Love, Like Ghosts: A Bay City Paranormal Investigations Story

room, not even his parents’ house—spoke volumes. The truth was, he’d simply wanted to be with Adrian, not alone in a hospital bed. After enduring the past sixteen days alone, Adrian was content to know that without having to hear it spoken out loud.
“You have a point there.” Adrian watched Greg drain half his mug in one draught. “I’ll tell you the truth, Steven and Sandy haven’t exactly been my favorite people lately, and you know why, but I’m very glad they were with you this morning. They saved your life.”
“I know. Believe me, I know.” Greg snorted. “I’ve thought all day about how ironic that was, that they’ve been hanging all over me to protect me from you, when all along it wasn’t you I needed protection from at all. It was him .”
A suspicion wormed itself into Adrian’s brain. He aimed a narrow look at Greg. “What are you saying? I thought he’d left you alone lately. You didn’t mention anything to me about him bothering you.”
Greg stared at the blue and white UNC mug in his hand for a moment, as if it held the answers to all life’s most pressing questions, then leaned over the arm of the chair and set it on the floor. Unfolding his legs, he scooted to the edge of the chair, reached out and took Adrian’s hands in his. “Adrian, I owe you a massive apology. And I owe you the truth. The whole truth, for a change. You’ve given me that. I realize that now. And you deserve the same from me.”
Cold dread settled like a block of ice in Adrian’s stomach, but he didn’t let it show. He curled his fingers around Greg’s and nodded. “I’m listening.”
For a second, the fear and worry melted from Greg’s features and his eyes shone with the elusive light Adrian had noticed on and off ever since that last night in Mobile. Only this time, it didn’t fade away. It remained, bright and beautiful, even when Greg’s brief smile vanished and the furrow dug into his brow once again.
Adrian stared, fascinated, his pulse galloping and his mouth dry. Finally, finally , he thought he could put a name to what he saw in Greg’s eyes. But he refused to voice it, even to himself, because being wrong would destroy him. Instead, he forced the revelation to the back of his mind and focused on what Greg was about to say.
“Harrison never left me alone.” Greg’s fingers kneaded the backs of Adrian’s hands, a sure sign of his nervousness. “In fact, the stalking’s gotten worse since that day we saw him on the street.”
Adrian nodded. He’d expected something like that. “And to think I thought I’d scared him away. Stupid of me, really.”
Greg frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I gave him a little taste of my psychokinesis. Just enough to scare him off, or so I thought.” Adrian shrugged, feeling his cheeks heat as Greg’s eyebrows shot up. “I know it was dumb. It just made me so angry, the way he treated you.”
“I know. And I’m not starting that fight again.” One corner of Greg’s mouth turned up in a wry halfsmile. “I guess that explains why he kept telling me you were a demon.”
“Probably.” Adrian ran a thumb over Greg’s knuckles. “I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t make things worse for you.”
“With Harrison, it’s pretty hard to tell, but I’d say you didn’t.” Greg sighed. “Anyway, up until this morning he’s mostly been either calling me or showing up out of the blue to tell me that you’re a demon who’ll steal my soul away to hell, or that I belong to him and we’re destined to be together. A few times he’s told me that he’s coming back to take me away to paradise, whatever the fuck that means.”
Adrian blew out a breath. “Good grief. He sounds certifiable, Greg. Why didn’t you try to get any kind of protection from him?”
Greg’s eyes flashed. His jaw took on a familiar stubborn set. “I didn’t take out a restraining order because I know Harrison, and it would’ve just set him off and made him violent. And before you say it, yes, I know what happened this morning. That was completely out of the blue. I didn’t expect it.” The defensiveness disappeared from Greg’s face. His shoulders slumped. “I actually talked to the cops earlier about having him committed, and I found out it would be impossible for me to do since I’m not next of kin. The police said I could do a restraining order, but that was my only option until Harrison actually attacked me or something.”
“Jesus.” Unable to help himself, Adrian