The ghostly Nolan floated inches above the ground. Missing buttons on his dingy white shirt brought my attention to it and the rolled-up sleeves. His frail arms no longer displayed the attractive muscle and definition I had become used to.

The way the toes of his dress shoes scraped the ground as he moved toward me prompted me to back away, unable to tear my eyes from the horrid site before me.

"Stay with me." His disembodied voice groaned from behind him as if demanding instead of pleading. "We'll be together forever."

"What are you doing here?" I shook my head, confusion and fear causing my lips to tremble.

"I'm here for you. Only for you. Don't leave me, Rhea."

I backed away, keeping a gap between us. The distant sound of a machine beeping took my attention, and my eyes followed the noise. A light far ahead highlighted the hospital room with injured Rhea in bed. Her head remained wrapped in loose gauze as she continued to be surrounded by the same posters and pictures of get well wishes and support.

The beeping chimed from the machine connected to her, measuring her vitals. I imagined the beeps matched her heartrate, steady and ongoing.

My eyes connected with his sunken, dark eyes again. "Stay away from me, Nolan," I shouted. Words that should have left my lips years ago.

I rushed toward the brightly lit room to get away, but the more I ran, the further it seemed. And with every step, ghostly Nolan followed.

"You can't go. I won't let you." He followed behind, hovering inches from the ground like a half-deflated balloon attached to me by an invisible thread. "You belong here with me, and I'll make sure you'll stay this time."

I picked up speed to put more space between him and myself, hoping to step foot inside the brightly lit hospital room ahead. Still, no matter how hard I ran, how fast my feet were, the room evaded me.

As the injured Rhea lay in the hospital bed, covered in a white sheet from the neck down, her exposed arms and face seemed to be more transparent than the last time. What was happening? Why could I see the pillow she lay on through her earlobe?

Before I could let my thoughts register, Nolan pounced on me from behind and I hit the floor with a thud. I managed to roll over as he straddled me, pinning me down with an immense weight. "Get off of me!" I pushed at his chest, trying to knock him away.

"You're not leaving me this time," he growled through clenched teeth, although his lips never moved. He managed to grab my wrists and pin them to the ground at my sides.

"Tell me what you want, and I'll give it to you." I pleaded with my eyes, hoping he would hear the pain and fear in my voice and take pity on me. "Just talk to me, Nolan. We can figure it out together. Okay?"

His sunken gaze locked onto me, sending a chill down my spine. He continued to keep me pinned under him but spoke. "Let her go and stay here with me." He looked up at the diminishing Rhea in the hospital bed. "She's almost gone. Let her go. Don't try to change it. Then I'll have you forever, like it's meant to be."

I nodded, agreeing. "Okay. I'm done. I don't want to fight anymore."

He sneered. His eyelids lowered in a glare. Did he know what I was up to? Did he suspect something by sensing my bullshit? "You said that before." His voice was low and full of bass. "You lie."

His boney fingers dug into my arm, keeping me anchored under him and on my back. "I don't want to fight, Nolan. I can't win. I know that now. Please." I begged with my eyes and held my breath as his grip slowly weakened. "I give up," I said, turning my head to the side, watching the light of the hospital room slowly fade with my words.

He loosened his grip and once again hovered above me. Watching, waiting, testing. I pushed myself up to my feet as he remained close in proximity. He inched so close if he had breath, I would have felt its moist heat on my skin.

The only thing I felt at the moment was a cold chill as my mind urged me to run and not look back. So, I did.

I turned toward the pinprick of light and ran as fast as my legs would carry me. The wind blew through my hair, and my arms pumped at my sides like an Olympian.

Somewhere in the surrounding space, Nolan's angry cries echoed. "Rhea, you bitch."

The anger in his voice lit a fire under me. The last time he called me a bitch was during an argument about the burger and fries I had eaten before a brand sponsored photoshoot. The same anger spewed from his voice now.

I didn't look back. I ran for what seemed like hours but was only minutes until a sight before me stopped me in my tracks. There he was, the ghastly Nolan who had been chasing me now stood several feet before me. His focus was no longer on me but the person in the center of the dimly lit room that manifested from the darkness.

It was the other Nolan in the familiar bedroom. He stood next to the bed and its strewn satin sheets, fully clothed, hair neatly styled on his head, and his phone in his palm. Whatever he was doing, like a magnet it attracted ghostly Nolan's attention.

I didn't mind that their attention was on his phone, I welcomed it because that meant it wasn't on me. Although, I too, grew curious. What were they looking at?

Without bringing attention to myself I focused on the phone in Nolan's hand. His text messages were open and the pretty face of the icon at the top of the text was Joselyn's. They were exchanging messages about her plans to meet with film execs in California and he agreed to send her money. And judging from the number of zeros in the amount, it was a large sum.

Had he been financially investing in her career, using the money we made from my sponsors? He never told me any of this. And seeing this now made me realize that he had been planning on keeping secrets all along. I knew he would try to find an excuse as to why he made these decisions without my knowledge. That's how he was. Never in the wrong.

A lump formed in my throat, and I gulped. Had he been sleeping with Joselyn too? I shook my head, trying to get the image out of my mind. Maybe it was my insecurities getting the best of me. Maybe he never went that far with her and never would. Could I trust that she was a good friend and would never allow such a thing even if he had offered.

There I was again, justifying his actions, trying not to make him seem like the bad guy, forgetting he was the reason I was in this place. And by the sound of ghostly Nolan's explanation, maybe there was a way to fix this. Maybe there was a way to get out of here.

Was my body hanging on to life in that hospital bed? Had my spirit somehow become trapped in this place? I'm sure Nolan's plan was to keep me here until my physical body died and I would be imprisoned here with him forever.

If I was a spirit, how did his ghostly equivalent get here? Was his body somehow in the same position as mine, hanging on to life while his ghost haunted me?

I didn't have much time to think about it, as ghostly Nolan began to move, pulling me from my thoughts and back to the event playing out before me.

His interest was fully on Nolan, circling him, watching him and his every move. Even though the handsome, healthy Nolan kept his focus on his phone and what he was doing, his ghostly counterpart was far too interested to even glance my way.

I took the opportunity to back away from the scene. When I left them far in the distance, I turned to find another pinprick of light. Once locked on, I moved toward it, seeing the lively Rhea sitting at the small desk in the brightly lit and empty studio.

The click-clack of Joselyn's high heels as she disappeared around the corner to Nolan with his coffee on a tray rang in my ears. I watched as that Rhea took a sip of her iced coffee through the straw, her attention elsewhere but on the cryptic internet ad onscreen.

A repeat of the pest control advert played. Text on the screen said, "Run don't walk," referring to their services.

If only she could see it and take the warning. She needed to get out of there before it was too late. She needed to take the cue and leave the studio before Nolan could hurt her. I stepped to the computer, trying to tap the screen and get her attention.

Although my fingers attempted, they couldn't react with the laptop. Similar to the wine bottle, my fingers slipped through it as if nothing was there. Nervously, I tapped my fingers against my thigh, matching the sound of the ad as I absentmindedly tried to come up with another plan. That's when I realized my finger taps not only matched the rhythm of the annoying beeping sound from the ad, but also matched her tempo as she drummed her fingers on the desktop.

She finally looked up at the computer screen, reading the warning. Maybe I could use my habits to get through to her. Maybe there was a way. When her eyes widened at what wasn't just a coincidence, I sighed in relief.

The only thing I had to do now, was figure out a way to interact with her. If I could stop her from angering Nolan, maybe I could prevent the event that led me here. I just had to find a way.

Ghostly Nolan wouldn't be a problem if I had managed to escape him and if he was highly and easily distracted. All I had to do was figure out a way to communicate with that Rhea and urge her to leave before Nolan could lay his hands on her.

I looked ahead in my memory, remembering what would happen next. Joselyn would stay and help with another photoshoot, she would fetch us lunch, and after she leaves, Nolan and I would talk. During our talk he would mention needing to check emails and wanting to take a nap. I will leave him to return to my computer, where I confess everything to my audience.

I needed to prepare for that, but how?

The beeping of the hospital machinery chimed in the background. This time, the beeping that I assumed matched the beat of my heart, began to slow. Shit, what If I didn't have enough time? What if I took too long and the beeping stopped, would it be too late?

~~~

What could possibly go wrong?