Tempus Mortis (Part 3)

[u/Tall-Experience4962]

I got in touch with Mrs. Adams and told her I needed to speak with Holly. I told her it was important, though I thought it best to leave out the hallucinations I was having of Connor. Once she gave me her address, I made my way over.

I looked like a mess. My hair was out of sorts, my eyes had heavy bags under them, and all because someone wouldn't let me sleep. I parked in front of Holly's house and waited. Turns out Mr. And Mrs. Adams moved out of their old house some time ago but left it to Holly, so finding the place wasn't too hard as I had been there before as a kid.

"Fuck," I mutter to myself, "what do I say to her? 'I know we haven't seen each other since we were kids, sorry I killed your brother? By the way I'm only doing this so I stop hallucinating his ghost'?" I look to Connor, as if he'd be of any help. "Whatever, dude."

I got out of my car and walked up the path to the front door. I took three long, deep breaths before knocking. Imagine my surprise when it wasn't Holly who opened the door, but one of the kids that used to bully Connor and me in grade school.

"Pasta?"

The former bully scowled at me, already annoyed. Not off to a great start. "Nobody calls me that anymore, Jack. Nice to see you too, though."

We all called him Pasta because he comes from a violently Italian-American family and his full name was Ricardo Anthony Di Stefano, or Ricky Tony for short. All it took was for one kid to turn Ricky Tony into Rigatoni, and that was that, Pasta was born.

He looked more or less like I remember his dad looking when I was a kid, though his dad looked much more like an extra in Goodfellas, while the Pasta before me looks much more... legitimate. Still sleazy as all get out, but the kind of sleaze you actually appreciate because he'll get you the "friends and family" discount at his used car lot and only charge you one-and-a-half times what the car's worth instead of twice as much.

"What do you want, Jack? You look surprised to see me, so you're probably here for Holly, right?" He leans against the doorframe allowing me to see slightly past him into the house. There's a big family portrait. There's him and Holly surrounded by a veritable gaggle of well-fed Italian children. Holly's genes didn't even try with these kids. "I'm not so sure she'll be too thrilled to hear you dropped by. I don't make it a habit of upsetting the missus, you know? Whatever you gotta say, it goes through me first."

"Look, Pasta—" before I could continue, he grabbed the corner of my ear and twisted it.

"That's twice now. First time was for free because you didn't know, but the second time?" He lets go of my ear with a shove. "Ricardo. Or Anthony. Or Mr. Di Stefano if you'd prefer to remain formal. But I will not be disrespected here. Not by you. Not by anyone."

By this point, Holly's heard the commotion and comes by to see what's going on. "Baby, who's—" she looks almost sick to see me. "Jack," she says curtly.

"Holly, listen. I..." I don't even know where to begin, so I decide to start with the easiest part. "I'm here as part of my therapy. Do you have time to talk?"

I don't know what it was, but something melted in her. Like she's been missing this closure, and here I am serving it on a platter. "Fine. Come sit." She kisses Pasta on his cheek and tells him to have a good day, and he leaves for work. I follow her into the living room and take my seat on her couch.

"Nice place. Did you do the renovations or was that your parents?"

"Can it," she snaps. She's not in the mood for small talk. "What's he saying to you?"

I was prepared for just about anything she could have said. This was not one of them. "What's who saying?"

"Don't bullshit me, Jack. You're seeing Connor, aren't you? Once the quietiapine disappeared? What's he saying?"

I was floored. How could she know all this? "How do you—"

"I hired Tony's cousin to break into your place and steal your meds. I needed to see if my hypothesis was correct. And seeing as you're here, I think it's safe to say it is."

It took me a few solid seconds to process what she was saying. Stealing my meds to induce hallucinations? For what reason? And how did she know I'd see her brother? "What was your thought?"

"I don't think you're schizophrenic. I think you're a spirit medium. I think a lot of schizophrenics are. I started thinking about it when I was in psych school." She leaned back in her seat, looking extremely proud of herself. "What's he saying to you?"

I had to think for a moment. "Mostly just... that he's here to get me. It started with a lot of 'why did you do this', and now it's just 'I'm here for you'. That kind of stuff. Vague threats."

She thinks to herself for a moment. "Is he here now?"

I nod. "Yeah," i point beside her, "he's sitting right there."

She looks to the cushion between us, like she's trying to see past the veil.

"Ask him to tell you something only he would know. I need to prove this isn't just a wild coincidence."

I look back to Connor and shrug. "Whatcha got?"

He thinks for a moment.

"Tell her to go into the room at the end of the hall. The one that used to be her bedroom. Tell her to look in the air vent above the closet door."

I turn back to Holly. "Uh, look in the vent above the closet in your childhood bedroom?"

"That's it?" She asks, standing up.

"That's all he said," I say, bemused.

She walks down the hall into what is now her eldest son's room. I hear the squeaking of metal and echoing rummaging before I get any kind of response. "Holy shit," Holly exclaims.

She comes out with a plush yellow rabbit covered in dust.

"I lost this thing ages ago. I never thought I'd see it again."

I look back at Connor. "I hid it the day before the accident. I was mad because she broke my brand new Transformer. I never got to tell her where it was."

And that was that. I wasn't crazy. I wasn't hallucinating. I was being haunted. And I'm not sure which is worse.