@ghostinhumanshape
he had been floating in and out of every room all night, translucent among the others throwing their heads back in laughter. he remained hushed, focused on anything other than their friends gathered in the downstairs of his parents’ mansion. just a distraction. her eyes were trained on him, every move he made beckoning her closer and closer. still, she could never get close enough - he would disappear within the minute, quietly and undisturbed. jessica wondered if anybody else noticed his absence.
she watched him turn the corner and slowly creep up the stairs, a ghost. her fingers gripped the can of beer she held in her hand tighter as she thought about what he needed the distraction from. it was their fault. everybody’s fault but his, yet he was the only one still suffering. the group of friends had moved on from the.. incident, the names of the washington sisters never passed between them. her stomach turned, guilt ebbing like waves through her body. she would never admit to the guilt, though. not yet. hannah should’ve known how to take a joke and… and beth shouldn’t have followed her out into the cold like that. at least, that’s what she and everybody else told themselves. her thoughts were interrupted by a gentle hand on her shoulder and concerned brown eyes looking into her own. “jess, are you okay? you seem kinda out of it.” michael leaned down closer to her face. “if you need to get away from all this, we definitely can.. there’s a guest room upstairs, i know josh wouldn’t mind.” he flashed her a brief smile. how flattering. “as much as i would love to,” she answered, covering his hand with her own, “i actually have to go to the little girl’s room. if you don’t mind..” she pushed past him and vanished up the stairs, turning the corners of long hallways until she was face to face with his bedroom door. josh. she raised a fist to knock. did he even want her company? he hadn’t spoken a word to her all night, for the few minutes he had stuck around. she huffed as annoyance started to creep up on her. what was his deal anyway? a stupid question. she knew, but.. she huffed again, a groan escaping from her lips this time . what was wrong with her? why so concerned for joshua washington? jessica lowered her hand to open his door and peeked in, her voice barely above a whisper. “joshy.. josh.. can i come in, pretty please?”









