What Happened?

Jacob.

        And that brings us to where we are now. I woke up in what looked like a hospital. Jacob, Brooke, and my mom, who was holding Lily in one hand and holding Andrew's hand with the other, were standing over me. My mom was in tears, Lily didn’t seem to know what was going on, Andrew was staring at me, confused, Brooke had tears rolling down her face, and… and Jacob was sitting on the ground, holding my hand, looking completely devastated.
        “Jacob? Jacob, what happened?” I managed to say weakly. I received no response. No one batted an eye at what I had said.
        “M...Mom?” I said, speaking louder. Nothing. “What’s going on? Are you guys just messing with me?”
        No one looked at my face. No one responded to me. What was going on?
        Then, I looked below me. I was floating! I was floating above… above a corpse! My corpse! Am I dead? I can’t be dead! There’s no way I’m dead!
I tried to move, and sure enough, I drifted smoothly through the air. I could see my own corpse! Just the thought of that when I was still alive would give me the chills! I proceeded to drift off towards a corner. I was able to sit down on chairs, and I didn’t just phase through objects, like the stuff you see in movies or read in books. Maybe I could phase through a wall if I tried, though. I stuck out my hand towards the closest wall, and with a bit of practice, it went right through. I stared, awestruck, at my hand going through a solid.
“I don’t know if I should be amazed or terrified,” I whispered to myself.
I sat there in the corner for a while, just staring at the people there. They probably stayed there, mourning, for about an hour. My mom got a call from my father, and she left with Lily and Andrew to go back home.
About five minutes after my mom left, Brooke sighed and said “My mom will worry where I am if I don’t leave soon. I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything, April. Goodbye,” And just like that, Brooke had left the building.
Jacob stayed a solid half hour after everyone left. I don’t think he noticed that he was the only person alive in the room. He just sat there, not moving, not making noise. I moved out of my corner and sat next to him.
“I’m sorry, Jacob,” I whispered, “I wasn’t alive for even five minutes into our relationship. I wish you could hear me, but you can’t, because you’re alive and I’m not,”
Finally, he stood up, stretched, and left. I followed him until we reached the place where the roads split. He turned left. He paused. He stood in the middle of the roads, where I had been hit. He sighed. He kept walking left. I followed.
I had never actually seen his house before. We’d been friends for three years, but I never went to his house, even when we lived so close together. I followed him until he reached his house. He walked up the front steps, and I floated beside him. He grabbed a key out of his pocket, unlocked the door, and walked inside. I followed.
So maybe it was kind of weird to follow him into his house without permission. But, in my defense, I’m not alive. I floated above his shoulder, looking around at the house. He walked into a room and locked and closed the door. After a few minutes, I phased through the door.
I felt kind of strange following him around. Was I being a creep? Should I just leave? Well, I’m already here. Why not stay for a bit? Jacob fell backwards onto a bed and stared at the ceiling. His breathing was slow. If you weren’t paying close attention, you may have thought he was dead, too. I moved towards him. I wonder if his heart was beating as slow as he was breathing? I placed my pale, dusty looking hand on his chest. Ghost skin is really strange, now that I think about it. Never mind that, though. I felt his heart beat. It was beating faster than my heart when I gave him that note. I felt sorry for him. He witnessed the girl he had a crush on get killed.
I felt odd with my hand on his chest. I tried to keep away from touching him when I was alive because I thought he’d figure out I liked him. I moved my hand away slowly. I sat beside his bed and stared at nothing in specific.
After a minute or two, there was a knock on his door. “Jacob, dinner’s ready! Come out and eat!” a woman’s voice said.
It was his mom. “I...I’m not hungry right now,” Jacob replied, turning off his back and towards the wall.
“Don’t be ridiculous! You skipped breakfast today, so you’ve clearly only eaten lunch! Come out and sit at the table, at least!”
I assumed that his mom didn’t know where Jacob just was. Still, he hesitantly stood up and opened the door. He was about half a foot taller than his mom. He walked out of the room and sat down at a large wooden table.
There were three other people sitting at the table. An adult man, most likely his father, and two young girls. One looked about thirteen or fourteen, and the other looked about ten or eleven. They were probably his sisters.
“So, Jacob, why weren’t you home on time? It’s about 6:30 now, and you’re usually home by 3:30. What’s the deal?” his dad said.
        “It’s nothing, Dad. Don’t worry about it,” Jacob replied quietly. His voice was never really quiet. It was strange. I hardly ever saw him sad.
        “I am going to worry about it. You’re three hours late! Who were you with? What were you doing? I’m your father, and I need to know these things!”
        “I was at the hospital, okay!?” He exploded. Everything went silent. Everyone stared at him. Jacob stood up and left the table.
        He walked back to his room and locked the door once again. And again, I followed. Was I invading on his personal life? I should just leave, go somewhere else, but I can’t get myself to.