The Geek and the Ghost - Chapter 1 - Two Years Ago - A Retelling Begins

Jul 31, 2026

Upload by Rowan

A speculative contemporary fiction opening follows a chronically alone homeless woman in wintery Buffalo, New York, as bonechilling snow and desperation push her into a small internet café. With only minutes of access and no cash, she is interrupted by a phone call and a tense exchange with a stranger. The scene establishes survival stakes, guarded interactions, and the groundwork for a looming supernatural romance dynamic and escalating danger.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages356

Reading Time9 h 8 min

AccessFree to download

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Epilogue

Bonus Scene

Author's Note

About the Author

THE GEEK AND THE GHOST Copyright © 2026 CAMBRIA HEBERT All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form without written permission except for the use of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Published by Cambria Hebert [http://www.cambriahebert.com](http://www.cambriahebert.com) Interior design and typesetting by Devoted Pages Cover design by Cover Me Darling Character art by David DaSilva Edited by Cassie McCown Copyright 2026 by Cambria Hebert NO AI TRAINING This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author ’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) BLURB The Geek and the Ghost I’m about thirty seconds from a toe tag and my own freezer at the mortuary when he materializes from the shadows and fights like hell to keep me breathing. I had no idea homeless disasters like me got guardian angels—or that guardian angels punch people and smoke—but suddenly, there he is: a hero dressed all in black who ghosts me so hard I consider calling a medium. But that would be a waste of money I don’t have. I thought I’d never see him again, but just as I’m about to eat a bullet, he appears, using his body to protect mine. I might have swooned—okay, fine, I do but only on the inside—if it weren’t for the fact he thinks bleeding is an adequate apology for implying I’m a prostitute and running off with my heart. Spoiler alert: It’s not. Now the man with a PhD in vanishing, a tattoo that totally offends me, and eyes with their own force of gravity is suddenly stuck to me like glue and being wildly inconvenient about it. And he won’t stop calling me a pipgeek. What even is that? He insists I trust him, but I can’t trust anyone, not even my own body. Unfortunately, when the resident drug lord calls in that favor I foolishly owe, things go from bad to catastrophic with alarming enthusiasm. On the upside, having a villain with a hero complex for a stalker means staying alive will be easy. But not getting hurt again is a whole other story. [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) For Nathan. You inspire me, and I’m proud of you. [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Epilogue Bonus Scene Author ’s Note About the Author [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) CHAPTER ONE R ett Two Years Ago… I wasn’t sure what was worse: the copious amount of bonechilling flakes tumbling from the ashen sky or the skin-numbing wind accompanying them. Perhaps it was the combination of the two. After all, wasn’t two better than one? I wouldn’t know because I was chronically on my own, but the tag team this winter weather created sure convinced me. Snow wasn’t exactly a surprise in Buffalo, New York, but it did make me wonder about my life choices. When I’d hopped a bus a few months ago, what had possessed me to get off here? I should have kept going south, crossing state lines until I reached a place where the sun kept blizzards at bay. Maybe if I had, my fingertips wouldn’t be stinging painfully, my knees stiff and cheeks peeling off my face. The fact that I could only afford a bus ticket so far seemed like a worthless excuse now. Tucking my chin into my chest, I burrowed into the nicest thing I owned—a black North Face coat—and made my way down the block and aroun

FAQs

What triggers the first major interaction in the café?

A phone call near her startles her and leads to a tense conversation with the man at the nearby computer, changing her immediate circumstances.

Jul 31, 2026

Upload by Rowan