Chapter 1
Delilah Sanderson was a survivor of a traffic accident. She and her boyfriend, James, were heading back home from vacation when a drunk driver hit their car with his own. The accident left Lila concussed and half-blind, but she was the luckier of the two. James had died instantly, slamming his head into the steering wheel. The airbag had malfunctioned, leaving him unprotected.
The worst part was that he had seen the car coming just in time to pull Lila’s head, which she had pushed through the car window, back inside. It was the last thing he ever did.
“You really shouldn’t walk,” her mother told her as they left the cemetery. The funeral hadn’t been a long one, with only a handful of people in attendance. Neither Lila nor James had ever been popular.
“I’m fine,” the woman replied, waving her mother off. She couldn’t see well enough to drive, not that she would ever want to again, but could manage to walk short distances. As her house was just outside of town, it was close to the cemetery.
“Are you sure?” her mother tried again, but got ignored as Lila started to walk. She hadn’t accepted condolences from anyone, instead numbly greeting the few people as they arrived.
Silently, she made her way back to her house, not bother to open her umbrella as rain started to pour. Her clothes and hair got soaked, but Lila didn’t seem to notice. She entered the house she shared with James, then walked upstairs and got into the shower. She stood in it for hours, letting the water maker her skin become covered in wrinkles. By the time she was done, the sun had set, so she headed straight to bed.
Just before closing her eyes, she thought she saw someone standing on the opposite side of the room, dressed in black so the darkness offered them shelter. Lila blinked a few times, making sure her damaged sight wasn’t playing a trick on her, then decided it was nothing, and dismissed the whole thing.
The next few days would be more or less the same for her. She would wake up, eat breakfast, shower, go grocery shopping, have lunch, go to work, then, after she’d come home, she’d go to sleep.
On the second night, there was no shadow in her room, so she drifted off peacefully.
On the third night, the dark shape seemed to have returned, but disappeared as soon as Lila turned on the lights.
On the fourth day, a coworker asked her if she was alright.
“Yes,” Lila replied calmly.
“You must miss him so much,” the man added quietly.
“Not really,” Lila whispered to herself. “I haven’t thought about it that much.”
If the coworker had heard her, he didn’t show it, and proceeded to leave her alone, just like the others.
That night, when she went to sleep, someone seemed to be standing at the foot of her bed, closer than before. Surprised, Lila sat up, turning the lamp next to her bed on instantly.
There was no one there.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, Lila lied back down, but didn’t manage to fall asleep.
The morning after, her mother called her, asking her if she’s alright.
“I don’t know,” Lila replied honestly.
“Well, we’re having a barbecue this weekend. Do you want to come?”
Thinking about it for a moment, Lila sighed. “I’ll pass.”
“Are you sure? It’s not healthy to be alone all the time.”
Without bothering to reply, Lila hung up, then got back to her routine. She ate, went shopping, went to work, then went to sleep.
The shadow was back that night, but it was all the way across the room again, so Lila once again dismissed it as a side-effect of her new eyesight.
The next day, she filed all the wrong paperwork during work, costing her department a lot of money.
“I’m sorry to have to do this after all you’ve been through,” her boss said, looking ashamed, “but we’re going to have to let you go. It’s just not working out anymore.”
For the first time since the funeral, Lila felt something. She went home right away, and spent her day watching TV, alone. When it was the time when she would normally have left work, her phone rang. It was her mother.
“Hey, sweetie. I’m just calling to see if you’ve changed your mind about this weekend.”
“I haven’t,” Lila answered coldly.
“Are you sure? Because I really don’t think-”
“No,” Lila interrupted sharply. “You don’t.” She hung up, then threw her phone across the room. She went outside and decided to run. She ran for three whole hours, catching a break whenever she could. Once she was thoroughly exhausted, she went back home and got to bed, not bothering to shower, despite the sweat.
The shadow was at the foot of her bed that night. She turned her lamp on, and it vanished, but it reappeared as soon as she turned it back off, startling her.
Frustrated, she put a pillow over her face, then screamed as loudly as she could, letting the sound be muffled.
She was too worked up to sleep that night, and got up as soon as the sun had finished rising. She went over to the cemetery where James had been buried, and approached the patch of dirt was yet to be covered by a tombstone. At first, she just stared down. After a few minutes, her toes started curling.
“You left,” she snarled. “Why’d you have to leave? It’s not fair. You just left, and I’m still here. Why? Why would you do that? Why’d you leave? It’s not fair!”
A few people who were also there looked at her like she was insane. Lila, with tears streaming down her face, ran back home. She slammed the door after getting in, then threw herself on the couch. She cried for about an hour, throwing a cushion away in anger every now and then.
After she had calmed down, she felt someone breathing down her neck, and immediately jumped.
No one was there.
“James?” she whispered despite herself, taking a cautious step forward.
She heard a quiet thump coming from the kitchen, so she turned her head to look at it through the hallway.
The shadow was standing there, next to the only counter she could see from her spot.
“I’m so tired,” Lila said, rubbing her eyes.
The shadow didn’t leave.
“Go away!” she screamed, then ran upstairs and cried some more.
That night, she managed to fall asleep fairy early.
Then she felt breathing on her neck again.
“Lila,” a raspy voice whispered, and she sat up with a start, covered in cold sweat. The shadow was standing at the foot of her bed again, and she could now see a clearer shape.
It was a man wearing a black cloak, with a hood over his head. He had a familiar face.
“W-Who are you?” Lika asked, trembling. “What d-do you want from me?”
The man grinned, not saying a word.
“Are you a ghost?”
His grin widened.
“A-Are...” Lila stuttered, then paused, every hair on her body standing on its end. “Are you James?”
The man disappeared.
She did not sleep again that night, instead sitting in her bed with her arms around her knees, cradling back and forth.
In the morning, Lila got out of her room as soon as it was bright enough to see, and went to the cemetery again. There were no signs of James’ resting grounds being disturbed, so she left right away. On her way, she passed by a park where the two of them had met, and could still see themselves standing there, laughing happily. She had never been popular, and neither had he. Both had had rough lives prior to that meeting, but they managed to be happy together.
“Together,” Lila whispered, turning right around and heading to the nearest church.
She had never been the religious sort, despite her upbringing, and hadn’t set a foot in a place of worship in years.
Nobody else was inside, which was expected - not even a priest or a nun.
Lila silently walked over to the front row, then sat down.
“God,” she started, still not sure what she was doing, “it’s been a while since I last came here.” She paused, uncertain about how to proceed. “He was good,” she said, tears forming in her eyes. “He was so good, and now he’s gone, and I can’t handle that. Please, give him back to me. I’ll do anything. Please.” She broke down crying then and there, falling to her knees, staring up at the cross. “Please!”
Nobody answered.
Nothing was there.
Not bothering to wipe her eyes, she went back home and sat on her couch, not even turning the TV on. She just sat there, silently staring at the clock.
“I’m never gone,” the raspy voice said from behind her, and she slowly turned around.
“Tyler?” she asked.
Nobody answered.
No one was there.
Lila got up and headed for her kitchen, ready to make herself something to eat. Without warning or sound, somebody pulled on her leg, knocking her down. She screamed, panic quickly filling her, and attempted to get out of the person’s grip. When she tilted her head to look at her assailant, she saw no one there, and the hold on her leg was released.
Lila screamed again, then ran upstairs to her room, locking it behind her.
“W-What..” she muttered, pacing back and forth. “What was that? Just in my head. It must’ve been in my head.”
Then she looked down, and saw bruises in the shape of fingers around her ankle, and she passed out, both from shock and tiredness.
She was woken up by the sound of her doorbell ringing. Not remembered what had happened, Lila went to answer it.
It was her mother, and she looked concerned.
“Oh, Delilah,” the woman started, trying to push inside. Lila stopped her. “You don’t look well, dear. Have you been getting enough sleep?”
“What do you want, mother?” Lila snapped.
The woman looked surprised. “I’m just making sure you’re ok. It’s tough, what you’re going through.” She reached into her purse, and pulled out a flier. “You should give this a go,” she said, thrusting it into Lila’s hand. “It’s a group of people who are going through the same thing as you. I really think it might be good for you.” The woman leaned forward, then sniffed. “Oh, Lila. You have to remember to take care of yourself.”
Lila slammed the door shut, then let the flier fall to the ground.
The next few days were a blur for her. She wasn’t getting enough sleep, and was hardly eating. She no longer had the energy to scream and throw things, and instead just sat there, feeling numb.
The shadow man kept returning, at first staring at her from far away, with Lila staring right back at him. he never moved when she was looking at him, so she forced herself not to blink at times. Every day, he would be closer, until he finally attacked her again.
She’d been forcing herself to eat the minimal amount of food required to stay alive, and was in the kitchen when it happened. Without warning, something invisible pulled on her hair, then dragged her toward the kitchen door, with Lila kicking and screaming, her face white with fear. Once she was down, something began to pull on both her legs, dragging her through the hallway. Lila scratched at the floor in an attempt to stop herself, breaking off a fingernail in the process, and damaging her fingers. Once the grip was gone, she ran to the corner of the room, shaking, sweating, crying and dry heaving.
The shadow man was standing in front of her, grinning.
She could make out his face at that point, and he looked exactly like James.
"“What do you want from me?” Lila asked, heart beating ridiculously fast.
James merely grinned again.
“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!?” Lila then screamed, lunging at him. He disappeared just before she could hit him, and reappeared on her couch, crouching.
“Never be gone,” he said with his raspy voice. “Never be gone.”
“Go away!” Lila yelled, struggling to get up. The sole armchair of the room slid toward her and slammed into her side, knocking her back down.
“Never be gone!” James cheered happily, the house beginning to shake. A painting fell off one of the walls, and the windows started to crack. “Never gonna be gone!”
Tired of the grin, and the shadows, and her pain, Delilah Sanderson dragged herself up once more, then looked James straight in the eye. “What do you want with me!?”
“Never gonna be gone!” James screamed, shadows swirling around him, making him more visible.
“Get out of here!”
“Never gonna be gone!” He was practically jumping up and down, resembling a happy child.
“You are dead!” Lila then yelled, and the grin disappeared from the man’s face. “You are dead! You are gone! You don’t belong here!” The shadows started falling back into place.
“I’ll never leave!” James snarled, jumping on top of Lila. He pinned her to the ground, then put his hands around her neck and started squeezing.
“Y-You’re dead,” she whispered, and his grin weakened. “You’re nothing. You’re weak.” Lila grabbed his arms, then started pulling them away. “James wasn’t weak.” The shadow man began to grow pale. “He wasn’t like you. You are nothing.” She pushed forward, and the man fell off of her, letting her get back up. “You have no power over me.”
“Never gonna leave,” the man whispered, slowly losing color. “Never gonna be gone!”
“Maybe,” Lila replied, taking a step forward, “but what can you do to me?”
He lunged at her again, but she knocked him back down with ease.
He did not try again, and retreated to the other side of the damaged living room. “Never gonna leave.”
Lile went to her front door, through which she hadn’t stepped in a while, then knelt down, and picked up the flier. Taking a deep breath, she left her house.
It took her a few days to fully recover. She hid the damage on her body as well as she could. It took a few weeks for James’ tombstone to be placed upon his body. It read, “Here lies James Dawson. May his memory be eternal.”
Lila managed to slowly put herself back together, using some of hers and James’ savings to fix the house. Once it was taken care of, she grabbed her phone and called her mom.
“Yes, sweetie?” the woman answered.
“I was thinking we could have a movie night,” Lila said. “Just you and me.”
Her mother paused for a moment, clearly stunned.
“Mom?”
“Y-Yes, I’m here!” the woman gasped. “Sure, Lila. I’d love that.”
She hung up, then looked at the corner of the room.
The shadow man was there, glaring at her angrily.
She simply put her coat on, ready to go out. “I know you’ll always be there,” she said, not looking at him. “You can’t hurt me anymore, though, can you?”
She was right.
For the rest of her days, the shadow kept following her. Wherever she went, the man with the face of James followed. Most of the time, he would stay far away, but on rare occasions, when Lila would get sad or sentimental, he’d come closer. He never attacked her again, however, and he never could again.
Still, he was always there, and Lila knew one simple fact.
He would never leave.
