rewind.

12

"You can't give my brother sleeping pills then expect him to be fine with it!" Taeyong grabs the suitcase. "He is going to stay with me for a few days so I can talk about the Jackson nonsense." Taeyong pulls the blonde out of the house.

Johnny just shakes his head. After flopping down on the couch he couldn't help but to laugh like a maniac. He is so stupid. For a second he actually thought that Taeyong was letting Jaehyun grow up but he is still that overbearing bug that Johnny longs to get rid of. If it wasn't impossible he probably would have killed him with Jackson.

All of this silence, silence that inches to his heart and mind. Maybe giving Jaehyun those pills wasn't the most effective way to help him. On the other hand the blonde is already in therapy. Johnny is running out of options here.

"Sup bro." Mark bust in his house. He stumps his way into the main area to greet Johnny. "What's happening?"

"Oh no.." Johnny looks at Mark. "Your speech.... it's broken." The American was a little confused at Mark's style for the day. Usually the Canadian would be dressed up in a suit and tie. Now he is wearing bleach stained sweats with a horribly wrinkled white t-shirt and a pair of house shoes.

"Let me correct myself." Johnny clears his throat. "Your brain is broken."

"What are you talking about bro? Yuta said he liked cool and hip guys. So I'm trying something new." Mark whips out his baseball cap from his back pocket. "I'm as fly as ever." He shakes the hat before placing it backwards. "See."

Just fantastic, his cousin is trying to bring back the style from boyz n the hood. Johnny grits his teeth. "Mark you really aren't cool. You know that right?"

"You're right." Mark pouts. He moves his eyebrows up and down. He slowly folded his arms over his chest while smoldering, "I'm swagalicious."

Johnny's eyes broaden. "Tell me you didn't just say...." he couldn't even speak. "Mhmm" the American turns around and leaps away from the crazy brunette.

"Johnny, don't walk away. You know you love it!" Mark jogs to catch up to the very annoyed Johnny. "If we weren't cousins you would totally marry me."

Befuddled, Johnny snaps his head to Mark, "never!" He knew it was a joke but why did he just yell at the younger one? His eyes widened when he realized what he did. He couldn't fix his lips to say sorry, all he could do was storm out.

"Johnny, it was a joke!"

Stupid Mark, Johnny knows. Johnny throws on his Jean jacket before storming out of his house. He slams the door and carefully runs down the stairs.

As he grips the handle on his car he hears someone calling his name. "Help me! Johnny, please help me!"

Johnny stands there listening. "I already helped you." He jumps in his car and speeds off.

~~~~

"You are a ghost whisperer, correct?" Johnny folds his hands looking at the man in front of him. "I need to know."

"Yes I am." The man slowly picks up his cards. "Would you like a reading before speaking to someone on the other side?"

Johnny didn't know if he should trust this boy. He didn't look a day older than fifteen. Not to mention Johnny knows they get more scam. But if he says no then that will also stall the reading that could be complete bullshit.

"Sure why not. How much extra?" Johnny asked to see just how real this kid is.

"For you it's free. Only because you have such a complicated way of living."

How dare this little punk say that. He doesn't have a complicated way of living. He puts his pants on one leg at a time. He slides his shoes on one foot at a time. So he too is human. The only thing complicated about him is his emotions and how he can experience all of them at once.

"You're probably in denial. However.." The boy shuffles a stack of cards. "These cards do not lie. They will tell you everything about yourself, stuff you have noticed and the things that you have not noticed as much." The boy spread out the deck of cards. "Choose three."

Johnny slightly smiles to himself there's no way three cards will tell him about himself. He is so much more than that. Doing whatever the young one said, Johnny pulled out three cards.

"Let us see what the cards say." The boy pushed the other cards aside. He grabs the three and flips them over.

"Two headed fish, wounded soldier, and prisoner." The boy reads out loud. "All of the things I sensed you were."

Johnny sits up straight. "Really what is that?" He chuckles. "You can't possibly explain someone who you called complicated with just three cards."

"Wrong again. The cards doesn't tell me exactly who you are, they tell me what you are like to others and to yourself." The boy slides the two headed fish card to johnny. "You might think it means two faces, but it means two identities. You are outgoing, sweet, and the very thing that your husband fell for, caring. However, that's all a facade. You're scared, and manipulative."

Johnny drops open. "What?"

"Don't act surprised. When everyone turned on Jackson you stayed by his side not because you were such a good friend but because you were scared that your family would go bankrupt again because of the wangs. You also manipulate your husband. You make him feel crazy but he isn't. You're just not ready to talk about Jackson. You're not ready to let go."

Johnny started shaking, how did this little punk know? This must be a fluke. Trying to calm his nerves he smiles. "Oh how do you know that? Are you by chance a stalker?"

The boy smiles. "No. The cards tell me everything." He swiped over the wounded soldier and raised his eyebrows up and down. "Thi..."

"Yeah." Johnny leans forward. He didn't want to admit it but he believes this guy is the real deal.

"You are hurt by the past. What is the past? The death of a family friend? Or the loss of your sister?"

The color drains from Johnny's face. Nobody knew about his sister. Even Mark didn't know.
"H.."

"Now the most fun, the prisoner." The boy picks up the card. "You are imprisoned by your own thoughts and upbringing. You feel like you must be the man so you work yourself to death and make irrational decisions, especially for your husband."

"You know nothing about me." With an amusing smile Johnny says. "Those cards were right only at the beginning....."

"You really came to ask me to tell you dead friend to leave your husband alone, right?" Now it is the boy's turn to laugh. "You were caught up in the reading that you had forgotten."

Johnny's mouth dropped open. Maybe this guy is the real deal? Johnny shakes that thought away, he needed to test this guy out a little more.

"Will Jaehyun cheat?"

"To you he will, to him he won't."

Johnny was confused. "What in the hell does that mean?"

"Why can't you trust the fact that he loves you?" The boy takes a sip from his cup. "It's because he is beautiful in your eyes. You feel that he might leave you for your rich boss. However you're missing everything, jaehyun will never leave you because he loves you. To answer the question that is coming next, if your relationship falls it is your fault."

Johnny tisk as he looks away. He was so caught up in this little game that he forgot about the Jackson situation. "Can you tell Jackson to leave my husband alone?"

"I can't."

"Why not?" Johnny's head turns to the side.

"Because there's no record of him dying."
Johnny's eyes widened.