No More Secrets (Book 2)

3. Physical Touch

Dylan and I both ended up collapsing into bed once we finally finished unpacking. We were too exhausted from the week to do anything else. It probably would have gotten done sooner if Dylan actually did something while I was at work, but that's okay. The unpacking process was more fun when we did it together anyway.

I fell asleep almost immediately, laying on my side with Dylan curled up against my back. I wasn't sure how long I slept before I woke to Dylan getting out of bed.

I rolled over to look at him in the faint light. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just need some water. Go back to sleep."

I rolled back over, unable to keep my eyes open any longer. But I didn't fall back to sleep. Instead, I listened to the soft clicking of his crutches against the hardwood floor. Despite him having those crutches for two years now, I still worried about him moving around on them, especially in the dark.

I must have actually drifted off, though, because the next thing I knew, the bed shifted and the covers moved. Dylan's hand laid on my side and he pressed his body up against my back.

I relaxed into him. Moments like this were what I loved most about living with him. I got to spend every night in the same bed as the man I loved.

But then I heard the soft clicks of Dylan's crutches again. I brushed it off, thinking my mind was playing tricks on me or maybe the building was making noises that sounded similar.

"What the hell?" Dylan whispered. His voice came from the doorway. Not the bed next to me. "Get away from him, you perv!"

I sat up, suddenly wide awake. The bed next to me was empty and Dylan stood next to it. He looked pissed.

"Dyl?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly. "What's going on?"

He sighed and sat down on the bed. He didn't say anything until his crutches were tucked back under the bed. "I'm so sorry." He looked at me. "I'm sorry that you have to know ghosts exist, but never see them. It's not fair to you."

A lump caught in my throat. I reached over and turned on the lamp. "Was there a ghost in our bed?"

He nodded, his face was pale in the bright light. "I know you don't want to know things like that, so I was trying to be quiet. I didn't mean to wake you up. Just seeing her trying to touch you..."

"Dyl, she was touching me." His eyes widened. "I thought you had come back to bed. I thought you were spooning me. It felt so real."

He pulled at the collar of my shirt. "Where's the pendent?" he asked, not finding the string around my neck. "Didn't you start wearing it again? Where is it?"

"I..." I had to think for a second. "I took it off to shower earlier. I think it's still in the bathroom." Dylan started to get up again, but I stopped him. "I can get it, babe. It's fine."

He looked like he was going to argue, but thankfully he didn't. I was more than capable of walking to the bathroom to grab that pendent.

It was weird knowing that a ghost actually touched me. It physically had its hand on me and it felt so real, I honestly thought it was Dylan. I would be lying if I said I wasn't freaked out by it.

Once in the bathroom, I found the pendent immediately. It was tucked into the corner, behind the toothbrush holder. Picking it up, I rolled the small metal piece between my fingers. It was hard to imagine how such a small little thing had so much protective power against ghosts.

With a sigh, I put the leather cord around my neck, letting the pendent bounce onto my chest. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. There were dark circles under my eyes and, honestly, I looked completely worn out. How did Dylan still stand to look at me?

I shook my head and turned off the bathroom light before heading back to the bedroom.

Dylan was sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for me. "You found it?" he asked. I nodded. "Good. Never take it off again."

I chuckled, crawling into bed and pulling him down so that he was laying next to me. I kissed his nose. "I love you, but you don't have to worry about me."

He gave me a small smile. "Only if you stop worrying about me."

I shook my head. "That's not possible. Now, can we please go to sleep? I have work in a few hours."

Dylan nodded and turned off the lamp before tucking his face into the crook of my arm. Holding on to him, I immediately fell asleep.

When my alarm went off in the morning, Dylan was gone. He rarely gets up before me, especially on days when I had to open at the bookstore. I had a feeling something was wrong.

I hurried out of bed and, within seconds, I was rushing towards the living room. I stopped in the doorway when I saw him on the couch, the TV playing softly across from him.

"I don't know how she did it," he was saying, looking at the spot on the couch next to him. "Oh, sure. You go right ahead and try. I'll wait. It's not going to work."

I stepped into the room. "Morning," I said. Then I looked at the empty spot on the couch. "Hi, Jenny." There was only one ghost Dylan talked to like that. Their relationship seemed to get so much stronger after she died.

He shook his head. "She says hi, but she can't hear you. You're still wearing the pendent."

"Right." I touched the leather cord. Sometimes I forgot that ghosts could see me while I wore it but, unless they really tried, they couldn't pay attention to me. No matter how hard Jenny tried, she hasn't yet been able to hear me. She was the only ghost we ever tried with, but apparently the same goes for all of them. "What are you two up to?" I asked Dylan.

He shrugged. "I told her about the ghost last night touching you. She's now trying to change the channel. It's not working. Obviously."

I glanced at the TV, where the weatherman was talking about rain later on in the week, then looked back at Dylan. He was watching the remote sitting next to him, with Jenny probably still trying to change the channel.

"Okay," I said. "Well I'm going to get ready for work. Have fun with that."

I turned to leave the room. If I didn't get ready now, I was going to be late. But then the weatherman was cut off mid-word and some cartoon character burst out laughing. I spun back around and looked at Dylan. He was staring at the spot Jenny was sitting, his mouth dropped open in shock. I probably had the same expression on my face.