The Boy on the Other Side

by Aki_kaze

  His body could feel it.

  His body responded to it.

  “I want to kiss you,” Keith blurted out, but he didn’t regret saying it.

  “I know,” Sam’s voice was by his ear. The boy held his breath momentarily. “But you can’t.”

  The spirit placed a kiss on his neck, the sudden coldness of which made Keith gasp. A kiss grew into two, then three, and many more, and Keith welcomed everything the other was offering.

  “Don’t fall down. I can’t hold your body.”

  Keith wanted to laugh at that advice, but all he could do was stepping back against the door, using it to support himself.

  Sam’s finger could easily move pass through his t-shirt to his skin. The touch which once brought chilliness now evoked sensual heat every place it lay. It traveled from the boy’s abdomen up to his chest as Sam kissed his nape, his neck, and his chin. Keith threw his head back, hands flailing, desperately seeking something to hold onto. It was the doorknob which was found.

  “Sam… Sam…” The voice was so different he could barely recognize it was his.

  The blue eyes gazed into his, passionate and tempting. Sam placed another kiss on his cheek, and another on the chin tip; he intended to leave the lips out. One hand fondled his hair and his face, while the other moved down to the lower region.

  Keith let out a breathy rasp, the sound he never knew he could make. His heart pounded madly, heat coursing through the body.

  “Sam, wait!” he exclaimed, “Sam! Sam!”

  Keith tried to push the other back with full force even though he knew he could not. The spirit however quickly backed off. Keith slowly sunk onto the floor.

  “Keith, I…”

  “No. you did nothing wrong.” Keith look at the spirit who was bending down towards him. His face was clouded with concern. The boy gave him a smile. “You did nothing wrong, Sam. I got overexcited. You did nothing wrong.”

  The spirit looked down. Rubbing his head, Keith tried to regulate his breath.

  “I’ll be more careful,” Sam mumbled; it was almost inaudible.

  “It felt good though.”

  Keith’s word brought smile upon the other’s face.

  “Next time we need a more proper place. The bed will do.”

  The boy threw a punch at the spirit’s untouchable face. Sam evaded and glared at him.

  “Keith. It can’t hurt my body, but it can hurt my feeling.”

  “Then don’t say something like that.”

  “Like what?” he shot back, “I demand a comfort kiss.”

  “Not again!”

  Keith scrambled to his feet and escaped to the bathroom, the only place Sam wouldn’t follow.

  “Need a helping hand in there?”

  “Samuel!” The loud voice went through the closed bathroom door.

  “Fine, fine. No more teasing.”

  Standing before the door, Sam smiled, and so did Keith on the other side.

  “Keith.” A voice called.

  “Huh?”

  “Don’t leave me.”

  The boy leaned his head against the door, closing his eyes.

  “Never.”

  Chapter Thirty Five

  Knowing Who I Am to You Is All I Need

  Today’s breakfast was different. It was salmon sandwiches, indeed, but they seemed like they came out from an Italian restaurant’s kitchen. The bread was sourdough, with cream cheese spread and sliced apples. The best part was that big piece of smoked salmon, topped with pistachios.

  The three young members enjoyed the novel meal. Keith took a big bite, indulged in the perfect combination of the ingredients. They couldn’t help but smile in joy. Keith wondered what prompted Diane to work her magic.

  The doorbell rang as they were all having the splendid time. Diane sighed and put down her cup. The face she made made Keith worried. His eyes followed her out of the kitchen. The doorbell rang again. Diane said she was coming. The conversation they made next weren’t loud enough for him to hear.

  Keith, Alice, and John all eyed at the kitchen doorway, wondering who would have come to visit them this early.

  “Keith, someone comes to see you.”

  Something was off. Perhaps it was his aunt’s voice. Perhaps it was just his imagination. But as soon as he lay eyes on the visitors, his face dropped. They were in a familiar professional uniform. They were in white. The least color Keith wanted to see.

  “What is this?” he asked, rising to his feet immediately. The doorway was blocked by those two men.

  Alice and John followed suit, their eyes daring back and forth between their cousin and those two figures.

  “I’m sorry, Keith. I had to do this. You need help, and I failed to provide that.” Diane said, her face pleading and sad.

  “I’m not going!” he refused at once. He knew what was going to happen to him.

  “It’s just temporary. I promise I’ll visit you.”

  “What happened, Mom?!” Alice screamed. John had to step up and hold her back.

  “Why? I didn’t do anything,” Keith protested. He looked at his aunt, still unable to bring himself to believe she’d do this to him. She was the one saying she’d try to understand him. Why though did she send him these people?

  “Keith.” She gently rested a hand on his shoulder, as if it would help to calm him down. “You have a nightmare. You talk to yourself. You lied about being locked up in the storeroom. You’re not getting better. Maybe these people can help you.”

  He wouldn’t want to believe what he’d just heard. Alice was screaming as she was retrained by John.

  “No, no! I’m not crazy. I told you I can see spirits.” Keith attempted a futile struggle from the two men’s grasp. They each came to lock him by his arms and dragged him away. His eyes darted all over the place searching for the spirit but found none.

  “Sam! Tell them you’re real,” he yelled and fought back with all his might. It didn’t work. All his life he held firmed in his sanity, but this was the true moment he was going literally mad.

  “Don’t let them take me away! Sam! Help me!”

  Keith’s eyes flew open as drops of tears rolled down from his eyes. He heard the door slam open and loud footsteps approaching. It was Diane and Hector. Both were still in their bed clothes, their hair messy. Hector hadn’t even put on his glasses yet.

  “Keith! What happened?!” Her face was a concoction of worry and confusion. She rushed to the bedside.

  “I…” His voice was coarse, as if he’d been yelling all day. He scanned the room for Sam and found him standing at the end of his bed. The spirit didn’t look any less concerned. “I had a nightmare. I’m sorry.”

  Diane sat down on the edge; she wouldn’t want to leave until she got an honest answer.

  “Keith…”

  “I’m really okay,” Keith insisted.

  “I will make you tea,” She caressed his hair. Her tender touch and kind love brought tears to his eyes again.

  “If there’s something troubling you, you know you can tell me.” Hector squeezed his shoulder.

  “Thank you, Hector.”

  They headed out of the room. But before they left, Diane turned around and asked him a question.

  “Keith, who’s Sam?”

  His heart dropped. He looked at Sam and saw a weak smile on his face. He quickly turned back to his aunt.

  “It’s… it’s nothing.”

  It was an obvious lie, but she didn’t press further.

  As soon as the two left and the door closed, he turned to Sam. The spirit must have been waiting for it as well because he quickly moved to seat himself beside him.

  “Was it that bad?” Keith asked.

  Having a nightmare was nothing new. But this time his aunt and his uncle even barged into his room.

  “You screamed. It wasn’t just a murmur. You did scream. You called out my name.”

  The boy could still remember what it felt like in that nightmare. The scene was replay
ed in his head; the fear was still present. Maybe it was the sudden admission to the hospital which had caused him so stressed he had that dream.

  Keith didn’t think Diane would ever do that to him. At least, she would tell him first.

  “What happened?” Sam’s voice wasn’t coercive; Keith liked it that the spirit allowed him some time to get himself together. Still, it didn’t make telling things easier.

  “A nightmare.” It was the only word he could manage.

  “Someone hurt you in your nightmare?”

  “Yes, no. I don’t know.” He shook his head and let out a long sigh.

  “Did I hurt you?”

  Keith whipped his head to glare at Sam, his look asking what made the spirit think so.

  “You called out my name,” Sam explained, “did I do something to you? Or is it because what I did the other day?”

  The boy’s face blushed at the thought of what happened the other day when Sam…

  He quickly shook it off.

  “Not that. I wouldn’t have a nightmare about that.” He rubbed the back of his head, looking down at the bedsheet instead of his listener. “It’s just a dream. Don’t worry.”

  Sam placed a hand on his, the touch electrifying.

  “I wish I could do more than this, but the past cannot be undone.”

  Both of their gazes lingered on the hand resting upon another, unable to really touch.

  “It’s not your fault,” Keith said.

  “Not yours either,” Sam smiled and then his eyes glistened. “It’s still early and you’ve already made me worried. Give me a comfort kiss.”

  “Quit this trick already!” Keith objected immediately.

  “I won’t. Not until you stop running away into the bathroom.”

  One leg already on the floor, the boy who was heading for his shelter came to a sudden halt. He drew his leg back under the blanket. He sat still, eying the spirit who sat across him, arms crossed, face serious.

  They kept their eye contact for a while until Keith broke the silence.

  “I need to go to the bathroom. I’m not running away,” Keith said, “I just need to go to the bathroom.”

  The blonde burst out laughing. He prodded the other’s forehead with his index finger.

  “Why must you be so cute?”

  Keith’s mouth hung open. His face flushed with heat like he had a fever. He got up and really ‘ran away into the bathroom’ with Sam’s laughter following him.

  That day, Diane took full charge of taking caring of Keith. She wouldn’t allow him to be in his bedroom by himself, only in the living room where he was visible to her. Keith couldn’t make any objection since he’d caused her that much worry. Being alone on the sofa quickly bored him though.

  As there was no more basketball practice until the summer was over, John got time to hang out with his friends. Alice tidied up her room, saying she would come down to play with him when she finished. But it took so long he wondered perhaps she ran into a piece of memory and forgot about the cleanup altogether.

  A cooking program was on the TV. Keith watched it with disinterest. Sam sat beside him, but he couldn’t risk talking to the spirit. It could be anytime when Diane could hear them.

  The cooking program changed into a movie channel. Keith’s eyes grew wide at Sam’s mischief.

  “Sam, Diane might have seen that.” He said with the lowest of his voice.

  “Make me popcorn.”

  Keith opened his mouth to say something, but he resigned. He got up from the sofa and walked into the kitchen. He opened some drawers and cabinets in quest for the instant popcorn.

  Relentless popping sounds came from the microwave. He rested his back against the counter waiting for it to be done. He suddenly realized that he didn’t want to eat popcorn that much. He held his temples between his cupped hand.

  “Oh, you’re making popcorn? Which flavor?” Alice turned up in the kitchen.

  “Cheese… I guess.” Keith looked at the microwave. He didn’t remember which flavor he picked.

  “Yummy!” She declared as she went straight to grab a big plastic bowl.

  While Keith was pouring the popcorn into it, she asked,

  “Sam isn’t here?”

  “Watching the TV on the sofa.”

  She glanced into the living room. From here, only a part of it was visible.

  “Is Alice bothering you two?” she asked in a careful tone of voice.

  “Bothering what? You said it yourself you’d keep me company.”

  “Alice found my old diary and got a bit distracted.” She laughed.

  Keith brought the popcorn bowl with him into the living room. Sam was still sitting there watching the movie.

  “Allow me to sit with you too,” she said, and the spirit smiled at that.

  “Don’t act like Alice can see you,” Keith said as he seated himself on the sofa, following by the girl. “Sam smiled at you.”

  “Name’s Alice. Nice to meet you. Please take good care of Keith.” She said to the empty seat next to the boy.

  He started to wonder if it was a wrong decision to sit between these two. Still, Alice’s presence made talking to Sam possible, even if the spirit got too absorbed in the film and wouldn’t talk to anyone.

  The three watched the film together, two of them eating popcorn. Keith suddenly felt a ticklish sensation at his nape. He turned to look at the cause and saw that Sam rested his head upon his shoulder. It got harder to breathe immediately; his body went stiffened. Were they alone, it wouldn’t be a problem. But Alice was also with them. Sam didn’t stop at just that but held his hand as well.

  “Sam,” he whispered.

  “Even if they could see us, I wouldn’t let go of your hand.”

  Sam’s words made his body temperature rise.

  “Get used to it already,” Sam added, “I’m your boyfriend now.”

  Keith couldn’t utter a response, like a man who just got mind blown. He kept holding Sam’s hand and continued to watch the film as if nothing had happened.

  After dinner, Keith was allowed back in his room. He didn’t know what to do about his nightmare to help get rid of Diane’s worry. She brought him chamomile tea. If it worked, he would drink it every night.

  Keith watched as she left. He then remembered what he said to her about Sam.

  “Sam,” Keith called. The spirit who was experimenting with the binoculars turned his attention to him. “I’m sorry I can’t tell them who you are to me.”

  Sam put the instrument down and took steps towards him, leaning his face forward.

  “I know what you are to me and you know what I am to you. That’s all we need.” The spirit placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. “Drink the tea and get to sleep already.”

  Keith nodded and then finished the drink. When he noticed Sam’s proud face, he felt rather embarrassed.

  The next morning began like what happened in his nightmare, except for the salmon sandwich part. Breakfast was fried eggs, hams, bacons, toasts and jam. Sam was also in the kitchen. He sat on Hector’s chair, who had gone to work.

  The sound of the doorbell ringing made his heart sunk. He looked at Diane immediately and saw an incomprehensible smile on her face.

  “You should open the door.”

  Keith wanted to ask why but did not. He headed out of the kitchen, his heart racing in panic. Diane wanted him to open the door for them, which meant she knew who were coming. The image of two men in white flashed up in his mind. He grasped the doorknob tight, took a deep breath, and faced the reality.

  Chapter Thirty Six

  Childhood Friends

  He imagined two men in white behind the door as he opened it. But before him were two people, not in white, not even an adult.

  “Keith!” The black-haired one greeted him with a hug.

  It took him a very brief moment to recognize who they were.

  “Gareth. Joshua.” His eyes widened in disbelief.

  “It’s Josh. I’ve
stopped calling myself that for a while.” The tall boy next to the other promptly made a correction. He gave Keith’s a squeeze on his shoulder. It was packed with feelings the other didn’t need to convey in word.