Shepherd's Crook - 12. Chapter 12

“Mom…no! Please, Mom…MOM!” Gibby’s frantic shouts were loud enough to wake himself from his nightmare. He sat up in bed, clutching the sweat soaked sheets, gasping for air. It was morning. The sunshine was streaming into the bedroom, chasing away the remnants of his recurring night terror.

“Jeez, I must have forgotten to take my pills last night,” He said, flopping back against the sheets. “First Tanner, then Mom…whew…” He blew a relived sigh, “I can really do without all of these crazy, messed up dreams.” Gibby rubbed his fingers over his eyes before rolling over to peek at the alarm clock.

“Fuck!” He shouted as he noticed the time. It was almost an hour past the time he should have gotten up. Jumping out of bed, the sheets tangled between Gibby’s legs bringing him crashing to the floor with a loud bang.

Scrambling to free himself from the cotton imprisonment, he yelled down to Jonathan who must have overslept too. “Dad, get up, we’re going to be late.”

As Gibby crawled out of the tangled mess, Jonathan appeared in the doorway. Freshly shaved, his wet hair was neatly combed and his shirt and tie were crisply pressed. Jonathan smiled at his son scurrying around the room, grabbing jeans and a t-shirt, without checking if they passed the teenage-stages-of-clean-sniff-test.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Gibby growled at his father, who obviously hadn’t overslept like he had. Hopping on one foot as he tried to fish one leg through a pants leg that was twisted around backwards had Jonathan laughing.

“Haha, real funny!” Scowling at his dad, Gibby continued cramming his leg in a hole that wasn’t going to give until he lost his balance and landed on his ass.

Jonathan enjoyed watching Gibby dance around like a madman and figured it was time to let him off the hook. “Classes are cancelled today, that’s why I let you sleep in. If you’re finished trying to kill yourself with those jeans of yours, why don’t you come downstairs. I just finished making some pancakes and eggs for breakfast.”

Confusion clouded Gibby’s face.

“Come down to the kitchen and we’ll talk.” Jonathan didn’t wait for Gibby to get up off the floor before he turned and headed down to the kitchen himself.

Drenching two plates with syrup, Jonathan set one at the breakfast bar while he kept his own plate beside him on the counter. After Gibby shoveled four pancakes and the rest of the scrambled eggs away and was still hungry, he pulled out a box of cereal and filled up a bowl.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that classes were cancelled when I got home last night,” Jonathan began as Gibby ate his breakfast. “But when I heard you talking to your friend--”

The spoon slipped out of Gibby’s hand, falling into the cold milk with a splash. “You heard us talking?” Milk splattered across his t-shirt as his face flushed red.

“I didn’t want to interrupt your telephone conversation.”

Gibby slowly registered what his dad was saying. Jonathan had only heard half of the conversation… “Wait, why are classes cancelled?”

Jonathan suddenly looked solemn as he took a deep breath, “One of your classmates, Tanner Mitchell, was in a horrible accident and was killed last night.”

“Ha! I told you I was dead!” Tanner yelled in Gibby’s ear from behind him.

“Jesus Christ!” Gibby shouted as he jumped out of his seat and whirled around to glare at the ghost boy grinning from ear to ear behind him. It wasn’t a dream. Tanner really was dead.

“I know that it’s upsetting, Gib, but it appears that he might have been hit by a car while riding his bike home from football practice.” Jonathan watched his son staring off into space.

“Yeah, they’re doing an autopsy on me and everything! It’s very CSI.” Tanner said as if it was the coolest thing in the world.

“Do they know how it happened, or who hit him?” Gibby asked, keeping his eyes locked on Tanner.

“Not yet, it appears to be a hit and run, but the investigation is still ongoing.” Jonathan spoke softly since it appeared that Gibby was quite upset by the news. “Were you guy’s friends?”

Tanner smiled and waggled his eyebrows, waiting for Gibby to answer his dad. “We were lab partners in Science Class, but he and his friends were actually kind of jerks.”

Gibby chewed on his bottom lip to keep from grinning. It was weird talking about Tanner with him standing in the middle of their kitchen, except nobody could see or hear him, except Gibby.

“Touché, Robinson!” Tanner’s smile grew bigger.

“Well, the school has made arrangements for grief counselors to come talk to the students, if you feel like you need--”

“Nope!” Gibby cut him off, “I’ve talked to enough shrinks to last a lifetime. Besides, I didn’t know Tanner very well.”

Letting his shoulders relax, Gibby turned back to face his dad. “Sorry Dad, but I’m okay…really. It caught me off guard hearing that a kid at my school had died, but you don’t need to worry about me.”

Jonathan looked for any signs that Gibby might be upset by the terrible news, yet he seemed to be fine, like he insisted that he was. It was getting late and Jonathan needed to get to the hospital. “If you need me for anything, you know how to reach me.”

Gibby rolled his eyes at his dad. “Jeez, go to work already.” He teased Jonathan as he gathered his coffee and lunch from the refrigerator before rushing off to work.

As soon as the SUV backed out of the driveway, Gibby turned on Tanner. “What the hell was that about last night? You just up and vanished on me.” A mixture of anger and hurt flashed in Gibby’s soft brown eyes. It took all of his courage to confess the pain over losing not only his boyfriend, but his best friend, too and he was still raw over their betrayal.

Tanner’s eyes cast to the floor. “I’m sorry about that. It was the strangest feeling. My body was calling me…” His words trailed off as he waited to see if Gibby was still mad at him.

“Calling you?”

“My parents had arrived at the morgue to view my body and I could feel them. I couldn’t stop it, my soul had to be there for them.”

“Tanner, I’m sorry,” Gibby whispered.

The smile suddenly returned to Tanner’s face as he glanced up and winked at Gibby, “Soooo, we’ve got the house all to ourselves; what do you want to do today?”

***

When Gibby took a break from playing video games and headed down to the kitchen to make some lunch, Tanner followed closely behind. They spent the morning laughing and talking as Gibby alternated between racing cars, fighting aliens, slaying dragons and defeating an array of evil creatures. It would have been more fun if Tanner could have participated, but he enjoyed being Gibby’s spotter, shouting out warnings whenever Gibby missed an impending attack.

“You want something to drink?” Gibby asked with his head stuck inside the refrigerator. “We have soda, tea, lemonade…” Waiting for Tanner’s reply, Gibby turned to see the somber look on the boy’s face.

“Shit dude, I’m sorry.”

Tanner shrugged his shoulders and gave Gibby a sheepish grin. “It’s okay.”

“I guess I was having such a good time that I kind of forgot that you were--”

“You’re having a good time?” Tanner’s smile grew bigger.

“Best time ever,” Slowly nodding his head, a pink flush crossed Gibby’s cheeks as he suddenly couldn’t look Tanner in the eyes. The air in the room changed as Tanner shifted from his solid form to a shimmery vapor.

The electrical charge made the room buzz. Gibby glanced up, afraid that Tanner was going to leave again, instead the ghost boy hovered closer to him. Gibby gasped. An icy blast shot through him when the mist engulfed him. Goosebumps peppered his skin. He trembled. The sensation was amazing. Tanner’s spirit merged with Gibby’s body. It only lasted for a second, but Gibby didn’t want it to end.

As fast as it started it was over. Tanner reappeared a few feet away. His body trembled as his shoulders rose and fell while he forced himself to calm down.

“W-w-what was that?” Gibby whispered. Wide eyes, shaking hands, shivers raked his body. The incredible effects of their contact still lingered. Gibby’s erection pressed against his pants while his pulse raced from the unexpected touch.

“I don’t know. I thought about touching you. I wanted to kiss you, to feel you so bad and before I could stop myself…that happened.”

A grin split Gibby’s face. Shaking his head, tossed auburn locks across his forehead, “Next time just give me a heads up before you decide to jump my body.”

Tanner giggled, “I didn’t jump you.”

“Close enough,” Gibby teased, “but I’m not complaining. That was awesome, but I think we need to take this slow.”

***

Gibby rode his bike while Tanner easily glided beside him. At first it was awkward, but it only took them a few minutes to settle into a comfortable pace. The late afternoon sunshine was warm, but the brisk autumn breeze balanced out the heat. Gibby pedaled towards the library with his satchel hanging across his back.

After the incident in the kitchen, Tanner agreed with Gibby that they needed to get some fresh air and instead of heading back up to Gibby’s secluded bedroom, they ventured out into town.

“Why do you think you’re still here?” Gibby asked while keeping his eyes focused on the sparse traffic of Shepherd’s Crook. There weren’t many vehicles, but the occasional parked car or passing driver kept him vigilant.

“You mean, why didn’t I go to heaven?” Tanner pondered the question. “I guess I must have some unfinished business. I still don’t know exactly what happened to me, maybe that’s it.”

“Then why are you here with me? Shouldn’t you be wherever your body is? Wouldn’t you learn more haunting the police department instead of hanging out with me?” Gibby didn’t want Tanner to go, but missing his chance to go to heaven had to suck.

Tanner gave Gibby a lopsided smile, “I would but every time I close my eyes, all I see is you, I’m drawn here, so I think whatever my unfinished business is, it has something to do with you, Gibby.”

Parking his bike outside of the library, Gibby started to ask Tanner more questions until he noticed the unusual stares from a couple walking along the sidewalk. Once they passed, he turned back to Tanner, “They really can’t see you, can they?”

“Nope, just you.”

That made Gibby feel special, that he had Tanner all to himself. He hadn’t felt this close to anyone since before the fire and having an extremely sexy, young guy all to himself was super exciting…too bad the whole being dead thing put a crimp into things.

***

Gibby’s eyes fluttered closed. He and Tanner had whispered for hours after Jonathan had gone to bed until Gibby couldn’t keep his eyelids open any longer. Tanner watched him drift off to sleep as his long auburn lashes lowered down to rest on his cheeks.

Tanner lay beside Gibby listening to his soft breaths. The slow melodic rhythm was hypnotic making the ghost boy feel calm and relaxed. He had never had a boyfriend and wondered if this is what it would have felt like.

Smiling as he reached out to tuck a lock of hair behind Gibby’s ear, before Tanner could pull his hand back his fingers brushed the silky curl. It didn’t pass through it like everything else that he had tried to touch before now. Books, the remote control, a door, even Gibby, Tanner’s fingers had disappeared into a shimmery mist before he made contact, but for some incredible reason, he was touching Gibby right now.

With his hands trembling, Tanner caressed the side of Gibby’s face. It was soft and warm. Circling his fingertips along his jawline he felt the prickles of some wide spread stubble. Tanner knew that this spectral form didn’t have blood or bones or tissue, but he swore that he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. The sensation was breathtaking. Wanting to continue before the feeling vanished, Tanner leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Gibby’s sleeping lips bringing a moan from deep inside Gibby as he parted his soft lips for Tanner to explore deeper in his mouth.

The dynamics of Gibby and Tanner's relationship has changed. Sooo... What do you think? Like it? Love it? Omg ghost cooties hate it?
Let me know your thoughts.
KC