Chapter 6
6
Archie
I t’s absolutely infuriating how hot Jack Johnson is. For a moment, I enjoyed watching him discover the truth – how it made him feel – the pain it caused. The way his ego shattered as he came face to face with his reality. Then I remembered that Jack wasn’t him. No one was, even if they may have a few things in common. Jack wasn’t Pedro.
He was just another dumb, muscle-bound jock boy. But damn… His hair was so black, and his eyes were so brown… I mean, sure, his face looks like some painter created the most beautiful man in the world – his body looked like it was about to rip out of his clothes just by moving. Who needs clothes that tight? It’s just… He’s an exhibitionist; aren’t all of those gay boys? He’s used to smiling and people falling all over themselves to make him happy.
It annoys the living shit out of me. People like him are… They are what’s wrong with gay culture. I bet he goes out every night and bangs a new twink before going to another place and finding someone new. I… I’m much more aware now than I was when I first moved here.
Pedro was gorgeous, and I fell instantly in love with him. Insta-love is a real thing, and when he kissed me, I lost myself. I couldn’t believe that he seemed to feel the same way, but after six months of what I thought was happiness – things shifted. His energy got all twisted up, and I tried to ignore it. I wanted to be happy and… I knew in my heart that things were falling apart, but I held on, hoping that this was just a speed bump and we could work through it.
We didn’t. He left me a note and the key to my apartment. He didn’t even have the balls to do it in person. I saw him a few times after that, and he would turn to his bros and laugh. I should have made a scene – I deserved it – but I couldn’t.
Fuck him. Fuck all boys like him. That included Mister Jack Johnson. God, even his name sounded stupid.
Let those thoughts go. You have work to do, and you’re here to help an innocent soul, not obsess over some himbo. I cleared my thoughts once again and cracked my neck.
This was uncomfortable – sitting here on the floor with my legs crossed. I should have gotten a pillow off his bed, but… The window seemed to have the most energy for some reason, so if I was going to connect, it would probably be here.
I opened my mind and released my energy. I placed my hands on the windowsill and concentrated as I felt for the residual source of the spirit. If I could find that, perhaps I would be able to find him.
He was silent.
I had been sitting here for almost two hours, and I had learned almost nothing. The energy was male and angry. It left a red tinge wherever he had been, and the house was full of it even though it had faded everywhere but the bedroom. Maybe he died here. This was the master room, but was it always? I had asked Jack to find out as much about the house as he could, and he had already contacted the city of West Hollywood to find out anything that might help us.
It was frustrating. I wish that I could do exactly what most people think when they hear the word "psychic." It would be easier to just open my mind and know everyone's thoughts. However, it would also be terrifying and chaotic. Reading energy made my day-to-day existence hard enough. Passing someone on the street who was sick, and not saying something was… I usually said something, and they looked at me like I was insane. But maybe I helped a few before it was too late. Cancer was a dark hole of energy, and it radiated a deathly hum of impending doom. How could I not say something? My life would be easier if I could learn to shut my mouth, that’s for sure.
I could shield myself in some ways so I could exist like everyone else. But it always broke through, eventually. Being out in public for long periods of time was exhausting and complicated.
Wait!
“Who are you?” I had felt a flash of something.
I waited.
Nothing came back to me. But he was here, and he was hiding. Why would he hide from me? What was it? This wasn’t normal, but it wasn’t also unheard of. Some spirits were weak and could barely communicate as it took every ounce of energy to find form orspeak back to me. Others had their own reasons. I had once found the spirit of a little boy who had been murdered, and it had been so horrible – he hid, and it took days to finally get him to trust me enough to come forward.
Was this something like that? I had looked at the police records for this address, and there had been nothing to find. No murders had happened inside. At least, none that the police knew about.
The window… It kept drawing me here as a focal point. Why here?
I let down my guard once again and felt for the energies. I closed my eyes, and my inner vision flashed. A hand on the windowsill – a cup of coffee – another hand holding his, smaller but masculine – and a…
The vision ended as forcefully as it came. Angry energy, but not the kind of angry I often found. It wasn’t lashing out because of the new owner… It was internal, as if the anger was directed at itself… himself. Why? I was missing some key part of this story, wasn’t I? The spirit was not new – the energy was wiser and older… not that old, not ancient. Not recent. When? “Give me something?” I begged.
“What do you need?”
I fell over and spun around.
“Sorry, I… I didn’t mean to…” Jack stood there in an obscenely short pair of gym shorts and a black tank top that only a himbo could get away with.
“Don’t do that?” I huffed as I stared at him. He looked like he had just gotten off a cover shoot for some stupid health magazine. Jesus, I may think he’s a prick, but his dressing like that should be illegal. Those arms were a thing of beauty, and I’m sure they would feel great wrapped around me as they crushed my heart into tiny pieces.
“Sorry. You’ve just been up here a bit, and I thought I’d… Do you want anything?” I was taken back a little. This may have been one of the only nice things he had ever said to me.
“I’d love to get this spirit to actually talk to me. But that is proving quite difficult.” I sighed and rolled my neck.
“Are you hungry? I could make you a…”
“No.” I shook my head quickly. I had told him not to interrupt me. “I can’t eat while I do this, it… I’ll grab something later when I’m finished. But a… Do you have a bottled water or something? I’d take that.” My throat was dry.
“Sure. Give me a second.” His stupid smile brightened his handsome face, and I had to stop a small gasp from showing. I swallowed it down as he turned and walked away.
Fuck…
I rolled myself over and slowly stood. I heard a few snaps in my hips and spine. That was better, but… I stretched my hands above my head and leaned to the right and then the left. The pops sounded like gunshots to me.
This room was so full of energy, so why couldn’t I communicate? Maybe I was overthinking it. He didn’t want to communicate. He knew that I was here, but… He chose to stay silent. This would take time, maybe? Time I would have to spend up in Jack’s bedroom.
Get the himbo out of your mind. Fuck, I had a type, and that type was not good for me. Hot guys only used other people. I knew this to be true. They couldn’t be trusted.
At least he came to check up on me. I mean, that could have been bad if I were actually communicating with the spirit. Being interrupted could be dangerous. I would have to make sure that my client understood and followed my directions. But his checking on me was sweeter than I would have assumed he would be.
“All I have is some vitamin water. I’m trying to build my muscles back up.” He held it in his hands as he walked to me.
I stared at him, wondering what his body looked like before. Wasn’t this already the best that it could be? He had to be a fucking beast. Jack… This all started with Jack.
“What do you mean you’re trying to build your body back up?” I asked quizzically. He was the key to all of this somehow.
“I’d been unable to work out for a while.” He shrugged. He was avoiding the question.
“The hospital? What was uh… Sorry if that’s asking too much. Maybe you don’t want to tell me, or it’s none of my business.”
He looked down at the floor and frowned. “It’s not something that I really want to talk about. I’m trying to move on, you know? How did you know that my nurse was… not my real nurse?”
“How did I know that she was a spirit? They leave traces of energy, and she has given much of herself to you. She must have really liked you,” I answered. It was true. She had felt like he was worthy of her attention for some reason.
“If I went there, would I see her again?” He sounded so sad it broke my heart.
“I… There’s not really a straightforward answer to your question. Maybe? Spirits are everywhere for the most part. Some are bound to a certain place, and others aren’t. Your… What was her name?”
“Bernice.”
“Right. Bernice. She was a nurse and probably was very great at her job and she loved it, so when she died, that was the place that she attached to. Or, she could just be visiting. I wouldn’t know until I actually knew.”
“Why would…” His shoulders slumped. “Is going to the light like a real thing?”
“Poltergeist?”
“Exactly,” he chuckled, and it lit up his stupidly handsome face. “I’ve always loved horror movies.”
“Death doesn’t seem to be that straightforward. But I don’t know, to be honest. I’m still alive, and… It’s the last great unknown for each of us. What we see or experience seems to be different for almost everyone. But going into the light, if that is actually a thing, doesn’t truly mean that a spirit can’t still come and go if it chooses to. It’s rare, though. Most spirits, when they leave this Earthly plane, stay wherever they go.”
“That really didn’t answer my question,” he walked towards me slowly.
“I can’t answer it if I don’t really know. Most of the disembodied that I speak to have never left. I’ve only known one to come back after moving on, and that was… not something I really want to talk about.” I glanced away.
“It was bad?”
“You have no idea.” I reached out to take the water, and our fingers touched.
The world shifted, and I grabbed his hand tighter. From the look on his face, he was experiencing the same thing as me. The room shrunk and then expanded as the veil between our worlds collapsed into itself and pulled us through.
“Can’t you just leave me alone!”
We turned towards the sound, and sitting by the window was a middle-aged man in a robe.
“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.