Page 16 of Shadowing My Dreams
“Hello,” I whispered – freaking the fuck out. Never in my life had I…
“I don’t want you here. Go!”
I felt Jack’s hand pull against mine, and his hand fell from my grasp. The world shifted once again, and we stood there gasping.
“What the fuck was that?”
“I think we really have to talk. But…” I ran to the bathroom and shut the door behind me. This was going to be bad. I spent the next few minutes puking from the energy of that spirit. He was sick… so sick… Now, so was I.
7
Jack
“What the fuck just happened?” I had run downstairs – like a coward, as Archie locked himself in the bathroom. I could hearhim retching as I quickly descended to the first floor. I was not sleeping in there tonight! That was… “What was that?” I paced maniacally, unsure of what to fucking do.
He stepped off the last stair and into my living room. “That was a surprise.” His alabaster skin was blotchy, and the sheen of sweat clung to his forehead. “I hadn’t been prepared for… I have never had that happen before, not in all my years. It was like we traveled, spiritually, into his plane of existence. It was… Sorry, it really took a toll on me. I will need to put up guards when we do that again.”
“Oh, I am definitely not doing that again!” I threw myself down onto my comfiest chair. It took everything I had not to call the realtor right now and put this house on the market while I hid away at Daveed’s. Maybe I would just set fire to all my stuff in case the spirit attached itself to… Wait! No. This was myhouse. A house I sweated and bled for. Was I just going to give it all up and run away like a little bitch? I worked hard to be able to buy this place.
He walked slowly over as if he were trying to keep his feet steady on the ground. Whatever had happened had taken quite a toll on him. His pretty face was even whiter than usual. “I can’t quite understand how that happened. I had been sitting up there and trying to connect, but I had found only trails that led to nothing, for the most part. All of that changed when… It was you. You were the catalyst, Jack. Why?” He looked at me so confused that it caught me off guard. I did that? No…
“You think I did that?”
“No –yes– maybe – perhaps all of the above. I don’t know. It happened after we touched. I could feel it, so I gripped onto your hand tighter to see what was happening, and then everything – the world shifted.” He wiped at his eyes. “Sorry, I’m… I don’t get shaken easily.”
“That world was…” I pulled my knees up and held onto them. “It wasn’t black and white, but it was very dim and grey as if someone had adjusted the color. I hated it.”
“It’s the in-between. I’ve seen it in my mind's eye, but that was… We were there, in spirit anyway. How? Why you?” He looked so perplexed – so adorable that I burst out laughing.
“I'm sorry, it’s… You’re very cute when your confused,” I immediately wished I could have taken it back. I glanced away from him.
“I’m going to ignore that you think I’m cute, and…” He looked flustered. It was a good look for him. “Anyway, it…thathad something to do with you. I know that because I felt it when we touched. The crackle of psychic energy that boosted my own – it came from you?”
“I am not a psychic. Trust me.” I shrugged.
“Oh, I don’t think you are actually a psychic, but I think you have something more than you understand. I mean, it makes sense. You saw and interacted with the nurse. Seeing a ghost doesn’t mean that you have any ability. But I think you saw her so well because you could. This spirit has been here much longer than you. His energy is intertwined with the house, but you never knew until recently. What changed?”
I swallowed hard. “I… I died.”
His eyes widened, and his mouth actually fell open as he looked deeply into my eyes.
“Are you trying to read my mind?” I muttered.
“I told you that I can’t do that, but… your energy makes a little more sense to me now. You died?” He let the information soak into him.
“Yep. It was horrible, I guess. I don’t really remember it.”
He looked back at me with such sympathy. “This was recent. Your hospital stay. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t want to talk about it. I understand. But I think you’re going to have to, Jack. If you want me to be able to help you, I think that you’re going to have to learn to help yourself, too. You’re open in some way. You’re seeing things. That’s what you and Daveed told me. But are you seeing things outside the house?”
I nodded. “I… I’ve seen some shadowy movement a few times on the street. But mainly, it’s been in here. Why?”
“Dying can open a path to the other side. It doesn’t mean that you’re like me or anything, but it does mean that you may be a conduit of sorts. Spirits need energy to manifest, and they can get it in so many ways. They can drain batteries that you have lying around or are using. It’s easier if they are being used, of course.”
“Oh, of course.”
