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Beca Mitchell wishes she was anywhere else but in a cab taking her to Barden University so she could move into her dorm before classes officially started. That point was driven home when an unexpected guest appeared in the seat next to her. She glanced over at the new passenger and looked away quickly, but not quickly enough.
“You see me, don’t you?” the woman asked.
Instead of responding verbally, Beca gave her a quick nod.
“Why can’t he see me?” the woman asked, looking at the driver.
“I guess he’s not as lucky as I am,” Beca mumbled sarcastically. “Not everybody can see dead people.”
“I’m dead?” the woman asked, sitting up straighter in her seat.
Again, Beca only nodded.
“Oh, my!” the woman exclaimed. “How did that happen?”
Beca just shrugged as the driver pulled to the curb.
“This is your stop,” the driver said to Beca as he got out of the cab. “I’ll get your bags.”
“That’s okay,” Beca said quickly as she also got out of the cab. “I can get them.”
The driver opened the trunk, and Beca grabbed her laptop bag and smaller suitcase. A young man came over with a cart and started pulling the rest of Beca’s things out, placing them into the cart.
“I’m Frankie,” the guy said. “What’s your building and room number?”
“Baker Hall, room 4B,” Beca said as the guy finished loading the cart.
“Follow me,” Frankie said.
Beca looked in the cab window and said, “Good luck.”
The driver furrowed his brow and said, “Thanks, you, too.”
“She was talking to me, you idiot,” the woman yelled from the back seat. “Men!”
Beca shook her head and chuckled as she followed Frankie. Beca looked around but avoided catching anyone’s eye so she wouldn’t have to talk to anyone living or dead. It was the worst when one of the dead caught her looking directly at them. They would always come over and want to talk to her.
Beca’s grandmother always told her she had a gift that the two of them shared. Beca called it a curse. She stopped telling people about her “gift” when they started calling her weird or a loser whenever they found out.
Beca hurried to keep up with Frankie as he hurried through the crowd, pushing the cart with her stuff.
“I need your help," a voice Beca did not recognize said before a young woman appeared next to her.
“With what?” Beca mumbled, looking to see if anyone was paying attention to her.
“I can’t find her,” the woman said. “I found her before, but I don't know where she is now. We need to find her so you can tell her I’m okay. Well, as okay as I can be since I'm dead.”
“Come with me, and we’ll talk,” Beca said, looking around to see if anyone was paying attention to her.
The woman nodded and stayed with Beca. They made it to her dorm room, and Frankie helped unload her stuff.
“That’s the last of it,” Frankie said.
“Thanks,” Beca said.
“He’s cute,” the young woman said, looking Frankie up and down.
“You’re welcome,” Frankie said. “Welcome to Barden University. I’m in the Phi Delta Kappa Frat, and we’re having a welcome mixer tonight starting at eight. You should come.”
“I’ll think about it,” Beca said. “Thanks again for the help.”
The young woman waved and smiled as Frankie left the room. Beca closed the door and turned to face the woman.
“What do you want?”
“Can you get me that guy? ” the woman asked, biting her lower lip.
Beca took a deep breath and let it out.
“I’m not a dating service,” Beca said. “If that’s what you want, then go after him. If you want my help, start talking.”
“You’re kind of a bitch,” the woman said.
“That’s it!” Beca said. “You can go now. I have better things to do.”
“Wait, wait!” the woman said. “I do need your help. I need to find my sister. She’s a student here at Barden, and she doesn’t know I’m still here or that I’m dead. Nobody knows what happened to me, and I need you to tell her.”
“Do you know when you died?” Beca asked.
“I have no real concept of time anymore,” the woman said. “But I think it was about eighteen months ago.”
“Eighteen months? Wow!” Beca exclaimed. “If I’m going to help you, I need to know your name and how you died.”
“Thank you!” the woman responded. “My name is Carrie Beale, and I came to Barden as a Freshman two years ago. I only came here because my sister was here; she was a Sophomore, and I thought it would be cool to be at the same college as her. Once I was here, I fell into a bad crowd and quickly became addicted to drugs, hard drugs like heroin and cocaine. My family wasn’t very happy about that or with me for falling into that trap. I didn’t go home for Spring Break and stayed here, where I knew I’d be able to get the drugs I needed and wanted without having my family on my back. It was the last day of Spring Break when I walked in front of a truck while high. I can only guess that the driver must have freaked and realized I was dead, so he threw me into a ravine. That’s where I found myself when my spirit, or whatever you want to call it, took over."
Carrie paused and thought for a moment before continuing.
“I think my sister tried to find me on campus when she came back from Spring Break but couldn’t. I assume she and the rest of the family thought I’d run away or something. My body hasn’t been found, and nobody knows about the accident except that truck driver and me. So, I’ve been stuck here all this time, wandering around, trying to find a way to let my sister know I’m still here. You’re the first person who seems like they can help.”
“Why haven’t you crossed over?” Beca asked.
“Crossed over?” Carrie said. “I don’t know what that means."
“I understand most people see a light,” Beca said. “I don’t know what happens once people go into the light, but I do know that they sometimes mention seeing their loved ones in the light waiting for them.”
“I haven’t seen a light,” Carrie said. “Does that mean I still have unfinished business here? Like maybe I’m supposed to find my sister before I can move on? ”
Someone knocking on the door stopped Beca from responding. The door opened, and Carrie disappeared. Beca wasn’t surprised to see her father, Warren Mitchell, enter the room.
“Hey, Beca,” Warren said. “Glad to see you made it okay. Do you need any help unpacking?”
“Um, not really,” Beca said. “But thanks for asking. And thanks for getting me a single room; it means a lot to me.”
“You’re welcome,” Warren said. “I know you don’t want to have to tell too many people about your, um, your gift. Having a single means you can talk to your ghosts without anyone thinking you’re crazy.”
“Did you need anything else?” Beca asked, staring past her dad when Carrie suddenly reappeared.
“Um, no,” Warren said. “I just wanted to make sure you were here. Sheila-”
“Sorry, Dad,” Beca siad. “I was actually talking to Carrie.”
“Who?” Warren looked to where Beca was looking.
Beca chuckled lightly when Carrie waved at him.
“Oh, um, okay,” Warren said, staring at the empty space around him. “I’ll leave you to it.”
“See you later, Dad,” Beca said as Warren left the room.
Beca sighed and turned to Carrie.
“Let’s see if we can find your sister,” Beca said.
~~ G is for Ghost Whisperer ~~
“Let’s check out the Activities Fair,” Carrie said as she and Beca exited the dorm building. “Chloe’s in a group called the Barden Bellas. They are an acapella group, and she’s the co-captain this year, so it makes sense that she’d be here trying to recruit girls for the group. ”
“Acapella?” Beca said. “Sounds lame.”
“Don’t say that around Chloe,” Carrie said, chuckling. "She's wanted to be a Bella for as long as I can remember. It's all she ever talked about before she found out she was accepted here at Barden."
They walked around a bit more, only stopping when Beca saw a booth for the radio station looking for interns. She left her contact info and continued walking.
“It’s her! We found her,” Carrie cried out and pointed. "She's the redhead in the blue dress. ”
Beca looked to where Carrie was pointing and gasped. Carries’s sister was gorgeous.
“Wow,” Beca whispered, then blushed.
Carrie chuckled. “That’s the usual response when people first see her.”
“Come on,” Beca said as she started toward the redhead.
Beca kept her eyes down to avoid catching anyone’s eye. She only stopped when a flyer was suddenly thrust in front of her.
“Would you like to join our acapella group?” a sweet voice asked.
Beca took the flyer and looked into the eyes of the woman she now knew was Chloe.
Carrie stared at Chloe. “I can’t believe I’m finally able to talk to her. Well, you're going to talk for me, so samesies!”
Beca glanced sideways at Carrie before turning her attention to Chloe.
“Your name is Chloe, right?” Beca asked.
“Yeah,” Chloe said. “Have we met before?”
“No,” Beca said. “I know your sister.”
“You’ll have to be more specific,” Carrie said. “There’s five of us, counting her and me.”
“Which one?” Chloe asked.
“Um, Carrie,” Beca said.
“Is this some kind of a joke?” Chloe asked, her voice shrill. “Carrie’s been missing for almost two years. If you know her, then you know where she is.”
“Wow, she’s really mad,” Carrie said.
“No, shit, Sherlock,” Beca mumbled.
Chloe glared at Beca; Beca looked around nervously.
“Can we go somewhere and talk?” Beca asked. “Privately.”
“I don’t even know you,” Chloe said. “Are you an addict, too? If so, there’s no way I’m going anywhere with you. Just tell me where Carrie is, and I’ll go to her. Or better yet, tell her to come to me. I want to see what she has to say for herself.”
“I’m not an addict,” Beca said. “As for Carrie, she’s, um, she’s actually here. At Barden. Honestly, she never actually left.”
Chloe’s brow furrowed. “What? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Tell her I’m the reason she has that scar over her eye,” Carrie said quickly. “We’re the only two who know that.”
“What?” Beca said, looking from Carrie back to Chloe.
Chloe watched with some trepidation as Beca appeared to be conversing with an invisible person.
“Tell her about the scar,” Carrie said. “Make her believe you. Please? ”
“Okay,” Beca said, turning to face Chloe again. “Um, Carrie said, uh, just told me she’s the reason you have that scar over your eye.”
Chloe gasped and looked at Beca. “How could you possibly know that? I never told anyone that. Not even my parents know that it was Carrie’s fault.”
“I swear Carrie told me,” Beca said. “Do you believe that I know her now? All I need is ten minutes of your time to prove I’m telling the truth. And I promise I will answer all your questions about how I know her, okay?”
Chloe chewed her lip and looked at Beca. She then looked at the girl next to her, who had been listening to everything that transpired between Beca and Chloe.
“Brey, I need to go talk with…um,” Chloe stopped and looked at Beca.
“Beca.”
“With Beca,” Chloe continued. “Can you get someone to help you take everything back to the house when the fair is over? I don’t know how long this might take.”
“Are you sure, Chloe?” Brey asked her. “You don’t know anything about her.”
“I know,” Chloe said. “But if she knows anything at all about where Carrie is, I have to know. I’ll take her to the diner so we can talk. There should be plenty of people there, so I’ll be safe.”
“I’m okay with that,” Beca said.
Aubrey looked from Chloe to Beca.
“Okay, but make sure you have your phone on you,” Brey said. “If you need help, send an SOS, and I can have fifteen people there in less than five minutes.”
“I will,” Chloe said. “Come on, Beca.”
Beca nodded and followed after Chloe. Carrie walked next to Chloe, smiling the entire way.
~~ G is for Ghost Whisperer ~~
After being seated, Chloe sat and looked at Beca, waiting for her to say something.
“Tell her I’m dead,” Carrie said, causing Beca to look at her. “Better to tell her now so she can get used to the idea.”
Beca nodded. “You’re right,” she mumbled.
Chloe heard Beca and said, “I’m right about what? I haven’t said anything, and neither have you.”
“Oh, um, sorry,” Beca said. “I was talking to Carrie.”
Chloe’s brows furrowed as she stared at Beca.
Beca leaned forward and whispered, “I can see and talk to dead people.”
“Is that supposed to be a joke?” Chloe scoffed, standing. “It’s not funny. I’m leaving.”
“Wait, please,” Beca said, grabbing Chloe’s wrist to stop her. “Let me explain.”
Chloe took a deep breath and sat back down.
“Okay, explain,” Chloe said, waving her hand for Beca to continue.
Beca proceeded to explain about her gift and what she could do. As she concluded, Beca decided to rip off the band-aid and tell Chloe about Carrie.
“I’m sorry to be the one to have to tell you this,” Beca said. “But Carrie was killed about eighteen months ago. She’s dead.”
Chloe blinked a couple of times before asking, “How can you be sure about that?”
“She told me,” Beca said. “I really can see and talk to dead people.”
Chloe scoffed.
“Tell her I’m here,” Carrie said.
“She’s actually here with us right now,” Beca said.
“You expect me to believe that my dead sister is talking to you right now?” Chloe said, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head. “Well, I don’t believe you.”
“Tell her that I slashed her ex-boyfriend Tom’s tires when I found out he cheated on her,” Carrie said. “He saw me do it and came after me. She beat the shit out of him, protecting me.”
“Um, Carrie said you beat the shit out of your ex-boyfriend Tom when he went after her for slashing his tires when she found out he cheated on you.”
Chloe gasped. That really happened, and there was no way this stranger could know that. Unless…
“If Carrie is here, can I talk to her?”
“Yes. She can hear you, but you won’t be able to hear her,” Beca said. “I’ll relay her responses.”
“Um, okay,” Chloe said, hesitantly looking around. “Care? What happened to you? We thought you were embarrassed that we found out about your drug problem and went off somewhere.”
“Tell her what I told you about how I died,” Carrie said to Beca. “Then I’ll show you both where my remains are. ”
“Really?” Beca asked.
At Carrie’s nod, Beca relayed to Chloe what Carrie had told her about how she died.
“And she said she’d show us where her remains are,” Beca concluded.
Chloe wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I guess I kept hoping she’d run off and that one day we’d find her. I wasn’t expecting to hear that she was...”
Chloe choked up, and Beca placed her hand over Chloe’s.
“I understand,” Beca said, patting Chloe’s hand.
“Carrie, I’m so, so sorry,” Chloe said, looking around. “I should have looked for you, but I wasn’t sure where to look. The drugs made you do some weird stuff, and we thought you’d show up one day.”
“Tell her I forgive her,” Carrie said to Beca. “And tell her I’m sorry I didn’t get help for my drug problem.”
“Carrie said she forgives you,” Beca told Chloe. “She also apologized for not getting help for her addiction.”
Chloe wiped more tears and stood. “Can she show us her… remains now?”
“Let’s go,” Carrie said. “I’ll lead the way.”
“Go ahead, Carrie,” Beca said, standing. “We’re right behind you.”
Chloe followed Beca out of the diner and towards the woods behind the campus. They followed a road for a short distance before Carrie veered off and disappeared.
“I’m just over here,” Carrie said, standing at the edge of a ravine. “This road is where I was hit. And this is where he threw me.”
“She’d down there,” Beca said, pointing into the ravine where Carrie now stood, looking down at her remains.
“Oh my God!” Chloe exclaimed and looked around for a way down into the ravine.
“This way,” Beca said, heading toward a path to their left.
Chloe followed Beca, and they soon stood over human bones.
“How can we be sure this is, was Carrie?” Chloe asked.
“I was wearing the necklace Chloe gave me for my eighteenth birthday when I died,” Carrie told Beca. “It’s still around my neck.”
“There’s a necklace,” Beca said, kneeling to remove the necklace from the neck. “Carrie said you gave it to her for-“
“Her eighteenth birthday,” Chloe said, sobbing. “That was a month after she came to Barden.”
Chloe’s tears fell hard and fast. Beca wasn’t sure what to do, so she pulled Chloe to her and let her cry on her shoulder.
“Shh,” Beca said, rubbing Chloe’s back. “It’s going to be okay. You and your family can now bury Carrie and have some closure.”
“Thank you, Beca,” Carrie said, teary-eyed. “I can’t put into words how much I appreciate you doing all this.”
Beca nodded in acknowledgment at Carrie’s words. She continued to try and comfort Chloe. It took a few minutes, but Chloe finally calmed down and pulled back to look at Beca.
“Should we call someone and let them know we found Carrie’s remains?” Beca asked.
“Yeah,” Chloe said, sniffling. “Would you mind calling 9-1-1?”
Beca nodded, pulled out her phone, and made the call.
~~ G is for Ghost Whisperer ~~
After the call was made, things happened quickly. Based on the necklace and remnants of the clothing around the bones, Chloe identified the remains as those of her sister, Carrie Beale. The police said they still needed DNA testing to confirm it.
Four weeks after discovering the body, Chloe and Beca got closer. So, when Chloe was asked to meet with the coroner, Dr. McIntosh, she asked Beca to go to the meeting with her for moral support.
Once there, Dr. McIntosh introduced herself and told Chloe that the DNA results were back, confirming that the body was Carrie.
“Were you able to determine how she died?” Chloe asked.
“There were a few broken bones, so we think she may have been hit by a motor vehicle,” Dr. McIntosh said. “The impact could have sent her into the ravine. I’m only speculating, but I do believe that’s what happened.”
“Told you,” Carrie said.
“My parents are in Tampa and will want to have a funeral there for Carrie,” Chloe said. “Who can I speak with about transporting her remains to Tampa?”
“Any funeral home can help you with that,” Dr. McIntosh said. “Let us know which home you're using, and we can work with them to help expedite the transport.”
“Thank you,” Chloe said. “I’ll be sure to have them call once I’ve spoken with someone.”
“Can I do anything else for you?” Dr. McIntosh asked.
Chloe looked at Beca, who shrugged.
“No, thank you,” Chloe said. “Thank you for everything you’ve done. My family and I greatly appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome,” Dr. McIntosh said. “And I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” Chloe said.
Beca stood and followed Chloe out of the coroner’s office. Once outside, Beca stopped when Carrie said, “Beca, I see a bright light.”
“You do?” Beca said.
“What?” Chloe asked. “Wait, is Carrie still here?”
“Yeah,” Beca said. “But not for long. She said she sees a light.”
“I see my grandparents,” Carrie said. “I didn’t know my grandmother was dead.”
“Does that mean she’s going to go now?” Chloe asked.
Beca nodded. “She said she sees your grandparents; she didn’t know your grandmother had died.”
“She died about six months ago,” Chloe said, looking around. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, Care.”
“It’s okay,” Carrie said, looking at Chloe. “She’s holding out her arms, waiting for me.”
“Carrie said it’s okay,” Beca told Chloe. “And your grandmother is waiting for her with open arms.”
“She always did that,” Chloe said, smiling with tears in her eyes. “We always got a hug as soon as she saw any of us.”
“It’s beautiful, Beca,” Carrie said. “And I feel a sense of peace. I’m ready to go into the light. Would you do something for me before I go?”
“Anything,” Beca said.
“Tell Chloe I love her,” Carrie said. “And take good care of her for me; I can tell she likes you. And one last thing. Promise me you won’t break her heart, okay?”
“I’ll tell her,” Beca said, smiling at Carrie. “And I promise.”
Carrie smiled and turned to walk into the light and into her grandmother’s arms. She turned and waved at Beca before disappearing.
“She’s gone,” Beca told Chloe. “She said to tell you she loves you. And.”
Beca stopped and scrunched her nose, blushing a bit as Chloe looked at her.
“And what?” Chloe prodded.
“And she made me promise not to break your heart,” Beca said, blushing. “She thinks you like me.”
“I do like you,” Chloe said, smiling. “A lot, actually.”
“You do?” Beca asked; Chloe nodded. “So, do you like me enough to maybe go out with me?”
“Yes, I do like you enough to go out with you,” Chloe said, grabbing Beca’s hand and pulling her forward. “Now, come on. I have to call my folks so we can plan my sister’s funeral. And you have a date to plan for us.”
Chloe started walking toward her car and stopped to look at Beca.
“Would you come to Tampa with me for Carrie’s funeral?” Chloe asked. “I’d like you to meet my parents. I know it would mean the world to them to meet the woman who helped find Carrie. And it would mean a lot to me if you went with me.”
“I can probably make that happen,” Beca said.
“Good,” Chloe said, quickly kissing Beca.
Beca put her hand to her lips and smiled.
“Come on, Mitchell,” Chloe said as she got into the car. “I have a funeral to plan.”
“And I have a date to plan,” Beca said as she hurried to the passenger side and got into the car.