Ghost Story

Chapter 29

Here we are. The final chapter before the epilogue. I cried writing it and when I was proofreading it. So, be warned. It's sad.

Two weeks later, Killian was now lying in a hospital bed. Ingrid was in one chair in the corner of the room while Emma sat right next to his bed, holding onto his hand as if her life depended on it. It was New Year's Eve, and Killian was fighting the tears knowing that he was holding on by a very thin thread that was going to break at any moment. They had the news on, and they were waiting for the ball to drop in a few minutes.

"Emma, promise me something, love," he said weakly.

She nodded. "Anything, Killian. Just name it."

"If I helped take off that armor of yours, don't put it back on because you're going to lose me."

Emma nodded. The tears already appearing. "I promise, only if you promise to move on to a better place."

He nodded. "I promise."

Ingrid stirred in her sleep and stretched. When she looked at the clock, she turned to Emma and Killian and smiled warmly, although tears were gathering in her eyes. "I'll leave you two alone." She stepped out of the room while there was only a few minutes left.

"All I wanted was for you to be happy. I didn't mean for all of this to happen. I'm so sorry, Emma." He finally allowed himself to cry.

"I know. It's okay."

"No, it's not. I wanted to always be there for you." He grabbed her hand and placed it over his heart so she could feel his heartbeat. He leaned in and pressed their foreheads together. "I love you, Emma Nolan. My Swan."

"I love you too, Killian."

"I was yours in every single way and I never want you to doubt that. Please tell me you know that."

She nodded frantically. "Yes. And I was yours."

As the final countdown began, they stared deeply in each other's tear filled eyes. At the count of one, they both said "Happy New Year" and pressed their lips together in a wet kiss. She pulled away from him and he smiled.

"I love you," he whispered once more for reassurance before closing his eyes. The slow beep in the room faded until it was one sound. A steady beeping filled the room.

Tears streamed down her face and she grabbed his hospital gown in her hands. "No, no, no!"

"Emma, honey?" Mary Margaret said cautiously.

"Killian, no," she whispered, ignoring her mother.

David pulled her away from Killian's body as nurses covered his body with the sheet. "Time of death?" The doctor asked.

"12:01 AM," the nurse replied.

"Bye," Emma whispered through her tears. David had to pull Emma from the hospital room and to their car.

Once they got back to the house, Emma ran to her room and slammed the door. She collapsed on the bed and cried and cried and cried until there weren't any more tears left. Her head was throbbing, but it wasn't as bad as the pain in her chest. She felt a heavy presence in her room, but shrugged it off, not wanting to get her hopes up. But she knew she wasn't hallucinating when she felt the bed dip beside her at her back. She squeezed the locket in her hands until she knew her knuckles were white.

"You told me you would move on." She grabbed her phone from the nightstand and turned on the recorder. It almost brought a smile to her face, remembering what they had done before she grew close to him. Almost.

"Check on you," he told her.

"Go away. I can't move on from you if you're still here."

"Sorry."

"I'm not mad."

"Bye."

"Bye."

The heavy energy was suddenly gone and Emma knew that it was over. Everything was over.

Ingrid brought a box over the next day. It had Killian's possessions in it. Emma stayed in her room all day, refusing to talk to anyone or even look at them. She held his original journal in her hands and ran her fingertips over it.

"Emma, Ingrid dropped a box off for you. It's right outside your door," Mary Margaret said.

Emma waited a moment before opening the door and dragging the box into her room. She saw both of his leather jackets that smelled like him when she brought them to her nose. She put the older one on and continued looking through the box. There was the box of cologne she had gotten him for Christmas. The rings and the metal hook from his Halloween costume, and finally, a leather bound book that she had never seen before. Upon opening it, she gasped when she saw entries. Entries that took place after he had come back to life.

September 6th, 2016

I fucked up bad today. I fell into the popular group at school, and I don't think that that was a good idea. One of the seniors, Zelena, doesn't like freshman, and when she pushed Emma to the ground, I pretended I didn't know Emma because I wanted my friends to like me. But, they don't mean as much to me as Emma does. I love her with all my heart. I'll have to think of a way to fix things.

September 13th, 2016

Today, I stood up on top of a table and professed my love for Emma to the whole high school. I wanted Emma to know that I wasn't ashamed of her. It worked and she forgave me for being an arse.

Another popular senior, Ariel, has been flirting with me and trying to get me to go out on a date with her and to try to sleep with her, but I won't do it. I haven't told Emma because I don't want her to get jealous. I belong to Emma. I always have, and I always will, no matter what happens in the future.

October 23rd, 2016

Today is Emma's birthday, and I have put together a scrapbook that shows off all the pictures I have scrambled to take. Making this scrapbook was a lot of fun, but I would never admit that out loud. Emma may think I'm a wuss or something.

I'm going to give this to her for her birthday, and then a video file of our important moments together on a flash drive for Christmas. Along with that, I'm going to give her a locket with a picture of us inside. But I have yet to find a perfect picture.

November 1st, 2016

Ingrid and I were invited to spend Thanksgiving with Emma and her parents this year. I'm trying to put as much romantic things in a few months as I can, and I'm running out of ideas. I know Emma would be happy with just spending time with me, but I want her to remember me and I never want my memory to fade away. I also want her to know the correct way to treat her. And that if a guy doesn't, then she has to punch him in the face.

November 24th, 2016

Thanksgiving was a blast. Mary Margaret sure knows how to cook a perfect Thanksgiving meal. The thought of going through the treatments to help my cancer has gone through my mind a lot. I love being in the physical world and seeing Emma's beautiful face whenever I want and getting to hold her in my arms whenever I want, but it would hurt me more, seeing Emma watch as I endured each treatment. If I died, then it would be fast and she wouldn't have to hurt for me.

December 3rd, 2016

I was pulled out of school today so I could do my work over the internet. I am now on an oxygen tank, and Emma is handling this very well. Better than I would be if our roles were reversed. She's being strong. Just as I am for her. I don't want her to know, but I'm terrified. I'm terrified that she's going to forget about me once I'm gone. She's left such an imprint on my life, and I hope I did the same for her.

Emma closed the book and put it next to his old one that was sitting on her bookshelf. She smiled at his silly intentions. She would always love him and he would always be with her. Right in her heart where it mattered most.