Colby made sure the door was really closed. But would that even stop that crazy woman?

"What do you mean she's out?"

"I-I was on my way home... and I see her on the street. And she sees me. I didn't think she'd be back on her feet so quickly. And then she starts following me. I run and I run, but she eventually caught up, and I-" Taylor breathed heavily and had immense difficulty concentrating, but Colby massaged her back to help her calm down.

"It's okay, it's okay. I'm here. So, what happened then?" He was, of course, terrified of Harper. Especially now that she could obviously see him. But now it was more important to be there for Taylor. She still had social anxiety.

"I-I think I lost her somewhere on campus. I deliberately ran through the campus, I haven't been there in ages."

Colby hugged her even tighter. "You were really brave just now, Tay."

Taylor nestled against him and briefly closed her eyes to calm her breathing. "I was so scared. What if she finds us?"

Colby held her tightly, trying to conceal his own fear. "We won't let her get to us. We'll handle this. What can such a sick bitch do against both of us?"

"The question is rather, what can we do against her?"

"If you managed to shake her off, we have all the time in the world now. Don't worry."

Taylor took a deep breath and sat up slightly. Even if she wasn't sure if it was really true, she wanted to believe it this one time. "Okay. Thank you for being here."

"Always, Tay. Always." Colby gently kissed her forehead and then helped her to sit on the sofa. He wanted to carry her to the sofa, but Taylor declined. Strange. All the other girls usually loved it when he offered. Oh well. "I'll check again to make sure everything is locked up."

Taylor just stared into space. What could they do against Harper? She would never give up now that she had seen her god with her own eyes.

After a short while, Colby joined her and took her hand in his. "I think you should take another vacation. You can't go to work like this. Or at least let me come with you."

"No," she replied shortly.

Colby just didn't understand. What was wrong with her job? "Okay, then we'll have to think of something else."

Then he had an idea that he absolutely didn't like. But if it would help Taylor, would he really be willing to do it? He couldn't believe he was suggesting this now. "And what if I talk to her?"

"What do you mean?!"

"Well, I mean, I'm a ghost. I can just teleport to her apartment and wait for her there. That way, she won't find out where we live. And then I can have a heart-to-heart with her. This Colbian's got to listen to me, right?"

"And what exactly do you plan to say to her?"

He grinned. "No idea."

"No, not like this, not this time, Ghost Boy. If you really want to meet her, then we need to plan exactly how we're going to proceed. What you say, what you do, everything."

Okay, Taylor was right. Unfortunately.

When no one was home, Harper's apartment was almost even creepier. Sure, Colby could just flick on a few light switches, but where would be the element of surprise he had agreed on with Taylor?

He waited what felt like an eternity until Harper finally arrived. He didn't say anything yet, just let her come in first. Should he yell "Boo!"? Or just say something? What should he even say? Damn, he could have totally been badass sitting in a chair and then turning on the lights when she came home. He seemed to have missed that opportunity.

There she was. She obviously hadn't seen him. Could she even still see him? Or was that just because she was so close to death and the effect would be over now?

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Harper tossed her bag onto the coffee table. Then she noticed Colby, who was standing at the other end of the room. Her eyes widened in surprise, and for a moment, she seemed frozen.

"Boo, Bitch," he said triumphantly and casually, of course with a smirk.

Harper stared at him in disbelief and fear. "I-it wasn't a dream. Y-you were there. I-in the hospital." She fell to her knees. "Y-you're my everything, Colby Vance. B-but how are you here-"

Colby smiled faintly, although his thoughts were racing wildly. "Not important how I got in here. What's important is that I'm here."

Harper shook her head as if trying to collect herself. "This is impossible. You … you can't be here. Of course, I wished you were still alive, b-but you haven't aged a day according to the photos."

Colby stepped closer to her, until he was only a few steps away from her. "Oh, I'm here. And I have a message for you," he said menacingly. She was scared. Everything was going according to plan. His girl really was a little genius.

"A m-message?" she trembled.

Time for the next part of the plan he and Taylor had concocted. The sofa, the coffee table, and the books in Harper's bookcase began to levitate.

"You will leave Taylor alone. And me. You will finally drop my case. I don't care what your new life mission will be, but it's not me." All the photos with Colby in them lifted off the walls and began to fly wildly around him. Harper couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Because you were right about one thing." He had been looking forward to saying the following sentence all day. "I am a god. I have abilities that you couldn't even imagine in your wildest dreams. And I'm not afraid to use them, asshole."

Harper trembled like a leaf. "I-I promise, I'll drop you, if that's what you want … God."

"Bring everything to me and about me, everything you have, right into this room here."

"W-what?"

"Come on! Hurry up!" he shouted with a deep demon voice. He had learned it a few days ago when he let out a panicked scream because he had discovered a spider that was about to crawl into his shoe.

Harper immediately ran into the other rooms, screaming. "I-I'll hurry!"

"You better do. And if you hide anything, you'll regret it." Then he switched back to his devilish demon voice. If he used it any more times, he'd probably have a sore throat tomorrow. "Because I'll know!"

He was sure Harper wouldn't hide anything. She seemed to be way too terrified, just as planned. It took her a while to bring everything into the living room. But soon there were pillows, photo albums, framed newspapers, everything. She even placed a USB stick on the table.

"What's this?" he asked, confused.

"T-those are all the photos of you that I have digitally. And all the videos. I've collected everything."

Seriously?! "Okay. Delete it from your computer or your other tech stuff."

"P-promise." And off she went again.

Colby sat down on the floating sofa and propped his feet up on the also floating coffee table. Well, this might take a while now.

And indeed, it took a really long time. The living room was packed full. Meanwhile, Harper had reached the pictures on the walls and was individually placing them in the living room. Hard to believe she'd have so many on the walls in the other rooms too. Eventually, Colby grew curious and started looking at the first few things that Harper had laboriously brought in. Of course, he could help with his powers, but this bitch needed to work now, to keep her busy. He picked up one of the pictures from the floor and looked at it nostalgically.

Harper must have upscaled it, that horny bitch. The picture was in black and white, and Colby was casually seated in a chair, tilting his head slightly to the side, looking into the camera. He wore a perfectly fitting suit and his favorite sunglasses.

Of course, he looked sharp. He always did. But there was something about this picture, more than the others. He remembered that day well. A party at Hannah Wellington's. Unforgettable. If he ever created a Tinder profile again, he'd definitely use this picture as his profile picture.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Harper stood in the doorway to the bedroom, looking small. "I-I'm finished."

He bore his gaze into her eyes. Inside, he was as thrilled as a kid in a candy store that he could now hit her back with a portion of the fear he had felt because of her, full force. "Very good." He grinned. "You don't need to throw away all that stuff," he explained teasingly. "I'll take care of that for you."

He snapped his fingers, and everything was gone. Taylor would probably be having a heart attack right now because all that stuff should now be in her apartment. Sure, that was also part of the plan, but she probably hadn't expected this much. Her whole apartment must be full. Fortunately, he had discovered and trained this ability while devising the plans. It was awesome.

Harper stared traumatized at her apartment. Everything she had accumulated over the years about Colby Vance. All gone. In one fell swoop. Then something occurred to her, and she widened her eyes anxiously. "W-what do I do with this?" she asked softly, pulling up her shirt.

Colby's face was tattooed on her stomach. For God's sake. It wasn't even centered. Because Harper's belly button was one of his nostrils. Her belly button! Was one of his! Nostrils!

Colby would have loved to shout "Holy shit!" or "What the fuck!" right now, but he had to take his role as a super evil and intimidating ghost-whatever-god seriously if this was going to work. He could vomit later. So he just said, "You'll have that removed as soon as possible."

She nodded. "O-okay."

Colby looked around one last time. This really had to be everything now. "Gosh, I really hope I never have to see you again, you sick woman." The ghost put on his typical Colby grin again. He just enjoyed this way too much. "Oh, and this?" He snapped again, and one of the living room windows got a huge crack in the glass. "That's for chasing my girl all over town." Harper didn't dare to move. "So, bye bitch!" He waved like a little kid, and then he was gone.