Page 27 of One Last Touch

“So she took me and ran,” I said quietly, my head felt like it was reeling from trying to process all of the information they had thrown at me. “I went off to university and what, she decides it’s finally safe to check in, only to find her husband and the household murdered by the possible-father of her kid?” I swallowed. God, saying it aloud didn’t help.

“I know it’s a lot,” Sage said quietly and looking at him made me want to cry. The both of them had just been swept up in the drama of my family and paid for it with their lives, for trying to do the right thing. “We can stop here for tonight, talk more about your mother tomorrow—”

“No, no. I’ve come this far. Tell me.”

Sage looked over at Ms Weathers before focusing back on me. “I don’t know what’s different about you, Georgina. Why you can see us. Your mother couldn’t. I wasn’t lying before when I said I didn’t speak to her, I physically couldn’t. Short of tearing up the place and scaring the shit out of her, there was nothing we could do to warn her about Jared.”

“He’s still here like you?”

“Yes, but not like us. He’s a malevolent spirit and that seems to make things harder for him in some ways.”

“Like what?”

“Well, like I told you before. He’s not able to manifest during the day, but once the sun goes down he’s even more powerful than either of us. Every day, he lies in wait, and every night, he hunts us.”

My face must have betrayed my confusion because Sage grimaced, his mouth working but clearly unsure what to say. Ms Weathers stepped in.

“Ghosts are energy, dear. We are not corporeal, though it may look like that to you. We are, as best as I can guess, a manifestation of our souls. The brighter we shine, the more energy we have.”

I looked worriedly between them. “Why is Sage barely glowing compared to you?”

Sage fussed with his glasses, avoiding my eyes until Ms Weathers sighed.

“He’s been leading Jared away from you almost every night.”

I frowned as the tension seemed to rise.

Sage finally looked at me, his mouth pinched like he was eating something sour. “He hunts us for our energy, to make himself stronger. Once we run out…”

“What? What happens?”

Sage looked at Ms Weathers and shrugged. “I assume that’s it. We’re gone. We move on, or we fade out of existence, I’m not sure.”

My alarm rose. “How can we stop it?”

Ms Weathers sighed. “By stopping him. We’d thought after he killed your mother, we would be free. She was the thing tethering him to this world and he was the thing tethering us. Only—”

“She wasn’t his tether.” I swore. “I am.”

* * *

“Are you okay?” Sage asked as we walked up the stairs. I’d had enough information, enough bombshells dropped on me for one evening. I wasn’t going to let them all continue to suffer, stuck here while Jared drained them dry. But I wasn’t sure what to do yet either. I needed to sleep, reset. It had all been such a shock and the problem would still be there for me in the morning.

“I don’t know,” I said honestly, trailing my fingers over the bannister as we stepped up onto the landing. It was late, ridiculously so but I didn’t feel settled yet. There was too much on my mind.

Sage paused at the entrance of my bedroom and I tried not to blush, remembering how I’d teased him in here before and kissed him earlier. He probably thought I was an idiot. Because it hurts far more to see you and be unable to touch you than to die a true death with my hand in yours. Maybe not.

He made to turn away and I bit my lip. “Wait. Will you stay?”

Sage’s eyes were soft as they met mine, the small hints of sunrise sending shocks of gold through his hair as his strange glow faded. “If that’s what you want.”

“I do,” I whispered and he nodded, following me to the bed and closing his eyes when I changed into my pyjamas. “I’m sorry that I refused to listen to you before. I know you were just trying to keep me safe.”

The softness on his face sent butterflies cascading through my stomach as we settled on the bed. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you the truth—I just didn’t want to scare you, even if you did believe me.”

We watched each other for a moment and we both relaxed, accepting the honest regret for what it was before I reached to turn off my lamp and snuggled into the covers.

“Sage?”

---