyebrow. “Basically, I told her if she announced to the entire camp she was in love with me, I would forgive her.”
Part of Jackie is tempted to ask if Misty actually followed through, but the majority of her is appalled at the idea. Maybe knowledge isn’t power, but rather a curse. “I don’t think I want to know if she actually did it,” She laughs. “But, I need to know how you entered her dreams. Can you teach me?”
Crystal’s eyes crinkle. “Oh my god, this is so exciting. You and Shauna can go on a date together in her dreams!”
She feels heat creep up her neck. Seriously, how can she blush when she isn’t even alive? “Shauna is with Melissa…” Jackie frowns. “I just want to say goodbye. There isn’t going to be a ghost date.”
”Well, not with that attitude,” Crystal sighs. “I bet Shauna would be on board with the idea.”
”Don’t you dare visit her dreams,” Jackie gasps, noticing the way Crystal is fighting off a smile. “Stop meddling in my love life! You don’t see me questioning whatever the fuck you have going on with Misty!”
“That’s not fair,” Crystal whines. “Misty is crazy. Also, what happened to watching our language?”
”His… ears are covered,” She lamely replies. “And I might have forgotten. It sorta just slipped out.”
”Shame on you, Jackie Taylor.”
“I get it, I get it,” She sighs. “Everything and everyone hates me. Even rabbits are doing better than me. But, will you please tell me how to enter Shauna’s dreams?”
“Fine,” Crystal leans over and pokes Theo on his squishy cheek. The baby giggles. “But only because your adopted son is too cute.”
A win is a win, regardless of the intent. Jackie grins.
”Finally.”