My body was still shaking by the time I pulled up in front of my place. I couldn’t call Kiersten. She’d just gotten married. Wes would kill me.
Gabe was already married so…did that mean he was fair game?
He’d kill me if I didn’t call him.
I chewed my lower lip and then finally, with trembling hands, dialed Gabe’s number.
“Hey, where’d you go?”
“He’s here.” My voice quivered. “He’s here, Gabe.”
“Who?”
“T-Taylor!”
“Sweetheart…” Gabe sighed. “He’s dead, remember?”
“No!” I hit the steering wheel. I wasn’t crazy. I knew what I’d seen—who I’d seen. I had seen the guy who ruined my life—who ended his own. I saw him! “I’m not crazy.”
Swearing, Gabe whispered into the phone, “Where are you?”
“The dorms.” I looked behind me just to make sure he hadn’t followed. Right, because it was totally possible for a human to chase a car two miles and actually arrive at the same time. Then again, ghosts could do just about anything right?
“I’ll be right there.”
“I’m going crazy.” Saying it out loud made it scarier. “Aren’t I?”
Gabe didn’t say anything for a bit and then sighed heavily into the phone. “You’re not going crazy. You’re just really stressed, okay Lisa?”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me.
“Is it possible you saw someone who looked kind of like Taylor?” he asked gently.
“I guess, but he knew my name! My real name!”
“Lisa, I hate to break it to you but half the known universe knows your name right now—especially after the story about me went viral for months. It’s going to happen.”
I breathed a little easier. “So maybe it was just…me being…stressed?”
“Lisa, you’ve been burning the candle at both ends. Planning everything for the wedding, keeping Kiersten in the dark. Do me a favor?”
I rolled my eyes. “What?”
“Relax. Go to your room, make yourself some hot chocolate, take a shower, and read a magazine. Just unplug for a bit. Classes don’t start for another day. Just take time for yourself. You deserve it. We’ve all been through hell this last year.”
My eyes searched the parking lot again.
No Taylor.
So I was either stressed, or I was losing it. I chose to believe it was stress, going crazy so wasn’t in my life plan!
“Thanks, Gabe.” I slowly unlocked my door and started getting out of the car. “I’m sorry for interrupting you guys.”
“Lisa…” Gabe’s voice was soft. “You’re not an interruption. I’d die for you. You know that, right?”
“Yeah.” My lower lip trembled. “I do.” I cracked a smile. “Best cousin ever.”
“Ha-ha,” he teased. “Very funny.”
“I’ll just…go see about that bath now.”
“Do it. I want to hear all about your relaxing evening later on okay?”
“Deal.”
“Bye, cousin.”
“Bye, turtle.”
We hung up. I slowly walked towards the dorms and shook my head. Yeah, I was just stressed. Either that or I was going to give that little kid in Sixth Sense a run for his money because I totally saw dead people.
Real cool.
With a practiced smile, I slid my keycard over the pad and went into the building. Inside was some hot chocolate with my name on it.
Chapter Eight
When you hear bad news it’s like a literal punch to the stomach—no seriously, your body will create a physical response to your emotional trauma. When you’re heartbroken—you’re chest will actually hurt. Doctors believe that it’s possible to die from heartache, kind of makes you wonder the opposite right? Take for example a heart that’s so full, so alive, so vibrant, so—overjoyed, that it decides to skip a beat, pump a little bit longer, a little bit harder, a little bit…more than the way it was created to be. I think that’s my heart—No I know that’s my heart. When I see Kiersten. My heart is the opposite of broken—it’s full.—Wes Michels
Wes
“So…” I brought Kiersten’s fingertips to my lips and gave them a little kiss, but it wasn’t enough, so I tasted…each and every one.
Funny how a person can actually taste a certain way, to me, she tasted like heaven, which is kind of ironic since I’m pretty sure last year this time I should have been charging towards those pearly gates—or would have been had I not met her. She was my savior, miracle or not. The very fact that she’d said yes to my proposal? And that we were married?
Yeah, forget surviving cancer.
I just married the most beautiful woman God ever created—period.
“So?” Kiersten giggled. “Were you gonna finish that thought or just daydream a bit? What’s going on in Wes Michels Land, hmm?” She winked and then withdrew her hand from mine, placing it in her lap.
We’d just gotten into the car and already I was nervous about the rest of the night—not because I didn’t know what I was doing but because I’d built up so much anticipation for this very day that, now she had said yes? And she was my wife? Well all those emotions came charging down leaving me totally wiped.
It was hell trying to hide my yawn.
Kiersten ran her fingers through my hair as I pulled onto the freeway. “You look tired.”
“I look awesome,” I corrected. “And…satisfied.”
“Oh.” Kiersten shrugged. “So I guess that means you don’t need this?”
I merged into the carpool lane and glanced in her direction. Dangling. White. Lace. Bra. Holy mother of—
“Wes!” Kiersten laughed. “Stay in your lane!”
I screeched to the middle lane then almost slammed on my brakes just because my body was clearly losing all ability to function. It was like adrenaline surged through all the wrong parts forcing me to slam on the brakes while simultaneously wanting to reach over and pull Kiersten into my lap and just—I don’t know, I honestly couldn’t get past the white, the lace. Shit, why was I repeating myself? IN MY HEAD.
“Uhhh…” Throat dry I tried clearing it, but it only made things worse.
“Water?” Kiersten handed me a bottled water. Thank God.
I took a sip just as she hiked up her dress and showed me her garter.