I've started to notice shifts in the air when he walks near me, and sometimes I catch glimpses of a human-shaped black mist in the mirror. It was subtle at first, but the longer we're together the more I notice the changes.

Like the differences in his touches... where once it was only a warmth, it's become more and more firm. More... real.

I'm not sure what it means... perhaps that my mind is fracturing more over time?

But I can't find it in myself to be afraid.

When Austin was here last, I quietly asked Liam to speak to me... a test of sorts. He'd recommended against it with one very good reason - if he CAN hear him, then how would he react?

He'd freak the heck out, that's how. He wouldn't think it was interesting or cool. No, he'd have dragged me from the house and brought a priest to exorcise it or something...

So. We didn't do that.

It does mean that when Austin is here that I can't talk to Liam... and it bothers me. I enjoy Austin's visits, his company, but I find myself relieved when he's gone.

Liam's becoming a pillar of strength I rely upon. We don't constantly speak, but his presence - simply being near me - is comforting. His touches, his voice... I'm becoming... is addicted the right word?

It doesn't sound healthy. It sounds like I'm becoming co-dependent.

Yet... it's a hope, a happiness, I didn't expect to have when Omi left. I look forward to his voice every morning, to the subtle touches that have increased in frequency.

I crave it... I actually... I've started to crave more.

I don't think he sleeps... but part of me wants to ask him to lay beside me at night. He's never asked for more than we have... Would it ruin it if I did?

I don't even know how it would work, but I want it anyway.

I've never felt for anyone what I'm starting to feel for Liam. Safety. Comfort. Peace.

Happiness. He makes me happy.

"Where's your mind, May?" he asks softly, drawing my attention away from the garden.

We're sitting outside on the patio, and I think he might be sitting beside me? I'm not sure since there's no indication of it. The cushion doesn't react if he sits. At least... I don't think it does...

Is it really possible he's just in my head?

"Thinking about you," I murmur, furrowing my brow as I look out toward the trees.

The sun is starting to dip low and it'll be dark soon, the shadows getting longer and the chirps of insects starting to pick up.

"Oh? What about me?" he muses.

"A part of me wants you to be real," I sigh, setting my tea down beside me and pulling my knees into my chest, "to... I don't know."

"To what, May?" he whispers, his voice almost husky now.

His voice has been stronger and stronger these past days... he sounds like he's right here beside me.

"To be... more," I whisper, shaking my head and leaning it back over the back of the chair, "God, I really am losing my mind."

He's quiet, like he's waiting for more, and I imagine him tilting his head curiously... or maybe he's got one of those intense looks guys get when they study something.

"What color were your eyes?" I ask quietly, closing my eyes and trying to paint a picture of him, "what did you look like?"

"My eyes are blue.. and I'm taller than you," he says quietly, "I had kind of a dirty blond hair. I needed a haircut when I died, so it was a bit shaggy, but not so long it fell into my eyes or anything. I didn't work outside much, so I was kind of pale... but there was a gym at the plant I used every day to keep in sort of shape."

Chuckling, he adds, "No six pack though, just... healthy, I guess."

I smile, my eyes still closed as I form an image in my mind. It's vague, of course but... it's something. More than I had.

"I wish I could see you," I murmur, focusing on the image, "to know... you are really real."

He's quiet for a long moment, and I sigh as I open my eyes and sit up to see the sun has dipped behind the trees. I chuckle, shaking my head at my ridiculousness, standing up and heading inside.

Standing at the sink, I feel his touch against my back... almost like he's pressed his chest up against me.

I can't help sighing contentedly, unable to truly lean back against him but... enjoying the feeling.

"I'm real, May," he whispers, his touch moving up my arms slowly, "and I... I wish we could be... more too."

The rest is left unspoken as his touch runs slowly up and down my arms. It feels... intimate. Close. Almost real.

"May I... try something, May," he asks quietly, his movements stopping but not leaving my arms.

"Hmm," I hum, my eyes still closed as I focus on the feeling of him.

Warmth presses against my neck, and I gasp softly - moving my head to the side to grant him better access.

So close to the sensation of a kiss... different enough to know he's not here, but powerful enough to make me question his realness.

He kisses slowly from just below my ear and down my neck, ending right where my neck meets my shoulder, before trailing them back up again.

"Can you feel me, May?" he whispers, his touch moving up and down my arms again, slowly... sensually.

"Yes," I breathe, my body reacting strongly to every movement.

We stay like that for a long time, his kisses continuing - gentle and soft - as he rubs my arms. A whisper of a touch, an undeniable warmth... yet more powerful than anything else I've ever felt.

"Will you... come to the bed with me, Liam?" I ask hesitantly, afraid to break whatever we have that's happening here.

He pauses for a moment, and I worry I've pushed too far... asked for too much...

"Yes," he rasps, "I will."

Hope blooms in my chest, and I dare to hope that... just maybe...

His touch pulls away and I miss it instantly.

I turn away from the sink, searching for something... anything... to prove he's really here.

But there's nothing. No black mist like I've seen in the mirror, no shimmer in the light.

I smile a slight smirk, amused at myself, but I slowly head toward the bedroom. I leave the door open... I'm not sure if he needs me to do that or not, but I do it anyway and I keep my back to the door as I slowly take my clothes off.

I slip into the bed, pulling the covers over my body - a bit embarrassed that I'm acting so intimate in an empty room - and look around.

Still nothing. No proof... no evidence that he's real at all.

"May I touch you, May," he breathes, so close to my ear... and I swear I can almost feel his breath.

I suppress a moan, closing my eyes and nodding. I'm not really sure what to do... there's no one here, nothing to react to. So I just... wait... My breath caught in my throat.

I feel his touch start at my collar bone... gentle... still just a whisper, but firmer than it once was.

It trails, slowly downward and when it pauses on my chest just above where the blanket rests... I swallow thickly and lower the covers below my breasts.

He trails downward, and when I feel his touch slide over my nipple I gasp lightly, my back arching ever so slightly.

I hear his breath hitch... it's quiet, but it's there, before the touch moves to my other breast. I react similarly when the other side receives the same brief attention.

The sensation intensifies when it feels like his mouth comes down over one nipple, his touch moving in circles around the other... and this time, the moan escapes.

"Fuck, May," he rasps, and his touch begins to trail further south.

As he moves, I lower the covers, and when it hovers at the small patch of hair between my legs... I hesitate for just a moment, before spreading them. Slowly... doubting everything about this moment.

This can't be real. This must be... a dream. It's too much for a delusion but... it can't be real either.

Until I feel his touch move into my slit.

We groan together, and I swear his touch becomes suddenly even more solid... I swear I feel him spread my lips, and something so close to what feels like a finger begins to circle my clit.

"It feels... so real," I gasp, my back arching more now, "I swear... I can feel you."

"I can feel you, too," he says lowly, his voice gravely in a way I've never heard.

When I feel him enter me, I give up trying to explain anything. Nothing makes sense... there is only this. This moment. This feeling. I don't know if it's real... but I don't care anymore.

He pumps a finger into me slowly, moaning softly... then I feel him add another.

What feels like his mouth returns to my nipple, and what I think is his other hand circles the other.

His fingers pick up the pace, curling slightly, and a shot of electricity surges straight through me.

My breathing picks up, and I can't hold my reactions back... sounds escape me and I'm only vaguely aware of them as heat pools in my core and the pressure begins to build.

My back arches off the bed as his fingers continue to move, the feeling he's giving me very, very real even if I question everything else.

"Liam," I gasp, my body acting of its own accord - grinding lightly against him.

My eyes squeeze shut as I feel myself getting close, and when I fall over the edge I call out his name.

"Liam!"

He lets me ride it out and as my high evens out, I open my eyes...

And I see it. I see a shape of black mist with me on the bed, and arm angled between my legs and another on my breast. A head with what could almost be messy locks leaned down over my breast.

"Liam," I whisper, my eyes widening as I watch his head raise and... I swear it looks like he's looking right at me, "I can...I can see you."

He freezes then, slipping his hand out of me, and he hesitates before he leans forward... as if to kiss me.

I close my eyes, and I feel more than just warmth... more than just a vague pressure... I feel his kiss. I swear I feel it. Still... light... still not quite real and yet... more real than even moments ago.

When he pulls away, his misty, transparent form hovers above me. No features, no definition... just swirling black wisps of smoke that somehow remain contained within the lines of a man's form.

"You're so beautiful," he murmurs, moving his hand up my thigh and settling on my hip.

I reach cautiously forward, and when my fingers brush along the outside of the mist I feel the warmth and pressure that I've become so familiar with.

My eyes can't quite focus on him, the swirls within shifting and moving in a way that doesn't allow the eye to pinpoint a single point.

But I can see... something. I can see him.

And the smile that spreads across my face is filled with true and genuine excitement.

--

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