Unraveled

“Aden,” the doctor prompted.



“Time-travel is a myth,” was all he said.



“As mythical as predicting when other people are going to die?”



“Yes,” he croaked. “Where are you going with this, Dr. Hennessy?”



“Oh, I’m sorry. I must have given you the impression that it’s all right to question me. It’s not. I ask. You answer.”



Aden’s hands fisted. He’d had a lot of doctors over the years, but this one was by far the worst. As condescending as he was, Aden had to wonder if the man even had a degree. “Better yet, how about if I just don’t talk at all?”



“That’s all right, too,” Dr. Hennessy replied easily, as if that’s what he’d wanted all along, surprising the hell out of Aden. “Silence is better than lies.”



They would see about that.



One minute ticked by after another, not a word spoken. Soon Aden’s eyelids grew even heavier. The ceiling began to blur, becoming one giant white blob. He blinked rapidly, trying to stay alert, but on and on the soft music played in the background. He thought he recognized the melody. “Hush Little Baby.” What an odd song to pick for grown patients. But even the voices quieted, listening, falling…



“You’re exhausted, Aden.”



“Yes,” he found himself replying from a sea of black. Black? Yes, he thought. He was floating, the white gone, darkness all around him. His eyelids must have closed for good, then. He tried to open them, but they were glued together.



“You’re relaxed.”



“Yes.” And he was. Lost, still floating. No cares. No secrets or problems. Just…freedom.



Dr. Hennessy asked him another question, but he couldn’t make out the words. They were too jumbled. Odd, then, that he responded anyway. What he said, though, he couldn’t be sure. Again, odd. And yet, he didn’t care. Such peace.



This was heaven, he thought. All that black. So tranquil. So quiet. He wanted to set up shop and stay forever. Perhaps Victoria could even join him. Yes. How kickass would that be? Just the two of them, floating and drifting and relaxing.



Victoria.



He frowned. Here was a care. A care he liked. The thought of her caused the sea to part in a thin line, a little light seeping into his awareness. Where was she? What was she doing? When would he see her again? Tonight, he hoped. They were supposed to meet up, weren’t they? Except, what if she stayed away, like she’d done at school?



He was talking again, he realized, but again, the words were unclear to him.



He should leave the black. Victoria couldn’t come here. There were no doors, only that tiny line of space. Wait. If there were no doors, how had he gotten here? And how was he supposed to leave?



A tiny spark of panic caused the line to widen, and more white flooded that endless sea of black. Another care. This one, he hated, but still he didn’t want to shake it. This wasn’t right. Something was wrong.



Aden.



The voice called to him, echoing. He should recognize it, he thought, panic rising. Who was here? He couldn’t bridge the gap between question and answer.



Aden.



His name had been more insistent that time. Maybe…Elijah?



Aden!



Yes, yes. That was Elijah. What was Elijah doing here? How had Elijah joined him?



ADEN!



“What?” he found himself muttering, and this time he heard himself. His voice rattled inside his skull, and it was like being thumped in the brain, jolting him.



Aden, you have to wake up. I think he hypnotized you.



“What!” His eyelids popped open, practically ripping at the seams. His gaze roved, wild. Dr. Hennessy sat on the end of the recliner, one hand braced beside Aden’s knees, the other clutching a voice recorder. He was leaning forward, that recorder outstretched, mere inches from Aden’s mouth.



There was something…off about him just then. Underneath his plain, human exterior, Aden saw something soft, almost glittery. Something…pretty. As if he had longer, thicker hair. Pale, like snowflakes. As if he had eyes of sparkling brown rather than dull and lifeless ones, and full, pouty lips.



His stomach rolled. He was not attracted to his doctor.



Instinctively, Aden shoved him and the doctor fell off the chair, thudding onto the floor with a gasp. What. The. Hell? “What do you think you were doing?” he demanded.



Dr. Hennessy pushed to his feet with as much dignity as he could muster. He still clutched that recorder, but he quickly stuffed the little black device into his pocket, slid his glasses up his nose and smoothed the lint from his shirt and pants.



“I think that’s enough for one session. Mr. Reeves is waiting in the lobby for you.”



Bile rose in Aden’s throat, burning like acid. What did I say? What did I tell him? He had to get that voice recorder. And wasn’t that just perfect? His to-do list lengthened every day.



Dr. Hennessy must have sensed the direction of his thoughts because he strode to his desk and punched a button on his phone.



“Yes?” a female voice asked from the speaker.



“Please let Mr. Reeves know Aden and I are finished. He can now collect the boy.”



Well played. Aden’s eyes narrowed as he sat up. There was nothing he could do now. Not without causing a scene. He would be back, though. And he would get that recorder. No matter what he had to do.



TWELVE



AT THE RANCH, Aden ate a sandwich. Or five. Afterward, he showered while Mr. Thomas stood in the back of the stall and yelled at him. He had his arms braced beside the nozzle, the hot spray hitting him directly in the face. He tried not to care that his first couples shower was with another guy.



“You smell like my sister,” the fairy ghost snarled. “Where have you been?”



So. Ms. Brendal had been telling the truth. “Tell me about her. Your sister.” Like, did she attack first and ask questions later? And had she been watching Aden without his knowledge? Other than the ghost prince, he hadn’t been around a fairy—that he knew of.



“You will not touch her! Do you hear me? I will kill you first.”



“I hear you. I just know that it’ll be hard for you to see that threat through since you’re dead and all.” He shouldn’t encourage a conversation, but he really hoped Thomas would accept what he was and quiet down. “For the record, though, I have no intention of hurting your sister.”



There was a heavy pause. Momentary—as always. “I want to leave. Why can’t I leave?”



“To depart from this world, you have to do in death whatever you regret not doing in life,” he said, turning. That, he knew for fact, since that was how he’d lost sweet, motherly Eve.



Thomas crossed his arms over his chest. “My last wish was to kill you.”



“Then I guess we’re stuck with each other because you can’t get your hands on a weapon.” Aden twisted the knob, the water pressure easing, then stopping. He stepped out of the stall and grabbed a towel.



Thomas continued to rant, but Aden easily tuned him out. And not because of any medication.



On the drive home, Dan had told him to continue taking his new pills just to prevent another scare like yesterday’s. He’d even walked Aden to his room and watched as he put a little white tab on his tongue and swallowed. Of course, the moment Dan had left, Aden had spit the pill in the trash. He must be getting better at compartmentalizing each distraction, as he’d done with Shannon in the forest today. Or maybe he was simply too distracted to listen.



What had Dr. Hennessy done to him? He’d started to mention the forced hypnosis to Dan, but had changed his mind when Dan became a supporter of Operation Take Your Pills.



Frowning, Aden patted himself down and wrapped the towel around his waist. He padded through the hall to his bedroom. It was empty. Where was Shannon? He heard muttering from the other rooms, some of it angry, but the doors were shut and he couldn’t tell who was fighting with whom. This late in the evening, the boys usually holed up and chilled with their roommates.



With a sigh, Aden dressed in his customary jeans and a T-shirt.



“You’re going out again?” Thomas gritted out, claiming his attention. The ghost paced from one side of the bedroom to the other. “Where are you going? You can’t leave me here!”



Wear something sexier, Caleb said. We’re gonna see Victoria.



Leave him alone, Elijah replied. We have more important things to consider. I mean, really. No one’s mentioned Aden’s parents in days. When are we going to start looking for them? Finding them will benefit all of us.



His parents. He’d managed to walk the Forget Them path for days and Elijah’s reminder was like being shoved in front of an oncoming bus.



They’d given him up when he was a toddler, and hadn’t checked on him since. For that, he hated them. Still. He had to talk to them. Sooner rather than later. They might know why he was the way he was. They might have a relative just like him.



More than that, however, he would be better able to search for information about Elijah, Caleb and Julian along the way. Like who they used to be, what their final wish had been. Then he could free them. If they still wanted to go.



You eager to pass on or something? Julian asked the psychic.



Aden had dreaded having this chat, too afraid of the answers.



Yes. No. I don’t know. I’m just curious about who I was. Maybe, like Eve, I knew Aden’s parents. Maybe I did something wonderful with my life. Knowing would be…nice. And if nothing else, the more we can find out about Aden’s abilities, the better equipped we’ll be to help him deal with everything going on around him these days.



Well, I’m hungry, Caleb said, and Aden suspected it was because the soul was just as afraid as he was. Do me a solid and see if Mrs. Reeves has extra sandwiches in the kitchen.



“Give me a minute,” Aden replied as he tugged on his boots.



“I asked you a question,” Thomas snarled. “Where are you going? Answer me this time!”



“Or what? You’ll try to slap me?” he asked dryly.



Hinges creaked, and then Shannon was strolling into the room. He paused, looking Aden over. “Nice.” Then he blushed, like he’d done earlier. “I—I didn’t m-mean—”