I'll Wait in this Place Where the Sun Never Shines - ChangeTheCirc*mstances (2024)

Chapter 1: Just Some Fun

Chapter Text

During the undergrad years of college, the trio had been inseparable despite their vastly different areas of study. Physics. Business. Criminal Justice. They’d gotten the nickname, the Black Triangle, though Casper never could figure out why. The triangle part was obvious enough. Three points made a triangle. Simple. Maybe the adjective had simply come up because just ‘the Triangle’ sounded lame. Maybe it had something to do with Trench’s ‘black personality’ as some people called it. Or Casper’s ‘black humor’. Or Marshall’s black turtleneck that she’d always worn when not in uniform. Or something else? Casper wasn’t even sure who had coined the phrase first, but it had stuck. Stuck enough for Casper to drunkenly make them all t-shirts and then force Trench and Marshall into their own. He’d kept that photo just in case he needed to blackmail either of them. At least, that’s what he liked to say.

Grad school had somewhat torn the Black Triangle apart. Actually getting together was a rare thing now. Casper was in his seventh year of his Ph.D. In that time, Trench had started a full time job, transferred, quit, started a new job, and was now quickly rising through the ranks of the current company. Marshall had finished her military service. A medical discharge with honors. She now worked for the CIA, though whatever her actual job was, she couldn’t say.

When Trench had mentioned passing by Casper’s university for some business meeting he was leading, Casper was quick to convince him to drop by the small, university town. Only a few days later, Marshall had stated she’d be in the area visiting her mother about an hour south of Casper. How could he not take advantage of such perfectly aligned circ*mstances?

Casper grinned enough for the three of them over the morning coffee as they sat in a cafe just around the corner of the main building on campus. Marshall and Trench were as stoic as ever. Not that he’d ever been overly put off by their no-nonsense nature. By now, Casper knew their hard pressed lips might as well have been a grin for the both of them. Trench was only slightly less uptight than Marshall. Though he’d closed the gap in recent years. Casper could count on one hand the amount of times they’d both properly shown a smile. That wasn’t for professional purposes anyways.

“How’s the knee?” asked Casper.

“Fine,” Marshall replied. She slightly adjusted how she was sitting. A small stretch as she popped her neck. “Better now that it’s not winter.”

“I hate the rain,” grumbled Trench. He didn’t have to explain why. Casper could remember a variety of times where he and Marshall had sat in a dark bedroom as Trench tried not to get sick from a migraine. It was better now that he was taking medication, but they could still flair up from time to time.

Marshall inclined her head. “That too.”

“It’s simple science why pressure changes affect the body,” Casper piped up.

“Doesn’t make it any less evil,” snorted Marshall. She took another sip of her coffee. Leaned forward. “So, Darling. How’s Underhill?” They’d almost always used last names with each other and when referring to other people. Marshall had started it because of her military background and Casper and Trench had just followed along.

“Fine,” Casper said. “I suspect.”

“Fine. Huh?”

Trench raised his brow.

An innocent, confused noise left Casper’s lips. “What?”

“You haven’t really mentioned her in your letters or over the phone. Usually you have something to say,” Marshall pointedly said.

“She transferred programs, actually. To a different university. Just better opportunities. More funding for the project she’s working on for her grant. Plus a researcher she idolizes. It was too perfect for her to say no. We haven’t really kept in touch. Not much else to say.”

Trench raised his cigarette to his lips. He took a long drag before tapping it on the rim of an empty saucer. “You don’t appear that broken up about it.”

“It was an open relationship,” Casper tried with a flippant wave of his hand. “It wasn’t like we were really together anyways.”

“Maybe so, but you’re sentimental,” Marshall shot back. She and Trench took sips from their coffee cups at the same time. The smoke curled around Trench’s head.

It was very, very clear that neither were about to let this go. If Casper was being honest, it had hurt when Raya had decided to leave. She hadn’t told him anything about it until it was basically all said and done.

I don’t understand the problem. We both agreed to never let this relationship overshadow our careers.

Right, well–

If you want to follow me across the country, that’s your prerogative. But I won’t decline this opportunity to continue in a subpar program.

Casper had briefly toyed with the idea of following her. Trying to transfer if not in the moment, then maybe by next semester. But she’d been right. He would have jumped at the opportunity to move to a better program. Not that he thought he needed to. He was happy with the current university and all its amenities. But if the roles had been reversed, he probably wouldn’t have mentioned it to Raya either until everything had gone through and he knew he was going.

Trench’s snap was like a gunshot in his face.

“You gonna release the waterworks?” Trench dryly said.

Casper rolled his eyes hard. “I swear. You cry at one movie and suddenly everyone is acting like it’s your whole personality.”

“It is when it’s The Little Shop of Horrors,” Marshall shot back, just as dry.

“I just felt so sorry for Audrey Jr.”

Now it was Marshall’s and Trench’s turn to roll their eyes. “And we are all the better for the simple fact that it is not scientifically possible to create a sentient, man-eating plant, because you would be the one to do it,” muttered Trench.

“Did you?” Marshall suddenly asked.

“What?”

“Make a man-eating plant to contend with losing your girlfriend.”

“She wasn’t even my girlfriend,” snorted Casper. “We were just friends-more colleagues with benefits. Actually.”

“Uh huh,” Trench muttered.

“He’s definitely been burying himself in his work,” Marshall muttered under her breath. “No wonder he was so desperate for us to have coffee. He probably hasn’t seen the light of day in months.”

“That’s not true. Actually, I met-well I’ve met…some…people?”

Trench took another long drag. The smoke got blown directly into Casper’s face. Casper waved it away. “Some people?”

“What? Did you join a cult?” grumbled Marshall.

“No! Well…” Maybe in a weird way he had.

It had all started with a blue-eyed gaze and a mischievous smile. Casper had already been drinking by the time he got to the frat. He couldn’t remember whose idea it had been. Just not his. Casper’s partying days had diminished significantly since starting grad school, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t let loose once in a while. He’d started drinking even more when he and his fellow graduate students crashed the frat party. And then that blue-eyed gaze had found his. It hadn’t left him. Had followed him through the crowd until finally their bodies had collided.

You crashing the party too?

You’re saying you’re crashing as well?

I think that’s the whole point of frats, the younger man had laughed. No one is ever truly invited.

Casper was just rambling as he reminisced with a small smile and a breathy sigh. He only stopped when Marshall said, “So you got a boyfriend. You always did strike me as loose.”

Casper blushed slightly. “Well, after our second uh…meeting, he actually introduced me to his girlfriend.”

Trench wasn’t one to react very often. Casper felt just a little proud at getting the man to choke on his coffee.

“Jesus, Casper.”

“Well, you did always like to say I was a hippy in a lab coat.”

“Yeah, because you always had the best weed. Not because you were swinging.”

“You asked.”

“You got me there,” Trench sighed into his mug.

“Are they grad students too?” asked Marshall.

Casper could feel his ears going just the slightest bit pink again. “They go here–”

“Don’t tell me you’re sleeping with teachers.”

“They’re undergrad students,” Casper mumbled into his coffee cup.

“Undergrads, huh? So are we talking our age or younger?”

“If you must know, Barbara is twenty-five. Tom is twenty-two.”

Marshall looked unimpressed. “Midlife crisis much?”

“I’m not even forty!”

“That gray in your hair begs to differ.”

Casper instinctively covered his right temple where the gray was most pronounced. He’d tried dying it last year, but Raya had told him it looked obvious what he was trying to do. He was still a little self conscious about it. He was the only one in his grad program sporting more than a couple of gray hairs. Though he’d slowly come around to accepting it. Especially when Tom and Barbara teasingly called him ‘their silver fox’. He twitched at the thought.

“Whatever impure thoughts you’re having, I don’t want to know,” Marshall shot back.

“It wasn’t–”

“Uh uh. You’ve given enough details about your boy toy. I don’t need to hear whatever the girlfriend was like in bed either.”

Casper made a face that pretty much said she was just as good as his ‘boy toy’. Which she was. Barbara was great. Tom was great.

Trench shook his head. “You are asking for a messy f*cking ending with that.”

“I’m glad I’m not in the middle of it,” Marshall agreed.

Casper’s mind flitted elsewhere. He shivered. “I like being in the middle.”

“Casper!” The shout came from both Marshall and Trench. Casper felt just the slightest bit smug at getting them both to make a face. He hadn’t succeeded in causing that much of a reaction in years.

“You are something else,” snorted Marshall. “I do not envy your circ*mstances.”

“At least you haven’t moved in or something equally ridiculous,” Trench sighed. “If word got around…”

“Well…”

“Darling,” Marshall groaned, “Do not tell us–”

“Well, remember when I wrote about my landlord being a dick and the whole leasing issues and sh*t?”

“Yes,” Trench slowly said.

“Well, Barbara’s from here. Originally. Her and Tom live at her family’s home and I just…”

“Tagged along?” Marshall sighed.

“Kind of. It’s just for a few weeks. The rest of the semester at most!”

“Uh huh. You’re too sentimental for that,” sighed Trench. He shook his head. “You’re old enough, and I’d like to say smart enough, to make your own decisions. Though right now I’m doubting the second bit. But depending on how long this lasts, you should be careful. It could come and bite you in the ass.”

“It’s just a bit of fun. You’re worrying over nothing. Both of you.”

“Trench is right. It may be seventy-four but that doesn’t mean people won’t talk. Be careful the wrong ears don’t hear about it.”

Casper waved the concern away. It wasn’t that serious. Though knowing his friends cared was appreciated. “Let’s stop talking about my sex life, please.”

“You’re acting like we wanted to know when I’m pretty sure you were begging to tell us,” Marshall muttered.

Casper ignored the comment. He looked to Trench and changed the subject. “How’s Susanna?” Casper could still remember the day he’d come home only for his neighbor to tell him that the telephone in his apartment hadn’t stopped ringing for the past six hours. Trench wasn’t an easy man to make cry. Casper knew that.

“Good. She’s finally walking without the crutches,” Trench replied. His voice didn’t really crack. Like with tears, it was a rare thing to hear Trench’s voice truly crack. But it was damn near close when it came to talking about his daughter. Casper could also remember taking the phone call where Trench had informed him she was finally out of the coma. It had been a damn good thing to hear after all the heartbreak the Trench’s had been subjected to.

“Kate still blaming you for the accident?” asked Marshall.

Trench took an extra long drag at the mention of his ex-wife. He snuffed the cigarette butt out on the saucer. Rather than answering right away, he took out another and lit it. He slowly breathed in before replying. “Don’t think she’ll ever stop. But Susanna will be spending the weekend with me when I get back from this work trip. Supposed to be taking her to the zoo.”

“That should be fun,” Casper grinned. “I wonder if they’ll have a kitty sunflower for her to look at.”

Trench snorted at the reference. It was what Susanna had called male lions for the longest time. They were one of her favorite animals. She had once said her dad reminded her of a lion. She’d said Casper reminded her of a penguin and Marshall a bulldog. Casper had personally taken it as a compliment. Penguins were an incredibly unique subspecies of birds. As for Marshall, it was hard to say if she’d felt the same way, but Casper had certainly agreed with Susanna’s take.

Talk mostly stayed positive. Talking about Susanna’s recovery from the car wreck and how she’d been doing since returning to school a few months ago. Casper mentioned his current project at the university and some of the undergrad assistants he had. Marshall had some amusing and slightly harrowing stories of her own job. The ones that weren’t classified. She didn’t mention much on her private life. Only that her mom was doing well and she was visiting for her birthday. Marshall had always been the most private out of all them. Casper hadn’t even realized she’d been dating Lopez until after they’d broken up back in their undergrad years.

They talked for another hour. The one dead cigarette on Trench’s saucer eventually became five by the time they were done. Trench made the move to leave first. “Best be going before I get behind schedule.”

“Of course. I swear, what you do is absolutely alien to me,” chuckled Casper. He stood up with him. Trench held out his hand. “Oh, come on Zachariah. You’ve known me for how long and you’re saying good-bye with a handshake?” Casper walked around the table. He grabbed Trench. Squeezed. He could feel Trench squeeze just a little bit back.

Marshall fell on simply clapping Trench on the shoulder after she downed the last drop of her second cup of coffee and stood. Or she at least tried to do that. Casper was quick to pull her into what quickly became a group hug. Trench lightly patted both Casper’s and Marshall’s backsides.

“You’re a sentimental old fool despite not even being forty yet. And don’t you dare call me when your little love triangle becomes a jealousy ridden nightmare.”

“Seconded,” Marshall replied.

Casper simply slapped them both on their backs as the embrace moved apart. “You worry too much.”

“It’s to make up for your lack of worry,” Marshall dryly stated. “Like when I saved your ass from missing that final from being too high the night before.”

Casper laughed at the memory. He followed them both out. Trench had parked closest. He said goodbye first. Then, Casper and Marshall walked a little farther down the road before Casper said goodbye to Marshall at her own car. He gave her a final wave before turning away and walking back to where he’d chained up his bike. He’d been saving up for a car for a while. Before, he’d borrowed his father’s since his undergrad had been in his home city. Thankfully, he didn’t really need one here.

There was plenty of time before he needed to get back on campus. He’d purposefully made his morning open for Trench and Marshall, but he surprisingly didn’t have anything scheduled until close to two. He checked his watch. With about four hours to play with, he could just head over to the library. Maybe go into the lab. Clock in some hours there. Go over the results of the last experiment. At the last second, he decided to make his way back home.

Not that it was home. Not his home. It wasn’t. Just temporary. Until Casper found a better apartment.

“It’s just temporary.”

Maybe if he said it out loud enough, he’d actually start believing it.

Trench’s claim that this was all a love triangle about to go horribly wrong was not accurate in the slightest. A love triangle implied two people interested in the same person. Though visually speaking, that would be more a love arrow than anything. Unfortunately that term just hadn’t caught on. No, the attraction was felt relatively equal amongst the three of them. At least, it felt equal on Casper’s side. But he knew that the equality only existed in the physical. It really was only fun. He’d known Tom and Barbara for about four months now. Tom and Barbara had been dating for three years. Had known each other a little longer than that. Casper’s relationship with them both was not the same as the relationship they had with each other. He knew that.

He really, really did.

But there were days like today where it became just a little harder to separate his own emotional involvement.

He rode his bike up the long, winding, gravely road. The home lay in the forest like something out of a gothic romance with its large windows and sweeping balconies. Especially the large, circular window at the top that revealed the attic. It always made Casper think of it as an eye. The home had been in the Jagger family since it had been built. Three generations ago. Vines climbed up the sides where Casper leaned his bike. Barbara’s parents no longer lived here. They’d had her late in life and were quite old now. They’d long since retired to the east coast, leaving the plot of land and the old, family car for her. Casper didn’t have to get out the spare key Tom had given him. The car was parked out front and Tom had mentioned they’d both be home until about noon anyways. Tom had a literature class and Barabara usually tagged along, though she wasn’t actually signed up for it.

Casper pushed open the unlocked door.

He wasn’t shy. He could get thrown off if put on the spot or if he’d been oblivious to the interest. That had happened before. Especially if he was distracted with something science related. But he was far from shy. He and Raya had done some downright unholy things on campus grounds in empty classrooms and closed labs. He sometimes missed that. Being able to go over to the biology lab in between his classes or times of study. Especially on days when he knew Raya would be alone and the next technician wouldn’t be in for another thirty minutes.

Tom and Barbara made him miss his time with Raya less and less though.

He recognized the soft, needy moans as he walked into the home's main hall. He took several steps forward. Looked over into the first living room. Because this was the kind of house that had two living rooms and a separate dining space that wasn’t in the same room as the kitchen. And a rec room which was apparently not just a third living room. Casper’s throat bobbed as he watched Tom finger his girlfriend. Her skirt was pulled up revealing her bush and the hair on her pale legs. She wasn’t wearing underwear. Not that Casper was surprised. Tom had probably pulled it off with his teeth earlier or Barbara hadn’t put any on to begin with. Her head lay in the crook of Tom’s shoulder. Sunlight streamed through the half drawn curtains. Casper sometimes forgot how auburn her hair was until the light hit it just right. It almost looked like fire right now.

Barbara’s tongue flicked out across her lips. Casper instinctively mimicked the motion. Dragging the tip of his over his upper lip. Tom’s fingers drew back. They glistened in the light. He dragged them down Barbara’s bottom lip before slipping his pointer finger in. She sucked. Her throat and Casper’s bobbed in time.

“Enjoying the show?”

Casper’s eyes flickered over. Bright blue stared back. He wouldn’t be surprised if Tom had been staring the entire time. From the way Barbara’s lips formed a smile around Tom’s finger, she’d heard him come in from the start. Tom removed his finger. The wet pop went straight to Casper’s co*ck. Barbara’s eyes fluttered open. Now two sets of blue crinkled at Casper.

“How was it seeing your friends?” she asked with a languid stretch across Tom’s chest. She spread her legs just a little wider. A tease of the pink lips under dark, curly hair.

“Good. Long overdue. I mentioned the both of you.”

“Don’t we feel special,” purred Tom. The hand that hadn’t just fingered Barbara reached out. Palm open. Fingers inviting. “Join us?”

Casper had planned on studying a bit, making lunch, and then studying some more before riding his bike back to the university. “I’d hate to interrupt.”

Barbara batted her eyes at him. “Interrupt? We were just thinking how much we missed our sweet Darling doctor.”

“I’m not a doctor,” snorted Casper. He dropped his bag near the door. Despite himself, he was already walking forward.

“Not yet,” grinned Tom. “Come here, love.”

It was not easy remaining emotionally distant when Barbara and Tom were so quick to pull out the pet names and terms of endearment. Still, Casper grinned as he joined them on the already crowded couch. Tom shifted up slightly so he didn’t get crushed under the weight of both of them. Casper went in for a kiss with Barbara. It was slow and heavy. Their tongues sliding against each other. She likely tasted the coffee from earlier. He tasted the slight spice she liked to add to her sausage on her tongue and the roof of her mouth. Casper felt Barbara’s fingers undoing the buttons of his shirt. At the same time, Tom wrapped an arm around him. He played with Casper’s hair. Casper didn’t have to open his eyes to know where Tom’s other hand was. He’d slid it between them. Making sure to graze Casper’s crotch before finding Barbara’s cl*t again. Her body rolled. Casper followed the rhythm.

When Tom started to encourage Casper to get his shirt off, he was quick to comply. He finally broke from Barbara’s lips. Slid out of his shirt. Barbara worked the buckle of his belt as her body bucked up and into him whenever Tom’s fingers moved just right. When Casper moved back in, he kissed Tom instead. Barbara kissed his neck while Casper licked saliva off Tom’s lips. Teeth clashed from the intense need to be as close as their flesh would allow.

Casper jumped when he felt Barbara slip her hand past the band of his underwear. She wrapped her hand around his co*ck. He was quick to ease into the sensation though. Moaning as Barbara worked to get him off. Going by how slick her inner thighs were, Casper was pretty sure Tom had already gotten her off more than once. The man was a wizard when it came to that. Casper had never had multiple org*sms so close together until Tom had ridden him for the first time.

Tom moved to cup one of Barbara’s breasts through her shirt. He massaged in a circular motion. The back of his knuckles unintentionally rubbed Casper’s nipple as he did. Barbara’s hand temporarily left Casper’s co*ck. She hooked her fingers onto his pants. Pulled them around his ass and down his thighs.

“Now why is it,” gasped Casper as he and Tom finally parted lips, “that I’m the one who always ends up with the least amount of clothes the fastest?”

“It’s a crime to not appreciate just how fit you argh,” Tom simply replied with a growl that had Casper’s co*ck twitching.

“Thank God for this warm weather,” grinned Barbara. “I was so tired of you hiding everything underneath those sweater vests.”

Casper gave a slight pout, though it was largely an act. “I like my sweater vests.”

“And you look positively adorable in them,” Tom said. His hand came up to slowly drag his slick fingers over Casper’s lips. When he pressed, Casper opened up to him. He tasted Barbara on them. Sucked and lapped down the acidic tang. “But it is a crime to hide that Greek sculpture of yours underneath.”

Casper couldn’t help the giggle as Tom gently pulled his fingers back. The giggle turned into a gasp as Barbara managed to pull his boxers down, exposing him to the open air. She stroked his co*ck with one hand. Cupped his balls in her other one. Her motions were far too languid for what Casper desperately wanted, though he was in no position to argue the pace.

Talk petered off again. The accompanying moans could be heard echoing in the large, empty house. Bouncing off the walls as Barbara got him off, Tom got her off, and Tom simply got off by watching them. When Casper came, he was quick to collapse against Barbara’s chest. Tom didn’t voice any discomfort. Simply played with Casper’s hair some more as Casper listened to Barbara’s slowing heartbeat and felt the added slickness between her thighs. Tom shuddered. Casper kissed the side of her neck. A lengthy, contented sigh left his lips.

This was just some fun.

Some fun and Barbara had been nice enough to invite him to stay here when the whole sh*t with his apartment had gone down.

That was it.

Tom’s voice came out sweet as honey with only a slight hint of exhaustion. “It’s so much more fun when our Darling is here with us.”

“You are absolutely right, dearest.” Barbara then spoke to Casper. Her fingers ran up and down his arm. “I’m so glad you decided to come home first.”

“Me too,” sighed Casper. God, he really was lying to himself big time. Huh? Not that Marshall or Trench would want to see him like this, but if they had, they would have called him a big fat hypocrite considering everything he’d claimed over coffee.

The trio stayed like that a moment longer until Casper felt pressure from underneath.

“Alright, you’re both too heavy to stay like this all day. Up.”

Casper snorted. He pulled back. Barbara also sat up. Moved so Tom could slip out from underneath them. His pants were stained from where he’d come on himself. Barbara didn’t try to follow suit though. She lay right back down. Casper chose to stay with her. He listened as Tom kissed Barbara. He shivered as he felt Tom’s lips first on his cheek, then on the curve of his ear. Tom nipped slightly. Casper’s spine tingled. His nerves still very sensitive and jumpy.

“You’re still coming tonight. Aren’t you?” asked Tom.

“Hmm? Oh. Yeah. Definitely,” Casper said with a slight yawn.

Considering how much Marshall and Trench had already worried, it was probably a good thing Casper hadn’t mentioned what Tom and Barbara liked to do in their free time. Not that either of Casper’s friends were superstitious. Casper certainly wasn’t. He’d told Tom and Barbara just as much. However, they thought his lack of belief was cute and they liked having a ‘scientist’ around.

“Very, very excited for my first ghost hunt,” he said with just a tinge of sarcasm mixed in with fondness.

“We’re not hunting anything,” chuckled Tom.

“I’m researching,” Barbara replied. Her fingers started to run from the tip of his elbow up to his shoulder again. Gentle and soft. “We’ll make a believer out of you yet.”

“I highly doubt that,” Casper replied. “But I appreciate the passion all the same.”

Barbara hummed softly. The tune sounded familiar. Maybe it was to a popular song or something. Casper listened to it. He could hear Tom walking in and out of the room. Casper only moved off Barbara’s chest when she stopped rubbing his arm and gently pushed him.

“Alright, up. I need to piss.”

Casper sat back. He pushed his skewed glasses back into place. Barbara adjusted her skirt so it fell back down around her ankles. She kissed his cheek. Her bare feet pattered along the wood floor. Casper heard the longer gait approaching. He wasn’t shocked when he felt Tom press his lips against the top of his head from behind the couch.

“I love how sleepy you get post-coitus.”

“Get past age thirty and you’ll understand,” chuckled Casper. He stretched. He stood up and pulled his boxers and pants back fully up around his hips. He took a page out of Tom’s book though and didn’t put his shirt back on. Simply held it in his hand. When he glanced back, it was clear how appreciative Tom was of his choice. His gaze felt like a stream of fire being cast onto Casper’s skin. He shivered.

“Oh? Round two?”

“I’m gonna take a nap,” laughed Casper, “before your libido kills me. And I’m pretty sure you have a class in an hour.”

Tom made a face that clearly stated he would prefer skipping said class.

Casper walked around the couch. He gave Tom a chast kiss on his chin. He hadn’t shaved the last few days. The rough feeling of his five o’clock shadow brought a slight smile to Casper’s lips. He hoped Tom waited a few more days before shaving.

He headed upstairs to the master bedroom. He technically had his own room. Barbara had shown him to it when he’d first come over. His clothes and school supplies and personal objects were all in there. Despite that, he hadn’t actually slept in the guest room.

The king bed was spacious for once with only Casper collapsed on it. He let his eyes slip shut. Still living in the slowly fading afterglow. A slight breeze occurred outside. He could hear a branching knocking against the window.

Just a bit of fun, huh?

God, he was down so f*cking bad for these two. Wasn’t he?

Chapter 2: Observations and Curiosities

Chapter Text

Upon first inspection, most would have thought Casper had nothing in common with Thomas Zane and Barbara Jagger. Casper was heavily focused on his studies. Was very career oriented. Logical minded. Specializing in molecular physics and quantum mechanics. Things of that nature. In contrast, Tom was an unpublished poet who dabbled in other artforms and only took his college courses because his parents were paying for them. Barb enjoyed the courses she took. But she’d never had a full semester of classes and was still undecided. Perfectly content to slowly get a general degree unless something finally captured her interest as she held down a part time job.

Casper wasn’t as mature and grown up as most assumed though. It was probably because of how he dressed and the way he talked. Yet, he’d always enjoyed a good party. He’d always enjoyed letting loose and having fun. To partake in legal and not so legal concoctions. He shared those traits with both Tom and Barbara. But he also shared Tom’s love of music. Sitting by the radio as the latest pop song debuted. He’d learned to cook from his mother. Barb had learned plenty of baking tips from her mother. Had a grill in the back, courtesy of the days when her father had held neighborhood get-togethers when they still lived here. It was fun making meals with her.

But most importantly, the three of them shared passion.

Perhaps not the same passion. Casper got excited when working on a particularly taxing equation. Tom practically jumped for joy when he finally found the right word to a rhyme he’d been stuck on. And Barb? Her interests lay in the occult. The supernatural and outright unrealistic in Casper’s opinion, but he did love listening to her read about old, pagan symbols and wicca imagery and the myriad of methods to contact the dead.

Passion was the most attractive quality in another human being. At least to Casper. It was probably why he had admittedly fallen for Raya despite how they’d agreed they weren’t a couple.

He was sadly having that exact same trouble with Barb and Tom now. Not that they’d had the same discussion that he and Raya had. But Tom and Barbara had been dating for several years. Casper was just…tagging along. For a bit. It was a relationship, but it wasn’t a real relationship between Casper and Tom or Casper and Barbara. They hadn’t said as much, but it was the truth Casper was desperately trying to believe and was failing miserably at. If he could just believe it, it would make the eventual end of this all the easier to handle.

But then, he’d said the exact same thing about Raya, and he’d admittedly been a bit heartbroken when she’d left with barely a word good-bye.

Heartbroken until Tom had spotted him across the crowded living room of a frat house. Heartbroken until Casper had brought Tom home with him. Heartbroken until Barbara had been introduced into the mix. Their bright blue eyes and electric smiles and constant pet names leading Casper to shiver and moan in response to their soft and rough touches. Wet lips and beating hearts.

God, what was wrong with him?

Casper let out a sudden groan that had the small graduate class turning to look at him.

“Do you find something about the double slit experiment particularly taxing to understand?” the professor dryly asked.

“No. Nope. Just uh…no. All good here,” Casper fell on. He hadn’t heard a word for the last ten minutes. He simply flashed one of his characteristic grins to try and hide that fact. Some of his fellow students laughed under their breaths. To be fair, it was rare Casper was the one drifting off in class. He forced thoughts of Tom and Barbara out of his head. Focused on the lecture ahead of him.

They finished ten minutes after they were supposed to, but Professor Ash had always been long winded. Casper packed up his notebooks and pencils. Closed the textbook with a new sticky note poking out of the side. He threw his bag over his shoulder. Headed out of the building. His bike was chained to a rack on the left side near the parking lot. He pulled his keyring out. He walked around the corner–

Where the hell was his–

The sudden honk of the horn made Casper jump. It made a few other passerbyers jump too as they glared none too kindly at Barb’s smiling face.

“Hurry up.”

It wasn’t the first time she’d driven them all back. Especially on Friday as they were usually in town until about the same time. Casper raised his eye at the bike in the backseat.

“I don’t remember giving either of you a key,” snorted Casper.

“Picked the lock,” replied Tom. He scooted over, leaving enough room on his own side. “Get in.”

Casper pocketed his keys. He climbed in on the passenger’s side of the 1955 Cadillac. Despite its age, it had been a well-taken care of car and Barbara continued to respect it as her father had before her. Casper kept the window down. Barb drove slow while on campus. A light breeze blew through the windows.

“How was class?” asked Casper.

“Dull,” Tom grumbled. “Dissecting literature is hardly as interesting as writing it. Also, if I have to read one more thing about prairie life, I might pass away right in the classroom.”

Barb chuckled. “Maybe you shouldn’t have taken American Literature from the 1600s to mid 1800s then.”

“It wasn’t my choice,” sighed Tom. From what he’d mentioned here and there, Casper had gathered Tom’s parents were trying to take his passion for writing and push him towards something that would quote-make money and was practical. Tom didn’t enjoy any of the classes he was currently taking, but as long as he went and didn’t fail or drop out, his parents didn’t interfere in the rest of his life. Though annoyed, Tom had stated it was a trade he was willing to make.

“Well, I’m glad you’re taking the class. I’ve been enjoying it immensely,” Barbara replied.

Tom snorted. “I don’t think the professor even realizes you don’t belong at this point.”

They all laughed a bit at that. Tom threw both his arms over the seat. One hand rested in the collar of Barb’s shirt. His other hand absentmindedly played with the short hairs on Casper’s neck. Casper instinctively leaned into the touch.

“So if not outright ghost hunting, what exactly are we doing tonight?” he asked.

“Well, you know where I work,” Barbara said.

“You sell herbs and self-help books. I’m not following.”

“I also offer advice,” retorted Barbara. “And sometimes, when people ask, I help them find peace.”

“Uh huh.”

“What? No comment about bending spoons?”

“I’m not saying what you do isn’t helpful. But it’s a placebo effect. Happens all the time.”

Tom gave Casper a playful smirk. “Not everything can be explained by science.”

“Well obviously. If science knew everything, we wouldn’t need science.”

Tom laughed good and hard at that. “I like that. Very clever.”

“Thank you.”

“But come on,” Barbara tried. “You’ve never experienced something you can’t explain? Never just felt something when nothing was there?”

“Of course I have. People have those moments all the time. But it’s just your brain playing tricks on you. Filling in gaps when you expect something to be there. Giving myth and majesty to the dull and mundane. It’s been happening for centuries. I got cold because the wind blew through the hall and it just so happens there’s a window that I can’t see and a cold draft coming in caused the wind to pick up. That’s boring. Now, I got cold because a ghost walked through me? Far more entertaining.”

“Well, then I hope you are thoroughly entertained tonight,” replied Barbara. “I’m driving us out to Watery.”

Casper had been a few times, but there wasn’t much in Watery that couldn’t be gotten in Bright Falls. “Where are we going?”

“Just a home. It’s not too far off Watery’s main road. Past the trailer park. A woman wanted me to try and contact her mother. She passed about a month ago. Nothing tragic. Just time. Aging. She thinks she’s still with her though.”

Casper held back the comments he wanted to say. He wasn’t going to make light of someone losing a parent. No matter the age or reason, it was a difficult thing. But grief made people do funny things. Made you see funny things. When Casper’s dog had died at age six, he’d been convinced he’d still heard the scratching at his bedroom door. It had just been the natural settling of the house. It had happened every night when he’d had the dog, only he hadn’t noticed it until the noise of his pet was gone.

It was science. Simple cause and effect. The only thing mystical about it was how good the human brain was at twisting reality to fit preconceived notions and false hopes.

“I can hear your brain ticking,” commented Tom with a playful tug on Casper’s ear. “Trying to think of all the ways to disprove any and all communications?”

“Just thinking if it’s alright if I’m there.” It wasn’t a lie. “I may not believe in it, but this is still a somewhat private affair. Isn’t it?”

“In a way. But I already asked,” Barbara replied with a quick smile. “I mentioned I wanted to share what I did. And maybe see if I could convince a non-believer.”

“Don’t hold your breath, but I promise I’ll be on my best behavior.”

Barbara drove them off campus and down what were quickly becoming familiar roads. The tires eventually met gravel. They went up the winding path through the trees. They were back home. It wasn’t a pattern Casper was settling into. It definitely was not that. But he did go to the kitchen as he’d often started doing on late days. He went through class notes. Accepted the cup of decaf coffee from Tom. A cup Tom had started making now without having to ask.

A pattern.

Habits.

Such dangerous things.

Dinner was quick. Just leftovers of a meal Barbara and Casper had made together. When Casper noticed Tom grabbing a bag he usually carried his writing utensils and camera in, he commented on it.

“Are you going to sit this one out? Stay in the car and write or something?”

“No. Barb actually needs this. Or needs me to use it, I guess.”

“I’m not following.”

“You’ll see. Come on.”

They all climbed into the car together. Barbara was still driving but Casper was now on the far passenger’s side with Tom in the center of the front seat. The drive to Watery was short. It took about fifteen minutes. About the time it took to drive to campus, just going in the opposite direction. Bright Falls was a bit more lively at this hour thanks to the nearby university, but Watery was already winding down for the night.

Some of the lights were still on. The lights of their destination were too. Barbara parked in the driveway. Casper felt just a little bit awkward now that he was actually here, but he couldn’t go back. And it probably would have been stranger if he stayed in the car. He remained at the back of their little trio. Let Barbara and Tom lead.

He wasn’t trying to pick everything apart. His mind just automatically started taking notes. Curious. Trying to understand what he could, even if it was kind of like trying to understand a magic system in a fictional novel.

The woman was kind. Certainly not a distraught mess like Casper had feared, even with Barbara’s assurance. She simply felt like her mother hadn’t left despite months having passed since the elderly woman’s funeral. She wanted to know if there was a reason for that. If her mother was around, could Barbara help her finally move on? It was a simple request with simple hopes. From Casper’s perspective, it would likely be an easy enough thing to ease the woman’s worries.

Barbara had her own bag of tools. Casper wasn’t surprised by the candles or the placement of a circle. Circles were important. They occurred naturally and without the study of them, geometry, astronomy, even calculus wouldn’t have developed as it had. The circle was an integral part of physical reality. It wasn’t surprising people had added supernatural meaning to it as well. There was a reason why things like the sun and moon had been worshiped in ancient religions and still held up as symbols today.

What did surprise Casper a little was when Tom was the one taking out pencil and paper. Casper co*cked his head to the side. He watched as Tom’s shoulders stiffened a bit. Like he was preparing for something. There was a bowl in the center. Sand from a leatherbound bag was poured into it by Barbara. She drew in it with her finger. Casper was pretty sure he recognized the symbol from one of her books. It kind of reminded Casper of old, astrological drawings. Multiple circles and interconnected lines.

“I invite the spirit of Sarah Jordan Johnson to come forth. To speak to her daughter now in peace and love. To say the things that could not be said in life.”

There wasn’t a board. Nothing physical that Casper thought would act as an easy ‘yes and no’ response system. Anything more complex would be harder to control. Harder to predict the answers. Would Barbara simply speak like the ‘ghost’ was speaking through her? Casper felt like that would be the more difficult method if trying to convince someone this was real. The more complex the conversation, the more variables to contend with. That could potentially disrupt the intended result and reveal the holes in it.

Barbara closed her eyes but didn’t speak like she was someone else though. Her hand came up. Rested on the back of Tom’s neck. She addressed the woman in front of her. The client. “You can ask your questions now.”

“Hi, mom. I…I miss you.”

It was an awkward, one worded conversation with long pauses and beats of hesitation. Barbara didn’t respond. Instead, in the breaks of silence, Tom wrote. Sometimes he drew. Casper’s eyes kept glancing to the back of Barb’s hand. He looked for any sign of movement. Like maybe pushing or tapping against Tom’s skin. Rubbing symbols into the back of his skin. There was no movement from her though. No secret form of communication. At least not one that Casper could see. She was perfectly still. Tom’s eyes never left the pages. He simply ripped them from the book. Pushed them across the table. Then, kept going. The woman responded to what was on the pages, but the speed at which Tom was writing didn’t line up with everything the woman said. Like Tom was able to finish a response before the woman finished her thought.

And then, Tom suddenly stopped. The last page was half finished. He tore that one out. Pushed it forward. He finally looked away from the page. Popped his neck. He looked towards Casper. Not amused with a half smirk on his lips. Just curious. Eyes searching. Casper’s own eyes were searching. Trying to decipher what he’d just seen.

He looked at the pages as the woman finished reading through them, a beat behind whatever odd way of communicating this was. The sketches were messy but shockingly detailed. Poems were scattered about. Short couplets acting in the place of sentence structured responses. Like most poems, the words didn’t always feel literal, but there was enough there that the woman seemed to understand what Tom was getting at.

The woman gave her last response.

“It’s ok, mom. It is. I’ll be ok. Just rest.”

Tom’s eyes flickered to the pages still in front of him. One last response. Three lines.

Grew from my womb
Grows with a beautiful bloom
Growing still

Casper could assume a few simple meanings behind it, but something struck a chord with the woman. Something more personal than the general message Casper took from it. Tom pushed the last page forward. Barbara finally removed her hand from Tom’s neck. Without looking, she smoothed the sandy lines in the bowl. Only then did she open her eyes.

“Thank you,” the woman said with a slight sniff as she wiped her eyes.

Barbara shot her a kind smile. “Happy to help.”

The woman started to gather up the pages. “Do you need–”

“They’re yours to keep,” Tom said before blowing out the candle nearest to him. “They’re her words to you. It’s yours now. Not mine.”

“Thank you,” she repeated again.

They didn’t immediately just up and leave after everything was gathered. The woman spoke a little more. Offered them tea which they all accepted. She mainly spoke to Barbara about her mother. Told a few stories or talked about the meaning behind what Tom had written. Some of the things she said Casper could pass off as a good guess or just a general take that the woman had successfully tied to a more personal memory. But some of it was too on the nose. It didn’t make sense that Tom could have responded in such a way, made such a specific metaphor, without having heard these stories beforehand. Yet he acted like this was his first time hearing any of it.

When they finally left, it was close to nine at night.

Casper could feel both Tom’s and Barb’s eyes on him. The first words out of his mouth when they were alone and in the car were, “You researched her before coming here.”

“No,” Barbara said with a slight smile.

“Watery and Bright Falls are still relatively small communities. You already knew of her then.”

“No,” Barbara repeated. Her eyes twinkled. To be fair, the way in which Barbara had introduced herself, Tom, and Casper, certainly implied she’d had little to no knowledge of the woman beforehand. No connecting threads. No friend of a friend or anything like that.

Casper glanced at Tom. “Did you look into it? Read the mother’s obituary in the paper or something?”

“No,” Tom repeated.

There had to be something there. Of course, they could just be lying, but Casper didn’t believe they were. That being said, he didn’t think what he just saw was them contacting the other side. There was some trick here. He just didn’t have enough data to identify what it was. Some unknown variable or an observation he’d missed.

“It’s clever,” Casper finally said when he couldn’t think up another follow-up question . “I’ll give you that. I mean, when most people think of a medium in this context, they think crystal balls and tarot cards. Not the medium of art.”

“I’ve tried other methods,” admitted Barbara. “Some more…traditional. I suppose. But things can get misconstrued. Or the limited structure of the responses simply can’t get across the true intent of the message. But art is what makes us human. You can communicate through art in ways standard communication fails at.” She gave Tom a chaste kiss on the cheek. “I open the door. He interprets for me.”

“It’s as simple as that,” Tom grinned.

“There’s something else there.”

“Some things are simply unexplainable,” Barbara replied.

“No. The supernatural isn’t real. The paranatural though…”

“And what exactly constitutes as paranatural?” asked Tom.

“It’s something that with current technology, methodology, what have you, can’t be explained, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a scientific explanation. Science just has to evolve a little more before we can properly study it.”

“Well, I appreciate the skepticism,” grinned Barbara. “Want to join us on the next one?”

“Oh, most definitely.” Real or not, it was all incredibly intriguing. And with more observations, there was always the chance Casper could finally figure what he’d missed this first time.

Barbara heard Casper on the hallway phone. His right shoulder was leaning against the wall. He’d been talking for a good twenty minutes. She’d heard a name spoken when she’d last passed. Trench. Zachariah. One of the friends that had briefly visited when driving through. When Casper started to give goodbyes, Barbara walked up behind him.

“I’ll talk to you later. Bye too, Susanna.”

Barbara arched her chin onto Casper’s shoulder as he hung up the phone. Both he and Tom were a good deal taller than her.

“Who’s Susanna?”

“Trench’s daughter. Really sweet kid. I used to babysit her when they lived closer.”

“That’s sweet. I could see you being good with kids.”

“Well, she always enjoyed a lot of noise and I never shut up. So, it usually worked out.”

Barbara laughed again. “I mean, you sometimes shut up,” she said with a mischievous look.

“It’s been a learned talent,” Casper replied back with a slight blush to his cheeks.

The kiss was natural as Casper leaned down and into her. She liked Tom’s face shaven. She thought he looked better with nothing more intense than a five o’clock shadow. She liked Casper’s beard though. It fit the scholarly look he unintentionally captured perfectly.

“Still want to do lo mein tonight? Tom didn’t forget the broccoli this time.”

“Sure.”

They moved into the kitchen. Tom had taken the car this Saturday. He was meeting with a few students for a group project until four. Before Casper had come into their lives, Barbara might have gone with him into town. Used the time to go grocery shopping if she wasn’t working or spend the day outside in the local park or reading in the library. She still did that from time to time, but just staying home was nicer with someone to still share the large, open space with. Tom had never been much of a cook either. He helped out, but he wasn’t as like minded like Casper and herself. Able to think up quick substitutions or alternate ideas if needed or just for fun.

Casper fiddled with the radio in the kitchen. There were only a handful of radio stations that really came in clearly because of where the house lay. Casper settled on the one that actually had music playing at the moment.

Barbara started grabbing the food from the cabinets and fridge. Casper grabbed the utensils.

She hadn’t intended to let Casper in like this. She was young but happy with Tom. She’d been happy with Tom for three good years. Mirror images in many ways. Their relationship had always been open, but rarely had they ever introduced the other to a partner. They’d certainly never stayed with the partner and Barbara had certainly never opened up the house to them.

But it was like Casper encompassed the missing pieces that neither Tom nor Barbara had. Logical and skeptical. Always thinking about the smaller, moving details rather than the larger picture, but still fun and adventurous. There were things Barbara shared with Casper that she didn’t share with Tom, like cooking. There were things Casper shared with Tom that didn’t interest her as much. Like how they could both spend hours in a record store. Or how they’d both mumble sing when working. Casper was doing it now. It brought a smile to her face.

“Histories of ages past. Unenlightened shadows cast. Down through all eternity.” Casper’s voice was soft but steady as he sang under his breath. She’d already asked him if he’d been a choir kid when he was little. Casper had shyly shaken his head. He’d apologized for the singing and said he wasn’t trained in any way. In the moment, Barbara had simply said never to apologize for it. She liked it. And it was doubly impressive that Casper was that naturally talented.

When another song came on, Barbara took Casper’s hand off the wooden spoon. She did a little twirl. Casper smiled. He moved more into it. Let her do another twirl. The chorus played on in the background. Break on through to the other side. Break on through to the other side. The words must have reminded Casper of her side work because he said, “I am determined to figure it out.”

She didn’t have to ask him to explain what he meant. “Maybe you already have.”

“It still doesn’t physically make sense. There’s something I’m still missing. I just don’t know what,” Casper responded as they danced in the kitchen.

She’d brought Casper along a few more times. He had a notebook that he brought with him now. Notes of the techniques he watched Barbara and Tom use. The cause and effect. The many variables as he called them. Well detailed and documented. “I have to thank you for all your notes,” smiled Barbara. “I think it’s helped me improve a great deal.”

“You know, when you say that, it feels like you’re not telling me everything.”

“I’ve told you everything. Your eyes simply aren’t open.”

“Funny. I could swear I’m looking at a beautiful woman right now.”

“Such a flirt. You’re as bad as Thomas.” She leaned in. Another quick kiss before she let go and turned her eyes back to the stove.

At the same time, they could hear the distant noise of tires on gravel. A few minutes later, Tom walked in. “Hello, Darling.” He spoke with his characteristic growl that could make just about anyone’s spine tingle. He kissed Casper on the lips. Pushed them open just a little. His tongue flicked out before he leaned away and moved around him. He wrapped his arms around Barbara’s waist. Kissed her hair. “And my other darling.”

“The other darling,” chuckled Barbara. “It makes it sound like Casper and I are married.”

She could see the blush popping back up on Casper’s cheeks just out of the corner of her eyes.

“Well, you’re simply darling, but he is the Darling. Darling, Casper,” grinned Tom.

Casper rolled his eyes. “You’re ridiculous. You know that? I’ll be right back. Just going to the bathroom.”

He moved to go, but there was a brief look before he actually left. Barbara had seen that look before. She hadn’t addressed it though. She wondered if Tom had noticed as well. She decided to wait until she heard the downstairs bathroom door close before bringing it up. Only then did she murmur, “I can’t tell if it’s worry that we might grow jealous of each other or…”

“I know what you’re talking about,” Tom replied, equally soft. “I don’t think it’s that though. Not quite.”

Barbara turned the stove off. She moved the pot to a different, unlit burner before turning in Tom’s arms. “We include him enough. Right?”

“I’d say so. But it’s unconventional. And I have known you a good deal longer. It’s probably easier to see this as two separate things than as a whole. He does like to pick apart the details of everything. Obsessively so,” Tom said as he stroked her chin.

“I like him,” murmured Barbara. “I mean, I really like him.”

“I think I know what you mean.” Tom pressed his knuckle under her chin. Tipped it upwards.

“I just hate when he gets that sad look on his face. I don’t know if we should mention it to him or…”

“We’ll just have to show him how much we care.” He pressed his lips to her. The motion was slow and sensual. When Tom pulled back, Casper was back in the room. Tom untangled himself from her. One of the latest hits that had been playing fairly frequently came on the radio again. One of the reasons it had played often enough was because Barbara had actually heard Casper call in to request it. Tom might have remembered Casper liked the song, or he simply felt like dancing. Whatever the reason, he grasped Casper’s hands. Pulled him around as he placed a hand on Casper’s waist. “Who should lead?”

All night long, you’ve been looking at me

“Well,” Casper cheekily replied, “I am partial to letting you lead.”

“Oh, don’t I know it,” purred Tom. “How was your day?”

“Uneventful over here. I think I was still studying about an hour after you left,” chuckled Casper.

“How was the meeting?” asked Barbara. She pulled down some dishes and started to spoon the vegetables and noodles into the three bowls.

“Fine, I guess. We finished everything we planned to. I’m just glad to be home,” Tom said with a dramatic sigh as he pulled Casper around again.

The response just kind of slipped from Casper’s lips. Like he’d only meant it to be a thought, but the words had become spoken all the same. “I’m glad you’re home too.”

There was a sudden, but brief glance, towards Barbara when he said that. Like maybe he wasn’t sure if he should have referred to the house like that. Tom, either on purpose or accident, easily distracted Casper from the potentially awkward feeling that had tried to bubble up. He kissed him. His arms moved to wrap around Casper’s neck to keep him close. Barbara smiled as she watched Casper’s shoulders ease. The tension disappeared quickly.

“I missed you too, my beautiful, silver-haired fox.” Another kiss passed between them before Tom pulled away. He sat down at the little kitchen table. They usually just ate in here. The actual dining room was more often used for studying when one of them wanted a large, flat space to lay out any and all papers and books. “Now, what’s for dinner?”

Casper filled up glasses of water for everyone. They all sat together. Bunched up near one corner of the small, kitchen table. The conversation was mainly between Tom and Casper at first as Barbara just watched them. Casper was older than her, but when she saw them both together, she was really beginning to think of them as her boys. She loved Tom. She’d loved him for a long time. From the start, she could see a life with him. Even if her own parents had been somewhat iffy to his presence when they’d first met the ‘odd European’ as they’d called him.

Any disapproval on their part hadn’t lessened the love Barbara felt for Tom. And now? Now she was positive she’d fallen for Casper as well. With the way Tom was looking at him, he’d fallen just as deeply for their favorite scientist.

Chapter 3: Words Left Unspoken

Chapter Text

Casper adjusted the pillow under his lower back. His breath hitched as Tom ran a hand along his outer thigh.

“You’re making me feel underdressed.”

Barbara laughed. She sat down on Casper’s right. Pulled her legs up onto the bed. Her fingers drifted over Casper’s arm. He flipped his hand over. Let his fingers catch and move over her skin. A slight, tingling sensation.

Once again, Casper found himself already naked. Barbara was in a t-shirt and underwear. Tom had a jacket on. Unzipped and open. His pants were unzipped. Low on his hips but still on him. Seeing them half dressed was kind of a turn on though. In a weird way. Like the pair were so desperate to touch and see his own body, they didn’t want to waste time getting fully undressed themselves.

Barbara leaned over. She briefly kissed him before moving back off the bed. She went around. Grabbed the lube and condoms as Tom leaned over to kiss Casper’s inner thighs. He moved down. The skin he kissed becoming more tender. Lower and lower. Soft brushes of slightly cracked lips that caused Casper’s nerves to jump only for Tom to pull back and stop before he reached Casper’s co*ck. A needy, little sigh left Casper’s lips. He shifted his back down the bed again. Barbara walked back over.

“Thank you,” Tom said with a quick kiss as he took the items from her hands. He put lube on his fingers. Easily slipped one, then two in. He waited on the third. He pushed past the rings of muscle first. Pressed Casper open. Loosening his hole before slipping a third one in. Casper watched. He focused on Tom’s smirk. Focused on how Barbara pressed herself to Tom’s back. He couldn’t see her hands, but from the motions she was making, Casper knew it was wrapped around Tom’s co*ck. Her motions casual. Languid. Tom hadn’t even gone deep enough to hit just the right spot, but Casper was growing harder by the second.

He honestly would have been content like this. Watching Barbara slowly jerk Tom off as Tom kept his fingers inside Casper. It didn’t always have to be hot and heavy. Casper enjoyed watching them. He enjoyed feeling connected to them. But he also knew Tom was rarely one to let things stay slow and Casper was also just fine with that.

Barbara let go so she could put a condom on Tom. A quick kiss was pressed to Tom’s shoulder before she crawled up the side of the bed.

“I love seeing you on your back.”

Her voice was low. Husky. It brought a shiver down Casper’s spine. Tom hooked his fingers inside Casper. It sent the feeling right back up. When her lips met his, he let his eyes slip shut. He got lost in the feeling of multiple hands on him. He could hear Tom getting himself slick. Felt Barbara’s hand on his own member. Moving up and down his shaft as blood flowed and Casper’s stomach twitched. His eyes fluttered open when Barbara pulled away. She took the second condom and moved it over Casper’s co*ck. He knew what was going to happen next, but she still paused. Her body shifted back up towards his head. She still asked.

“Where would you like me, love?”

Casper hooked his fingers around the hem of her underwear. He pulled the fabric down as an answer. Let out a slight groan as Tom removed his fingers entirely. Casper’s muscles ached to constrict around something. To feel full again. This time, it was Tom who shifted his body down. Just slightly. His own slick co*ck pressed against Casper’s hole. Casper tried to remain as loose as possible as Tom sunk into him. Cool from the lube. Familiar as the shape of Tom stretched and filled him up. Barbara continued to stroke his co*ck. Tom only moved slightly. Mostly letting Casper’s body adjust to the girth inside him. Barbara moved off the bed again. Shimmied out of her underwear. When back on the bed, she straddled his stomach. He watched with half lidded eyes.

“Ready?”

He mutely nodded. He shivered under all the attention. She moved over his co*ck. Got into a position that was the most comfortable considering the three bodies were intertwined. She eased around him. The lube helped, but she was already slick as well. Casper’s eyes slipped shut again. He gripped a pillow behind his head. Curled his other hand into the sheets.

When Tom did the first thrust, Barbara moved with the rhythm. Still slow. Still languid as they all grew comfortable around and inside each other’s bodies. Casper twisted his fingers in the sheets a little tighter. He kept his eyes closed. It kept each motion a slight surprise. Each connection of skin a tiny shock as he left himself at Tom and Barbara’s mercy. He could feel Barbara’s hands against his chest. To steady herself and readjust as a soft sigh left her. Casper mimicked it, though the noise got stuck in his throat as Tom picked up the pace.

He struck Casper just right. A pleasure that had Casper’s toes curling and his teeth grinding against each other. He struggled to swallow his own saliva. Gripped the sheets and the pillow tighter. His chest rose and fell as he breathed just a little too quickly. His eyes blinked open again. He was glad he hadn’t taken off his glasses this time. Barbara had her head craned back. She kissed the side of Tom’s mouth. The position allowed Casper to watch as hers and Tom’s tongues met and slid over each other in the open, messy embrace. One of Tom’s hands gripped Casper’s thigh. The other massaged Barbara’s breast. Pulled and rubbed at her hard nipples poking through her shirt.

And then Tom increased the pace again. Moving in and out of Casper even faster as Barbara bucked and rode him. Casper closed his eyes once more to the sight of Tom’s frizzy hair mixed with Barbara’s as he sucked on her neck like a vampire. Casper rolled with their motions, but there was little for him to do beyond simply enjoying the ride.

A cacophony of groans and needy moans filled the air. Expletives and sudden gasps when a position slightly changed or the rhythm skipped a beat. Casper’s muscle ached. Constricted to a painful degree as he started to come inside Barbara and his moans got stuck in his throat. He choked on air as Tom continued to hit him just right while Barbara moved around his leaking co*ck. He let the waves of pleasure take him. Not a single coherent thought was in his mind as he lay there. Overstimulated and sweaty as Barbara and Tom continued to seek their own org*sms.

Casper twitched. Little muscle spasms moved throughout his body as he felt fingers press down harder and thighs tighten. Their bodies wet and full as flesh remained flushed to each other. The slightest bit of movement caused nerves to electrify through all three of them now until finally Tom was the first to change their positions. Casper shivered. He was already missing the feeling of being filled as Tom pulled out.

Barbara moved next. Casper forced himself to let go of the pillow and sheets. His knuckles popped from how hard he’d gripped them. His eyes fluttered open as Barbara fell beside him. He could hear Tom grabbing the wastepaper basket nearby. Dropping his condom in the bag. Casper would have taken care of himself in a minute, but he ended up not needing to. Tom took care of him before collapsing on his other side. His lips found Casper’s ear lobe. Kissing and lightly sucking. Casper shivered in the afterglow. He let one arm fall around Tom’s shoulders. His other arm stayed pinned to his side because of how Barbara was lying against him. Not that Casper minded the warmth of the two bodies pressed close to him.

He almost said the words. Instead, a slight, choked noise left his throat instead. He forced himself to swallow.

“Didn’t kill you. Did we?” Tom softly teased. His fingers tapped along Casper’s bare chest.

“No. No,” Casper managed to breathlessly laugh. “But you nearly did.”

That had chuckles and giggles coming from everyone. Casper swallowed again. He tried not to focus on the unspoken words too much. It was a good thing he hadn’t said them out loud, but it scared him how close he’d come to it.

I love you.

His heart hurt just a little. He couldn’t just speak those words. Love had been used plenty. As a pet name. As a verb to an action or as an adjective. Tom used the word all the time. Casper hadn’t it said it to them though. To Tom or Barbara. Not directly like that. He couldn’t because this wasn’t…it wasn’t like they could all be…

“When do you have to be on campus tomorrow?” asked Tom.

“Hmm, about eight. I’m meeting a professor before class.” Casper let the talk of tomorrow and future plans distract him. He really hoped Barbara or Tom couldn’t tell something was off. If they noticed anything strange, hopefully they just thought he was tired and sleepy. Which he was. If only he could just enjoy the physical and not get emotionally attached.

God, if only.

Love as a word was a flippant thing to Tom. If ever trying to get across the concept in his poetry, it was always in metaphors and imagery. In speech, he used it freely and without much weight. To him, the purest form of the concept couldn’t really be encapsulated in one word. It was a flowing thing. A great yet terrible thing that could completely unravel a person. A thing that left a person open and vulnerable. Their heart without protection. Laid bare with the ribcage cracked and scattered. At least metaphorically.

Barbara already knew this about him. She knew that him saying he loved her wasn’t meaningless, but it wasn’t how he really expressed the level of care he felt towards her. He said he loved her in poetry and in how he held her. With a smile and a simple breath.

He felt that Casper had already come to the conclusion that Tom used the word flippantly. He just hadn’t connected that there were ways in which he expressed love that were not flippant. Not to Tom, anyways. The problem was, at this point, he’d need to be pretty damn obvious with Casper. He’d already told Casper he loved him. He’d been able to tell in the moment that Casper hadn’t held much weight to the words. Not because he didn’t want to. At least, Tom hoped that wasn’t the case.

Summer was approaching which meant no more classes. At least for Tom and Barbara. Being in a graduate program was a bit different, especially since Casper was so far along in his with only two more years left. Barbara didn’t take summer classes. Usually choosing to put in more hours at her job while summer was the time of year where Tom’s parents truly let him be free.

The coming of summer also meant the end of the spring semester though. It meant it was time for Casper to move into a new apartment finally. At least, that was what he kept saying despite how he hadn’t been looking at all. In all fairness, Barbara’s initial offer had been done with a more temporary plan in mind. Tom was fairly certain she hadn’t realized how much she’d like having Casper around constantly. Neither had Tom.

He’d thought they’d found an unexpected friend in a f*ck buddy. He now knew Casper was far more important than just a friend. The only tragedy was Casper didn’t seem to fully realize it and neither Tom nor Barbara had figured out how they wanted to broach it with him.

It was a difficult discussion Tom thought about nearly every other day. Casper blushed at the poetry Tom recited to him. He’d grown used to the constant touches from him and Barbara. Yet he refused to see the small acts as acts of love. Or he was simply too afraid to believe it.

Tom was once again thinking about it as he did laundry for the three of them. For once, he was home alone. They’d all driven to campus together, but Barbara had to work late and Casper had said he’d do some grocery shopping while he waited for her to get off. After Tom’s class had finished, he’d taken a bus to the closest stop to the house. Then, he’d walked the rest of the way. Casper and Barbara would probably be home in about an hour or less.

Once Tom had the washer going with all the whites, he started to head to the kitchen for a snack when the phone in the front hall rang.

Tom picked it up. He twirled the chord around his finger. “Jagger residence. Barb’s out at the moment if you’re trying to reach her.” It was Barbara’s home and the Jaggers had lived here for several generations. It was rare that a phone call wasn’t for Barbara, but it did occasionally happen.

The unfamiliar voice said, “I was looking to speak with Darling.”

Tom’s eyebrows perked up in interest. “Really now? And who would you be?”

“Just a friend.”

“Oh! One of the friends that stopped by a few weeks ago? Casper only mentions a handful of people under that category. By process of elimination, I’m guessing you would be Helen Marshall then.”

“Just Marshall.”

“He mentioned the penchant for last names with you lot.” The fact that Marshall knew this number, which meant Casper must have told her the number, brought an unintentional smile to Tom’s face. Maybe Casper wasn’t thinking of this place as such a temporary thing. Though he’d also been here for about two months now and it wasn’t like he had an office number of something that could be regularly reached. It made sense Casper had shared the number, but the thought still brought a bit of hope to Tom’s heart. “Need me to leave a message?”

“Not necessary. Just checking in.”

“Checking in huh? Does he talk about me?” Tom hadn’t properly introduced himself. He didn’t do it now. Marshall sounded like Casper without the fun factor. Analytical, logical, and absolutely no nonsense. He was sure she’d easily deduced who was speaking.

“He does,” she plainly responded. “He talks about the both of you.”

“Good. I’d hate for Barbara to get jealous.”

Marshall made a noise. She didn’t sound very appreciative of his joke. Tom wondered if it was just because she was uptight in general or if it went deeper than that. He actually got his answer just a few seconds later.

“Casper is sentimental.” Her voice was still plain. Very matter-of-fact.

Tom let his own voice change. Less joking. More serious. “Yes, I’ve gathered as much.” People always seemed shocked when he used that voice. Like he was nothing more than a wanna-be starving artist with no depth. Tom had plenty of depth. Though Marshall seemed to have already picked up on that. She didn’t sound surprised in the slightest.

“That leaves two options then.”

“Two options, huh?”

“Either you’re shallow and could care less about hurt feelings at the end of this, or…” She didn’t say the second possibility, but Tom understood exactly what she was getting at.

“And which do you think it is?”

“Hard to say. I don’t actually know you. No matter how much Darling has spoken about you.”

“And I don’t know much about you. Despite Casper’s tales of the Black Triangle brigade back in your undergrad years. Are you just a concerned friend, or is there something more to it?”

“What do you think?”

Tom only paused for a second. “Oh, friend for sure. If you had any interest in our little Darling, you don’t strike me as the kind of person to remain friends for years without ever making an advance. I imagine it would have been direct and immediate if the thought had ever honestly occurred.”

“Hmm. Smarter than you sound.”

“Reading people is an important skill. One I’ve always been good at,” Tom simply replied. He thought about pressing the matter. He felt she also already had a good read on him. He wanted to know what she really thought his angle on this all was. If Casper’s long-time friend truly did see him as nothing more than an uncaring partner who’d decided to spice up his sex life, or if she could detect the sincerity Tom felt towards Casper. Even if he hadn’t really let that sincerity shine through in this conversation.

Before he could say anything though, the handle on the front door turned. Tom had been so focused on the conversation, he’d missed the sound of the car pulling up to the house. Casper and Barbara came in with several bags of groceries in their arms.

“Oh Darling,” Tom said in a sing-songy voice. His usual charismatic grin was back in place. “A lovely dame is on the phone for you.”

Marshall said something not so nice to him, though Tom only heard part of it as he was already holding out the phone towards Casper.

“What? Who?” Casper put down most of the bags before grabbing the phone in confusion. His face lit up into a bright smile though as he realized who it was. “Marshall! No, no.” Casper laughed. “Tom promises to never call you a lovely dame ever again.”

“I promise no such thing,” snorted Tom.

“He pinky promises,” Casper lied with another laugh as he swatted Tom away. “It’s rare you’re the one calling me. What’s up?”

Tom decided to give Casper some privacy. He picked up the bags Casper had set down. Then, he carefully removed the rest that were still in Casper’s other hand. Tom followed Barbara into the kitchen. The front door was left open allowing a nice breeze to move through the first floor.

“How was work?” asked Tom. He automatically started to put everything up where it belonged.

“Oh, you know. The same old thing. I have another side job set up though.”

“Really?” It had been almost two weeks since the last one. Not that people sought Barbara out very often. Recently, she’d seeked a few jobs out herself which she’d never done before. Mainly for Casper’s benefit so he could collect and gather more data. Tom hadn’t minded it. The whole process was creatively draining, but it wasn’t like they were doing it every other day. “Who’s the client? Is it going to be in Bright Falls?”

“Just outside. At Cauldron Lake.”

“What? Are we going to someone’s cabin or something out there?” frowned Tom.

“Yeah. On Diver’s Isle.”

Tom froze in front of the fridge. He let the door swing shut as his hand dropped to his side. “Doesn’t Hartman own it?”

“Yep.”

She continued to put up the groceries. She only noticed something was off when she turned back around to get the next bag. Or maybe she’d purposefully been ignoring him. Hoping he’d get his feelings under control. He hadn’t.

“Thomas, don’t start,” she sighed.

“Emil Hartman.” Tom repeated the name like she might tell him he was mistaken. She didn’t.

At that moment, Casper finally came in. Tom hadn’t heard him end the phone call. The call had been short. Tom briefly wondered if Marshall’s call had been better planned than some random happenstance. Like she’d hoped he or Barbara would answer so she could get a better idea of the two of them. She definitely struck Tom as the kind of person to do something like that. He let the thought leave him though as Casper asked, “Who are you talking about?”

“Hartman,” muttered Tom just as Barbara let out a little sigh under her breath. She said, “You’re overreacting.”

“Why does that name sound familiar?” asked Casper.

“He works at the university,” replied Tom. At the same time, Barbara said, “He’s a psychologist. He teaches several undergrad classes so you probably haven’t interacted with him.”

“Ah.” Casper glanced around. It was clear he wasn’t understanding the significance here.

“Barbara was in one of his classes.”

At least Casper seemed to take Tom’s tone seriously. Casper’s brow immediately furrowed. “What happened–”

“Not you too! Nothing happened,” she sighed. “Maybe he made some advances, but he has a reputation for being a bit of a creep anyways. It’s not that big of a deal and a job’s a job.”

“I could care less if he hit on you!” exclaimed Tom. “You’re hot! I’d feel more upset if you weren’t turning heads.”

Barbara rolled her eyes hard.

“But not him. Not-there’s just something wrong about him. He smiles too much.”

“You smile all the time,” retorted Barbara.

“Because I am a sh*t-stirrer and I enjoy the chaos that comes with life. He smiles like he’s trying to hide something.”

“Yes. That he’s a lonely, aging man who’s only hope of getting some is hitting on students,” Barbara sarcastically responded. “He’s hosting his family for Thanksgiving this upcoming fall and wants to put them up on the isle because he doesn’t have the space for all of them out at his house. Only thing is, the last few months some strange on-goings have been happening on the isle.”

“Does Hartman even have a family? We just established he’s a lonely, old man,” Tom suspiciously muttered.

“Even lonely old men have families.”

“What kind of strange on-goings?” asked Casper.

Tom couldn’t help the disappointed noise in the back of his throat. Though if he was being honest, he shouldn’t have been surprised Casper’s scientific curiosity was overriding everything else.

“A more traditional haunting,” Barbara smiled. “Probably closer to the likes of what you imagined when I first propositioned you. Hartman came by while I was at work. He didn’t even come in with the intent to ask for my help. He’s actually quite the proprietor of occult knowledge and books. I never would have assumed that from his classes, but I suppose everyone needs a hobby. We just got to talking and when he mentioned his current problem, I offered to help.”

“What? Did you start a f*cking book club behind my back too?”

“Tom!”

It actually wasn’t Barbara’s voice that pulled him out of the mood. It was Casper’s. He and Barbara had experienced their share of arguments before. It happened. What was always important was what happened next and that you didn’t stay angry with the person you were upset with. Just when it came to talk about Hartman… It had always been hard for Tom to ground himself when talk of that man came up. Even he could admit he’d been practically bitchy the entire semester Barbara had the class. It was a miracle she’d stayed with him after all that. He just…he couldn’t think of how to put it into words. If the man was just some sad, lonely pervert, fine. There were plenty of those in the world. But something was just different about Hartman. Something about the man made Tom’s skin crawl. Made him feel like he’d taken too many shots on an empty stomach.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He said it to Barbara. He said it to Casper too. His words hadn’t been directed at him, but he had just put him into an uncomfortable spot. He shot Casper a kind, apologetic smile before focusing on Barbara. He touched her shoulders. When she didn’t pull away, he kissed her forehead. “I am sorry.”

“I know,” she sighed. “I just wish you could explain why.”

“I’m sure Casper wishes the same thing about your gift. Or how I can help you channel it.” At least that got a slight chuckle from both of them. Tom continued. “Just…tell me I don’t have to interact with him. Ok?”

“He won’t be there. I already got the key from him too,” Barbara replied. She picked up her keyring from the kitchen counter. There was a new, silver key on the thin strip of metal. “I told him he could just pop by the store the next time I worked to pick it back up. There’s no reason you’ll have to see him at all.”

“Ok,” he mumbled. “Ok. But Casper needs to be there when he comes back for his key.”

A little sigh left Barbara’s lips. At least a quick glance at Casper showed he wasn’t opposed to the idea.

“Please?” begged Tom. “Just for my peace of mind. Please.”

Her large, blue eyes studied him for a second before he felt her body finally relax in his grip. “I leave that up to Casper.”

“I don’t mind,” Casper quickly said. “I-It’s no problem.” His eyes flickered to Barbara. “If it’s really not a problem.”

“It’s not.” One of her hands gently caressed Tom’s side. “But if it makes you feel better, fine. I know it’s simply because you care.”

“Thank you.” Tom said the words with as much earnest emotion as he could muster. He kissed her again before finally moving to help finish with the groceries. “When does he want us out there?”

“Just at any point really. He hasn’t been using the place since the otherside started poking its way in, so like I said. There shouldn’t be any issue of us running into him.”

Casper moved over to help with the last bag. “So, how is this haunting different from the other ones?”

“I don’t know who I’m trying to contact,” Barbara replied.

“Is there no history you can look up on the place or something?”

“There isn’t much to say about Diver’s Isle. Hartman didn’t build the cabin on it. That was built decades before, but there’s no town record of when it was exactly first constructed. Some of the old folk like to say it’s always been there.”

“So there’s already something a bit abnormal about this whole thing.”

“You could say so. Hartman bought it when he moved to town…almost two decades ago. I think. I was a kid anyways when I started to hear his name around town. But there’s no suspicious death surrounding the place. Nothing recorded or going by word of mouth that is. It’s hard to say what we’ll find.”

“I’m guessing the methodology for deducing what we’re dealing with will be different too,” Casper replied. It was clear as day that his brain was already ticking. Even now, Tom knew Casper really didn’t believe in any of it. Yet he’d been taking their little outings very seriously. Had talked about the potential quantum sized waves generated by atoms and other ridiculously fantastical sounding words to explain the supernatural events he’d witnessed. Casper didn’t have the money or reach to get the kind of equipment he needed to test any of his theories, but it didn’t stop him from hypothesizing.

“It will. Yes,” Barbara agreed. “It should make for an interesting day all around.”

“When do you want to go?” asked Tom.

“I was thinking this weekend. When we’re all pretty much free.” She looked to Casper. “It might be a whole afternoon thing, but you’re welcomed to bring whatever else you want to keep busy.”

“I’m sure I’ll stay busy,” chuckled Casper. “No matter how long winded or boring the method may be, I eagerly await the chance to see them.”

Barbara smiled. She leaned in with a kiss. Tom forced himself to ease up some as the mood of the room seemed to return to normal. Considering Barbara was determined to go through with this, Tom wasn’t about to let her do it alone. Just as long as Hartman wasn’t around, Tom would just have to force himself through it.

Talk of Hartman wasn’t brought up the rest of the evening. Not by Barbara. Casper did breach the topic in a moment of privacy though. Just between Tom and himself.

“Is it really just that you don’t like him?” Casper pressed. “The more you both said his name, the more I’m certain I have heard tales about him at school. None of them particularly flattering. But did…did something happen between the two of you? Or between him and Barbara?”

“No. No. I…haven’t you ever felt it? Just the moment you meet someone and it’s like the opposite of clicking with them?” Tom tried. “You see them and your stomach just immediately curls. Your hair stands on end. Maybe they haven’t done a single thing to you. Maybe they never will. Maybe they haven’t even done something bad to someone else. Nothing that’s public, anyways. Yet instinct is screaming at you to run all the same. Do you know what I’m talking about?”

“I do. I can’t say I’ve really had that feeling myself, but I understand.”

“Then just promise to take me seriously. Please? I don’t want to see Barbara getting screwed over by this.” He didn’t want any of them to get screwed over by this. He especially didn’t want to see anyone hurt.

Despite Casper’s confusion, he gave Tom a gentle smile. “I promise. Don’t worry. I’ll be with you both no matter what happens.”

Tom took the promise to heart.

Chapter 4: The Cabin

Chapter Text

Tom’s anger had thrown Casper. That kind of feeling didn’t come from nowhere. He’d briefly toyed with the idea that Tom truly was just jealous and lying about it. But his responses afterwards had seemed genuine. His concern had been very genuine. The promise he had Casper make had been said with his heart. People did get gut reactions all the time. Biochemical processes that could be scientifically explained, but the psychological reasons, the whys, were sometimes more complex. Casper hadn’t directly interacted with Hartman. He didn’t even know what the man looked like. Just a bunch of secondhand stories and information. Because of that, Casper couldn’t even guess why Hartman made Tom so uneasy. Especially when Tom himself couldn’t explain.

Despite any unease, they drove out to the cabin that Saturday. Casper decided to try and figure out what kind of man Hartman might be going by the property. It took them almost an hour to make it out there. Most of the roads were backroads made of bits of gravel with no signs. At the lake, there was a long bridge that led onto the little island. It looked to be smackdab in the middle of Cauldron Lake. A sign, faded and wind chafed that read Diver’s Isle hung above the start of the bridge. From a distance, the place looked old. Like Hartman probably hadn’t done much work it since purchasing the property from whoever had owned it before. Casper helped to carry one of Barbara’s bags.

The bridge creaked as they passed over the dark water beneath them.

There was a picnic table off to the side and a little shed outside. Wires going from the cabin to the shed showed at least some modern tech had been integrated into the cabin. It was light out now, but it was hard to say how long they’d be here. With how the mountains surrounded Cauldron Lake, it would likely get darker before night properly fell. Casper set the bag he was carrying onto the porch of the cabin as Barbara got out the key. Casper headed over to the small shed. The door squeaked open. The hinges were rusty and off center. An old shovel with a rotting handle lay in one corner. Empty cans. A gas jug sat off to the side. Casper picked it up. It felt less than half full. The generator was a little rusty. The roof of the shed didn’t look the most solid. Plenty of rain had probably been let in. The only way to see if the generator worked though was to try and turn it on. Casper twisted off the cap for the gas on the generator. There was some still in it, but Casper went ahead and poured what was left from the gas can. The can was set aside.

Three hard pulls and the generator roared to life.

Tom let out a little whistle behind Casper. “Look at you.”

Casper rolled his eyes–

“Ah!”

“Barb!” Tom only managed a few strides before Casper heard Barbara’s voice shout out.

“It’s ok! Just the power! One of the lights blew, but the rest seem fine!”

Tom relaxed his shoulders a bit but still kept a hurried pace as he headed back towards the cabin. Casper waited a second before following Tom. His gaze swept over the little island again. There was a larger, back porch with a staircase leading down to the water. A small dock was there. Maybe for fishing, though it looked large enough for a small boat to sit there too. The grounds of the island were trashy. Surprisingly so. Granted, it wasn’t like a fence had been blocking the area off. The roads they’d come down were all public. Hikers or kids looking for a spot to get drunk and have some fun could have easily accessed the spot. Hadn’t Barbara mentioned the strange occurrences had been going on for several months though? Some of the trash could be recent, but there were items scattered around that looked far older. Sunk into mud. Subjected to the rain for months, maybe even years. Did Hartman really just treat this place that poorly? And he wanted to put family up here for Thanksgiving? Or whatever his story had been?

Maybe it was as simple as the guy was just an asshole on top of being a bit of a creep. Or he hadn’t had time to properly keep the place up and was planning on hiring people to redo it before fall. Or the weird happenstances had been more than just happenstances and scared him from coming to this place too often. Whatever. As much as Casper had tried to gleam some type of profile from this place, he wasn’t actually here to analyze some random man. He was here to hopefully gain even more data on Barbara and Tom and their ways of ‘contacting the other side’.

Casper finally walked back up to the still open door of the cabin.

He wasn’t beginning to believe. He wasn’t. But…he was beginning to think that maybe there was something more going on here than mass hallucination and collective hysteria. Not that Casper had gotten frightened once. But over the course of Barbara’s little jobs, it wasn’t possible they had all imagined the wind coming through or the air getting colder. It wasn’t all chance like an open window out of sight, or an air conditioner on the fritz. He’d made sure to take notes on all that. Anything that physically could explain the strange phenomenons. He’d taken notes on Barbara’s techniques. What she changed. What she didn’t. How that affected each outcome. He’d read over Tom’s art pieces that acted like cryptic responses. Casper had dissected the information in them. Had figured out what could be easily inferred and applied to a large number of people versus more specific details that would have required prior conversations or research in order to guess so accurately and consistently. Even though he knew Tom and Barbara never delved into a client’s background in extreme detail.

Casper didn’t believe, yet when he walked into the cabin–

He didn’t know how to describe it. Not in a way that made sense. The island itself was a solid mass. Straight to the ground. The cabin was sat on rock with nothing unstable underneath. It all looked solid enough even if it was old. Yet it felt like Casper had immediately walked onto a ship. The wood swayed underneath him. He stopped like he was trying to get his sealegs. When he felt steady enough, he quickly rushed to the bag that held his own notebook. He flipped towards the next empty page. His pencil scratched against the paper in hurried motions.

“You feel it?” Tom asked.

“Feel what? I don’t want any of my assertions to affect yours. Describe it in your own words,” Casper replied.

Tom’s lips quirked up slightly. Fondness in his eyes before he said, “There’s a current here. It’s strong. Makes my stomach curl.”

“It’s the strongest I’ve ever felt it,” Barbara commented. Her whole body suddenly shuddered. Casper could see goosebumps on her skin. He made note of that too. He hadn’t gotten a chill. Not yet, anyways. From the looks of Tom, he hadn’t felt whatever invisible, cold breeze Barbara had.

“What do you mean the strongest you’ve ever felt it?” asked Casper. “It’s never felt like this before.”

“No, it hasn’t. Not on the jobs you’ve been on. Those were closed, isolated incidents. Family members mainly. People unable to move on out of the fear of unsaid words and the need to protect loved ones. Those emotions are strong in life, but in death, the effects they leave on our world are limited. This is stronger. We might be sitting on a natural crevice between the other side and ours. A place where the lines aren’t so strong.”

“Would you say there’s more…people here then? More souls?”

“It’s possible, but I’m not positive yet.”

Barbara didn’t set up her usual circle. She was taking in the interior of the cabin first. Tom was setting up his camera. He’d used it before. Another, less direct method of communication, but still a potential artform nonetheless. Casper had seen the photos Tom had created. He’d made some of his own photos with Tom’s camera in test conditions just to confirm none of the photos had been doctored in some way. The photos were less telling than the poetry or drawings, but Casper had seen figures in them. Like with the other data, some of it could be explained away by light messing with the final product, but could they all be explained away like that?

Casper started taking more notes about the inside of the cabin. Despite the inclusion of electricity, that seemed to be the only modern implementation. The furniture looked out of another time. Handmade with old, faded patterns. There wasn’t even a proper fridge in the kitchen. Just an old icebox.

“I’m going to go upstairs,” Casper said.

Barbara and Tom made little noises of acknowledgement. Casper headed up the stairs. There were two doors on the second floor. He opened one. It was an empty room. Maybe a bedroom once. A study. A singular table sat in the center of the room. A less thick layer of dust lay in the center like something had sat there once before. But whatever the item had been was long gone too. Casper turned away. He opened the other door. It was a bedroom, but like the furniture below, it looked like it had been made at the turn of the century. There wasn’t even a proper bathroom. Just a little washroom. The only real thing of note seemed to be a frame that was face down on the side table.

Casper walked in. He picked it up. The photo looked to have been taken decades ago. 1900s at the latest. Perhaps 1890s. A man and woman stood in it. A standard couple’s photo for that time period. Their faces were slightly obscured though. Not like water or some kind of liquid had stained it. More like something had gone wrong with the camera when the picture had been taken. But only their faces were fuzzy. Their bodies and the background were clear and distinct. Casper carefully pulled the picture out. He flipped it over.

Alan and Alice Wake. Huh. He’d never heard the names before. His eyes once again traveled around the cabin. It just didn’t make sense. Hartman had owned this place for years. Why had so little changed? Why were there layers of dust everywhere? Why would someone buy a place like this and let it sit and rot? Casper headed back downstairs with the picture in hand.

“I found this,” he said before passing the photo to Barbara.

She looked at the messed up faces. Flipped it over. Looked at the names on the back. “You found this here?”

Casper nodded.

“I wonder…”

“What?”

Tom walked over. He leaned over Barbara’s shoulder. “Alan Wake, huh? We just started discussing some of his works for the final section of the lit analysis class. He wrote fiction back in the late 1800s. Dark, American gothic. Like Poe.”

“He and his wife disappeared back in the day. Sort of a local legend I grew up with. There’s no record that they owned this cabin though or had ever used it,” murmured Barbara. She glanced towards Casper. “At least, not until you found this.”

“Maybe it’s Hartman’s,” muttered Tom. “You said he was interested in the supernatural. Maybe he took an interest in this disappearance too. I’m sure plenty of strange stories circle them.”

“Maybe. But if so, you’d think he’d consider this a kind of collector’s item. Why keep it in a cabin that…really hasn’t been taken care of?” Barbara mused. She moved her fingers over a wooden countertop. They came away dusty.

Tom’s eyes moved around the cabin again. Casper wondered if he was asking the same questions and making the same observations as Casper had when he said, “We should go.”

“We just got here.”

“I don’t think Hartman told you everything. That much is obvious.”

“But there is something here,” pressed Barbara. Her eyes went back to the picture. “Maybe it’s them. The stories never say what actually happened to them.”

A little sigh left Tom, but he didn’t try to argue further. He turned back to the camera. Continued to set it up. Barbara went upstairs now. Casper walked out the back door and onto the other porch. He half expected the feeling of unease to leave him once he was outside, but it only grew stronger. Casper slowly walked towards the steps that went down the island’s edge. His legs grew just a little more unsteady. The wood seemed to rock just a little harder despite how it all seemed to still be solidly in place.

When Casper thought he was going to throw up, he quickly turned back. He couldn’t bring himself to go to the bottom. He headed back into the house and out the other side to try and catch his breath.

The feeling was gone.

Just like that.

Casper quickly turned back to his notes. He wrote quickly and concisely. He could feel Tom’s eyes on him as he went back and forth, recording every observation he felt. This place… It was more consistent than any other home or structure they’d gone to. There was a clear divide between natural and unnatural. Between where gravity made sense and then where it felt like it was dragging you under. And Barbara hadn’t even done anything. She hadn’t opened any door, as she referred to it.

Maybe they shouldn’t be opening whatever this door was…

But that was assuming any of this was actually real, and Casper believed it. Which he obviously didn’t. There was probably a magnetic anomaly. Some type of shift with the rock underneath this cabin they were visually unaware of. If he had the proper tools, he’d be able to have more precise, in depth measurements. Get at the root of the anomaly here. He settled on just recording everything he could. What he saw. What he physically felt. The changes in temperature. He occasionally asked Barbara or Tom questions. At least at the start. He quieted when Barbara seemed ready to begin her part of the process.

The usual symbol was created in sand. It seemed to be the starting point. What she described as opening the door to the other side. She didn’t speak out though. Instead, around the bowl she dropped more sand onto the floor. She carefully pushed particles up or down. Left or right. Creating an intricate pattern across the grain.

“Why aren’t you letting it speak through Tom?” asked Casper.

“Because we don’t even know if an actual person is here to speak with. Or if it’s something else. You have to be careful what you invite in.”

“You were never careful before.”

“Because I knew exactly the people we were going to talk with and I knew violence had never occurred because of the haunting. Hartman didn’t give me enough details with this one.”

Tom’s camera flashed.

A way to look past the veils of what eyes could see. A way for Tom to potentially capture any spirits around them without having the spirits directly work through Barbara or him.

Casper continued to take notes.

It started to get dark about two hours earlier than it should have because of the surrounding mountains. An overlight in the living room was the only thing working. There’d been a lamp in the kitchen, but the bulb had blown. There was only one working light upstairs, though they’d chosen to mostly stay downstairs. Casper had brought up his observations about the dock. How the strangeness of the house seemed to extend to it. Or originate from it. When Barbara went out there, Casper watched her. She walked farther than he had. All the way to the edge of the dock. He didn’t know how she did it. Just standing near the top of the stairs made him feel ill again.

When she walked back up, Casper asked, “Did you not feel it get worse?”

“I did. But there are ways to ease the discomfort. Even still, it’s the strongest current I’ve ever felt.”

“You’ve used that term before. Why current?”

“Because life has currents. Energy. Places where life blossoms and flows from. Where it builds on top of each other. Why shouldn’t death be any different?”

Casper couldn’t think up a response to that. She was speaking in fallacies. No concrete data actually proved her claims. And yet…just the way this place made Casper feel…

There were long stretches of silence in the cabin. A click and flash of Tom’s camera. The occasional question from Casper. A response. The slight, grainy sounds of sand being moved along wooden floors. The lower floor of the house was largely empty. Just old pieces of furniture accompanied with empty drawers and uncluttered countertop space. The only thing of physical note was a gramophone in the corner. Casper had noted it when he’d walked inside. Particularly its age and the fact that it didn’t need electricity to work. It seemed as old as everything else in the cabin. Maybe it had even belonged to the Wakes, if they’d actually lived here at some point.

The day grew darker. Glances outside showed less and less light peeking over the mountains–

Nowhere to run to, baby/Nowhere to hide/Got nowhere to run to, baby

The sound was sudden. Crackling through a system that was unnatural to it. The song modern but the sound old and winding. The pitch off. The volume distorted. And then the song skipped. Back to the chorus.

I know you’re no good-Nowhere to run to, baby/Nowhere to hide

Casper recognized the song. Knew the album, Dance Party. One of his fellow students had owned it in his undergrad years. He could still remember most of the songs. How it had played in the background whenever that student had hosted a party. Casper could remember trying to drag Trench over to dance. He’d actually succeeded with that. Marshall had smacked him when he’d attempted it.

He knew the song, but it sounded wrong coming out of a device it had never been meant to play on. All while skipping like it was a record player or a faulty radio signal looping on a singular transmission. It didn’t make any logical sense.

Barbara had described art as the way to contact the other side. She’d never used music. Tom didn’t make music and it was a more difficult thing to create in the moment. Paper and pencil were far easier. Far more direct. As was a camera, though it would of course take time to develop the shots. But music was art and the normally upbeat, hip song was sending shivers down Casper’s backside. He automatically wondered what the hell was out there. He didn’t even throw up his usual defense of ‘not that any of this is real’.

It was Barbara who stopped the sound. She pulled apart the gramophone. The sound belting from its horn went silent.

“My grandmother had one. Always enjoyed messing with it.” The words were an attempt at being flippant, but Casper could hear the shakiness in her voice.

“Why that song?” Casper murmured. “It…no way someone translated it to work with a gramophone.”

“Maybe we’re not dealing with the Wakes. Maybe someone more recent is here who liked that song when they were alive.”

Flash

Casper jumped.

“Sorry,” Tom got out. “If something was there, I wanted to make sure I captured it.”

“It’s all good. I don’t even know why I jumped.” Casper tried to play it off and laughed. The sound came out more nervous than anything. It didn’t help how serious Barbara and Tom were being with this either. Not that they hadn’t been serious before. Just something about this had them acting weary. Even Barbara now.

Casper sat down on the couch. He started to write in his notebook again. He made note of the song. Made sure to write down the band and album, plus the year it had come out. If he remembered it correctly. He’d double check later.

He tried to hide in the notes. Tried to use his own writing and his notebook like a grounding rod. He flipped through a few pages. Read past notes from other cases. He’d never been afraid during those cases. He’d sometimes had a physical reaction. He’d recorded all those tiny moments. Hairs rising. Goosebumps. Red skin. But he hadn’t been afraid.

He tried to tell himself he wasn’t afraid right now.

And then something shifted.

Casper didn’t actually feel the shift himself. Things still felt wrong, but not more wrong. The difference was noticed in Barbara. Tom noticed it too. He stilled. Took a step forward. “Barb–”

She swept her shoe through the sanded pattern. Knocked the bowl over. The symbol to the ‘door’ was thoroughly disrupted. The sand from the bowl spilled and mixed with the broken circle on the floor. “We need to go.”

“What? Why–”

“We’re leaving,” Barbara interrupted. “Gather everything. Now.”

Casper held his tongue. He jumped to his feet. He wanted to know what had changed. What did she feel that Casper didn’t? Did she see something Casper couldn’t? For once, his need to learn and obtain any and all data was overridden by the tingling sensation on the back of his neck.

Tom’s words cut through Casper’s thoughts. “If Barbara says leave, we leave.”

Casper didn’t hesitate again. He snapped his notebook shut. He helped Tom grab his things. Barbara didn’t even try to clean up the floor. She didn’t grab her bowl. Her willingness to leave it behind was making Casper’s stomach twist in an uncomfortable way. She grabbed a bag.

“Now!”

Casper stumbled. He picked up what he could. Hurried after her. A noise cropped up behind him. Distorted and broken. The tune and pitch completely off.

Nowhere to run

He didn’t waste time turning back to see if he was actually hearing it or if it was all in his head. Both felt equally likely despite how he’d watched Barbara dismantle the gramophone.

They didn’t bother going to the shed to turn off the generator. Not that it mattered as what little light was coming from the cabin went out the moment their feet made it to the bridge. Casper jumped again. He hurried behind Tom and Barbara. He glanced back when his feet came off the bridge and he was good and truly away from the island. His eyes adjusted to the dark. The moon and stars above helped to light the area some. The cabin stood like a grave in an empty field. Only the field was a lake and the stone a cabin that sat like a mausoleum for nature.

“Sounds like something I might have written.” Tom’s voice was a shock. Casper hadn’t realized he’d been muttering to himself. His observations were less analytical and more flowery. Like prose was the only way to truly and accurately describe what he was seeing.

“Boys!”

Now Tom and Casper jumped. They finally got into the car. Barbara started to drive before Casper had fully closed the door.

No one spoke at first.

Casper felt just the slightest bit out of breath despite how he hadn’t been outright running. Nerves were running high. When Barbara made her way from the backroads to a paved one, Tom tried turning on the radio.

Got nowhere to run–

Tom was quick to turn the radio right back off.

It was a coincidence. A crazy coincidence but still just that. Maybe…maybe it was gas. Mold spores that could cause hallucinations and paranoia that had seeped into the house. But Casper hadn’t seen any strange stains and he hadn’t smelled anything suggesting something might have been off. He tried to think of other, possible explanations as to what had happened, but the logic failed him. His mind kept going back to a singular phrase.

A cabin that wasn’t a cabin. On a lake that wasn’t a lake.

It didn’t make sense and yet it did. Because that place hadn’t just been a cabin. It had been… Casper couldn’t find a word for it.

Barbara was the first to speak as they got into the Bright Falls area and stopped at a red light. It was late. No other cars were around. When the light turned green, she didn’t immediately hit the gas.

“I’m sorry I brought you both there,” she murmured. “You were right, Tom. We should have left.”

“Kind of wish I hadn’t been right.”

“But right about what?” Casper’s voice was soft. He glanced over. Tom stared ahead, but Barbara made eye contact with him.

“It’s not people.”

“What do you mean it’s not people?”

“I think you know what I mean, Casper.” Her eyes finally turned back to the road. In the time they’d sat there, the light had gone from green and back to red. It changed to green. She slowly drove forward.

Several different terms popped into Casper’s mind. Demons. Devils. Poltergeists. Barbara had never used those terms before. She’d never mentioned them before. Only ever spoken about deceased people. Unable to move on with some form of unfinished business or last words that needed to be spoken. But if death flowed like life, what was to say its ecosystem wasn’t just as rich as life’s was? What was to say there weren’t things that exuded more energy than others? There were natural predators in life. A hierarchy. Did death have a hierarchy? Predators and prey? He was using the same fallacy Barbara had earlier, but Casper couldn’t help it. Not after what he’d experienced. He desperately wished he had actual equipment to test in the area.

Barbara got them home safely. Most of Casper’s nerves were gone once he was out of the car and walking back into the familiar home. He was almost ready to convince himself he’d let himself get sucked into the paranoia. That he’d allowed his own mind to work against him. To play tricks and make him see things. Feel things that weren’t there.

The only thing keeping him from that conclusion was Barbara’s continued seriousness. Her quiet, focused look as she dropped everything down on the dining room table. She frowned slightly as she looked through her belongings. Like she was only now realizing she’d left several items behind. With a slight huff, she went straight to the stairs. Casper was quick to follow her. Tom was only a footstep behind, having just dropped his camera and things next to Barbara’s items on the table.

She managed to get into the bedroom before Casper caught her arm. She felt clammy despite how warm it was both outside and inside the house. “Hey, you’re ok. Right?”

“Huh? Oh. Sorry.” She forced out a shaky breath. “It’ll be fine.”

Casper took note of her choice of words. “But it’s not fine right now?”

“Barb?” Tom hesitantly asked. He stopped behind them. The concern bled into his voice.

“We’re not there anymore,” Barbara forced out, “so it will be fine. It will. Just…I just want to go to bed. Is that ok?”

Casper quickly nodded. Tom leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Of course.”

“Thank you.” Barbara moved away. She stripped down to only her underwear. Threw a fresh shirt on.

Casper was quick to follow her lead, as was Tom. When she didn’t turn the bedroom light off, Casper didn’t walk back and flick the switch. Neither did Tom. He wasn’t scared. Even if he was, the lights certainly weren’t going to keep any monsters at bay. Not that monsters existed. They didn’t. This was all just in his head. Casper was jumping to conclusions. He just needed to distance himself from the whole thing. Get a good night’s rest. Once he did that, he’d be fine. He’d feel right as rain. He’d probably even realize the thing he’d missed. The observation, clue, that would make all this make sense. He just needed to rest and look at things from a clinical perspective.

Tom lay next to him. He clung to him. Maybe just a little tighter than normal. Barbara started off curled in on Casper’s left. After a few minutes, she turned away. Casper let her. One hand continued to rest on her hip. She felt cold through her clothes. He kept his eyes closed. He just needed to sleep. Once he slept and woke up, everything would be alright.

Casper’s dreams had never been particularly vivid, but that night they were bright with blues and reds. Lights and shadows. He dreamed of a room at the bottom of a body of water with an entrance as small as a glass and the width of an ocean. He dreamed of something moving in that ocean. He dreamed of a door and he dreamed of whispers and he dreamed of a looping record. A warning. He dreamed of something chasing him and words of prose spoken from Tom’s voice like a guiding light.

When he woke up, everything was decidedly not alright and the solution he’d hoped to have failed him.

It wasn’t real.

Was it?

Chapter 5: Caring 'til It Hurts

Chapter Text

Barbara felt something crawling inside her. Tom had warned her, but she’d ignored his concern. She’d ignored her own warnings. Had let her curiosity mirror Casper’s as she threw caution to the wind. She’d been confident in her own abilities. Too confident. She tried to hide it. If she could protect herself, she could protect them. If she could continue to hide it, it would hide it from them. She just had to keep hiding it. She just had to keep them safe.

She felt so much colder than she should.

Summer was almost upon them. Finals were around the corner. She should be wearing thin skirts and tank tops. She’d stuck with jeans and a stolen sweater of Tom’s when she went to school on Monday. She could tell she was worrying the boys. Casper’s questions were more clinical. Tom used more accurate terminology, what Barbara would have used, but it was clear he was as lost as Casper.

Sunday had been a quiet affair. Barbara had buried her nose in her books. Books that made Tom weary. The titles had concerned Casper as well, even if he didn’t know their wealth of contents like Tom did. She’d declined helping Casper to cook dinner. Had barely eaten what he’d cooked, despite how he’d purposefully made one of her favorites. She’d left early for class on Monday before either Tom or Casper were properly awake. She had left the car and a note for Tom and Casper that they could use it as she walked to campus in the early, cold morning.

It wasn’t actually that cold, but Barbara shivered all the same.

Just like in life, there were boundaries that needed to be respected in death. You didn’t jump into the lion’s cage. You looked, but you didn’t touch. Only she’d touched. She’d entered a place people were not meant to enter. Had Hartman not realized he’d undersold the haunting? Or had it been a trick? The cabin hadn’t made sense. Not if Hartman had owned it for years. Not if he’d once used it normally, like a little get-away as he’d implied. That cabin had never been properly used. Not properly kept for decades. It certainly wasn’t ready to host family, if there was even family he’d ever planned to host.

Why the lies? Why would he want her there?

Barbara spent the morning in the library until her only class of the day came around. It was the last class before finals next week. She headed towards it–

He wasn’t coming towards her. She didn’t think he was trying to find her. It looked like he didn’t even see her. But she saw him. She saw Emil Hartman.

And she saw through him.

She saw the thing from the cabin.

The thing she was trying to keep from Tom and Casper.

The cold became icey. Her spirit felt as if someone had pulled it taunt. Like taffy stretched to its limits. Then, the thing from the cabin saw her. The thing pretending to be a man. Barbara hadn’t seen it before. She’d taken one of his f*cking classes. Had spoken with him plenty. But like with Tom’s art, the positive only became clear once the negative had reared its ugly head. He saw her. It saw her.

Barbara’s books hit the ground first. Her body soon followed.

Tom hadn’t thought of the cabin as truly dangerous. Not at first. Barbara could handle herself. Barb had insisted. He’d trusted her despite not trusting Hartman. Despite believing that Hartman wasn’t being completely honest with them.

He wished he’d gone with his gut instinct.

When Barbara disappeared from bed Monday morning, Tom tried not to let the worry over take him. He spoke with Casper first. Tried to get his read on the situation. What he thought they should do. Tom had more experience with the supernatural, but not by much.

“I think she’s been touched,” Tom softly admitted as he watched Casper get dressed.

“What does that mean?”

“Barbara used it once. To describe what happened to me.”

Casper paused with his button-up shirt. “You’ve been through–”

“No. No. I think…it was right after Barbara realized my art could act as a medium for more direct communication. I worked with her a few times, but there was this one time where the person was angry. Vengeful. Barbara hadn’t been given all the facts when she was asked to connect with the other side. I felt like I was drowning. Drowning in hate. Drowning in the dark. I…” Tom shuddered. “I wasn’t myself for a few days.”

“Like getting over the flu?”

“A flu of the senses. Of your personality, if you will.”

“Then it was just a person that was at the cabin. Someone who died…angry or violently or what have you. And she’ll be fine in a few days. Right?”

Tom hated hearing the hope in Casper’s voice. It made it harder for Tom to remain the realistic one here. To break Casper’s hope. “I’m telling you what happened when I was touched by the anger of the dead. Someone who had been an abusive, controlling asshole in life, but still only human. If what touched Barbara wasn’t human…”

“But it can’t be. It’s not…demons aren’t real.”

Tom noted how Casper was no longer saying the prospect of a ghost wasn’t real. He wasn’t trying to argue that Tom’s experience had been purely psychological. If Tom knew Casper’s way of thinking, and he liked to think he did by now, then Casper’s logical process could no longer deny the existence of something more. That there was perhaps a world beyond what people physically saw. But in that admittance, he held back from the worst possibilities. Maybe because he honestly hadn’t collected enough data to confirm something like a demon existed. Or maybe he was just deluding himself. Hoping this was a small hiccup and that was it. Tom wished he could do that right now.

“Whatever was there…I’m hoping this is nothing more serious than a…a spiritual flu. As you put it.”

“But if it’s not?”

Tom helplessly shrugged. He let his head fall, his hair covering his face in messy waves. Barbara was the expert here. Not him. This had always been her passion. Not his. She knew better than anyone what this might be, only she wasn’t talking to them. She certainly hadn’t talked yesterday. Tom had honestly been shocked when she finally came back to bed with them. The small sense of relief at feeling her body pressed next to his had vanished when she’d vanished this morning though.

He finally got up. He didn’t bother getting dressed right away. He just started heading downstairs to the kitchen. He could hear Casper choosing to follow him, still half dressed as his bare feet padded against the floorboards.

“What did you see?”

“I didn’t see anything.”

“Tom, please–”

He stopped walking. Spun around. “All I do is interpret. Ok? I don’t-I’m not her!”

Casper’s face fell. His glasses slid down. “Sorry.”

Tom shook his head. “I shouldn’t have yelled. I just. I’m…” He didn’t say the word out loud. If he did, then it was like it christened just how serious the situation was. Tom couldn’t bring himself to admit just how afraid he was. Not yet. It didn’t help that Barbara wasn’t even around and Tom certainly didn’t know what they could do to help her.

“I know what you mean,” whispered Casper.

Tom shook his head. A tiny form of acknowledgement. Then, he moved forward. Pressed his lips to the tip of Casper’s nose like an apology. He turned away. Continued to the kitchen.

They found Barbara’s note together. It was tempting to go after her. In the car, they could have easily caught up to her, but she’d probably just push them away again. This wasn’t nothing, but Tom hoped it would pass. At least when he hadn’t felt like himself, he’d had Barbara at his side. Comforting him. Assuring him he’d be alright. It made Tom feel guilty that she had no one right now. Even if it was own choice to keep them at arm’s length. Or maybe Tom and Casper weren’t trying hard enough. Tom didn’t know.

Casper made eggs. Tom only ate because Casper pushed him to, but his heart wasn’t in it. Tom drove them to campus a little after nine. He took a less direct route. Casper didn’t ask why. His eyes automatically looked around. He realized Tom was driving by some of Barbara’s favorite haunts-wrong word to use at the moment. Spots, Tom mentally changed. They didn’t see her hanging around anywhere, but if she really was going to class, she’d probably be on campus by now anyways.

Tom parked in the usual spot. “Your last class ends around four o’clock today. Right?”

Casper nodded.

“Ok. Ok. I’ll…we’ll all meet up here around four. I’ll tell Barbara. Or you can. If you run into her first.”

“Ok.”

“Ok,” Tom repeated.

They went their separate ways. Casper went towards his class. Tom headed in the direction of Barbara’s. He checked his watch. It should have started about ten minutes ago. He wouldn’t disrupt it or anything. He just wanted to poke his head in. Make sure she was doing ok before he headed to his own class. Though he was honestly considering skipping it just so he could make sure he caught Barbara and could actually talk to her. Even if only to make sure she knew to meet them by the car that afternoon.

He got to the right building. Stopped outside the relatively small lecture hall. He poked his head in. His eyes went to her usual seat.

She wasn’t there.

His eyes quickly flitted around the hall. He thought he spotted her for a second, but no. The woman turned her head to the side to whisper something to a friend. It wasn’t her.

Tom had never been one to be easily embarrassed. He didn’t think twice now as he pushed the door fully open. He walked down. Made his presence known as the lecture came to a hard halt. He spoke loudly. His voice echoing across the concrete walls and floors.

“I’m looking for Barbara Jagger.”

He expected the professor to chastise him. To either professionally, or not so professionally, tell him to get the hell out. Instead, the man’s irritation quickly changed to understanding. Tom heard a few students whispering by him.

“Who’s that?”

“I don’t know.”

“I think he’s Barbara’s boyfriend.”

“Oh sh*t. He is. Oh no.”

Tom tried not to focus on the whispers as the professor let out a slow breath. “She didn’t make it to class today–”

“What do you mean she didn’t make it to class today!”

“I understand this must be stressful, but there’s no reason to shout.”

Tom held his tongue. His fingers twitched at his side.

“I was told she fainted.”

“Fainted–”

“No need to panic. A member of staff helped her to the campus clinic.”

Tom felt his throat close up instinctually. The one word question came out like a hiss of steam. “Who?”

“I don’t–”

“Professor Hartman,” a student suddenly said. Tom vaguely recognized him from one of Barbara’s study groups this last semester. “I was there when it happened. She didn’t look–”

The guy didn’t finish his sentence. Not before Tom was booking it out of the room and running in the direction of the clinic. He didn’t know if Hartman was the cause or an unknowing participant. He didn’t know if he was naive to the real dangers of connecting to the other side or if he’d known something like this could happen from the beginning. It didn’t matter. Tom ran into the nearest door that led to the outside. He scared the sh*t out of a group of young adults trying to come in. He pushed past them. Kept running. One of his necklaces bounced against his chest. His messenger bag slammed into his side. Once in the clinic, he shoved past the person sniffling at the front desk.

The nurse gave him an aghast face. “Young man, you can’t just–”

“Where is she?”

“You will sit down and you will wait–”

“Barb! Barbara Jagger. I was told she fainted and Professor Hartman took her here, so where the hell is she?!”

The names caused recognition to flicker on the woman’s face. “Sir, I don’t know who you are, but you need to–”

“I’m her boyfriend, ok? She’s been–” He cut himself off. Tried to word it in a way that wouldn’t have him dismissed immediately. “She hasn’t been feeling well. Please, I’m worried about her and was just told she fainted. So please, just tell me whatever room she’s in.”

“I can’t.”

Tom opened his mouth.

“She didn’t-well it’s the strangest instance of fainting I’ve ever seen. She was taken to the local hospital when she didn’t wake up. But don’t worry, Professor Hartman stayed with her–”

“f*ck!”

“Excuse me–”

But Tom was already running out the door. He was headed to the car first but only hesitated when he thought of Casper. sh*t. He needed to know. Tom forced himself to stop running. He did his best to ground himself as he tried to remember the campus’ layout. It was Monday morning. Then Casper’s class was…he should be…he should be…that way!

Tom took off running again.

Casper didn’t have finals to worry about. Not in a traditional, undergrad sense considering how far along he was in his program. They still had traditional tests from time to time, but the focus was more on running experiments, creating studies, and presenting them. Today was the second day of presentations for the yearlong study they’d just completed. Casper was first up today. He’d completely forgotten.

Thankfully he’d already turned in the necessary slides. He stumbled over the start of it as he clicked through the slide projector, but science was second nature to him. He found his footing. The numbers and strings of data were a comfort from the abnormal past few days. Like a child with a favorite blanket.

That comfort only lasted so long.

Casper was approximately ten minutes into the thirty minute presentation when he heard someone running down the hall. A door was flung open. Casper ignored the distant noise. He kept talking–

The feet ran to their classroom. Now, their door banged against the wall with surprising force. Like most of the class, Casper jumped. The sound startled him only so much. Seeing Tom’s face had Casper’s heart freezing. He dropped the controller to the slide projector. It clattered to the ground.

“I need you. Now.”

Casper’s heart lurched into his throat. He took a step forward–

“Mr. Darling, I don’t know what this is, and I very much don’t appreciate the inappropriate interruption.”

“I–”

“You chose this day and the placement. If you leave now, I’ll be forced to count off the part of your presentation you–”

“Casper!”

The professor bristled. “You interrupted my class–”

Casper shook his head. “f*ck this.”

“Mr. Darling!”

He didn’t look back as he ran out of the room with Tom. He didn’t ask where they were going. He didn’t bother to ask for an explanation. Not as his lungs burned and his muscles strained like he was trying to race Tom across campus. Only this wasn’t fun in the slightest.

Casper quickly realized they were headed towards the parking lot they’d left the car in. Casper jumped into the passenger’s side a fraction of a second before Tom did. Only after he’d caught his breath did he say, “What happened?”

“I don’t know. I went to check on Barbara in her class and they said she fainted.”

“Is she ok?”

Tom rapidly blinked. “I don’t know. I-f*cking Hartman was apparently there. He took her to the campus clinic only something–I don’t know what the f*ck was wrong, but she got sent to the hospital. Hartman went with her.”

Casper’s knuckles turned white from how hard his fists were clenched. There were a lot of thoughts going through his mind. He tried to organize the unknowns as best he could. Sorted the abnormal variables from the normal. Identified what he knew and what was simply a gut reaction. He’d just ran out of class. He’d actually ran out. Had cursed at his teacher. He’d never even done anything like that before. Not even in his undergrad years.

He was afraid. He was out of his depth. But he cared. All he could do was show just how much he cared right now and be here. For his own behalf but also for Tom and Barbara.

“What hospital?”

“The woman at the desk said the local one. It’s just a ten minute drive from here.” Tom’s own knuckles were white against the steering wheel. He was vibrating, though Casper couldn’t tell if it was uncontained rage or fear.

They fell into silence during the rest of the short drive. Casper piped up at the hospital as he tried to help Tom find a place to park. Tom led the conversation once they were inside though. First snippy. Harsh. Then, he recognized a worker walking by. An undergrad class or something like that tied them together as Tom tried with him. Growing more desperate and hurried as he explained the situation. They eventually got a room number. Tom led the way. Casper once again only spoke if he saw a sign Tom had missed. They got to the room–

Casper didn’t immediately know how to describe it. He tried his best to categorize and quantify the confusing feeling. His skin crawled. His throat was closing up. He was scared. That much was obvious. But why? He looked at the man and he was just a man. A man Casper vaguely recognized either from around campus or maybe because he’d seen his photo somewhere, but there was nothing visually off-putting. There was something else Casper was sensing. It was possible there was some level of correlation Casper was making. Like maybe the man had the same hairstyle as some kindergarten teacher he’d hated or something and his subconscious was putting the two unrelated factors together.

But it wasn’t that simple. This felt deeper than that. Barbara probably would have called it a sixth sense or something. A connection to the other side. She couldn’t say much of anything or give Casper any real advice though. His eyes flickered from the man to Barbara’s still form. She wasn’t moving. Not even twitching. She looked so f*cking pale. The only sign that she was alive was the beeping of a heart rate monitor.

“Get out,” growled Tom.

“You should be thanking me, Zane. I brought her here after all.”

“I’m sorry. Who are you gentlemen?”

Casper’s eyes finally shifted to the third figure in the room. The man was clearly a doctor.

“This would be her boyfriend and…”

“Just a friend,” Casper started to whisper. At the same time, Tom spit out, “So that makes me closer kin than you, so get out.”

“Gentlemen.” Some type of warning was about to leave the doctor’s throat, but the other man interrupted. “He’s right. I was simply her professor several semesters ago. It hardly makes us friends. I do hope they’re able to find out what’s wrong. I wish you the best of luck.”

The man walked by. Casper didn’t know why he kept referring to him as ‘the man’. He knew who he was. He knew this had to be Emil Hartman. Yet giving him a name felt wrong. It made him feel too human. The man walked by and for a split second, Casper felt like he was back in the cabin. The floor swayed like a ship.

And then the nausea was gone. As was the man. Tom fell by Barbara’s side as the doctor started to ask his questions.

Casper cared so f*cking much and no one understood that. They didn’t get it and Casper didn’t know how to explain it without causing more f*cking problems.

But maybe that was ok because Tom knew he cared and that was all that mattered right now. Barbara knew he cared. Or he hoped she knew. He couldn’t exactly ask her at the moment.

Three days had passed since Barbara fainted, though it was a poor description in Casper’s opinion. She still hadn’t woken up. The doctors called it a coma despite how there seemed to be no reason as to why she wasn’t awake. The doctor hadn’t believed Casper or Tom when they’d said she hadn’t taken anything recently. Nothing besides some alcoholic drinks a few nights ago. Only after the toxicology report came back had the doctor taken their claims seriously and finally started to look for other causes of her current state.

For once in Casper’s life, he didn’t trust the medical professional. He didn’t believe anyone at the hospital would be able to figure it out. They didn’t know the root of the problem. They couldn’t. And even if Tom and Casper had explained it to them, at best they would have been laughed at.

Casper had excused himself from his classes for the rest of the week. He had rescheduled meetings and presentations or had talked about potentially rescheduling them or just taking the hit to his grades. He’d spoken with his professors. The only one who’d been less than understanding was the one he’d walked out on. The others had been sympathetic, but only to a degree.

“It can be difficult when a friend is hurting and you can’t help, but you realize you can’t just stop your studies Casper. There are people more qualified looking into it. You shouldn’t take all your focus off of school”

No one understood. No one really understood. Casper hadn’t planned to say anything to his parents either, but when they called and started asking all about how his presentation had gone, Casper hadn’t been able to lie.

“Casper, why would you walk out like that? What were you thinking? You’re almost done. What if you get kicked out? All those years of work and for what?”

They didn’t f*cking get it either and it hurt. It hurt so damn much even as Casper tried to tell himself it didn’t matter what others thought.

On the third day, Barbara’s parents finally came up. Tom had been in contact with them. Casper had heard the stories about how Barb’s parents hadn’t been his biggest fans when they’d started dating. Maybe something had changed in the past years, or maybe it was simply the circ*mstances. They seemed close though when they showed up. They were polite to Casper, but it was clear they saw him as an outsider to all of this. A stray Barbara had picked up. Just a new, not so close friend she’d been helping out. There wasn’t anything said implying he should leave, but they certainly didn’t include him when they spoke to Tom.

Casper didn’t have to be told that night. He saw Tom making up the bedroom for Barb’s parents. Casper had helped clean the extra sheets. He used his own bedroom that night. The one that he’d used as storage but had never actually slept in. He expected to fall asleep by himself. He tried to, but couldn’t. He lay there for what felt like an hour before he heard the door to the room creak open.

“Casper?”

“Yeah?”

Tom didn’t respond. Casper listened as the door was eased shut. The floorboards shifted under his weight. After a second, Casper felt Tom lay at his side. The now familiar arms lay on top of him. It made the bed feel small, but not in an uncomfortable way. He’d gotten used to not having more room around him. Casper shifted the covers around. Tom pulled them around him. He got his arms properly around Casper’s body. Casper felt as Tom kissed the back of his neck.

“I’m sorry,” whispered Tom.

“It’s not your fault. They’ve been nice. As nice as one can be considering the circ*mstances. I doubt they’d be so nice if they knew the nature of our relationship.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Give them time and they might like you better.”

Casper snorted. A small laugh in an ocean of hurt. He put one of his palms on top of the back of Tom’s hand. “I miss her,” whispered Casper.

“I know. I do too.”

“I just…I can’t f*cking do anything. I feel so f*cking helpless. I have a master’s degree in mathematical physics and quantum technology. I’m working towards a Ph.D. right now. I’m f*cking brilliant and yet I can’t-can’t do a single thing with this sh*t.”

Tom squeezed him just a little tighter. Casper finally closed his eyes. He felt better with a body around him. He started to drift away–

He felt another pressure join them on the edge of the small bed.

Tom felt the pressure. It kept him from properly falling asleep. He stayed still. Felt Casper stay still. But it was probably just his imagination. He eased back down when he felt Casper’s muscles ease up too. Tom tried not to think about it. He tried to get some sleep. Tried–

Flashes appeared behind the lids of his eyes. Like the flashing of a camera. He jolted awake. Somehow, it was light out despite how it felt like he hadn’t slept a wink. Seconds having passed, not hours. He felt Casper’s hand on him. Going by his expression, at least Casper had gotten some sleep, though it didn’t look well rested.

“Hey, you ok?” Casper continued to keep his voice low.

Tom rubbed his face. “Um, yeah. I…” He blinked. The flash of a camera appeared again. He flinched. He tried to blink the spots out of his eyes, but it only caused more flashes to appear. He felt the bed shift, but when he looked, Casper still hadn’t gotten up yet. He watched as Casper suddenly shivered.

“Are you cold?”

“No. But I felt…” He shivered again. A small frown formed on his lips. He got up. Took a step forward. Shivered again.

Tom blinked. His eyes hurt from that f*cking camera flash–

“My cameras!”

Casper jolted at the shout. “What–”

“I never developed the pictures I took.”

“Do you think something could be there?”

“It’s worth a look.”

Tom quickly moved out of the bedroom. He felt Casper close behind. Felt him shiver again.

“Are you–”

“I’m ok. At least, I’m pretty sure I am. I think…there’s a feeling guiding me. It’s…I think it’s leading to where you develop your photos. You remembering your cameras didn’t come out of nowhere. Did it?”

Tom shook his head. “I woke up to flashes. I thought I might be having a migraine at first, but it looked so much like camera flashes.” He blinked. “It’s stopped now though. Maybe…maybe because we’re on the right track.”

He went from walking quickly to running. Casper kept up with him. He could hear Barbara’s parents getting up, but he focused on grabbing his camera and the rolls of film. They went to the designated dark room.

“What do I need to do?”

Casper was quick to help and a fast learner. When Barbara’s parents poked their head in, Tom did his best to shoo them away. He phrased it as a last project he’d done with Barbara. Something he wanted to make sure was finished. That he felt she would have wanted finished. Hell, maybe if he brought it to her, it might get her to wake up. His explanations weren’t technically wrong either. He just left out the part of potentially malevolent entities, contacting the other side, and the involvement of a professor who had known more than he’d been letting on.

It was tempting to rush the process, but Tom kept himself from cutting corners. He needed to make sure the images were as clear as possible. Needed to make sure they’d captured exactly what they’d initially had.

The whole process could take hours, but they started to really see the images not long after setting everything up.

Tom’s eyes were drawn to one particular photo. He’d taken it right after the gramophone had gone off. Casper and Barbara were both framed in it.

Barbara was also framed in it.

A second image of her. Only she wasn’t wearing the clothes she’d had on that day. She was wearing what she’d had one when she fainted. The jeans and Tom’s old sweater. Her mouth was open. Like she was trying to shout something at them. At herself. But the still image hadn’t captured what she’d said.

“That’s not possible,” whispered Casper.

“Are you really going to go there now?”

Casper swallowed. He suddenly shivered again. Tom couldn’t tell if it was an instinctual reaction or if it was because the presence that had wanted them to find this was still here with them.

Could be–

No. Tom didn’t let himself think that. Didn’t get his hopes up. He looked to the other images. Most showed nothing. But then there was another one that stood out. A figure that hadn’t been there. An absence of space. Like light had been sucked out in the shape of a man. Something dark. Something foreboding. Something grabbing Barbara without her knowledge.

“What if she’s…I know this sounds crazy,” gulped Casper. “But what if she’s still there?”

Tom looked through more of them. He only found one other example of the second Barbara appearing in the photos. A little opaque, but clearly not the version of Barbara that had been there on that day.

What were they going to do? What could they do? Tom didn’t know enough to say if Casper’s hypothesis was just crazy talk or possibly…possibly real. Though even if it was, how the hell could they help her now?

“Tom? Tom!”

Casper’s panicked cry caused Tom to jump back. He watched as the photo with the dark presence in it seemed to burn. Only there was no fire. Pieces of the photo turned to ash despite still being wet. It looked like it was burning from the center out. The photo didn’t completely disappear though. Only the space where the dark presence had been had gotten burned. A quick glance at the other photos showed new negatives. Spaces where nothing had once stood, and now a burned out absence was in its place. Little piles of ashes lay under each one.

Tom felt the chill too. The one that Casper must have been feeling this morning. Like a gentle caress up his arm.

It felt like Barbara.