Page 57 of Phobia

I exhaled a calming breath and met Larkin’s concerned gaze. “I need his help with something.”

“But you won’t tell me?”

“You wouldn’t believe me,” I said, pushing past him and heading to the fridge. Hopefully the card was stuck in the slew of takeout menus. If not, maybe I could plead with the hospital staff to page him for me or something.

“That’s bullshit!” Larkin was right behind me, every step of the way. “You’re not even giving me a chance! And after everything I told you?”

“I tried to tell you the other night! You didn’t listen!”

“Tell me what? That you sawhim? That he was in your room?” Larkin ran a hand over his face, lowering his voice when he spoke again. “That was a bad dream, Jame. That’s all.”

“No, it wasn’t!” I slammed the handful of menus on the tiny kitchen table. “I told you I saw him before that, too! I’vebeenseeing him! And it doesn’t matter that he’s dead because—” The truth stalled on my tongue, unwilling to come out.

“Because what?” He spread his hands, waiting.

This must have been how Larkin felt before he confessed his deepest, darkest secrets, teetering on the edge of hope and fear of rejection. Desperate to let it all out, to unburden himself, but paralyzed by a myriad of possible outcomes, most of which ended horribly.

“Jamie! Just fucking say it!”

I spit it out in a rush, like ripping off a bandaid again. “Because I can see ghosts.”

Larkin blinked, a small crease forming between his dark brows.

“I know,” I continued. “It’s crazy. Ghosts aren’t real. Except, they are. I’ve been seeing them since we were thirteen. Dr. Corbin said I’m a medium. I guess sometimes experiences like mine give you the ability. I swear to you, it’s not all in my head. They’re real.”

“You never said anything,” Larkin said quietly, looking more like a wounded puppy than someone trying to process the unbelievable.

“I told my parents when it first started. They told my shrink. They all said it was trauma and upped my medication, but I still saw them. I didn’t understand any of it until our freshman year here when Dr. Corbin explained what was happening. Finally, everything made sense.”

“Yeah… but you still never said anything to me.” His dark eyes dropped for a moment as his mouth curved into a frown. “Even after you knew for sure it was real.”

My gaze fell to the center of his chest, guilt seeping in to replace the relief ballooning inside. “I didn’t want you blaming yourself any more than you already do for what happened back then. And before you told me what really happened, I didn’t want to give you a reason to not like me or to think I was weird.”

“Are you serious? After the shit I dropped on you? You thinkI’mgoing to judge you for talking to Casper?” He nudged me, prompting me to look up again. “Besides, you’re already weird. Science nerd.”

“So you believe me?” All ribbing aside, I couldn’t help the lingering doubt. Other than Dr. Corbin, no one else had taken me seriously. They all wanted to “fix” me and make me “normal” again, but how were you supposed to do that after seeing how ugly the world can be?

“Of course I believe you. My great-aunt used to pass on messages from our dead relatives. I always thought it was kinda cool.” He closed the distance between us and touched my face. Leaning in, he stopped abruptly and glanced around. “We’re alone, though… right?”

I grinned and nodded. As his lips pressed against mine, the huge weight I’d been carrying for all those years drifted away from me, replaced by complete happiness. It was hard to remember what I’d been so afraid of. Larkin had never ridiculed me or made me feel bad about anything in all the years I’d known him. He’d always been by my side, no matter what, just like I would always stand by his.

Pulling away gently, Larkin frowned at me again. “But seriously, why do you need to talk to Dr. Corbin?”

“Because ofhim,” I replied glumly. “I’ve been seeing him, like I said, and he’s not leaving even though I’ve told him to a dozen times.”

“Youtoldhim to?”

“Yeah. It’s a Latin thing. It’s supposed to make ghosts move on but it’s not working with him.”

“Probably because he has unfinished business. Isn’t that why ghosts stick around?”

An involuntary chill crept down the back of my neck. “I don’t even want to think about what that could be.”

“Can you ask him?”

“I’d prefer not to. But I’m sure Dr. Corbin can.”

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