Love, Like Ghosts: A Bay City Paranormal Investigations Story

Adrian sighed. “I’m stuck, Sam. I want to figure out exactly how he died, maybe find his body so he can move on, but I can’t seem to get any further than I’ve gotten already, and I don’t know what to do.”
Sam listened with an unreadable expression. When Adrian finished, Sam grunted, lifted his mug and drew a long, thoughtful mouthful. Adrian squirmed in silence while Sam studied his face.
Finally, he couldn’t take it any longer. “So? What do you think I should do?”
Sam’s eyebrows lifted. “First off, I wonder why this is so important to you.” He raised a hand, halting the protest on Adrian’s lips. “But it clearly is important, and you’re an adult now, so I suppose the why of it is none of my business.”
Adrian stared at the table and said nothing. His cheeks burned under Sam’s unrelenting scrutiny. After a few seconds that dragged on forever, Sam began speaking again.
“I think the problem may be that you’re holding yourself too much in check when you’re communicating with the spirit.”
Startled, Adrian raised his head. “No, that can’t be it. I’m opening my mind as much as I can.” So much it scares me sometimes.
Sam gave him a gentle smile. “I don’t doubt it. But I know you, Adrian. After all you went through as a child, and as hard as you worked for so many years to get your psychokinesis under control, keeping a tight rein on yourself is second nature to you at this point. I think being able to let your guard down and open yourself up completely would take some hard work and a deliberate effort in the other direction. I don’t think it’s something you’d be able to just do with a few quick and dirty relaxation and meditation exercises.”
Resentment kindled in Adrian’s gut. Years of practice kept it off his face. “I was able to establish communication with him easily enough that way. I’ve done it that way before too. Entities have always been attracted to my abilities. You’re the same way, you’ve said so yourself.”
“Yes, that’s true. Ghosts and other paranormal entities have always been drawn to me. Whether because of my psychokinesis or my other psychic abilities, who knows. Those abilities seem to be linked in you and me both.” Sam set his mug on the table, his fingers still curled around the handle. “But your psychokinesis is several orders of magnitude stronger than mine. You were forced to exercise a level of control at an early age that I don’t have to use even now. When you have to build up such a strong subconscious control over something like that, of course it’s going to be more difficult for you to let go of that control. But it sounds to me like this spirit of yours has given all he’s going to give, or all he can give, in the situation the way it stands now. If you want to break through the barrier you’ve reached with him, you’re going to have to work on letting go. Letting down all your shields, and letting him into your mind completely.” Sam’s gaze sharpened. “Either that, or let this one go.”
Adrian swallowed hard. The idea of relinquishing even a little bit of the control he’d worked so hard to achieve terrified him. What would happen if he couldn’t get it all back? What happened if something angered him while his guard was down? Even worse, what if repeatedly loosening his grip on his powers meant they slipped away from him while he and Greg were making love? Christ, he’d never forgive himself if his need to help Lyndon ended up hurting Greg.
Maybe you should give up.
He shook off the thought before it could take hold. He wouldn’t give up. Couldn’t. Leaving Lyndon to the mournful twilight existence he’d suffered for over a century wasn’t an option.
He gripped his mug until his knuckles paled. “It’s the only way?”
“Well, obviously you know this ghost better than I do. But from what little you’ve told me, it sounds like it.” Sam laid a hand on Adrian’s arm. “Can I give you one more piece of advice?”
“Sure.” Adrian forced an anemic smile. “I can use as much as I can get.”
One corner of Sam’s mouth hitched upward. He dropped his hand, lifted his mug and sipped from it. “Tell Greg about this.”
Astonishment made Adrian’s pulse speed up. “Um. What?”
Sam snorted. “Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. You haven’t told Greg about this ghost hunt of yours.”
Shit . Adrian hunched his shoulders and studied the scratch on the wooden table.