Chapter 2

Carina's POV

Everything was quiet, I couldn't feel the sharp pain in my chest nor hear the ringing in my ears like they just disappeared, in fact I couldn't feel anything anymore, I couldn't feel the tear in my abdomen, I couldn't feel my aching muscles, I couldn't feel the fatigue that overwhelmed me mere seconds ago, I couldn't feel the cold Brooklyn air as the warmth left my body, I couldn't even feel my hands.

My body was weightless like I was floating in a vast sea of emptiness. Were my eyes even open?, I try to reach out in front me grasping at air hoping I would feel something, anything. I tried to speak but no words came out. I reached for my face but felt nothing. Was I nothing?

Am I dead? Is this heaven? Or did I go down below Instead? I wouldn't say I was a good person but I definitely wasn't bad enough to earn that.

A warm red light glows in the distance, a dim red which kept glowing brighter and brighter till it was blinding white carving out the same symbol of that same 10 point star, I try to move towards it, reach for it, grab it, only to feel a tether wrap itself around my body squeezing tightly at my chest, then another shot out of the nothingness wrapping itself round my throat, another on my legs, both arms, I could feel again, I felt pain, sooner than the scream could leave my mouth with one cruel jerk I was torn away from that bright light

My eyes flew open. I was back, back in the office, standing at the doorway staring at a scene straight from a badly written detective movie, I might've made it to heaven after all

"I SWEAR I DIDN'T DO IT, I SWEAR!!!"

"TELL IT TO THE JUDGE!!!"

"I SWEAR!!!...." right in front of me was Mario in his office which was covered in police tape surrounded by a squad of policemen all circled around a small pool of dark blood

"Mario Velazquez, you are under arrest for the suspected murder of Carina Williams, you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law, you have the right to an attorney..."

"...I didn't do it I SWEAR!!, I wasn't even here!!" As the female police officer read him his rights one of the male officers grabbed Mario by his wrists forcing him to the ground, Mario was being uncooperative and was trying to force himself out of the officer's grip which only made him tighten it more as he slapped the cuffs around his wrist, even in the middle of his protest the female officer never broke her speech till she finished reciting it

"...I told you I wasn't even here!!" the male officer grabs Mario by his collar, forcing him to his feet shoving him towards the door all the while Mario screamed how he left early that night

"Can you prove that you weren't here last night?" the female officer asked crossing her arms over her chest, the male that had him bound halted them both turning Mario to face her, her dark eyebrows furrowed with one raised up questioning him, her plump lips turned up in a sneer though her words gave him room to prove his innocence her eyes said she wouldn't believe him even if he tried

Shocked by the sudden chance to plead his case, Mario began tripping over his words, rambling about how he went to a strip club down in Mane

"Can these security cameras prove you weren't here?" she asked him pointing at the cameras in his office. Mario's face went white knowing damn well they couldn't

"No, they aren't working, they broke down last week...." lies, they've been broken for 4 years "....but I've been meaning to fix them, I just never got the chanc.."

"What about the strip club in Mane? can the cameras there prove you were there all night?"

His mouth fell open, his eyes staring at her dumbfounded giving her all the information she needed making her eyes roll at his stupidity

"...they don't do cameras but if you call Cookie, she's one of the dancer she can tell you...."

"Tell it to the judge" the Officer cut off his rambling signaling the others to take him away all the while he screamed in protest how he was innocent

As they dragged his hysterical body through the door they passed a familiar face "We'll take it from here" the female officer placed her hand on Donny's shoulder who kept his head down, his entire body too stiff from shock that all he could manage was a solemn nod

They all clear the room with Donny being the last person to leave as he lingered by the door staring at the pool of blood at my feet, his face an equal mix of fear, distress and sadness, his body leaned against the door for support and an array of questions ran through my mind

What was going on here? Why did that officer arrest Mario for murdering me when I was right here?!! Who's blood was on the floor?!! and WHY were they all ignoring me?!!

Donny heaved a heavy sigh, his chest rising and falling as he pushed himself off the door gripping the knob as he walked out, desperate I ran after him because I needed answers

"Donny wait!!!..." I screamed, reaching forward making a grab for him frantically trying to get his attention, the moment I was within reaching distance I place my hand on his shoulder and watched in horror as my hand passed right through him

"What?!!" I stare in disbelief at my pale transparent palms, putting my hands up in front of my face I could see right through them, not just my hands, I could see through all of me, I turn my head to the side towards the mirror beside the door taking small steps, one foot in front of the other approaching the mirror cautiously out of fear of what it would tell me

I close my eyes counting to ten hoping when I open my eyes this would all be over, that this was just a bad dream and by the time I open my eyes I would be back in my dingy little studio apartment staring up at my moldy ceiling from my single bed angry that my bonnet came off in the middle of the night, when I reach ten I opened my eyes

I wasn't sure if I still had a heart but it sank at the image in the mirror, there was nothing, no image, no refection, nothing, I was standing right in front of the mirror but even the mirror refused to acknowledge me

"Ohkay ROUND IT UP BOYS!!" I hear the voice of the female officer call from the front of the Diner my legs sprint as fast as I could out of the office into the Kitchen, the red double doors come into view raising my hand ready to push the doors open but my entire body fell forward phasing through it sending me stumbling, managing to catch myself last minute I raise my head to see the scene my Diner had been reduced to

More officers had arrived, police officers, forensic scientists, people in hazmat suits and the scariest of all, people with button up suits and brief cases

I run to the door in time to catch the male officer stuffing Mario in the back seat still screaming at the top of his voice,

"I'M INNOCENT I SWEAR!!!"

"Can you repeat what you said to me?" the female officer from before, now joined with more people, asked Donny to repeat himself in front of the small group of people which were surrounding them, my biggest fears all coming to life at the same time as a familiar face appeared in the crowd

"Yes please, Repeat yourself" said the one man I feared, Roland Clayton, the attorney in charge of our district, he has had his eyes on our Diner ever since he had a run in with Mario at a Local bar, safe to say he despises Mario and has done everything he could to shut us down

"Well uhh,.... I used to work for Mario but I quit yesterday..."

"...Why?" he was cut off by Roland, who looked more interested about his reasons for quitting than whatever was actually happening

".... Well, the pay was pretty crappy, the facilities aren't all that great and I could find better conditions else where..." Donny tried to answer but Roland wasn't satisfied with anything he was saying so he leaned forward placing a gentle hand on his shoulder

"...is that all? Are you sure that's the only reason?...", I knew what Roland was asking for and so did Donny "....don't worry, you're safe here" Roland continued his coercion, his thick Brooklyn accent rolling off his tongue, Donny caved

"He was very...uhhhh.very.....physical, he would grab me, say some nasty stuff, he would cat call me, I took most of it and could easily brush it off, nothing new but the nail in the coffin was when he started sending me pictures...." a small satisfied smile curled its way to Roland's lips, he got what he wanted, a reason to shut us down

"....why didn't you report him?" Roland asked

"... Because Cari..."

"...We are getting off topic...." the female officer cut into their conversation staring at Roland disapprovingly standing between him and Donny, she turned to Donny and in a softer voice she said "...We need your statement, you could either tell us here or we could go back to the station, what's it going to be?" she asked him gently placing her hand on his shoulder

Donny's hands that he balled up in front of him loosened dropping them to his side, Donny was a good kid, he turned 18 recently and had been working in Diners ever since he was 9, we understood each other, we both were born into circumstances that forced our hands, the only difference between us was unlike me Donny had this light inside him, kindness, compassion, empathy, that light was probably why he stayed for as long as he did, he did it for me and look where that got him

"I'll give it here...", he told her his voice sounding a little clearer, motivated by her kind words or maybe out of fear that he'd have to spend another second with Mario, he cleared his throat and started, the woman beside the officers pulled out her pen and note pad to take his statement "....I quit yesterday because I couldn't stand Mario, I didn't report him because Carina begged me to..."

"Why?" the question came from the woman with the note pad

"... because she didn't want to lose the diner, this diner means everything to her and she was scared that she would lose it if Mario got involved in a lawsuit...."

"Why were you here today?" she continued questioning him

"I came to collect my last paycheck, I knocked on the front door at 10 in the morning but no one answered, luckily I still had my employee key so I unlocked the door and walked right in, I kept calling out to Carina because it was unlike her to be this late to work still no answer, I called her phone it was out of service so I walked into the Kitchen and looked around, it seemed empty so I decided to check the manger's office....." he closed his eyes as if forcing away whatever image was in his mind, he took a deep breath trying to swallow the large lump which had formed in his throat

"Take your time" the kind officer urged him softly

Donny opened his eyes with renewed determination and continued, ".... when I opened the door that's when I saw it, the pool of blood and Carina's bloody ID at the exit to the alleyway....."

"No body?" Roland asked the burning question

Where was my body? How did they know the blood was mine?!

"... yes,..." the answer came from the female officer "....I can fill you in from here, he called 911 and reported possible homicide, 911 dispatched us and forensics, we sealed off the area and got a blood sample the sample was taken to the lab and ran through the system, it came back a perfect match with Miss Carina Williams, the last person to see her was Mr Velazquez over there...." she nodded her head at Mario who was thrashing around in the cop car "...making him the main suspect" I look up at the clock above the door which read 4 pm, a full 16 hours since I passed out

"What was the relationship between Mr Velazquez and Miss Williams?" the Lady with the note pad asked pushing a strand of blonde hair out of her face securing it into her high bun wrinkling her nose lightly which had gotten bright pink, the contrast between her pink nose and her pale skin made her look like a teddy bear

"Awful,.. they hated each other, she always tried her best to keep everything afloat while he was nothing but dead weight. This Diner belonged to her family and he took it from her, she's been fighting for it ever since..."

"Poor thing..." the Lady looked up from her notepad to express her sympathy. Why was she sympathizing with me? I don't need her pity

"....so we have a motive?" the female officer asked to which the lady nodded her head

"..we will proceed with the trial immediately.."

"...ummm, excuse me..." Donny asked cutting into the two women nervously twiddling his thumbs

"Yes?" the officer asked, Donny fidgeted but still asked

"..Is Carina going to be ohkay?" the entire group went silent throwing nervous glances at each other all silently avoiding the question till the Female officer spoke standing next to Donny she places both hands on his shoulder looking him in the eye she gives him a warm smile

"Don't worry, we'll find your friend..." she says slapping his shoulders "....so cheer up!!" she turns toward the squad car ".... we've got all we need, let's move out!!" she commands and all the officers on ground began loading into cars save for the forensic scientists who were still swabbing the place for evidence

What did she mean by 'We'll find your friend'?, I'm right here!! why can't they see that I was right here?!!

Soon all the cars begin pulling out of the drive way zooming down the road giving space for more trucks to park, large men in overalls pour out of those trucks moving into the diner and began picking up everything that wasn't nailed to the ground!!

What are they doing?!!!

"Stop!!! what are you doing???? STOP!!!" I scream after the men who were packing up everything in the diner hauling it into the trucks but every man I grabbed slipped right through my fingers as they poured whatever was left of my childhood into brown cardboard boxes and hauled them off

"I'll have all of these sent to the precinct, anything that won't be used as evidence will he auctioned off, as from today Will's Diner has officially been repossessed under grounds of felony and breach of employee safety..."

As I heard the words leave Roland's mouth it just further drove home the fact that everything I had worked for, everything I sacrificed was all for nothing!, I couldn't protect the diner

"Wait, repossessed?!, What about Carina?" Donny asked looking so guilty

Roland rolled his eyes at the question but answered none the less "She has the right to stake claim on the Diner seeing how she is a legal shareholder, she can demand to have it returned and we gladly will, the moment she shows up ALIVE" he dragged out the last word with a sinister smile as if he knew a sick joke that no one else did, turning away leaving Donny frozen in his spot

Alive?

Was I Alive?

of course not

I wasn't Alive, no wonder no one could see me, I no longer existed, I was no longer Alive

The realization was staggering, whatever power was holding my body up gave way and I came crumbling to the floor, there I remained as the large group of men packed up anything and everything walking right through me as they carried the items to the truck, every man that walked through me only drove home the fact that I died!

I died, and there was nothing I could do about it

I sat there as the last of the items were carried into the last truck, unsure what I should do, how I should feel, whether to cry that my life ended, scream at the top of my lungs how everything was unfair or whether to laugh at the irony of it all

My life was nothing to cry for, no friends, no family, no one to mourn my passing, I gave everything I had to this Diner, even gave up college to work in it Full-time after I graduated highschool, in highschool I never joined any clubs, never made friends, my life was a clear route from Mario's house, to school, to the Diner, after I graduated highschool I moved out of Mario's immediately because I couldn't stand living with him and his God awful family, nothing about this pitiful life of mine was worth crying for

And if I screamed out loud and threw a tantrum what would that change? I couldn't even break anything not because I was a ghost who couldn't touch anything but because the Diner was completely empty, not a plastic spoon in sight, would I even hear myself if I screamed?

Nothing about this situation was funny, but the irony felt like the punchline to a bad joke

I laid back on the floor staring up at the ceiling throwing my hand over my face, which was pointless because I could see right through it, what was I supposed to do? what do you do when you've lost everything?

I hear the entrance door push open followed by the clacking of heels but made no effort to get up. There was no reason to, they couldn't see me anyway

The clacking of heels stops right above me as a figure loomed over my head. How uncomfortable, taking my hand away I come face to face with a pair of green eyes and a warm smile

"Hello"