A Most Gracious Welcome (Closed for Jadeknight)

[Poprockz]

Suzanne let out a sigh as she pulled up to the house, her hands still clutched around the steering wheel of the uhaul truck. It had been about four days of driving, and she had to say that she’d be happy if she never had to do such a thing again. Four days of staring blankly ahead, trying not to fall asleep while her fingers got stiffer by the hour. Sure, the hotels had been okay, but it was never a very restful stay when she arrived late and got up early to do it all over again.

To say that she was relieved to arrive was an understatement if there ever was one, her sandy brown eyes gratefully dragging across the large house. Though it was clearly an older house, it seemed as though the owner had made sure that the outside upkeep was pristine. That previous owner had been her great grandmother.

It was a funny thing, the circumstances by which Suzanne had ended up with this house. Apparently, her grandmother had run off with a man her great grandmother hadn’t approved of, and thus had been disowned. However, when she and her husband had died in a car crash, their baby girl had been taken in by the great grandmother- this was Suzanne’s mom. Her mom had gone on to be very successful, earning a decent income for herself and buying a more modern home. It wasn’t that her relationship between the two women had been sour, but Suzanne’s mother didn’t really want the house. Great-grandmother stubbornly refused to sell it though, and was adamant that only their family should keep the house. That had been stipulated in her Will, as well as the fact that she had decided that Suzanne would inherit it. Her mom had no problem with this, so Suzanne was all set to move in. It had been both a shame and fortuitous timing that her great grandmother’s passing would happen just before she turned 21. That had been the age her mom had warned that she’d be relatively on her own as far as housing and finances went (though she knew her mom would help if need be).

So there she was, about to go in and look around this older home.

The woman got out of the truck and stretched her curvy body, noting that she unfortunately didn’t smell all that great. The people set to help her unload had let her know that they were delayed by two days, so she just grabbed her travel suitcase and bag before walking up and unlocking the door.

She let out a little breath of surprise. She had expected for the house to be old and decrepit, but it was actually quite nice. It was as though the old style had been kept, while the quality of the materials had been meticulously cared for and updated at times. It didn’t have that old dust smell, nor did it look as though it needed any repairs. When she popped into the bathroom, she found it to be quaint, but still modern in a sense. It looked as though one of the tubs had been changed into a jacuzzi.

Though she had had her initial reservations, she had to admit this place was awesome! And fully paid off too! All she needed to pay were taxes, which were managed by a trust that had been left. It would last for another twenty years at least, so she could focus on work or maybe even college.

Her skin was an olive tone, her long, luscious brown hair brought up into a higher ponytail. At that moment, she was wearing grey sweatpants and a pink tube top, her pink belly-button ring visible as she walked through the halls.

She shivered, rubbing the back of her neck for a moment before thinking to herself that her grandmother must have liked it cold, as the house seemed a bit chilly. Whatever. She could adjust the AC tomorrow after she bathed and had a good rest. The woman started to head in the direction of the master bedroom, dragging her suitcase behind her.

 

[JadeKnight]

The beautiful two story Victorian-style house had been a wedding present for Suzanne's great grandmother and husband from their closet family friend. His name had been Jacob Murray and very close to the couple. He was well off in his real estate business for the time, giving him plenty of cash to spare for the wedding present. However, he was also part of a secret that Suzanne's great grandmother had taken to their graves, what really happened to him.

They had decided to celebrate Jacob's thirty-fifth birthday in a private party at the house, nothing too rowdy for the friends. Knowing nothing bad was going to happen and with Suzanne's great grandfather's encouragement, she gave Jacob a lap dance and strip show. Just as the strip show was getting to the very end, Jacob ended up swallowing a large piece of cake down the wrong pipe. Despite their best efforts, they were unable to save Jacob. Though it was nothing bad, the couple never divulged the true nature of things except to police. It was stated that Jacob choked to death, but it had been in his own home since the circumstances were scandalous at the time.

Suzanne's great-grandfather died shortly before Suzanne was born, a heart attack due to fright. The fright had been caused to seeing the ghost of his best friend standing in the middle of his kitchen. Jacob's spirit had become attached to the house at his death, his secret love for Suzanne's great grandmother keeping him there. It had taken him years to master the feat, as well as full interaction with his surroundings. He had learned to possess early on, feeling everything his host had. He used her great grandfather the most, especially during the times the couple made love. He never tried to take control, just merely enjoying the rides. When the couple wasn't around, Jacob had mastered making himself solid enough to pick up objects and move them around.

Shortly after her great grandfather death, Jacob made himself known to her great grandmother. It took a bit of convincing, but the two was soon in a unnatural relationship together until Suzanne's great grandmother died. Jacob could have passed on, but he decided to stay to see who the next owner would be of his beautiful house.

When Suzanne started moving in, Jacob had been lounging around in the attic. Hearing the sounds of footsteps and objects moving around, the ghost moved downstairs. He stopped short at the bottom of the stairs upon seeing Suzanne. If he didn't know better, he was almost certain that his lover had come back from the dead. She wasn't an exact match, but he could see the resemblance in many ways. He moved to follow away her, examining her more closely.

"So beautiful."

Though he spoke aloud, his voice couldn't be heard by Suzanne. It wouldn't be right to scare her off just yet. He reached out to touch her, his fingers passing harmlessly over the back of her neck. He gave a smile as she began to move away from him towards the master bedroom with her suitcase. Waiting a moment, he moved after her to see what she was going to do next. He wanted to interact with her, but doing so too soon would probably scare her off.

 

[Poprockz]

She opened the master bedroom, dragging her suitcase behind her before parking it near the door. Her grandmother’s suite was sure nice. The bed was a four-poster California king, a sheer white canopy draped around it. There were two end tables, a vintage loveseat with an accent chair, as well as an ottoman, a desk, and various Knick knacks/ pictures.

Like the rest of the house, it was old, but taken care of with tremendous love and care. On a shelf, there was a picture of her grandmother with her husband, both of them smiling and holding up a plate of macaroons. She had loved baking, especially making new things.

Walking over to it, she picked it up and looked at it sadly. She found herself sitting on the bed, the happy face of her great grandmother staring back at her. Suzanne had been incredibly lucky to know her, especially with how far away they lived.

She had never met her great grandfather due to his untimely passing, but she had often chatted with her great grandmother on the phone or saw her around holidays.
All of a sudden she found that she had a lump in her throat, the young woman setting the photo face down on the side table before wiping the tears from her eyes. Feelings exacerbated by tiredness. It had been a long day, and she could use a way to unwind and relax a bit, lest she continue to wallow.

Upon going into the bathroom, she saw a tub/shower set-up with jets, a two-sink vanity, and a whole lot of mirror. She wiped a bit of dirt off her face before sighing and plugging the tub, pleased to find hot, clean water come out of those pipes once she turned on the faucet. A bath sounded nice, especially after driving for hours and hours. The woman started to undress, pulling off her tube top and letting her large breasts jiggle back down into place. Those grey sweats were slid down her legs along with her underwear, Suzanne now completely naked in all her curvy glory.

 

[JadeKnight]

Jacob took a moment to look over her shoulder as she looked at the photo of her grandparents. He felt a little bit of a tug of missing the couple as well, for a variety of reasons. He didn't know Suzanne was their granddaughter, but noticed she had some sort of connection to them. The formation and wiping away of tears was evident enough. Intrigued, he floated after the young woman.

He stayed within the doorway as she undressed, watching her intently. It had been awhile since he had been around such young beauty, which he foundt himself wanting. He moved closer towards her, moving around her to take in her supple and curvaceous form. He did speak aloud, though she wouldn't have been able to hear him yet since he chose not to have any audible sound. It was mostly just to amuse himself.

"Such a lovely young woman. I hope you stay around longer and become friends, possibly lovers."

He reached out to touch her, dragging his fingertips lightly over her skin. His touch wouldn't feel like true fingers, but more along the lines of a passing breeze against her bare skin. He soon moved away from her to remain next to the mirror to watch her bathe. Since the bathroom would become steamed up from her hot bath, he decided to go ahead and use the mirror for his chalkboard. The words, Hello Please don't be afraid, would appear once the mirror steamed up enough.

 

[Poprockz]

Another shiver, another waft of cold air upon her. She frowned and looked around, wondering if her great grandmother had maybe had some oversight when it came to outside drafts. There was a window in that bathroom after all, so maybe it was that or the vent itself. Whatever it was, that chilliness was all the more reason for her to get into the bath. Her curvy body sunk down into the steaming water, an appreciative groan coming from her. God that hot water felt good after a long time driving.

She merely lay in the water for several minutes with her eyes closed, soaking up the heat and easing her sore muscles. Soon though, she sighed and glanced around to see if there was any shampoo about. Her gaze was caught upon the mirror.

"Hello, please don't be afraid?" An eyebrow was raised before she made a derisive snort, "what a joke..." she muttered, shaking her head. Was someone playing a prank on her? Trying to make her think that the spirit of her great grandmother was lingering in that house, trying to make contact? That was a pretty sick joke in her opinion, cruel as well. She was going to have to talk to all the current cleaners and set them straight about it. Of course she believed in treating all employees with respect, but discipline was needed if they were going to be trying childish, tasteless jokes like this one.

 

[JadeKnight]

He sat upon the edge of the sink as he watched her enjoy herself in the bathe. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something about the young woman that was bothering him. Well, not exactly bothering him. It was more of a feeling that there was something very familiar about her. He tilted his head a little as he studied her features more closely. It finally dawned on him that she looked close to her grandmother, but he wasn't sure that she was related to his former lover and friend. Sometimes some people just looked close to other people.

Since he had been watching her intently, he was able to catch the moment she caught sight of the mirror and his message. He frowned at how she dismissed it without giving it a real chance. He smirked for a moment before wiping the mirror clean of the steam. He was able to do it so that the mirror was able to fog up completely once more. This time, he wrote another message to her.

"Well, that was just rude."

 

[Poprockz]

Not expecting for anything to change, she busied herself with shampoo, lathering and rinsing her hair before leaning back again. Sure, she could get out at this point, but the water was so nice that she wanted to linger a bit more.

Her wandering gaze returned once again to the mirror, but this time her expression became one of suspicion and unease. This was a pretty elaborate prank if it was one. It was possible that someone had replaced the mirror with a TV or did something weird to write new things, but the writing seemed to be responding to her. That meant that someone… likely a camera… was watching her bathe.

She suddenly didn’t feel much like bathing anymore.

Casting a wary look around, she was unable to see him nor any cameras that might have been placed. That didn’t mean they weren’t there though.

“Haha. Very funny…” she paused her voice not sounding quite as confident as she wanted it to. “You know installing cameras in someone’s bathroom is a crime, right?”

 

[JadeKnight]

After she mentioned about cameras, he gave a little chuckle to himself. He waited a few moments to give any sort of response to her. The mirror was wiped clean and refogged before he wrote on it once more. "No cameras."

Although he was a ghost attached to the house, he had used his power to possess things to go outside the house. He had learned to expand his powers as time went on, not liking to be confined to one place as other ghosts usually were. So he was quite caught up on the latest in technology, including what was one the internet and television.

He wasn't quite sure how Suzanne would react to him, but it would have to be explored sooner or later. Now was a good time to start as any. He slowly faded into existence sitting on the edge of the large countertop. He didn't consider himself super handsome, but he was just handsome enough.

"A camera wouldn't capture your true beauty."

 

[Poprockz]

The mirror was given an increasingly uneasy stare as it fogged up and more letters appeared. Sure they could say that there weren’t any cameras, but that didn’t mean it was true. Cameras were the most plausible explanation! How else could there be a two-way conversation between herself and someone who wasn’t in the room? Unless perhaps they had somehow tapped her bathroom and were only using her audio.

Still, whatever she thought was going on, she did not expect to see a man literally materialize out of thin air on her counter. He was sitting there comfortably as though he had been there this whole time. To say it shocked and disturbed her was an understatement, the woman instantly being sent into a panic.

“What the fuck?!” She yelped, her first instinct being to wildly thrash her arms and splash him. Not much attention was paid to whether or not he was actually affected by the water, as her next move was getting out of the tub. Unfortunately for her, the tub was slippery and in her haste to get out she slipped and smacked her head on the wall nearby. It made an audible “thunk!” sound, her eyelids fluttering before shutting. Though her head would certainly have a painful bump, there was no blood upon the wall.

It was then that she lost consciousness, having been knocked out from the impact. Her inanimate body started to slip downward toward the bath, and to a watery drowning if nothing was done to help her.

 

[JadeKnight]

He thought she might do something rash at seeing his appearance, but there really wasn't much to do in order to cushion the hit to her senses. So her whole panic was almost a given in reaction to seeing him.

He wasn't fazed by the splashing water, just about all of it just going through him to land on the sink and mirror. It did take him a couple of moments to really react to her actions as she managed to hit her head on the wall. He did give a little wince at the sound of the thunk before slipping from the sink and moving towards her.

He wasn't able to catch her yet, as he was still incorporeal. He knelt over the water, reaching towards the stopper. His hand sunk into the plastic stopper before taking hold of it. It glided up into the air before he tossed it away. Next her quickly turned towards her, slipping his arms beneath hers. Once his arms turned solid, he was able to lift her up from the water.

Not really caring that she was wet and naked, he moved her from the tub and onto the floor. He pulled down a large towel, wrapping it over her before lifting her up so he could wrap it around her. He then floated her over to the bed, laying her out before sitting on the edge to wait on her to wake up.

 

[Poprockz]

“Ngh…”

Suzanne stirred on the bed, slowly coming back into consciousness. The last thing she remembered was being in the bath.
She had been relaxing in there when… That’s right! There had been a strange man in there who materialized out of nowhere. He looked as though he was a game show host or something, the way he was dressed and the way his hair was smoothed down.

What had happened after that?

She was starting to be more aware of the pain in her head, the woman wincing before reaching back and gingerly touching her head. After another wince, she opened her eyes to see him sitting on the edge of the bed, simply watching her.

The sight of him made her freeze, the woman not knowing how to proceed. There was a strange man in her room, and she had no idea who he was or what he wanted.

“Who… are you?” She managed to whisper, a frightened edge to her voice.

 

[JadeKnight]

He almost gave a chuckle as she didn't even attempt to cover herself up move. After all, her towel had fallen partly open so he could view her bare pussy. He didn't make any mention of it, but just smiled to her.

"I am Jacob Murray. I used to be friends with the former occupants before I passed away. There really wasn't anywhere for me to go after I died, so I just hung around."

He decided that anything extra probably wasn't needed for this strange, but lovely young woman. He shifted from the edge of the bed to move up beside her. He reached over for a moment, nudging the towel closed for her.

"That was a nasty little bump, but it will go away in a day or so."

 

[Poprockz]

Jacob Murray… it rang a bell, though only faintly within her mind. She felt like she had heard her great grandmother mention someone by that name from time to time, but she hadn’t really retained any of that information. Her grandmother certainly hadn’t talked at length about him.

It was believable that he knew her, but what wasn’t as believable was that he was dead. That would mean that this man sitting in front of her with that genial smile was actually a ghost. He didn’t seem like a ghost, but then again she supposed that all she knew of ghosts were from Hollywood movies. Personally, she didn’t believe in them, so she was skeptical about his claim.

Her eyes were drawn to his movement, and she witnessed him preserving her modesty. The woman’s cheeks flushed- she hadn’t even known she was exposed! Come to think of it, she had been naked in the bath, so he had already seen everything. Still, it was gentlemanly of him to have helped her from the bath, wrapped her up, and laid her down.

“Sure…” she said, the fact that she was still trying to piece everything together was apparent on her face from the confused and wary look upon it. His efforts did make her a bit more amenable to talking further though.

“So… if you’re a ghost, which I’m not saying I believe, but if you were then how can you physically move things?”

 

[JadeKnight]

He gave a little chuckle at seeing the confusion on her face. He wasn't surprised by it, knowing this was probably all very new to her. He did smile when she asked about how he could interact with things.

"Haven't you seen any movies? It should be obvious."

He grinned for a moment before lifting his hand and waving it as if he was brush away the comment.

"Actually, it all comes down to being able to to control how I interact with the environment. I've had...oh at least eighty or so years to get things down pat."

He let himself become incorporeal, drifting down through the bed till he was gone. He soon reappeared next to the night stand. Reaching out, his hand disappeared into the bedside lamp before lifting up. It rose a couple of feet into the air, looking like it was apart of him. He disappeared once more, the lamp staying in the air. It soon floated back down to sit on the nightstand before he appeared sitting beside her.

"Just like that."

 

[Poprockz]

The fact that he was a ghost became pretty undeniable. A skeptic might have suggested that it was all a trick of the light or some such deception, but the lamp didn’t have anywhere for strings to be attached without being visible. Besides, it was all done so effortlessly and casually, as though he truly did have about 80 years of practice under his belt. So either he was a ghost, or she was on some pretty hard hallucinationatory drugs.

She still felt a bit at a loss. While she was more accepting of the situation, it was really hard to know what to do about it. Not to mention it opened the door to a lot of questions about her own reality and the afterlife.

“Why are you a ghost? I mean like…” she furrowed her brows for a moment as she tried to find the right words. “Do you have unfinished business, or did you originally chose to stay?”

If he had been here for 80 years, she wondered if her great grandparents had ever seen him around, or whether he was invisible at the time.

 

[JadeKnight]

He gave a little laugh at her question about him being a ghost. It seemed that the most obvious answer that he was a ghost was that he was dead. He smiled and shook his head.

"Being dead tends to make someone a ghost. "

He smiled and waved his hand for a moment as if to wave the answer away.

"If you are asking about seeing a white light showing up to guide my way, nah. One never showed up. I've seen those explanations being set on television, but those aren't the only reasons ghost are around. Any attachments I had, or you could say could be the reason for me being around in the first place, are gone now. I really don't have any unfinished business here either."

He lifted a finger, tapping it on his chin as he thought for a moment before nodding.

"I guess you could say I got stuck by my own will. I really haven't had any reason to need to move on. There is the whole thing about burning the dead body of a ghost will get rid of them, but that's just rubbish. My body was cremated a couple of weeks after I died, but still here. I'll just need to not make the mistake of eating cake while getting a lap dance next time."

 

[Poprockz]

She raised her eyebrow and pursed her lips when he came back with that clever line about him being dead. Of course they both knew that you had to be deceased to be a ghost, so he must have been trying to be a smart ass. While she didn’t appreciate the joke as much as he seemed to, she couldn’t fault him entirely for trying to be lighthearted about the whole affair of being undead.

If the situation wasn’t so bizarre, it would be fascinating. She too had thought that if there were ghosts, they would be tortured souls, angry or mournful about their life and death. And yet here he was, seeming rather chipper about it all. It seemed like he was amused if anything, unbothered buy the fact that he could be made to linger indefinitely.

“Huh,” she grunted, lost in thought for a moment before she looked up sharply. “Wait, what? Why in the world would you be eating a cake while getting a lap dance?”

 

[JadeKnight]

He gave another laugh seeing the confusion and surprise about how he had died. He knew of other more creative ways that he had seen people die through the television and internet. Her mother had been kind enough to show him how use use the internet a few years ago, but he hadn't had a chance to use it since she had died.

"I would have wondered if you were paying attention if you hadn't caught what I said."

He shifted on the bed to face her fully, crossing his legs indian style. Still not knowing it was her grandparents who she had inherited the place from, he continued onward. He did mourn them, but there was only so far mourning would take one. He had mourned other friends who had died since his own death.

"It was my thirty-fifth birthday that it happened. Rosa and George had decided to throw a private party for me at the time. Right after serving me a plate of cake, George encouraged Rosa to give me a lap dance as part of their presents. She happily agreed and decided to add in a bit of a strip tease. Well, things got a little bit more exciting and I inhaled a large mouthful of the strawberry cake by accident. Neither of them knew how to save me, and getting medical help back then wasn't exactly the fastest thing. I don't blame them for what happened though."

He leaned back on his elbows for a moment, glancing over at the portrait on the nightstand.

"Are you planning on staying here or getting rid of the place?"

 

[Poprockz]

'Rosa' and 'George' were familiar to her, the woman knowing those names to be the names of her great grandparents. He could have been lying, having found their names via numerous channels including the ownership of the house. However, the mention of strawberry cake made it seem more believable to her. It wasn't something that her great grandmother had explicitly said, but Suzanne had noticed over the hears that she had been very fond of that particular cake flavor.

Still, she wrinkled her nose at the mention of her own great grandmother giving this man a lap dance. The last thing she wanted to picture was her deceased family member dropping her ass on some guy's lap while her husband encouraged her. Just the thought of it made her uncomfortable, as though she was intruding on an intimate time in her life. The mention of him choking on the cake gave her pause though. It sounded like an unpleasant way to go, regardless of the lap dance. Having that sticky, glue-like cake seal up his throat or get stuck in his lungs would have been pretty traumatizing she assumed.

"Well, since she wanted it to stay in the family, it said in the will that I would be given the house under the stipulation that I can't sell it, so I was planning on living in it for a while at least." She shrugged, still unsure as to how she felt about everything. Regardless of the fact that he was a ghost, he was a strange person in her house and thus encroaching on her own private life. The fact that he could turn invisible, move objects around, and phase through things wasn't helping his case in her mind. The only things that kept her from dialing an exorcist at the moment was the fact that he had saved her from drowning and had thus far been friendly and polite.

"It didn't say anything about renting it out though. I could just rent it out for some extra cash or something since it's pretty big and would bring in some decent income." Her eyes slid to the portrait as well and her expression became a bit somber. "She was my great-grandmother you know."

 

[JadeKnight]

He was quiet for a few moments, trying to take her words in. He was a little confused about her wanting to rent the place, though he wasn't completely sure what that would entail. He did tilt his head a little as she told him that Rosa was her great grandmother. He did give a slight smile, showing a little pity as well.

"I thought there was something that seemed familiar about you. My condolences on the loss. She was a wonderful lady, as was George. A pity he died so young."

He moved from sitting on the bed to float over to the nightstand. He reached out and picked up the picture, staring at it for a few moments before gently putting it back down. He turned to her once more.

"Why can't you sell the place? And what do you mean by renting the place out?"

 

[Poprockz]

"Thank you..." she sighed, watching him as he gazed at the photo. It still felt a bit fresh, as though someone could still show up and inform her that her great grandmother was actually alive, like it was just some prank. It was hard to let it sink in: the fact that she wouldn't see her again.

"Well, in the will it says that if I attempt to sell the place, and will be seized by one of her lawyers until such time as I, or one of my siblings has a child or claims the house themselves. It's written very clearly that she wants it to stay in the family." Suzanne tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear and held onto her towel, scooting backwards so she could sit against the headboard of the bed. She made sure to keep the towel from slipping, not wanting to flash him. It could be said that it was nothing he hadn't seen before, but it was still awkward for her to expose herself to what felt like a total stranger.

"As for renting it... I mean, it's a beautiful place. I bet I could get several tenants who wanted to pay to live here. I'd still own the house, but other people would pay to be here too. I'm not sure if I would stay or move out at that point, but everything's still kind of up in the air."