Too Broke For Afterlife

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I can't tell how much time has passed but my legs have fallen asleep a while ago.

"Let me tell you, Julie." "Judy." "Same dif. Dealing with art is not as glamorous as it sounds. Most of the time you have to make sure you don't get scammed because if that happens - you're gonna have a bad time." Jasper chuckles and shakes his head.

"My apartment is filled with counterfeits. I have like five Picasso's, all worth absolutely nothing. I wouldn't even get a quarter for those. But hey, they look nice."

I sigh, a pair of leather boots are pressing into my back. Jasper has been talking for an eternity. I wish I would have kept the sock in his mouth.

"It's a crazy job and also kind of dangerous, but-"

"So why did you do it?"

"Buy the fakes? Well some were an accident, others-"

"No. Why did you try to kill Isabella?"

Jasper stops blabbering for a second, his face tensing up. "It was kind of a hired assassination. A friend of mine asked me to do it and said he'd pay me 20."

"Million?" "Nah, 20 thousand." He sighs, leaning back against the closet wall.

"He needed her body for some paranormal project. Honestly, I didn't believe anything at first but he managed to convince me that he wasn't just high or crazy."

"Wait, what do you mean by paranormal?"

He looks at me for a while, his face studying mine. "You really have no idea what's going on, do you?"

I shake my head. "If you know anything, tell me."

Jasper nods and looks down at his hands, probably trying to organize his thoughts.

"Isabella is not a human. Well, I mean she is but the one you've seen earlier isn't."

"Excuse me?" "Yeah, she's a robot created by Afterlife Ltd. They are like the guys that send you to heaven or something. Or hell I guess. And sometimes back to Earth if your karma isn't good enough."

I sigh in disappointment. But what did I expect?

"You're obviously still high, nevermind."

"No, Julie-"

"Judy."

"Same dif. But I'm telling you the truth! My friend was actually a ghost and one of the designers at Afterlife sent him so I would find him someone he could use to create a new model for a body. You know, as a shell for spirits so they look human. He had developed a new machine that would take human bodies and turn them into 3D models, kinda like those fancy printers. And yes, this does sound like nightmare material. He wanted to test it so I was supposed to find the right body to use. So I picked Isabella because...well, she's quite attractive and I was still mad at her for dumping me. I sneaked into her apartment, took a scarf and...you know. I thought I had done it but apparently she had only passed out, she wasn't dead. I had never done this before, okay? Her dad found her. I managed to climb out her window and down the fire escape."

He looks at me smiling proudly, as if I'm supposed to congratulate him on getting away with it. There is absolutely no sadness or remorse in his eyes and maybe that is even scarier than the fact I'm watching over a hostage right now.

"So the real Isabella is stuck in this machine?" "No, her spirit escaped and fled into one of the printed bodies, the one you've been talking to. So I guess you are dating the real one, just in a robot shell."

"I...what? How do you know all this?"

Jasper laughs. "She has been telling me everything this morning, wouldn't shut up. I know all the tea, even about the boy stuck inside of her."

"Wait, what boy?"

Jasper sighs. "I'd tell you but I'm too hungry. Can you get me some food first?"

He pouts and considering he is at least 40, it looks absolutely ridiculous. I sigh and get up.

Where am I going to get food from now? I can't order room service, obviously. The next vending machine is just down the hall but I can't leave Jasper alone either. Maybe it's just a trick and he'd use the chance to escape.

I walk over to the mini bar and open it. It has been refilled since last time and my eyes spot a can of salted peanuts. Better than nothing. I grab the can, open it and walk back to Jasper.

He seems disappointed. "That's it?" "Yes."

I take a handful of peanuts and shove them into his mouth. Jasper seems overwhelmed by this forceful feeding technique but starts chewing and swallowing, probably realizing that he won't get anything else anytime soon.

Once he has finished, he clears his throat. "Thank you." "You're welcome. So what boy and how is he stuck...inside of her?"

Jasper chuckles. "Jealous? Well, no need to be. The guy is called Parker but you probably know him as Jordan."

"Wait, Jordan, that bar guy? People have been talking about him because he suddenly disappeared, allegedly because his grandma got sick. How do he and Isa know each other?"

Jasper sighs and smiles at me, shaking his head. "After everything that happened you still call her Isa. That must be true love."

I blush, I hadn't even noticed. Stupid brain.

"Jordan is a body, Parker is the ghost inside of him. And Parker bought a new body, Isabella. But Isabella's spirit was already inside so she has full control and is keeping him hostage."

"Oh my god."

"She told me that they are working together. Parker helped her beat me up and in return she helps him by driving to Austin tomorrow. But she didn't elaborate any further on that."

I fall back against the wall and sigh. I wish any of this made sense and was at least somewhat believable. But ghosts stuck inside robots? How could anyone believe that?

"So, any questions?"

"More than before you started talking."

He nods slowly and pops his tongue.

I hardly notice the silence that develops, my mind is running like crazy. Nothing of this makes sense.

"So you guys are dating?"

My insides pull together and I bite down on my lip. "I thought we were but now I'm not sure anymore. This is too much."

Everything was fine yesterday. I thought I was at the top of the world. But one news article later and nothing is as it seemed. For f*ck's sake, if Jasper is right then Isabella is a f*cking robot! A ROBOT!

"Well, she had good reason to beat me up, believe it or not."

I don't respond. I don't know if I'm willing to listen to her explanation. What words could possibly fix this?

It's over.

I can feel tears forming in my eyes but I quickly wipe them away.

Jasper clears his throat. "Uh Judy?"

"Yeah?"

I look up at him. All of a sudden, he seems tense.

His face is red.

"You need to tie me loose real quick."