Chapter 4: Never Letting Go
That night, Derek insisted on holding me as he slept.
I struggled. "I’m a ghost, I don’t need sleep!"
He just wrapped me tighter in his arms. "But I do."
His voice trembled at the edges, softer than I’d ever heard. The room was silent except for his breathing and the ticking of an old clock on the wall.
I looked up, ready to curse him, but when I saw the exhaustion in his eyes, the words caught in my throat.
He burrowed even closer, pressing his face into the hollow of my neck, his breathing gradually evening out.
Moonlight slipped through the curtains, illuminating his thin profile.
I turned away, eyes stinging with tears.
I don’t know how much time passed before I felt his grip on my waist tighten.
It was already morning.
Derek was awake, staring at me without blinking.
His gaze was searching, almost hungry, as if memorizing my every feature in case I vanished with the sunrise.
"What are you looking at?" I felt a little guilty.
He gave a bitter smile, voice hoarse: "Afraid it’s a dream. That I’ll open my eyes and you’ll be gone again."
I clenched my fingers.
He hugged me tighter, something burning hot pressed against my thigh.
Only then did I realize: "Wait, Derek... I’m a ghost."
He hummed. "I know."
"Then how can you touch me?"
Ever since yesterday, I’d felt something was off. Only now did it hit me.
I’m a spirit, so how can Derek touch me?
He pulled a pendant from around his neck.
The crystal on it was top quality, glowing faintly.
"Spirit-communicating crystal."
I groaned. "Aren’t you worried I’ll drain your energy, sticking around like this?"
He didn’t care at all.
"That’s fine. If I end up a ghost with you, so be it."
He held me even tighter, his lips grazing the back of my neck, sending shivers down my spine.
No...
I wanted to tell him I was here, that I wasn’t leaving, but the words stuck. I was already half gone, and we both knew it.
No?
His voice rose at the end, warm and teasing...
His lips brushed my neck, and for the first time since dying, I wondered if I could really let go. Or if I even wanted to.