lonely nights | jake & colby

5. empathy

colby's pov

i look at jake, he's cuddled up in blankets as we both wait for the other half of our group to come back. he looks pretty adorable but i can also tell that he's quite nervous to meet a new person. i reach for his hand that lays on top of his chest and i hold it, he laces his fingers through mine. i rub circles into his hand and we stay like that, going on our phones until we hear movement outside sam's door.

i stood up, ready to greet our guest. i look at jake once more and give him a smile before introducing myself to the psychic. i assume that sam and corey had already spoken with her on the way up as she makes her way over to us.

"hi nice to meet you, i'm colby." i say politely.

"good to meet you, i'm nadia. you must be the other half of the channel." she notes, her eyes wondering to jake's figure that is still covered in a blanket.

"you look cosy there." she jokes.

"hey i'm jake, nice to meet you." he says with a sheepish smile, shaking her hand from his horizontal position on the loveseat. he then shakes the blanket off of himself and sits up, joining into the conversation. i realise i've been watching him this whole time and avert my eyes back to the group where nadia snuck a knowing look my way. she then looked at jake where he was sitting before paying full attention to what sam was discussing with corey.

-

she directed us all to sit on the sofa, together but slightly apart so that she could read us better. i knew if i sat next to jake, i would probably sense his unease and want to comfort him. so i let corey sit first, placing a wedge between us. i look over and already i see jake's hands fiddling with each other as he tries to pay attention. i wish i could just reach out and calm him. instead, i look back at nadia as she explains the different aspects of an aura.

we all close our eyes and breathe deeply under the guidance of the psychic, i take this chance to peak around corey at jake. i follow his breaths, watching him as he calms himself down and loosens his tense body language. i close my eyes, suddenly feeling more relaxed myself.

nadia begins to read us, how we present ourselves physically and what that symbolises, noting that me and sam make a good team. she starts to indicate what our future might hold, telling sam that he should be safe. she then turns to jake.

"you are going to be fine as well. i am sensing some inner troubles but you will work through it. i can also see support and companionship, which will be a lot of help to you." she directs at jake, who looks scared by what was implied by that statement. he just kind of nods and avoids eye contact with the rest of us.

she focuses her attention on me and corey next, taking a few seconds to grasp what she can see.

"you two are going to come face to face with something. i'm sensing some darker colours in the future. i don't know if it will be tomorrow, but it's coming up for you guys."

we all take a moment to dwell on that, discussing what impact spirits might have on us. jake still seems slightly withdrawn, staring at nothing.

"for you colby, it's different," nadia continues, pausing for a moment. "i'm seeing some black in there, which isn't the most positive colour reading. internally, it could represent uncertainty or being unsure about how to deal with certain feelings. i'm also sensing that you're quite an empathetic soul, so going to these haunted places you really need to be able to protect yourself in that aspect." nadia explains to me.
with corey's reading, she talks about how he's going to face something soon that he has come up against before. considering his haunted teenage years, we had somewhat expected that but it still scared him to hear.

"colby, you've got something more to do with personal change right now that i'm sensing in your energy. but with corey, it's more about past energy that he has been holding with him which can attract these sorts of haunted experiences, but you are ready for them and you will learn from them." she mostly addresses corey, which i am grateful for as i sit and mull over what just happened. it was scary because a lot of what she said reaffirmed what i had already been feeling. i was becoming more aware of what i feel towards jake, but i also don't really know how to deal with that.

our time with the psychic draws to a close and she gets up to hug us all goodbye. parting with a few words for each of us as she does. she goes over to jake, "the quiet one." sam and corey pick up on that, joking about how he had barely spoke a word. i knew the real reason was probably because he was going through a lot at the moment.

"i'm just shy sometimes." he brushes it off.

nadia gives him a light pat on the shoulder before coming over to me last out of all of us. as she hugs me, she whispers in my ear.

"you two will find each other, just trust your actions." the hug ends and i nod at her despite feeling quite confused on the inside.

we all thank her for her time and see her to the door.

-

we all regroup to discuss what we had discovered just minutes ago. mostly, it was me and corey that were apparently more vulnerable to spirits but for different reasons. however, all of us were feeling a mix of emotions as to what this trip could bring. we went over the plan for leaving early in the morning and found we would only have a few hours to sleep at this point so we decided to say our good nights. as i go to leave, sam stops me.

"by the way, what did she whisper in your ear dude?"

"oh uh nothing really." i tried to sound unbothered, but i don't think sam believed me.

with a promise to see him in the morning, i quickly leave the apartment. i see jake hasn't gotten too far so i catch up with him.

"hey, that was quite strange huh?" i start, trying to understand how he was feeling about it.

"yeah, i honestly don't know if i'll sleep tonight. we have to be up so frickin early as well." he says, and i could tell he was actually worried.

"well i could stay at yours again, that way we can force each other to get up at an ungodly hour. i'm not too thrilled about the early start either, you can blame sam for that one." i suggest. mostly because i had a feeling jake needed someone with him tonight. also, i slept pretty good last night.

"yeah that's a good idea actually. i'm probably gonna need to be physically pushed out of bed that early." we both laugh at that as we reach my door.

"i'm just gonna grab all my stuff for tomorrow, i'll meet you back at yours?" he nods and reaches out for a small hug before we part for what would only be ten minutes at most.

as i change into sweats and grab my backpack, i can't help but think i could get used to nights like these. they are a lot less lonely.