Page 51 of See Through

My mom shrugs as my dad shakes his head.

“Well, we ran a funeral parlor, sweetie,” my mom says to me. “Some of those souls were bound to get a little lost on the way to their final place. I have no names or ideas for certain, but that’s what I believe.”

“I agree,” my dad chuckles. “I can almost hear Adrian saying I told you so in the wind right now. He always tried showing us what you guys collected.”

“He would absolutely be saying that,” I agree as I stand, holding my hand out for my mom. She immediately pulls me in for a hug.

“Come here, Aubrey.” She squeezes so tightly, I can barely breathe, but I let her. “I’m sorry we drifted apart the last few years. I promise to be more involved in your life. I’ve already lost one of my children.” She sniffles. “I can’t lose another one.”

“You won’t lose me,” I promise her. “I promise to call you more and update you about my life. Maybe we can start getting coffee, or maybe I’ll have you over for dinner.”

“We would love that,” Dean agrees, and I think I’ve fallen more in love with him than I had already.

“I can call you tomorrow while I’m editing the video and set something up.” Both my parents nod at me; I never thought I would see the day this happened. I truly thought there was no end to the constant beratement, but it all turned out to be grief manifesting into something else. “I’m really glad we talked about this. It was stressing me out for a while.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t talk sooner.”

“It’s okay,” I tell them. “Life has not been kind to us. I think maybe we all needed that break to readjust to the new version of reality. It’s not easy or quick. It’s a long road, but at least now, we’re not on three paths. We’re on it together.”

My voice breaks at the end, but I get through it, my father giving me a big hug before they head to their car, Dean and I walking to ours. I’m too busy looking at Dean to notice someone walking towards us, also not paying attention, and we crash into each other.

“I’m so sorry,” I say as I pick up her headphones she dropped. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“It’s okay.” She smiles at me as she pushes her glasses up her face. “It’s hard to pay attention to anything out here. Excuse me.”

“Of course.” I wave her on as we continue toward the parking lot.

“How are you feeling?” Dean wonders as the car comes into view.

“Better than I have in a long time. Everything still aches, but it’s quieter now. I’m surprised, honestly. I didn’t know today was going to go how it did.”

“I’m really proud of you,” he whispers in my ear as he leans down, pressing a kiss to my neck. “Are you ready to go home?”

“I’m ready for you to take me home, yes.” I look over at him as he opens the passenger door for me, but when I do, he looks confused. His brows are furrowed, as if I misheard him. “Is something wrong?”

“That was me asking you to move in with me, baby. I want to wake up to you every morning. I want your pink hair all over our pillows. I want to watch you explain the difference between a ghost and a demon when the horror movies get it wrong. Is that something you want with me?”

“It absolutely is.” I jump out of the passenger seat and leap into his arms. He catches me like I knew he would, and I can feel the happiness radiating off our bodies. “Your place needs a woman’s touch anyway.”

“Not a woman’s touch.” He presses a quick kiss to my lips before he sets me down. “Your touch. I love you, baby.”

“I love you too.” I can’t stop my smile, nor do I want to. This man in front of me, my best fucking friend on the whole planet, always knows what to say. He always knows how to make my feet fall from underneath me. He is just…perfect, and I feel so lucky to know him.

“Oh my gosh, I already have the perfect plan for how to decorate.”

He shuts the door and shuffles around the truck before sliding in and turning it on. “Oh, you have a plan already, huh?”

“Yes. Do you have a problem with that?”

“Well, no, but you do realize you’re the worst at making a game plan, right?”

My jaw drops. How dare he say that? “Um, no. I’m the best at plans. Name one bad plan I’ve ever created!”

He only laughs as we drive out of the cemetery, and he tries and fails to bring up something. The entire car ride back to my place is filled with me mentioning new designs and color palettes I want to run by him for our place, and all he does is agree with me at every turn. He says I can do whatever I want at our place because I’ve already given him everything he’s ever wanted.

Life looks nothing like how I thought it would, but I’m starting to learn that’s not a bad thing. Despite all the horror I’ve seen, this moment is a bright spot, one that will lead me out of the darkness whenever it decides to cover me again.

I may have some ghosts in my past, and I will carry those with me throughout this next chapter. But every ghost is a story waiting to be heard—you just have to make sure you’re listening.