Second Chance (2 page)

Now he sat, hunched forward, hands pressed to his ears as he attempted to drown out the sound of Hannah’s scream. She was clearly terrified, having been told he was dead only to turn around and see him beside her.

“Please,” he said, raising his voice to be heard, “could you please just calm down?”

She stopped, her eyes bulging, fixing on him as she took in deep breaths. All the blood drained from her face, leaving her looking pale and disoriented.
 

He forced a smile, trying to calm her down, trying to calm himself down, but it didn’t work.

“He said you died,” Hannah blurted out. “Why did he lie?”

James didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t understand what was happening himself, so how was he supposed to explain it to this girl? One moment, he had been walking to work. The next he was a ghost, trapped and confused. He didn’t even believe in ghosts!

“Is everything okay?” a voice asked hurriedly from the doorway.

Both Hannah and James looked up to where a nurse stood, silhouetted against the light pouring in from the corridor beyond.

“Sorry, I was just startled,” Hannah explained. “The doctor said the man who saved me died.”
 

James watched awkwardly as Hannah chuckled, clearly thinking there had been some kind of mistake. The nurse looked back at the girl, a look of pity painted on her face.

“He did,” she replied, adopting a more empathetic expression. “The doctors did what they could for him, but unfortunately, his injuries were too severe.”

Hannah looked back at James, noticing as he shook his head, an attempt to get her to stop asking more questions. He knew how crazy the girl would look right then, looking from the nurse and then back to a man no one else could see. The last thing he wanted was for her to start talking to him in front of the woman.

“Ok,” Hannah whispered. “It must have been a bad dream. I’m sorry to have disturbed you.”

The nurse waited for a few seconds before nodding her head and disappearing back from where she had come from.

Hannah looked back at James, looking him up and down, truly taking him in. He still didn’t know what to say. So instead, he sat in silence, waiting for her to speak.

Finally, she did. “You’re dead?” she asked.

“I’m dead,” he replied, as casually as he would say good morning to a friend.

“This isn’t possible!” she argued. “There are no such things as ghosts.”

James laughed, admiring Hannah’s stubbornness. He had seen her so many times, had wanted to speak to her on so many occasions, but now that they were forced together, all he wanted was his life back.
 

“Well, I’m evidence that there are such things as ghosts,” he replied, smiling as he did. “You’re the only person who has been able to see or hear me since the accident. I don’t remember much, but I do remember I was badly hurt. I overheard your doctor say that I had passed away earlier in the day, and that’s when it hit me.”

Hannah shook her head, clamping her eyes shut in denial. She didn’t want to believe that any of this was happening.

“You can’t deny I’m here,” James said. “Either you have gone completely insane and you’re seeing things, or I’m really here and I’m a ghost.”

“No!” Hannah snapped, opening her eyes and glaring at him. “Ghosts are not real! I’ve been studying medicine and science my whole life. This is not possible!”

Despite the situation, James relaxed, leaning back in the chair he sat in. He finally knew why she carried all of those huge textbooks around; she was clearly engrossed in her studies.
 

“Well, maybe this is possible, and maybe you’re the only one who can help me,” he replied. “After all, you are the only one who can see me.”

Once again, she shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. He could see the pain etched into her face as she looked at him, the guilt clearly tearing her apart. It was then that he realized now wasn’t the right time to have this conversation. She needed time to come to terms with what had happened; she needed space.

“Just promise me you’ll at least consider the possibility?” he asked, standing up from his seat.

Hannah looked up at him, nodding slowly.
 

He walked away from the girl, for the first time noticing how silent his body was. The sound of his heart had vanished, the beating over. As he stepped into the corridor, he found himself once again wishing for his old life back, longing for a second chance.

Chapter Four

~Hannah~

Two days after seeing James for the first time, Hannah stepped back into her flat, feeling the loneliness weigh heavily upon her. She knew what she had seen had been a vision brought on by her feelings of guilt, nothing more than a hallucination.
 

She had hoped that maybe there was some truth in what she had seen, that maybe James had lived on somehow, but she knew it was just wishful thinking. The man had died saving her and, for that, she felt awful. If she had shown more care when stepping out into the road, he would still alive.

Her clumsiness had led to his death, something she would never be able to forget. Every morning was the same—that same walk, that same routine. Her brother had always scolded her for playing her music too loud, warning her it would damage her hearing. The bitter irony was that it wasn’t her who had been hurt, but someone trying to protect her instead.

The image of James still haunted her, the curve of his soft lips when he smiled, his perfectly groomed hair. Everything about him was immaculate. Again, she knew she was idolizing him, but she couldn’t help it.
 

Since arriving at university in York, she had had little time to socialize, dedicating all of her energy towards her studies. Those brief smiles she had shared with James in the mornings had been the closest thing to a meaningful relationship she had experienced in years.

Her mind had wandered on a few occasions, conjuring up foolish fantasies that involved talking to him, but she had never pushed herself to take that step. She knew it would be no use, that she didn’t have the time, even if he had given her a second glance.
 

 
Sighing, Hannah walked across her living room and into the spacious kitchen beyond, pulling the fridge door open and grabbing a cold drink. She pulled the ring of the can, listening to the soft click, followed by the bubbling fizz.

Turning back towards her living room, she took a swallow of the cold, fizzy drink, lost in thought as she made her way towards her sofa, savoring the taste of the refreshing drink.

Before leaving the hospital, one of James’ colleagues had arrived, asking if Hannah would come to his funeral. She hadn’t known what to say at the time, struggling with her words. How could she go to his funeral when she was responsible for his death? The idea terrified her.

She had thought about the invite repeatedly, considering what she should do. She wanted to go, to pay her respects, and get to know the man who had given his life for her, but at the same time, she was scared of how people would react. Would they hate her? Would they blame her?

What she really wanted more than anything was to wake up from this nightmare, to put the past few days behind her and move on with her life, but she didn’t know how.

“Hey,” a man’s voice said, waking her from her thoughts.

Hannah’s eyes darted around the room, settling on the tall man who sat in the armchair opposite her. It was James.

He looked identical to how he had appeared in the hospital. His clothes were the same, his hair in the exact same style, not a single strand out of place. He smiled across the room at Hannah, chuckling at a joke only he understood.

Hannah clenched her eyes shut, trying to force the madness away. She knew that when she opened her eyes again, James would be gone, just another figment of her imagination.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, expecting to find the room empty once again. To her surprise, James was still there, watching her, a look of curiosity on his face.
 

“How did you get in here?” she demanded, immediately regretting the question. She knew exactly how he had gotten in. He was stuck in her head after all, a hallucination of her disturbed imagination.

“Dead, remember?” James replied, his lips curving into a mischievous smile, causing Hannah to blush.

“This isn’t possible!” she shot back, starring daggers at the man who sat smirking at her.

She was clearly more unhinged than she had first thought. She knew that trauma could bring on visions and hallucinations, but this was getting ridiculous. This wasn’t real.
 

“You’re not real; you’re just something in my head. Something that won’t go away.”

“Oh, I’m real all right,” he replied. “It’s just that you’re the only one who can see me. I don’t know why this is happening, and I don’t know how it’s possible, but there has to be a reason.”

Hannah watched as James stood up, walking towards her. He sat down beside her, turning slowly to face her.

He sat in silence for a short time, clearly considering what to say. “Please, I know that you don’t believe this is possible, but I need you to at least consider the possibility. I need your help,” he said, finally breaking the silence. “No one else can see or hear me. I’m lost, and I have no idea what I’m meant to do. I need your help.”

She nodded, giving in to her deluded imagination. The least she could do was try to help him, even if he was just a piece of her tortured mind. She needed to help him move on, and she had just the thing.

“There is something happening tomorrow,” she said. “I’ll take you there. Maybe it will help you to move on.”

The smile that spread across his face tore at her heartstrings. She felt as though she were leading him into a trap, but if there was one thing that could help him to move on, maybe that was seeing his own funeral.
 

Chapter Five

~James~

James sat beside Hannah in her car, watching the world pass by his window. The gentle hum of the vehicle’s engine helped him to relax as the pair sat in silence, an art Hannah had mastered.

He had asked her where she was taking him, but every time, she refused to give him an answer, simply explaining she was helping him move on. The tone of her voice suggested she wasn’t willing to argue, but he could tell by the slight tremble of her hands that she was clearly uncomfortable with what was happening.

He had stayed awake all night, thinking about what he had become. He hated the idea of existing indefinitely, unable to affect anything in the world, but the thought of just disappearing terrified him. Never before had he considered life beyond death, but now he found himself face to face with the reality.

There was so much left that he wanted to do, so much he wanted to see. If he were torn from life so soon, he would never have a chance to do those things.
 

James had dreamed of meeting a girl, settling down, and having a family one day, but now that was out of reach, along with all of his dreams. His future was gone, lost within the blink of an eye.

Hannah seemed so sure that if he were real, and she wasn’t going mad, that where she was taking him would help him crossover to whatever it was that awaited him. Now he sat waiting for her plan to unravel, concerned by what would happen.

If he was given the choice to move on, he wasn’t sure if he would. He wasn’t ready to go, not yet anyway.
 

Tilting his head, he looked at Hannah, noticing the sheer determination on her pretty face. She was too young to deal with this situation; he could see how much she was struggling. He had discovered that she was twenty-one, studying medicine in university miles away from her home in London.
 

The time they spent talking the previous evening had filled him with an excitement he hadn’t felt in years, something he thought was long lost. He had drifted through life for the past four years, failing to take in its beauty, realizing too late how much joy it had to offer.

Now it was almost over, fate taunting him on his way out.

“Are you really not going to tell me where we are going?” he asked again, hoping Hannah may have finally changed her mind.

She shook her head in response, her long, dark hair free from the ponytail she usually wore it in, her curls tumbling over her shoulders. Her outfit hadn’t escaped his notice, smart dark trousers with a white, lace shirt and a pair of dark heels. The moment she had stepped into her living room, he had been shocked by how elegant she looked.

“Come on, you have to tell me eventually,” he said, trying to break her silence.

It was no use. Hannah’s lips were a thin line, pressed together as though she had to force them shut, or else risk spilling her plan.

Finally, the car slowed to a crawl, pulling up alongside the sidewalk. James tore his eyes away from Hannah, for the first time taking in their surroundings.

The area was vaguely familiar to him, somewhere he had been once before. He looked at the houses across the road, and then to the church a few yards down. Confusion struck him as his eyes scanned the surroundings.

“You’re not going to get the priest to perform an exorcism, are you?” James asked, only half joking.

He looked back at Hannah, her knuckles white from her grip on the steering wheel. He could see the tears streaming down her cheeks just before she turned her face away from him, releasing her grip, and climbing from the car.

He quickly followed, not wanting to be left behind, but fearing what lay ahead. He half expected to feel the thundering of his heartbeat, but once again, he was reminded of his mortality. The silence in his chest was a bitter reminder of what had happened to him. Hannah had brought him here for a reason, and the only way to find out was to follow her.

“Seriously, why are we here?” he asked again, panic edging into his voice.

Hannah stormed ahead, her heels clicking as they struck the pavement. James kept pace, walking a few steps behind the girl, his head darting from side to side as he looked around.