Jared POV:

Silence hung thickly in the air for four seconds. I was about to open my mouth to ask another question when the device in my hand lit up. A robotic female voice spoke aloud the word being transferred through the device. Reacting to it out of instinct from years of doing this, I tipped my camera down so that it had a better view of the screen, which showed the words being said, flowing by quicker than I would have thought.

“YES. HELLO. I. ADDY.”

Erin kept his cool, showing no reaction to the words besides some shifting noise from behind me. “‘Sup, Addy? I’m Erin, by the way.”

“MUSCLES. HEAD,” the Ovilus responded.

I laughed aloud at that, snickering. “You’re so right, Addy,” I chortled.

“Hey!” Erin cried out in offense. I turned to see him through the eye of the camera. “You realize she could just be commenting on how I’m a ripped hunk of a dude, right?”

My lips twitched upward in an irrepressible grin. “Yep. I bet it’s just that,” I agreed, sarcastically enthusiastic.

“FUNNY. LAUGH. LONG. TIME. NOT.”

The both of us paused, sharing a sad frown even in the darkness. Closing my eyes, I took a few steps to the side, that way I could easily pan my camera between where Erin was standing and the place I could feel Addy’s presence was radiating from. When I flicked my eyes in her direction, I was startled to find she’d snuck up on me.

Gasping in surprise, I jumped, automatically shying away from where I stood with a few steps to the left.

Erin made a confused grunt, eyeing me in concern. “What’s wrong with you, dude?”

Swallowing, I stared at the tiny ball of light which had been hovering on my right side, as if she was peering over my shoulder. Squinting, I could almost make out a little more of her. She was…

I couldn’t help but tsk under my breath when I realized that alive she would have been nearly four inches taller than me. Women seemed to love taller men and being only 5’3” had deterred more than a few potential dates over the course of my adult life.

I had to keep reminding myself that they were just superficial if height matter that much to them.

Well, that and when most people found out about my particular peculiarity, they tended to label me off as a nut-job and avoid all further contact with me...Or become unhealthily obsessed with trying to use me as a medium between themselves and their lost loved one.

Shaking my head I pushed the pointless thoughts back and focused on the image of her I was receiving, trying to make it as clear as possible in my mind. A few seconds later I blinked in surprise. “You have very pretty red hair.”

The words left my mouth before I could stop to think about what I was saying.

Really? Really?! My brain shouted back at me. What sort of-

“Whoa...You so desperate you’re trying to pick up ghosts now, bro?” Erin asked, face filled with concern. “...Either way, you need to work on your game.”

“AWKWARD,” the Ovilus chimed in eagerly, adding yet another stake to my humiliation.

My mouth opened and closed several times as I tried to find words to say. Like a true smooth operator, I came up with the perfect response.

“But she is beautiful. You’re beautiful, Addy. There’s no reason to hide your light. It’s warm and very comforting. Like arms wrapping around my shoulders to offer solace after a long day.”

Erin was struck speechless, only managing groans of horrified disgust, shaking his head fiercely in denial. When he finally found his words a few seconds later, it was laced with pity and worry. “No wonder you can’t keep a girlfriend. I’m amazed you go on any dates at all.”

The Ovilus, on the other hand, stayed quiet.

Biting my lip, I debated banging my head against the wall of the attic. Addy’s presence had disappeared completely. Deflated, I sagged on my feet, drained of any wish to keep going on for the night. “Where did you go?” I whispered quietly under my breath. Clearing my throat, I tried calling out louder. “Ad-Addy? I’m sorry. That was really ridiculous of me to say. I wasn’t trying to offend, I swear-”

“CUTE,” the Ovilus suddenly chirped, making both Erin and I freeze in place.

“Thank you for the compliment,” a warm, light female voice whispered in my ear.

My heart rate kicked up by about two dozen paces, causing my lungs to struggle to draw breath for half a second. Just as I’d said, so she did. I could feel the weight of her arms come from around my shoulders, making the hair on my arms stand on end. Her fingers lightly brushed the sides of my neck and throat…

“You look so tired. Do you work too hard? Life is short. Don’t run to your grave like you do. Take breaks. You don’t have to be everyone else’s knight, you know.”

With that, her presence disappeared once more and I sagged to my knees, body unable to remain upright.

Erin reacted immediately, rushing over to my side. “Jay, what’s wrong? A...Are you crying?” he whispered, his voice startled.

I was. Tears leaked past my eyes and down my cheeks, completely against my will. I reached up, trying to stem the flow, but that only made me want to cry harder.

But why was I crying?

Was I channeling the emotions of Addy? Had coming into such close contact with her spirit caused a reaction and this had been how my body chose to deal with it? Or was it something deeper?

When’s the last time someone told me to take a break? When’s the last time I felt actual care and concern from someone that isn’t family like Aunt Beth or Erin?

I had. I’d known at that moment that Addy really was worried about me. Her voice had been filled with those emotions and it had come through loud and clear.

My eyes pricked harder as I struggled to get myself together.

I couldn’t fall apart. Not right now. Later, when I could be alone and away from the camera and millions of viewers...But now I had to work and keep my public face on.

Lifting my head, I stared up at Erin, sucking in several deep breaths. I patted at his heavy hand resting on my left shoulder in reassurance that I was okay. The weight of his hand was a reminder that the touch of the spirit I’d just experienced wasn’t of the Living. The Living had a much more physical presence and aura when they touched me than the deceased. Even so, I was surprised by the weight Addy’s touch had had. She was a very powerful spirit indeed if she could manage to touch someone with almost as much impact as a person who was still alive.

Taking Erin’s offered hand gratefully, I allowed myself to be pulled up. “Hey,” he whispered as quietly and close to my ear as he could manage. “You sure you’re going to be okay? I haven’t seen you cry like that since—”

Not wishing to be reminded of unpleasant memories, I leaned back, smiling and nodding. “I swear, I’ll be fine. No reason to be such a worrier, Erin,” I chuckled lightly, wishing to lighten the mood, if by just a little.

I could feel his eyes drilling holes in my face, but he reluctantly gave in a few seconds later. “Alright,” he backed off, both physically and with his attitude. “Think she’s still around? That was an amazing exchange we just had,” the excitement he’d been holding in was beginning to steadily creep back.

A smile flickered across my lips as I nodded. “Yes...I felt her retreat downstairs. I suppose we woke her up a bit.”

“Hey,” he chuckled devilishly. “Maybe if you’re lucky you’ll get some action from this. Personally, I thought you were just sad and embarrassing, but she evidently thought you were ‘cuuute’,” he drew out the word in a high-pitched imitation of a school girl.

I threw a punch blindly in the dark, feeling him dodge it by just a few inches. “Hey! My feelings are delicate!” I hissed, pretending to tear up again.

He snorted. “Yeah, obviously. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had to pick your sappy ass off the floor just now.”

“...What is it with you and you’re lightening-fast comebacks?” I muttered in annoyance that I couldn’t win our exchange.

I could hear the smirk in his voice as he started to rev up for a very inappropriate comment. I could feel it.

I quickly shushed him by landing a blow to his stomach. It wasn’t anything too painful, but it knocked enough of the wind out of him that he remembered we weren’t technically alone. Besides, I’d heard more than enough of his perverted comments over the years growing up through puberty to already guess what he’d say. I didn’t want to think about it either. Too much unwanted visualization...

....

Damn it. Why, brain, why?

Avoiding looking at Erin for the next couple seconds, I coughed, shaking my head to clear it of the unwanted images. “Stop thinking so loud, jerk,” I threw at him in annoyance.

He muttered under his breath in confusion for a second before realizing. His muttering quickly turned to full-on laughter. “Oh, did you see—”

“Shut up. We’re going downstairs and it’ll be best for everyone in the world if you don’t finish that sentence.”

Stopping short, Erin grumbled from behind me as he started down the stairs after me. “I guess you’re right. But, you know, I do have some fans—”

Ignoring him, I sped up as much as I could without breaking my neck while using only the screen of my camera to navigate the stairs. Seeming to get the message, Erin grew quiet.

Finally.