Chapter 17
MALIN
Ryan hasn’t stopped yelling at me since Gracen touched my dick four nights ago. Unlike when he yelled at people for long periods of time in life, his voice remains steady. Loud. Incessant.
I’m so damn tired of hearing it. I’m tired of listening to him tell me how gross I am. How dirty. How I bathed in sin.
I’m his. I’ve always been his. How dare I let someone else touch me? I’m going to hell. He’s going to watch my skin burn off as I scream in agony.
“Can’t he stay away? He’s a damn monster, preying on you like this, William.”
I look up, finding Gracen at my office door. My heart jumps, and my lips curl a little at the sight of him.
“Can I come in?” Gracen asks.
“Fuck you. No. You’re not allowed near him. He’s mine. William is mine! I’m going to kill you.”
“Yes,” I answer, maybe a little louder than necessary because I have to talk over Ryan. Or maybe quieter than I intended because I want Gracen to hear me, but Ryan not to.
That doesn’t work, though. Ryan turns on me with fury.
Gracen crosses the room, walking straight through the image of Ryan, and stops at the edge of my desk. I press my face into his hip and inhale deeply. Ryan’s yells are abruptly cut off, mid-word. I sigh. Thank fuck. My head is pounding.
Gracen’s hand moves gently over my head, through my hair. “Are you busy? Am I interrupting?”
I shake my head.
“Think you can take a break for a while?”
Blindly, I reach up and close my laptop. “Yeah.”
He chuckles. “Come here. Up.”
I get to my feet. Gracen pulls a shirt over his head and wraps it around my head. I smile because I’m hidden within it entirely. It takes him a minute to adjust it, and I stare into his eyes. He can’t see my smile through the fabric, but I’m grinning.
“Better?” he asks.
I nod. “Yes. Thank you.”
“Good.” He takes my hand and leads me to the door. “I have somewhere to bring you.”
We’re quiet as we walk through the building, take the elevator to the underground parking, and get into his truck. I’m not sure where we’re going, but I’m a little surprised when we park in the side parking lot of the big house.
“I’ve been here before,” I say.
He snorts. “Have you?”
“Uh-huh. Once or twice.”
Gracen turns the engine off and turns to me. His hand cups the back of my head, pulling my face to his, where he kisses my forehead, the only place he can reach outside of his shirt around my head.
I’m disappointed when he pulls away. I’d like to be cuddled in his arms for a while.
He climbs out of the truck, shutting the door.
I unclick my seatbelt and reach for the handle.
Gracen is there as I slip down from his truck.
I’m glad when he pulls me to his chest for a minute, shutting the door behind me.
“Ready?” he asks.
I nod. Once more, Gracen takes my hand and brings me inside. We don’t move deeply into the house but into one of the rooms close to the side entrance. I’m surprised when the triplets are there with Daddy Jalon. My stomach twists.
“Am I in trouble?” I ask quietly, pulling the shirt down so they can see my face.
“Of course not,” Ellory says.
“Come here,” Gracen says, pulling me to a couch that’s across from Jalon with the triplets sitting perpendicular. “Sit.”
I do, and he crouches in front of me. “A while ago, you told me you’re haunted and that he never goes away unless you’re with me.”
“Yes,” I agree, nodding. My eyes flicker up, and Ryan’s image is there, just over Gracen’s shoulder. “He doesn’t really go away when you’re here. I just can’t hear him.”
“I bring you peace,” he says.
“Right.”
“You’ve heard people say that people bring them peace and that they’ve found home with them before.”
“Yes.”
“I thought that’s how you meant it. I thought you were speaking metaphorically. Not literally.”
I glance at Ryan again. “I can mean it both ways.”
“You can, but my point is, you mean it literally. For some reason, my presence silences him. That’s what you meant all the times you told me I bring you peace.”
“Yes, that’s what I meant.” I look at the triplets. At Daddy Jalon. Wondering what’s going on.
“His ghost follows you,” Gracen says, his voice even. Light.
His words make me look up at Ryan. “Is he a ghost?” I wonder out loud. Does he look like a ghost? Images of spirits covered in sheets flash before my eyes. Ryan is whole, though. He looks just as he had in life, but… slightly transparent. He’s not really there. He’s in my head.
“Is he real?” I ask.
“I think maybe he is,” Gracen says. “I think he never gives you peace. I think he’s still trying to control you, and because he can’t, he says untrue things to you.”
“What’s untrue?”
“That you’re being sinful,” Ellory says.
My breath catches.
“Dirty. You’re going to hell.”
I close my eyes. “Do you hear him?” I whisper.
“No,” Ellory answers. “These are things you’ve said as if you’re repeating them. I thought you were saying them from memory. Things he said to you when he was alive.”
I shake my head. “He never told me those things when he was alive. I was his good boy. He loved me. But he’s dead now, and I didn’t follow him into death like I was supposed to.”
Gracen touches my cheek. “You weren’t supposed to follow him in death, Malin. You were supposed to live. To take your life back. To heal. Johnston is preventing that, isn’t he?”
I swallow. My shoulders tense as I nod. It’s small, as I try to hide it from Ryan, but he doesn’t miss it. His yelling is beginning to bleed through the bubble that Gracen’s shirt had created.
“I found a psychic medium. Someone who should be able to see Johnston and help you get rid of him.”
“I’m not going anywhere! You’re mine, William. Do you hear me? You’re fucking mine, and no one will take you from me!”
I wince, bowing my head. Gracen’s fingers on my chin gently coax my eyes to his. “Are you comfortable meeting him?”
Swallowing, I press my face into his shirt. “Yes,” I whisper.
Gracen stands. He pulls his shirt over his head and hands it to me. Grateful, I untangle the one around my head and hand it back to him so I can bury my face in this one. Ryan is silent again. Some of the tension leaves me.
When I peek out, Gracen’s put the other shirt on. “All you have to do is answer his questions. I haven’t told him anything about you, about your past, or your ghost. All he knows is that you’re severely haunted.”
“Why didn’t you tell him?”
“The only way we’re going to know if he’s real is if he can tell us the details of your haunting,” Avory says. “You haven’t told us much—and that’s okay—so you’re the only one who can determine if he’s legit.”
I take a breath. “Okay.”
Gracen sits beside me as Daddy Jalon gets to his feet. He reminds me of a king. So regal. He rests his hand on my shoulder as he walks by me.
“It’s going to be okay,” Ellory says. He smiles when he meets my eyes. “I’m sorry you lived with this for so long.”
I try to smile, but Ryan is screaming. He’s so angry, I think he’s going to turn solid and lose his shit. If he’s a ghost, he can’t actually hurt anyone, can he?
Everyone looks at the door as Daddy Jalon returns with a man. His hair is gray. He has a scarf around his neck. He’s colorful, but the colors are dark. They look rich and luxurious. My breath catches as he looks like he’s staring right at Ryan.
My heart races loudly, and for a second, that’s all I hear. The man turns to me right away, looks between Ryan and me, and then at Jalon.
“This is Malin,” Jalon introduces me. “And Gracen, who reached out to you. My sons Imry, Avory, and Ellory. This is Kip Tealy.”
We shake his hand, and I subtly try to take another deep breath of Gracen’s balled-up shirt in my hand while his attention is on the triplets. When he turns back to me, he says, “There’s a very angry man here yelling at you. Isn’t there?”
Ryan is so shocked that he abruptly stops yelling and stares at Kip. My eyes widen. “You see him?” I whisper.
“I see him. I hear him too,” Kip agrees.
Chills race over my body.
“He’s really there,” I whisper, tears stinging my eyes. “I thought… I thought he was in my imagination.”
“He’s most certainly here.”
“What does he want?” Gracen asks.
Ryan looks at Gracen with narrowed eyes. “For you to fucking die for touching my boy.”
“His name begins with an R,” Kip says, frowning. Ryan looks at him again. I can almost feel his anger filling the room. “Randy or Rylan. Ryan, maybe.”
I take a breath. “Ryan,” I agree.
“He was a bad man in life,” Kip says. “He hurt a lot of people. Not always at his hand but at his instruction.” He’s quiet as he studies Ryan. His eyes turn to me. “You were his favorite to hurt.”
“I didn’t hurt him!” Ryan shouts. “He’s mine. My boy. I love him. I love him, and these men stole him from me.” He points at the triplets.
Kip and I look at the triplets. Avory and Ellory exchange a look.
“What just happened?” Imry asks.
“He says you stole Malin from him.”
“For fuck’s sake. His name is William. Stop calling him that awful name,” Ryan scoffs.
“William?” Kip asks, looking at me again.
Everyone except Daddy Jalon looks surprised. I’m nearly crying because someone else can see him. Someone else hears him. He’s real!
“Okay,” Gracen says quietly. He gently takes my hand with his shirt in it and brings it to my face. I bury my nose in it for a minute and take a deep breath. “You clearly see him. You’ve confirmed he’s here. How do we get rid of him?”
Kip nods. “That’s up to Malin.”
“I want him to leave,” I say.
“Good. Now say that with confidence,” Kip says. “He may have had control over you in life, but he’s no longer among the living. Spirits, especially those evil in life, will push boundaries in death. You’ve allowed him to keep the control over you that he once had, but it’s time to fight back.”
“How?”
“Use your voice. Fill it with the strength from inside you. Take your control back.”
I look at Ryan.
“I’m not going anywhere, William. You’re mine. We’ll be together again. I promised you I’d never leave you, and I mean that. I’m always here, William.”
“My name is Malin,” I snap. “Stop calling me William! I’m Malin Van Doren.”
“No, you’re my William!” Ryan hisses.
“Go away.”
“I will never—”
“GO AWAY!” I shout. “LEAVE ME ALONE. Get out of my life. You can’t hurt me anymore, and you need to leave.”
Ryan flickers. “William, stop that!”
“MALIN!” I scream and get to my feet. “I’m not William. I’m Malin. Get out. Get out of my house. Get out of my life and out of my head. Leave.”
“Good,” Kip says. “Tell him he’s no longer welcome. You’re revoking the invitation to be a part of your life.”
“You’re not welcome here,” I repeat. “I revoke your invitation into my life. You aren’t allowed near me anymore.”
“NO!” Ryan screams as his image fades before coming back again.
“Leave, Ryan. Leave me alone. Go away. Get out of my life. Leave! You can’t hurt me anymore. You have no control over me!”
Ryan vanishes. I stare at the spot he’d once been, eyes wide. The room is silent. My heart pounds like drums in a rock band. Slowly, I lower Gracen’s shirt and take a deep breath of the air around me. Waiting for Ryan’s voice to fill my head.
He’s really gone? I look at Kip, and he’s smiling. “He’s gone, Malin. You’re free.”
Not knowing what else to do and completely overwhelmed, I burst into tears.