The Medium Kid

Chapter 24

The soft breathing in the dim light made it even harder for Alfie to keep his eyes open. He had always used rhythms to calm himself, and Koda's deep and slow breaths were a soothing sound, so soothing that it was putting Alfie to sleep, but he wanted to read the rest of Enya's journal.

It was almost 11:30 at night and Koda had been sleeping by Alfie's side for nearly an hour. Alfie didn't want to be that creepy person and stare at Koda, but he had the opportunity to really look at his crush without shying away from Koda's gaze.

Koda fell asleep quickly, which meant that he was either exhausted or very comfortable in Alfie's company. He was facing Alfie with an arm wrapped around his cushion. They had been talking, then Alfie went to the toilet, and when he came back, Koda was asleep. The medium had crept into bed because he didn't want to wake him. Then, he stared. Koda's skin was clear with a small collection of freckles spread out across his face, there was a hint of a little scar above his left eyebrow, and one just under his bottom lip, his nose was cute while his jaw was firm. As Koda lay sleeping, there was a softness to his face, and a vulnerability Alfie hadn't seen before. Koda had seemed relaxed around him, but he still held up walls. Alfie could see now- now that Koda was unshielded- that he was just as exposed to the harshness of the world as everyone else.

The medium smiled to himself, looking down to the folded blankets on the floor. Koda didn't even attempt to sleep in the bed his father had made. They both had a desire to be closer, especially after their kiss.

Alfie slowly sank into his bed, pulling the duvet up to his chest and burying the back of his head into the cushion. He opened Enya's journal, flicking to the page that was titled: Observations. He pulled on his reading glasses and started:

'Now that I know it's real, I've been staring. I stare all the time, but he doesn't notice me. I guess I don't even notice myself. I lost that person a long time ago. Anyway, it comes in waves, mainly happening at night when people are more afraid and defenceless. I certainly feel it, but does he feel it?' Alfie wondered what Enya was like in her last month. Had Koda noticed a change in her? 'I feel it, this darkness. The house is always cold and dull, and I'm scared, not of him, but what he can do.'

"Who is he?" Alfie asked out loud, then covered his mouth when he remembered that he wasn't alone. Koda didn't even stir. Alfie froze until he was sure he didn't wake him, then continued onto the last few sentences.

'Things are getting worse; I know they are. I feel it, this emptiness in my heart and I don't know what to do. I'm slowing down on the drugs now that I know it's not a side effect from those. Koda caught me taking them yesterday, and he looked so hurt. I can't do this to him anymore. I want to get better. If I'm free of this addiction, maybe I can really understand what is going on in my home."

Alfie put the journal down and stared into the darkest corner of his room. Reading the journal didn't bring him any closer to the truth. If he summoned Enya, she'd only talk about their safety and disappear when it mattered. Alfie had never dealt with a case like this, and he wasn't sure if Connor had either. His mentor was also secretive and Alfie hated feeling like he was in the dark. He felt that way for a lot of his childhood until he really understood mediumship and started to embrace his gift.

Alfie's eyes diverted to the vase on the windowsill. He removed the dead flowers earlier, but the darkness still hovered like it was waiting to strike again. Then Alfie looked at Koda, his handsome crush in his bed, curled up in the duvet. Alfie should be freaking out and sneakily taking pictures of his sleeping face, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. The flowers, Enya's death, the secrecy, it all seemed to go in a full circle and point back to one thing, Koda Oaks.