The Last 384 Hours

8

I processed his words. "You're taking me to your Utopia?" There was unfiltered surprise in my voice.

Had he finally decided to be fair and share some details about himself? "Well, it's only fair. You took me to yours."

I narrowed my eyes. "Didn't you say this was for educational purposes?"

"It's for that, and for fairness." His voice was back to being emotionless again and his eyes left mine.

We ventured in silence, with me trying to keep up with Nicholas' long strides. When we finally arrived to the familiar miniscule and poorly illuminated entrance hall, I was slightly out of breath.

Nicholas, whose face didn't show any sign of exhaustion, now turned to face me for the first time since we'd first decided it would be more fitting to travel in silence. His face reeked of nonchalance. "So here's the plan: everyday from now onwards, you're going to ask me a question about the spiritual realm and I'm going to show you the answer," there was a pause as he pursed his lips. "And if it's really, really necessary, you can ask me about something personal... Any questions before we commence?"

It should've amused me to see him compromise at his own accord, but my short temper had other plans for me today, and the scowl on my face proved it. "Yeah, actually."

"What?"

"You're acting uncharacteristically nice. What do you want?"

"I'm always nice."

"Answer the question, Nicholas," I prodded, my patience wearing thin. Here's another thing I disliked: beating around the bush; stalling. It annoyed the gratitude out of me.

"I want you to trust me." I was slightly taken aback by how clearly and—from the looks of it—sincerely his words were delivered. I hadn't been expecting that type of response. And the way he remained calm and collected when he said it shook me even more. Or maybe even startled me, like how Aiden did sometimes.

When I opened my mouth to speak, my irritation had fled; perplexity taking its place. And as a result, my voice came out unusually soft. "Why?"

"Because I'm all you have."

I wanted to point out that I had God, but I was lacking in the faith department. I wanted to point out that I had Veronica, but deep down inside I knew that Veronica was human; a clueless human that hadn't died yet. And I wanted to point out that Nicholas and I barely knew each other, but if I took a look around, I'd only see Nicholas, and he was the only one that would see me. As much as this brutally penetrated every single fibre of my being, I had no control over it.

Nicholas was right. He was all I had. But...I wasn't all he had. And if I died, I'd no longer be the interesting half-dead girl with queer abilities. My being a normal, uninteresting ghost would then make it easier for him to leave.

A familiar numbness throbbed in my chest, and my next words were nothing but a mere whisper. "What will happen then? When you earn my trust... will you disappear? Once I'm no longer an odd discovery... once I'm just a regular ghost." I should've winced for making myself appear vulnerable, but everything was out in the open now. Even my brokenness.

He gave me a cold, hard, calculating look. "Leaving people for no reason isn't my modus operandi, Rose."

"But then, you will have a reason."