by Ofelia Grand
“Are you all right, boy?” Her shrill voice rang in the air.
“He…he—” he pointed at the man on the floor “—tried to mug me.”
She huffed and went back into her flat. Travis didn’t think she believed him, but then he heard her voice as she called the police. He let out a shaky breath, and with one hand still on the railing, he slid down to the floor again.
Mrs. Rose came back out to the staircase, but Travis didn’t hear what she said. He needed to rest a bit before he could focus.
Even as he tried to stay awake, his eyelids slid closed. Everything around him disappeared.
I See You
Larry could hardly keep from dancing around the policemen and paramedics. It worried him that Travis looked frail, though, as if he was having a hard time keeping his balance, and he was white as a ghost. Larry, on the other hand, hadn’t felt this good since he came back to life. He was warm inside, all the pain was gone, and he was so full of energy he didn’t know what to do with it.
Apparently, the man who had stolen Travis’s money had hurt his leg when he fell down the last flight of stairs. Larry hoped he had a fracture—it would serve him right. Too bad he hadn’t broken his neck.
As one of the policemen asked Travis some questions, Larry tested going outside and followed one of the paramedics to the ambulance, but the farther he was from the building the stronger the pull inside of him became. He didn’t want to try to stretch it too far, the searing pain of leaving the flat still fresh in memory, but he stood there enjoying the wind for a bit.
With a sigh, he reached for his pack of cigarettes. As the butt of the cigarette touched his lips, he thought he could taste it. He closed his eyes and imagined the tang on his tongue. Then he put the cigarette back in the pack.
Happy to have been outside for the first time in decades, he turned and went back into the building. Travis let out a loud sigh as soon as Larry crossed the threshold, and he stopped short. It had to be a coincidence, had to be.
Travis peered over the policeman’s shoulder, a pleading look in his eyes that made Larry’s chest ache. He might have imagined it, but he thought Travis relaxed more the closer Larry got to him. It shouldn’t please him, but it did. It was like Travis could feel him, and wasn’t that what he’d always wanted?
Larry took out the comb from his back pocket, ran it through his hair to make sure he looked good, and went to stand next to Travis. He was close enough to touch, and Travis let out another sigh. Something was up. Larry didn’t know what, and for the time being, he didn’t care. He listened to the conversation between Travis and the policeman—apparently, Travis had never seen the man before tonight. Larry frowned. He’d assumed Travis owed him money.
“We’ll be in touch.” The policeman gave Travis a nod and put away his pen and paper before turning to leave.
“Oh, I thought they’d never leave.”
Travis sagged against the wall, and Larry couldn’t help but chuckle. “No, me, either.”
“Glad they finally did, though.”
Larry froze and then stuttered, “Erm…w-who are you talking to?” Larry tried to catch Travis’s gaze, but it was hard since he kept looking at his shoes.
“You, stupid. Why do you think I’m whispering?”
Larry’s heart made an effort to jump out of his chest even though it had been completely still for more than half a century. “You can…you can see me?”
Travis nodded. “Am I crazy? I mean, you’re the guy from my bathroom, right?”
The policeman, not the one who had been talking to Travis before but another one, gave Travis a concerned look. “You’re free to go.”
“Thank you, Officer. I’ll head up home, then.”
Travis grabbed the railing. “You need to come, too,” he murmured.
“I do?” Larry would’ve anyway.
“Yes, I’m pretty certain you do. When you went outside, I thought I was being ripped to pieces, I can’t explain it. It was like a part of me was being pulled away. Only the policeman standing in front of me stopped me from running after you.”
Larry stared. What have I done?
***
Travis was exhausted, but otherwise, he was all right. He was…not alone inside, but as long as he wasn’t suffocating, he could cope—for now, at least. He couldn’t put it into words, but it was like the guy walking behind him shared his body, and yet he didn’t, because he was right there on the stairs.
“Are you a ghost?” He stopped outside his door and looked at the man—his almost black hair styled as if he was to audition for a part in Grease, his jeans rolled up, and a retro leather jacket accompanied a slim-fit white T-shirt.
He shrugged. “Shadows is what they call us, but I guess ghost would work.” His beautiful hazel eyes filled with concern. “And you can see me?”
Travis nodded. He could see him.
“Did you lie to the police about the man?”
Travis didn’t like the accusing tone. “No, why?”
“Well, since you owe him money, I figured he might be back.”
Travis’s eyes widened. “Money? It’s my money, and I don’t owe him anything.” He would never be stupid enough to borrow money from anyone, much less a complete stranger.
“No? I figured…since you always seems worried…” The man looked as confused as Travis felt. “Ah, well, it’s nice that you finally can see me. I’ve seen you plenty already.” He grinned, and a blush crept up Travis’s cheeks. God, he’s seen me in the shower. Travis hoped it had only been that day, but the way the man leered made him think maybe he’d seen far more of Travis than Travis wanted to think about.
To hide his embarrassment, he opened the door and stepped inside. “So, what’s your name?”
“Larry.”
“And you live…here?”
“Yup, haven’t left since I came back.”
Came back from where? Travis wanted to ask, but he didn’t. Instead, he rubbed his chin and tried to come up with something to say. He wanted to go to bed, but he didn’t want to be rude when he had a guest. Maybe Larry would leave soon.
Travis wanted to smack himself on the head, if he hadn’t left since he came back, he probably wouldn’t tonight, either.
“So what changed? I mean, why can I see you?”
Larry shrugged and then looked a little guilty. “I think maybe I did something.”
Travis’s heart started to beat faster. “What?”
“I…erm…I’m not sure, but I think, maybe, you can see me because the flat isn’t what binds me anymore.”
Travis didn’t understand, but it was good, right? That Larry wasn’t bound to the flat? “So you’re free to go?”
“Erm…no, I don’t think so. We can try if you want.”
“Try what?”
Larry slipped out through the closed door. The moment he disappeared, icicles started slicing through Travis’s chest, moving down through his limbs. A pained gasp left his lips. Travis reached for the handle, flung the door open, and strode out into the corridor. With a bang, the door bounced on the wall and swung shut behind him.
“Didn’t work very well, did it?” Larry grimaced where he stood about two steps down the stairs.
The closer Travis got to him the calmer he became, the cold disappeared, and he was whole again. “No, it didn’t work very well.” He sank down and sat on the top step.
“I’m sorry, Travis. I think I might have bound myself to you instead of the flat.”
The hairs on the back of Travis’s neck prickled. “What does that mean?”
“I’m not sure, but I think…” He shrugged, his black leather jacket caressing his neck as his shoulders moved. “Where you go, I go, sort of.”
“I think I need some sleep.”
“You probably do. At least we got your money back, so you don’t need to worry so much.”
Travis nodded and got to his feet. “Where do you sleep?”
Larry took what looked like a dancing step
. “I usually spend the night watching you.”
“You do what?” His voice echoed through the stairwell, but he didn’t care.
“Well, it does get a bit boring at times, but you’re cute when you talk in your sleep.” Larry winked at him and went in through the closed door.
What the fuck?! Travis opened the door and hurried inside. “Have you no sense of privacy?”
Larry was sitting on the sofa with his feet on the rickety coffee table. “You’ve never complained before.”
“You’re in my room? You’ve been in my room when I’ve been sleeping?”
Larry’s amused smile did nothing to help his temper. “Oh, take it easy, sugar pie. I only lie down next to you on occasion.”
Travis’s mouth dropped open, then he blinked and stomped off into his bedroom. Maybe if he got some sleep, the irritating ghost would go away.
***
Larry watched Travis sleep. It had taken a while before he succumbed, but once he did, Larry had slipped into the room. He’d decided not to lie on Travis’s bed now when he could see him, but he loved watching Travis sleep, loved how his lips were always slightly open and how his brown hair tousled on the pillow.
Before he could stop himself, he reached out to stroke a lock of hair from Travis’s forehead.
He couldn’t help but worry. What would happen to Travis now? There were many that could go wrong. What if Travis grew tired of him? What would the queen say? Could he swap back to being bound to Travis’s flat?
He sat down on the bed, hardly even having to think about not slipping through. It was probably incredibly selfish of him, but he didn’t want to go back to being locked up in the flat. Being bound to Travis was almost like being alive. He could still slip through walls and stuff, but he didn’t need to concentrate nearly as hard to stay in one place. And he was warm inside, not at all like the hollow feeling he’d grown used to. Warm, and solid.
“Are you watching me?” Travis’s sleepy mumble pulled him from his thoughts.
“No.” Larry lay down next to Travis. He could feel the warmth of his skin even without touching him. Warmth—that was new.
He wanted to slip in under the cover and run his hands over Travis’s body, but he didn’t. As the minutes ticked by, he became optimistic that Travis wasn’t going to kick him off the bed.
“You do realise how creepy it is that you’ve been watching me, don’t you?” A frown marred Travis’s brow.
Larry shrugged. “I didn’t mind.”
Travis groaned and threw the pillow on him; it only partly slid through. “You won’t be doing it again. If I so much as see you near the bathroom, I’m throwing you out, understand?”
Travis sounded like he meant it. Could he throw Larry out? He didn’t think so, but he didn’t know for sure. He’d left the flat by sheer will—maybe Travis could rid himself of Larry if he truly wanted to. “Okay, I won’t go into the bathroom.”
“I’m going to pretend you’ve never been in there, and you’re not going to remind me of anything you’ve seen, is that clear?”
“Sure.” Larry rolled his eyes. “You know you’ve lived here for seven hundred and forty-eight days, don’t you?”
“No, I did not know that.”
Is it weird I do? Ah, well, too late now. “Have you got any idea what I’ve seen you do during those days?”
Travis breathed deeply. “This is the only time we’re going to talk about this. When I wake up tomorrow, you’ll act like it’s the first time you’ve ever seen me, and you better forget everything you think you’ve seen.”
“Everything I think I’ve seen…” He sniggered.
“You will.”
“Okay, I will.” Larry couldn’t stop smiling as he moved closer to Travis. His half-open mouth was too inviting to ignore. He leaned in closer, inhaling as he neared those soft-looking lips. He probably shouldn’t, but before he let himself think about why, he closed the distance. Warm soft skin touched his. Travis startled and shivered, but then he sighed and opened up to him.
The dual assault of Travis’s warm lips and the tremble going through Larry almost made him pull away. But as heat spread in his abdomen, he wanted nothing else but to pull Travis closer. We touched, actually touched! Waves of hot and cold washed over him.
A groan escaped into the silent room, and he wanted to climb on top of Travis, wanted to feel Travis’s body pressed against his, but he didn’t dare. What if he slipped through?
The longer the kiss lasted the more solid he became. Warmth radiated in every limb. He captured Travis’s lower lip between his teeth but then froze as the succulent flesh began to fade.
Slowly, he pulled back, reluctant to let go but too scared to continue. He was stealing Travis’s energy—it was the only explanation he could think of. Travis didn’t look like he’d noticed, but even with need rippling through Larry, he knew this could never happen again. He couldn’t allow himself to turn Travis into a shadow.
“Are you going back to not watching me now?” The corner of Travis’s mouth quirked as he squinted at Larry.
“Yes, I think so.” Larry gave him a gentle kiss on his forehead before settling down on his side of the bed.
“Okay.” Travis burrowed down close enough to touch and shut his eyes. “But tomorrow when we wake, this never happened.”
Larry chuckled, even though his chest grew tight. It had happened, and Larry would remember it for as long as he existed.
The End
About the Author
Ofelia Gränd is Swedish, which often shines through in her stories. She likes to write about everyday people ending up in not-so-everyday situations, and hopefully also getting out of them. She writes contemporary and paranormal, and dreams about one day writing a post-apocalyptic story—if that ever happens we’ll see.
Her books are written for readers who want to take a break from their everyday life for an hour or two.
When Ofelia manages to tear herself from the screen and sneak away from husband and children, she likes to take walks in the woods. She’s recently discovered the miracle of podcasts and spends her strolls listening to wise people talk.
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By the Author
At Liberty
Knickers in at Twist
From All of Us to All of You
Silent Woods
Blood on Sand
Dazzle Me
Buried Desires (with Amy Spector)
Deadly Sugar (Deadly Sugar #1)
Deadly Secrets (Deadly Sugar #1.5)
Oh No, Not Again…
A Christmas Princess
A Public Love Story
Once in a Snowstorm (Nortown #1)
We Exploded
Once in a Forest (Nortown #2)
The Empty Egg (Nortown #2.5)
Falling Through
Beaten Track Publishing
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