Fates Intertwined

60. | Medium

It was well past three in the morning when Eric was pounding on people's doors. He made sure they were awake before he continued on down the hall, instructing they meet him in the sitting room.

Eric sat, waiting, with his knees bouncing. He fidgeted with his hands, his stomach bunched in nerves.

Evelyn stumbled into the room with Oliver in tow, their daughter sleeping peacefully on his shoulder. Evelyn pouted. "I remember the days when I could get a full night's sleep without anything interrupting." She groaned, yawning into her hand.

Zyran walked over the couch, rubbing at his eyes, and sat down. Esme and Angel were the next ones to enter the room, only Esme was the only one who looked like she had just woken up.

"What's this about, Eric?" Zyran grumbled, leaning on the arm of the couch with his hand on his face, eyes closed.

Eric pushed himself up and began pacing, unable to sit still. "So, remember when you guys said Aurora's spirit is most likely in limbo?"

"Yeah. So what?" Evelyn yawned, leaning back against Oliver.

"She is."

She peeled open her eyes, meeting Eric's eye.

"How do you know?" Esme asked around a yawn.

"I saw her." All of their heads snapped to him.

"How?" Oliver asked, his voice rough from sleep.

"I...I can see the dead." He paused his pacing as he revealed the truth. He had never told anyone, due to the fact that he was primarily terrified of ghosts and hoped they'd leave him alone if he didn't make eye contact with them.

"You're a medium." Angel whispered.

Eric looked at her confused. "Uh...whatever that is."

"It's people who can see the dead. Psychic, medium, whichever you prefer." Esme explained. He nodded slowly.

Zyran's brows furrowed, and he turned to his brother, confused. "Why wouldn't you say anything? It's been three hundred years."

"Of torture." He shot back. "Three hundred years of torture."

"Again, you could've said something." Zyran stated.

"I'm not like you, Zyran." He snapped. "I don't have powers like you guys do. I can't heal miraculously. I can't throw fireballs, or pin people to the wall without touching them. I can't make people listen to me by just humming, and I can't control liquids." He glared. "What I have is a curse."

"What you do can help people." He stated.

"Well, ironic enough, I'm scared of dead people!" He threw his arms up. "I try to ignore them, but they just keep coming back and, quite frankly, it makes me want to cower and hide away. Never to be seen from again."

"Is that why you drink?" Oliver asked, brows furrowed. Eric looked at him. "Sorry, you just reeked of alcohol when you walked in."

Slowly, Eric nodded. "Yeah. Alcohol used to quiet them. It...shut down that part of my brain and it just..."

"Made the world go quiet." Evelyn whispered, suddenly wide awake.

"Yeah." He whispered, dropping his gaze to the floor.

"Tell them." Aurora spoke, suddenly appearing on his right. Eric jumped, taking a large step away. "Tell. Them."

He flinched as she appeared on the other side of him. "I-I did. I told them." He stammered.

"They have to know." She glitched and disappeared, only to reappear in the space between Evelyn and Esme. Then she was appearing on his right side, standing too close for comfort. "Tell them!" She yelled, the lights bursting. The group of them jumped, Oliver instinctively protecting Ana.