Even with the realisation right before my eyes, I still found it difficult to accept.
How would I even accept this? Was the girl I had a good time with last night not Anna? Who was it then? I definitely wasn't buying any nonsense about having sex with a ghost.
"Ronald, where were you all night? Didn't you get my messages? My emails? My calls?" Anna was sobbing uncontrollably even as she spoke.
My heart melted like plastic in a flame.
"Anna, please tell me you weren't here all night. Please, Anna... please! Tell me this is a prank."
"A prank? My emotions are a prank to you, Ronald?" She stood up and walked towards me, the outline of her nipples visible through her nightie.
"I was here all night, Ronald. Waiting for you! Where the hell did you spend the night? I searched everywhere!"
"What do you mean you were here all night? Is this... is this a joke?"
"I was here all night, ask Shayla. I was waiting for you, Ronald!" She yelled, "I was waiting because I wanted you." Her voice was steady now.
She placed her hands on my bare chest and locked her gaze with mine. "I missed you, Ronald."
I held her hands, not breaking eye contact. "You've won! You won the challenge. I promise I'll announce to all your TikTok fans that you won the challenge. Just please! Please, Anna. End this prank right now because I'm about to lose my goddamn mind."
"What's with you and pranks? Why would I prank you? Do my emotions seem like a petty joke to you, Ronald?"
"Yes! Yes, Anna!" I exclaimed, pushing her away from me. I ran my hand through my hair, shaking it as if expecting my reality to fall apart.
"Really?" Her voice softened again; she looked like she was about to cry.
"Of course, Anna! What else do you expect me to believe? That ghosts exist? Ghosts with sweet...!" I was desperate for answers.
I could have rushed back upstairs to check on the woman I left under the blanket, but I wanted to be sure it wasn't a ghost or an imposter.
It all felt twisted, and I was terrified.
"Wait... what?" Her facial expression showed she was completely puzzled.
"Where were you last night, Ronald?" she managed to ask.
"I was with you, Anna! Upstairs! In our usual spot. We had sex, Anna!!"
"Hell no!!"
She backed off, taking a few steps away from me.
"What now?" My heart was racing; I needed answers.
"Hell no! No! You didn't do that, Ronald." She covered her mouth as tears poured from her eyes.
"Anna, please talk to me. Did Mom and Dad have a ghost in the guest room? Why didn't you warn me?"
"Shut up!!" she yelled.
"You're going to hate yourself, Ronald. You're going to hate yourself to death." She cried uncontrollably now.
I felt completely lost. I checked to confirm I was still intact—thankfully, I was.
Maybe it was some kind of destiny, or something a ghost would take from me?
Who the hell was she anyway, and why were Mom and Dad hosting a ghost here?
Wait! Am I actually starting to believe that ghosts exist now?
"Say something already, Anna! Don't shut me out in this painful silence..."
"YOU FUCKED YOUR MOM, RONALD!!"
I was brain-dead for what felt like hours. My mind was racing at an unimaginable speed—I felt like I was going to pass out.
Or at least that's what I thought, but I was aware in my own subconscious state.
"I had sex with my mom? How??"
"A-n-n-a," my voice cracked, my throat sore and my tone lifeless. "How is that even possible?"
"I should be asking you. How did you do that? Where was your dad?"
"Dad left... He wasn't home... Fuck!" At this point, I had no way to deny the reality before me—yet my heart resisted acceptance.
"How didn't you realise it was your mom?"
"Anna, I saw your text. That was our spot. You also told me your breasts got bigger. She matched the perfect image I had of you."
"You didn't hear her voice?"
"No. The MP3 was on the loudest volume."
"You didn't see her face?"
"It was dark, Anna."
"You should have known that was their anniversary room, Ronald. Do you really think I'd go through all that decor just for sex?"
"You told me you had surprises, Anna!"
"Wow! Every thread links together." She chuckled, drying her tears. "Are you ever going to face your mom? After what you did to her?"
"We're not so sure she's the one, are we?"
"Quit your delusions, Ronald. That was your parents' anniversary room. Your dad wasn't there, so your mom was in there alone."
I sighed deeply.
There was one thing I was sure of: "If my mom ever finds out about this, she'll kill herself."
"Yeah. I know her that well too. She'll take her own life."
"I love my mom. I can't be the reason she dies."
"So what are we going to do? You know, if your dad comes back, she'll find out!"
"Yes."
"And then what? What are we going to tell her?"
I was speechless.
"So how do you stop it, Ronald?" She persisted, looking for my opinion.
"What if my dad never gets back?" I asked walking up to my closet, searching for something familiar.
"He will defini...." Anna then realized what I really meant, "Don't do it Ronald! Don't!"
"I love my mom more than my dad, Anna."
"I know you love her, but will you ever be able to look at her, knowing what you did?"
"I might never." I nodded. "I might never truly look at her with ease in my heart again... but. I'll rather her live than my dad."
"And you'll rather live with guilt too? what if she finds out one day? would you be happy you wasted your parents?"
"What are you trying to do Anna? you really want me to sit back and watch my mum kill herself cursing me as her last words?"
"No Ronald, I'm trying to say we should calm down and find a better option."
"Well we don't have time for that!" I picked my pistol from the pockets of my grey coat in my wardrobe and stuffed it into the jeans I just changed into.
"please don't do it Ronald. Don't! Don't! Don't do it if you love me!"
"Do it Ronald!" Shayla interrupted, kicking the door open.
Wait! She's been eavesdropping all the while? What the actual fuck is this teenager doing with her freaking life?