What the Heart Knows by Shyla Colt Page A

it?”
    You forgot me because of her! The angry scrawl made him shake his head.
    “She had nothing to do with me moving on. I mourned you for two years. The woman I knew would never put the person she loved most through this . ” 
    The mirror shattered, and Oliver jumped back, stunned.
    “Hannah, you have to know I can’t let you take Juni’s body over. You had your time to live, this is hers.”
    The temperature dipped even lower and he tensed as he waited for her retaliation. An image of her flickered into being and he backed up until the sink behind him blocked his path.
    “Funny, you don’t look happy to see me.”
    “Why wait until now to show yourself?”
    “It takes a lot of power to become corporal , Oliver.” 
    She looked like a sick version of herself. Her face was a little pale, her hair limp, and her green eyes were colder than he could ever remember seeing them.
    “This is a chance for us to finally be together , Oli . D on’t you want that?” 
    Her face softened as she moved forward to cup his face.
    “We could he happy again. ”
    He closed his eyes against the si gh t she presented, pleading as she stared at him with wide , wounded green eyes.
    “It would be a lie. You wouldn’t be you. It’s obvious being a ghost has warped your way of thinking.”
    “No, the horror of living on the fringes has made me this way.”
    She released him and he opened his eyes.
    “With no one able to see me, I had a lot of time to think. You left me down there in that lake, but I still loved you. Letting you go was never an option. Then Juni came onto the scene with her big brown eyes, quirky personality, and my heart!  There was no way in hell I was going to let her have everything.”
    “You wanted your organs to go to people who needed them Hannah—”
    “Yes, my organs , not my whole life!”
    He flinched at the sound of the mirror cracking further.
    “It was so disgusting to watch you fawn all over yourself because Mary Sunshine showed you interest and a glass half full attitude.” 
    She scowled.
    “Pitiful.”
    “Was I supposed to pine for you for the rest of my life then?” he asked.
    “Yes!”
    His head began to throb, and he cried out as he clutched his skull.
    “If I can’t have you nobody else can, so you might want to rethink your decision to keep me from taking over your little girlfriend.”
    It grew silent and he glanced up to see her image f lash as warmth crept back into the bathroom.
    “Looks like my time is up . I’ll see you soon , husband.”
    Hannah flickered once more, and disappeared . Oliver slid down to the floor, drained. His body shook like a junkie’s in the midst o f withdrawal.  It was f itting seeing as how his bra in felt scrambled like an egg.  He knew he needed to call Juni , and he would. As soon as he peeled himself off the floor, and wrapped his head around the fact that the ghost of his dead wife was trying to take over his new girlfriend’s body.  Oh, and that his girlfriend happened to receive his wife’s heart in a transplant on the night that she’d died. One in a million odds had never made a man unluckier.
     
    One hour , and half a case of beer later , Juni was on her way over to his house . There was really no way to break it to her gently so he opted to go wi th the straightforward method .  He finished off the last of his beer, stood from the table and tossed the bottle into the trash when headlights shone through the front window. Time to finish destroying what ’ s left of the new life I’ve created.
    * ***
    Juni glanced up as the door opened and gave Oliver a tentative smile. His voice had sounded off on the phone.
    “Hey, you okay?”
    “No. I’m really not, ” he said
    He shook his head as he stepped back, and waved her inside.
    “We should have this talk in the kitchen. I need something harder than beer, and I think you should have a drink.”
    “Okay . ” 
    Juni arched an eyebrow as she followed him into the kitchen. She