Inseparable Strangers (16 page)

Aaron
ended our deep kiss with small tender kisses on and around my lips. He stopped,
his nose barely touching mine and gazed at me lovingly. “You have no idea how
long I’ve wanted to do that,” he said with a breathy voice, then lightly pecked
the tip of my nose.

Words
were lost in my throat. My insides were jumping with excitement.

“You
don’t have to say anything; I can see it in your soul.” He smiled at me
unquestionably. “You have so much love held captive in that precious beating
heart of yours,” he said, laying his hand over my chest, “it’s time to set it
free. Let it go.”

I
shook my head.
How can he know? He’s weakening me. He’s causing me to
crumble.

He
saw through me. He could see past all my barriers. I should’ve known this from
the moment he told me he wasn’t alive. The whole mourning package was coming
back again, but I wasn’t tough enough to fight it anymore. Or, maybe I was. The
harder I swallowed the more I felt it dissipate. Anger started to fill me. I
could feel it slowly pumping back into my veins.
Yes. That’s better.

Aaron
grabbed my wrists. “No!” he said sternly. “You’re not doing this, Lennox.
You’re not shutting me out like you have everyone else in your life. I know how
you feel about me. I sometimes hear you, and when I’m not listening, I feel it.
I’m a spirit, remember? I sense these things. You can’t hide it from me.” He
loosened his grip. “You may be able to fool everyone else but you can’t fool
me. Share your love. If not with me, then with someone else who deserves it.
Someone living.” He dropped his head and looked down at the ground.

My
chest heaved as the last ten minutes or so ran through my mind. He was right.
Everything he was saying was right. He possibly knew me better than I knew
myself. He was brought into my life for a reason. I’d been given a gift. In my
heart, I was beginning to believe it was so I could reconnect with my mom. And
possibly find love. Even if it was a love that could never be. “There is no one
else…but you,” I said, grabbing his hand then interlacing my fingers through
his.

Aaron
turned his head up and looked at me. A crooked grin found his lips. He pulled
me against him for a hug and buried his face in my neck. He didn’t say anything
back, but it was one of those moments when words were not needed. Every time he
touched me or even looked at me, my nerves pulsated with effervescent energy.
It was always exhilarating.

After
a long embrace, he lifted his head and a cool breeze bit against my neck. “It’s
time to go. It’s been a long day.” He smiled at me adoringly. “I promise you, I
will find your mom,” he said with all the confidence in the world. He leaned
down and his soft lips brushed against mine tenderly. “See you soon.”

I
smiled with another threat of tears behind my eyes. I sure hoped he was right.

Five
days had passed, and there was still no sign of Aaron. I was about to go stir
crazy not knowing if he was okay. Was it possible for a ghost to be harmed? As
much as I wanted to be reunited with my mother right now, his return was more
important. It sounded crazy for me to think that way, but he was special to
me…there were feelings there. Real feelings. The kind I think could perhaps
cause you to fall in love. But, the old selfish side of me wanted him to return
because he was my only ticket to reuniting with my mom.

Without
his presence, my life was slowly falling back into its everyday gloom. I found
myself hating on people; snapping at them while in public for no particular
reason. It was to the point where I disliked myself, and I was never one to be
disgusted with who I saw in the mirror. This madness has to end.

I
decided to go downtown to look for Aaron. Sitting at home and not doing
anything was putting me in a state of depression. I didn’t like the person I
was changing back into, and I knew Aaron wouldn’t appreciate it either. After
all his hard work to reform me, I couldn’t sit here and sulk over him and let
it all go to waste.

It
was early November and the crisp autumn air had a bite of winter chill. I
slipped my fur-lined hood over my head to block the wind breezing between the
buildings. The streets were busy with store owners dressing up their windows
with Thanksgiving decorations.

It
would be the best day of my life if I were able to have my mother and Aaron,
even if in spirit, with me for Thanksgiving. With my father also by my side, it
would truly be a blessing. A memory I could keep with me for a lifetime. Of
course, I would have to figure out a way to get rid of Pam, but she was the
least of my worries.

As
I wandered down the sidewalks, I stared at each person individually, wondering
if they were alive or not. Normally, when Aaron was with me, I ignored everyone
around me; only focusing on him. It freaked me out too much to continuously
stare into the eyes of the dead. The evil ones with their bloodshot eyes
frightened the hell out of me. Aaron told me before leaving that the best trick
to use was to stare through them, act as if they didn’t exist. It worked quite
well for the living because most people found my bitch face unapproachable anyway. 
So far today, it was working for the spirits too.

Aaron
was the furthest from being creepy, of course, I wouldn’t have said that the
first day I’d met him, but I found all those other ghosts roaming from here to
there, freaky as hell regardless how harmless they looked.

Just
as I rounded a corner, I stopped mid-step when I nearly ran into a hot guy
wearing a black leather jacket and aviator shades who looked like he just
walked out from a biker bar. “Oh shit! I’m so sorry. I should’ve been paying better
attention of where I was going,” I apologized with my hand over my chest as if
it would calm down my thumping heart.

His
eyes widened with wonderment. “You can see me?” He stepped back and shook his
head. “No one has been able to see me for months and…and, you…” He bounced
around on his feet with excitement. “I can’t fucking believe this. This is
fucking crazy!” he exclaimed, his hands jerking on the strands of black hair
barely hanging over his collar. “No fucking way!” He started to laugh. I smiled
at his happiness but his laugh became more of a maniacal sound and started to
frighten me.

My
gut told me to run. My gut was usually right. Something didn’t set well with
this spirit. His presence felt tainted. Almost evil. I tried to come up with a
quick plan or lie but fear was blurring my thoughts.

Aaron,
where are you?

I
then tried to stop thinking altogether. What if Mr. Biker was able to hear my
thoughts like Aaron? What would I do then? Or what if he could smell the fear
on me? Would he take advantage? Sick men prey on frightened women.

Dammit,
Aaron, I need you!

His
lips curved into sinister smile. “Don’t be scared. I won’t hurt you.” His voice
was calm and even, and if I hadn’t felt an evil presence around me I would’ve
possibly believed him. There was nothing about him that screamed friendly.

Aaron!
Please! Help me!
I screamed repeatedly in my mind. It
didn’t matter anymore if he could hear me or not. At this point, I had no other
option. Mr. Creepy Biker was probably within minutes or seconds of harming me.
My heart thumped in my chest with an unreasonable force. My sense of panic
wasn’t normal. Once again, it was one of those gut feelings I’d sometimes get.
Maybe it was intuition. Maybe it was another supernatural gift. Whatever it
was, I knew it wasn’t going to end well.

Not
knowing what else to do, I took off running. It wasn’t the wisest thing for me
to do, but I didn’t know how else to escape him.

The
harder I ran, the more my muscles seemed to fail me. Gravity was fighting
against me. I was becoming lethargic. It was a repeat of a dream where no
matter how hard the struggle was, you moved as if you were full of lead.

Before
I knew it, I was leaning against the side of a stone building trying to catch
my breath. My vision was blurred and my mind felt confused.

A
cynical laugh danced behind me. The eerie sound muffled all other noises around
me.

“Tsk,
tsk. You should know better than to run from a spirit,” I heard against my ear.
“You can run, but you can never hide.” He peeked around so I could see him,
then lowered his sunglasses. His eyes were so bloodshot, there was more red
than white.

I
clamped my hands over my ears and closed my eyes. If I blocked him from all
sight and sound maybe he would go away. Maybe I’d dreamt him up. Maybe I’d
become delusional. “He’s not real. He’s not real. He’s not real,” I chanted
softly to myself while I rocked back and forth with my head down between my
knees.

The
gruesome voice snickered by my ear. “Oh, it’s real, baby.” Fingers dug into my
arm, and I was slammed up against the brick building with blunt force. “And I’m
going to show you just how real it’s going to get.”

I
didn’t know what he was talking about and before he was able to show me, he was
out of my sight and thrown on the ground in one quick movement. In a blink of
an eye, he was gone.

“Lennox,
get out of here.” It was Aaron’s voice, but I couldn’t see him.

“Where
are you?” I asked, spinning around frantically in search of him.

He
flashed in front of me for a few seconds. His hair was disarrayed, and his lip
was bleeding. “Just go—,” he was cut off from what I didn’t know. He
disappeared into thin air.

My
pulse accelerated and I could feel it in my neck, my temple, and my chest.
Something was horribly wrong and I couldn’t do anything about it. Aaron was in
danger, and I wasn’t leaving him.  

I
wasn’t sure how long I sat on the cold concrete sidewalk, but I wasn’t going to
allow myself to resurface until I knew I was safe. And when I felt the familiar
tender touch of Aaron, I knew all would be right in the world…at least for the
day.

“Lennox,
baby, are you okay?” he asked softly while rubbing my back in a circular
motion. He was the one with blood stained lips, dirt and grime all over his
face and clothes and here he was asking me if I was okay. I could only shake my
head by his selflessness. Silly man.

Happy
tears pooled in my eyes before falling down my cheeks to wash over the
frightful one’s I’d shed earlier. I raised my head again and stared at the most
beautiful, deep, green eyes. A smile fought through my tears. “Yes,” I croaked.
“Now that you’re here.”

“Baby,
what happened?” He squatted down beside me and wrapped me up in his strong
arms. I released a shaky breath. His soft lips repeatedly kissed my temple.
“You’re shaking,” he murmured against my skin. Until he’d told me, I hadn’t
realized my entire body was shuddering. I wasn’t sure if I was frightened from
the fear of losing him or from the deviled spirit.

“He
was evil, Aaron,” I whimpered. “I slipped up. I didn’t mean to. It was an
accident. I was so careful to not openly stare anyone in the eye, but when I
rounded the corner, we ran into each other and when I apologized…” What more
could I say? The rest was self-explanatory. Aaron asked me to follow one simple
rule, and I failed him. It felt strange to feel like a failure. It was a
feeling I hadn’t recalled ever feeling before. Now I understood why so many
people got down on themselves. It really did make you feel like shit.

Lifting
my head, I looked into his eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I screwed up. I’m sorry
I came out here looking for you instead of waiting for you to come home. I’m so
sorry I put your life in danger,” I apologized, meaning every word from my
heart. Apologies weren’t something I handed out. Ever. And from the way Aaron
gazed back at me, he knew it too.

“What
did he want with me?”

He
squeezed his eye shut. “He wanted you. He wanted to enter you; take over your
body.” He opened his eyes and his eyebrows stitched together creating a deep
crease. “That’s what the evil spirits do. Your body becomes their temple.”

He
palmed my cheek in his hand and his thumb swept gently over my lip. “Thank God
I got to you before he took you away from me.”

Watching
him struggle internally saddened me. Seeing him physically hurt because of my
carelessness saddened me more. “Did he attack you? Are you okay? Is he gone? I
really am sorry. Please forgive me,” I begged.

His
thumb stopped over the center of my lips and pressed down. “Shh…”

Forgiving
lips crashed into mine before a sweep of his warm tongue entered my mouth. All
too willingly, I accepted all he had to offer. The delectable taste of him
danced across my taste buds, and I deepened the kiss to encourage more.

We
were lost in a world we were creating. A world most people didn’t know existed.
A world where only the two of us belonged.

Aaron
broke the kiss, leaving me panting, hungry for more. “You’re making this so
difficult for me,” he said, breathing heavily. It wasn’t his words that so much
confused me, it was the way his chest rose and fell. It was as if he’d just
finished running a marathon. I gasped for air because he took my breath away.
He didn’t really exist among the living so his need for oxygen was
non-existent.

“The
cops need to do a better job in our community by cleaning up the crack addicts
roaming the streets. Look at her, she’s hallucinating,” a woman said to her
husband as they walked by. “She even dresses better than us. She must live off
the government.” Her voice was pure abhorrence. It reminded me of myself before
Aaron came into my life.

Aaron
didn’t give me the chance to speak. “Just ignore them. I have something more
important for you to focus on.” He pointed my attention toward another
direction.

He
stood up and reached out his hand for me to grab. “I have something to show
you,” he said smiling. His hand tingled against my palm. His body buzzed with
excitement. I turned my head back and forth, looking all around me for her.
From the way he was acting, I knew he had found my mother.

“She’s
ready. Go ahead and come out,” he said smiling.

From
out of nowhere, my mother appeared in front of me. She looked exactly the way I
remembered her from my pictures. She was breathtakingly beautiful. We both
shared the same color red hair. We both had the exact shaped eyes and color. I
was a clone of her. Happy tears sprang to my eyes, and a cry only a child could
have for their mom burst from within me.

My
shoulders shook as I sobbed. Not knowing if I could touch her, I stood still
and took in all I could muster from the years I had missed her. A gentle hand
caressed my shoulders, and Aaron encouraged me to step closer to her. “It’s
okay. You can touch her just the same as you can me.” His words were spoken so
softly, I wasn’t sure if he was actually talking or if I was just imagining it.

Mom
rushed to me and hugged me with more strength than I could’ve imagined. “Oh,
Lennox! Oh, baby girl, it feels so wonderful to touch you again,” she cried.
“I’ve dreamed of this day for so many years. I’ve always been with you. You may
not have known it, but I’ve been by your side through so many important times
of your life.” We both held onto each other so tight, it was as if we wanted to
crawl into the other’s body.

I
had never experience love like I was at this exact moment. Knowing how all the
other girls in school felt when they had their mother by their side was
unexplainable. Any darkness I’d had in my heart was no longer there. She wiped
my black slate clean and replaced it with the warmest of sunshine. Sure, my
father’s love was like no other, and I knew I was blessed to have him in my
life as so many people grow up not having one or never knowing there’s. But,
there was nothing out there that could replace a mother’s love.

Aaron
placed his hand on the small of my back, breaking our special moment together.
“C’mon, we should hurry and get out of here before we draw unwanted attention
from the other spirits or the living.”

He
was right. I didn’t want a repeat of earlier with someone else. My mother’s
eyebrows pulled together in question, and I wondered how much she was able to
read my mind like Aaron did. Actually, I wondered how many others had the many
talents Aaron possessed.