Til Death Do Us Part

chapter six ~ let me explain

"Dead?"

The word tasted all kinds of wrong in my mouth. The only time I'd had to use it to explain anything to anyone was when I was talking about Jess.
Or about how dead to my own mother I was. Not that I talked much about that.

Jayden sighed.
"Sort of."

I shook my head, shuffling back again before I managed to stand up.
He stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"How can you be sort of dead?" I demanded.

"Look," he said, "you need to just trust me."

"Trust you!" I guffawed. This was ludicrous. Was he actually for real?
Instead, I felt myself backing against the wall.

"You need to leave," I finally managed to force a tone of authority into my voice, "before I call the cops."

He scowled, "And what will the cops find? A scared girl cowering at something they can't see!"

"Oh yeah?" I hissed, "Well if you're dead then why can I see you? And why can only I see you?"

Jayden threw his hands up, "I don't know! Nobody else can - I don't know why you can! It's weird!"

"No, the weird part about this entire thing is the fact that I'm allegedly speaking to a dead person! Because if this is an act or a game you need to cut it out - it's passed funny. Long passed." My voice was shaking slightly.

He seemed to be weak with no resolve. So instead, he held a hand out to me.
"If you don't believe me, then take my hand."

"What?" I asked.
A line of determination set along his brow.

"Take my hand, Faye."

If it was going to make him leave, I was okay with doing whatever the hell he wanted.
If I had thought he was crazy before, he was beyond the psycho scale now. He needed sectioning.

So, cautiously, I reached out with my left hand, our fingertips brushing.
Or they would have.

Instead, my skin made no contact with the warm, smooth hand I'd been reaching for. It seemed to pass straight through it.
I gasped in horror.
"Oh my God," I stammered.

He dropped his arm back to his side with a sad look on his face.
"I'm sorry, Faye, I would've told you before but you never would've gone for me. And I never should've asked you to." He whispered.

I raised a brow, "Your dad isn't exactly the biggest problem on my list of problems right now." Was all I could say.
What was I supposed to make of this?

I had left Houston to escape my ghosts. Now I was just confronting new ones.
Jayden slowly lifted himself back onto the bed.

"It's why you had to open the car door for me. And I had to practically levitate over the seat in order to appear normal. Right now I'm not even sat on your bed."

I swallowed.

But he carried on, "And the thing with my family... I'm so sorry, Faye. I didn't even actually expect you to do that for me and it's why I didn't plan it out too well."

I snorted, "I was practically left without a choice."

He hung his head slightly, "But I'm going to need you to run a few errands for me, like that. But don't worry, nobody else I need you to talk to is like my dad."

My heart was hammering. He wanted me to do that, again?
No way.
Not a chance.
Not a God damn chance in Hel-

"When?" The words were already out my mouth.
You moron.