Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWNThir13en Ghosts, Dark Castle Entertainment does.

"Blah" - Ghosts Talking.

"Blah" – Living Talking.

Legame Eterno

Chapter Twelve

-

When you die, they say it's supposed to be the end. Your life story comes to a close once that last breath is taken, no matter the situation. But those people are wrong. So completely and utterly wrong. It's just the beginning of a new after life. One where rules don't apply, limitations are strictly enforces, and you do what you have to do.

Watching is all I seem to be able to do. I think he may have brought me here just to torture me, but he has yet to take advantage of the situation. By 'here', I mean a small playground with a handle full of children running around, and by 'he'... I mean Royce Clayton.

For the past two years, I've managed to figure things out on my own. What my limitations as a ghost were, how to control my focus onto solid objects in order to move them around, and ignoring the painful truth. Then, two days ago, he shows up, out of nowhere, and forces me to come with him. The entire trip here was spent in silence.

I glance behind me and notice he's still leaning against his car, his attention everywhere else but on me. Annoyed, I look away and stare at the children, some play with the swing sets, while others run around playing tag. There's that little pain in my chest, I was beginning to wonder if it would make an appearance. Hell and I had done such a good job at ignoring it before.

A new weight is placed on the bench beside me, the smell of cigarette makes it easy for me to figure out who it is. "Which one is he?"

I snap my head towards him, "What?"

He doesn't repeat the question, but it does take me a moment to put two and two together. I ignore his ridicules question and glare with pure hatred, "Is that why you dragged me here? You son of a bi-"

"Clayton, I told you to share with Clare."

No. I look away from him and quickly search for the woman I knew owned the voice. I half hoped it was just my imagination playing tricks on me, but the second my eyes fell on a blond haired, blue eyed little girl dressed in pink...my heart sank. It was Bella daughter, Clare. A foot away from the teary eyed little girl stood a boy about the same age as she.

I struggle to hold my emotions in check. Royce goes to stand, but I grab his arm before he can fully stand. "No. W-what are you doing." He doesn't respond and he doesn't make any movements to remove my grasp. "Don't hurt him. Please."

* * *

"I'm not a bad of a monster as you think I am." Royce replies, returning to a comfortable position on the bench. He hears a soft sigh of relief leave her lips before her grip loosens, but her hand remains on him.

Annie turns her attention back to her son, catching him frowning at Bella's daughter as he hands over a sucker in his grasp. It brings a small smile to her face, but it disappears just as quickly as it appeared. "Why did you bring me here...Royce?"

Her gaze returns to the dead teen. He shrugs his shoulders, "Redemption."

"What?"

Royce looks away, briefly, as he internally debating whether or not to fully explain himself to her. Deciding against it, Royce lights a new cigarette and shrugs his shoulders once again.

She glares and tries to grab the nicotine stick from his mouth, but Royce tilts his head away and grabs her wrist. "That isn't an answer, Clayton. What the hell are you talking about? If you lay one finger on my son."

His grip tightens, "Is that the only way you see me as? Willing to do anything for a cheap thrill?"

"I-" Annie would have jumped away in surprise where it not for the fact Royce's death grip kept her pinned. Tugging at the hand, she frowns at the teen, "What do you expect Royce? I mean, I saw you kill someone! You would have killed me too if it weren't for my team. All the newspaper clippings I had to spend looking at. It'll never be wiped clean. It's just your nature to want to hu-"

"No!" He pulls her closer, his free hand forcing her face to stay focused on his, and glares down. "You haven't learned anything, have ya, Doll? It ain't all about the bad things, besides you gotta do what you gotta do. Ya dig?"

Annie stares. The brief image of a similar conversation between the two, long before the ghost hunting, suddenly refreshes her memory. She shakes her head, "No, Royce, I don't dig. You didn't have to! I haven't and look at me, I'm perfectly fine."

He smirks, "It'll eat away at you."

She flinches away, the look in his eyes scaring her to the core, and begins to struggle out of his grasp. His hold on her tightens and she starts to panic. Against her will, a whimper escapes her lips and she pushes against his chest. "Royce!"

Suddenly, his grip is gone and she's free from her dangerous situation.

Struggling to calm her nerves, she carefully eyes Royce and mentally encloses herself. This Royce and the Royce she came to fall for as a teenager were not the same. She herself wasn't the same as her teenage counterpart, but that fact didn't help her cement her attitude towards the dead boy.

The dark look in his eyes had been replaced with a confused one, his head cocks to the side as he pulls the cancer stick from his lips. His mouth opens, but Annie holds up her hand to stop him. "Just one questions, with a straight answer, please and I'll stop asking." She pauses and notices Royce nods. "...Honestly, why did you bring me to my son?"

She sees him beginning to shrug, but instead he pulls himself into a better posture before answering. "Thought I'd do something nice for you, baby. Proves I'm not as bad as you have me pegged for."

So, he wasn't a complete heartless bastard. Annie sighs, running a hand through her hair, and takes her seat next to Royce again. Conflicting emotions battle deeply, but she manages to keep a stoic look. "Royce, my opinion of you won't just flip with in a minute..." she side glances toward Royce and notices a frown on his face. "Thank you, though. Thank you very much for this."

He grunts and they two remain in silence.

Annie looks away from the teen and watches the two children playing together a few feet from a woman. Clayton and Clare, each hold their own plastic shovel with an orange bucket lays a few inches from them, giggle towards each other as they continue their childish game.

"You know, I find it strange that we seem to bump into each other a lot. It can't just be coincidence." she mumbles.

He snorts, "Fate's got a twisted sense of humor."

"We are eternally bound." She laughs to herself, 'Like a married couple.'

- - -

A/N: There ya go ladies and gents! The End. A little 'Ha Ha' moment with the last line, Legame Eterno means Eternal Bond in Italian. Good or Bad ending? I'm already getting ideas on how I could keep this going, but it would probably just be random stories of Royce and Annie traveling.

The line: He smirks, "It'll eat away at you." Gave me a burst of ideas on how Annie struggles with the ghost world and so forth. Meh, guess time will tell.