Seven
I was taking care of Teagan the next night when Jack returned. I’d already put Teagan to bed and was watching TV when suddenly, there he was. I hadn’t seen him in nearly two days.
Hello, Annabelle. His voice was louder than I was used to, and it made me jump.
“You’re back. Where the hell have you been?”
Were you worried about me?
I flipped the channel to the latest reality show. “Not really. You just surprised me, that’s all. Your voice is louder, too.”
Is it?
Yes, it was. Crisper, too. Like he was standing right next to me.
“You can’t tell?”
Not really. You look the same to me. Once again, I couldn’t tell if he meant to be insulting.
I watched as two girls in ball gowns cried on a couch over... uh... something. “So what were you up to?”
This and that.
“Facilitating?”
Yes.
“Do you get a kick out of messing with me, or do you just like being mysterious?”
Both. Oh yes, I could definitely hear amusement now. That was loud and clear.
“You’re a pain in my–”
“Who are you talking to?” Teagan’s sleepy face emerged at the top of the stairs, scaring the daylights out of me.
I clutched my chest, making sure my heart hadn’t left it. I swore I could hear a chuckle inside my head, but it quickly faded.
“Teacup, I thought you were in bed.”
She hugged Bun Bun, a stuffed rabbit she’d had since she was two that had seen better days. I myself had done several Bun Bun surgeries.
“I had a bad dream. Can I come down with you?” Her lower lip quivered, and I melted. That kid could get away with murder.
“Come here,” I said, holding out my arms. “Do you want to tell me about it? It might not seem quite so scary.” I pulled her onto my lap on the couch. She curled up under my chin, squeezing the life out of poor Bun Bun.
“There was a man with a black mask on that was trying to get in my room. I hid under the bed, but he kept knocking on the door.”
“That does sound scary, but you know what? I would never let anybody hurt you, or scare you like that, okay? And Bun Bun wouldn’t either.”
“‘Kay.” She sighed and snuggled closer. It was so easy to make her terrors go away.
May I tell her a story? Jack said. I was too surprised to do anything but nod.
“Do you want to hear a story?” I often made up stories for Teagan, usually involving brave princesses rescuing princes from dragons. I didn’t want her to have a damsel-in-distress complex, despite what Disney told her.
Once upon a time, in a land far away there was a magical spirit who had misplaced his body.
I smirked and then said it out loud. It was an odd way to tell a story because I had to wait for him to finish before I could say anything so we didn’t talk over one another.
The story went on with the spirit finding a beautiful and kind girl to help him look for his body. They finally found it locked up in a tower guarded by an evil witch. They outsmarted her and got the spirit’s body back. Turned out he was a long lost prince. Go figure. The prince and the girl declare their love, married and ruled the kingdom with wisdom and grace for many years. And of course they live happily ever after.
It was a sweet story, and Teagan really liked it. By the time I was done, her breathing was deep and regular. I carried her back upstairs and put her to bed, tucking Bun Bun in with her.
I kissed her forehead before closing the door. “That was really sweet. Thanks.”
You’re welcome.
“That story isn’t autobiographical is it?”
Maybe a little.
“Oh.” I was suddenly embarrassed, and hoped he couldn’t see me blushing. “Do you really feel that way? Like a genie trapped in a bottle?”
Sometimes. My existence is an endless cycle, never going anywhere. Never changing.
“Why haven’t you moved on?”
Next question.
“Does it have anything to do with the facilitating?” I leaned sideways on the door, making sure Teagan was, in fact, asleep.
Next question.
I fiddled with the doorknob. “That’s really depressing. If that’s the case.”
Tell me about it.
I laughed quietly. “You’re kind of funny sometimes.”
I guess you bring it out in me.
I walked back downstairs. The Collamores were out late on a date night. My homework called from the coffee table, but I didn’t want to shut Jack out just yet.
“Sometimes I wish I could see you.”
I am sitting on the couch next to you.
I turned and stared at the seemingly empty spot on the couch. I couldn’t see anything, but there was... something. A buzzing of energy.
Put out your hand.
I raised my hand up as if I was going to give him a high five. Do you feel it?
I held my hand perfectly still and closed my eyes. There was a pressure against my skin. A cool tingling. A bit of resistance.
“Oh my gosh,” I whispered, and my hand twitched against the feeling. It wasn’t unpleasant... just strange. I took my hand down.
I’m sorry. Was it really unpleasant?
“No. It just was... kinda weird.” I looked down at my lap. When he had just been a whispery voice in my head, I hadn’t really thought of him as a person. Not that he was a person, but now it was different. “What does it feel like for you?”
I feel nothing. There was an awkward silence that was interrupted by the Collamores coming home.
I won’t follow you if you don’t want me to.
“It’s okay, you can come,” I said when I was back in my car. “You said you could do other things.”
Yes. It is part of the facilitating.
“What do you want?” I’d asked him so many times, and he hadn’t answered.
Nothing from you. I will not hurt you, Annabelle. Believe that.
“How do I know that for sure?” I absentmindedly rubbed my scars, a habit I’d picked up.
I will not hurt you, Annabelle. A cool pressure danced up and down my right arm, right across my burns. I froze. He was touching me. The one who did this to you will never do it again.
“How do you know about that?” My own voice was no more than a whisper. Thin and fragile.
You don’t have to worry about him.
“Why?”
You don’t have to worry about him, Jack said again.
The coolness stayed on my arm this time. It was calming somehow. Despite not knowing his real name, or anything about him, he made me feel safer than I had in a long time.
“Thank you.”