Chapter 23 - Connected

You see how in movies is so easy to find out what’s going on? The character plans something and it works at the first try. In real life it’s not that easy, mostly because you don’t really know what you’re doing and you’re just a noob.

I’m not sure what Zayn and I were waiting for when we arrived at the hospital. Saying hello, and then hope the nurse would give us all the information we needed perhaps? I don’t know, but if that was our plan, we’re really dumb.

You just can’t just go to the counter and ask for all the information about a patient when you’re not even related. They won’t even tell you no, they will just look at you as if you’re an idiot. Which I think we are, but that’s not important right now.

We really tried to get the nurse on our side, telling her it was important and all what we could come up with, without telling her that we think the ghost of said patient may be haunting me. The hospital has a mental ward, so I don’t want to risk myself.

All we got, every time, was: “no.”

We’re about to give up and admit that all this was pointless from the start when I see my doctor. He was nice, he helped me a lot and maybe he can help. I don’t know! It’s my last shot, I guess. Because Zayn and I even tried to distract the nurse so we could use her computer, but turns out they have a system we don’t understand so that was futile, as well.

“Hey doc!” I call when he’s walking down the hall and when he hears me, he turns around and gives me a smile.

“Liam! I hope you’re not feeling poorly,” he says and I smile as I keep approaching him, Zayn close behind me.

“I’m perfectly fine, doc. Thanks for asking. But no, we’re here for another reason, to be honest,” I tell him and he folds his arms, waiting for me to carry on. “Oh well, it’s about another patient, really. We need to know a few things.”

“Like what?” The doctor asks and I look at Zayn. Here comes the difficult part.

“Well, anything. We’re trying to find out as much as possible about him, but the nurses don’t wanna help us ‘cos we aren’t related. But it’s really important! You know this girl Cassidy, right? She’s a volunteer here,” I tell him and he frowns but nods. “Well, it’s about her best friend. He died the same night I was stabbed, and she helped me so much so I wanna help her now and I dunno, I thought that maybe getting to know more about Jake Wood would help me somehow, you know? But I don’t wanna push her to tell me those things and it’s just complicated.”

The doctor laughs at me when I finish and I don’t blame him, I sounded like a royal idiot. I just vomited everything I had to say hoping he would make sense out of it. And now I wait, rather impatiently, for an actual response from him. I prepare myself for him to tell me that he can’t do anything, that it’s confidential information and all those things the nurses already told me.

“Well, I don’t know how much I can help you. All the information we have is medical. We have the certificate of death and I’m not sure that would help you with Cassidy, Liam,” the doctor replies and I sigh.

“Anything could help,” Zayn intervenes and only then I realise that the doctor didn’t actually say he couldn’t share that information.

“Fine, come with me,” he says and I look at Zayn with shocked eyes. “Although I’m impressed. Most of this information can be found online, you didn’t have to come to the hospital.”

Zayn and I look at each other, slapping ourselves mentally for not thinking of that first. You can see we’re not the brilliant type, then.

Anyways, we follow the doctor to his office and he uses his desk computer to look for some information. “You said Jake Wood, right? Do you have his middle name?” We shake our heads and the doctor keeps looking. “Well, he died the day you got stabbed so that may help us… hmmm .” He keeps looking and we just wait there, not sure how this information will help us, but still. “Oh, I found it! Jake Arnold Wood. Car accident. Drunk driving. Died on the fifth of January twenty thirteen, declared dead at eleven fifty-three. Oh, that’s strange, he died at the very same time you heart stopped, Liam. If you hadn’t come back, we would’ve used that time for your certificate. I still remember that,” the doctor tells me, looking right into my head. “That’s a very odd coincidence, don’t you think?”

“Very,” I say, blinking in surprise and kind of freaked out.

“Well, he was a very healthy boy. The only other reason he was in a hospital was for appendicitis. I could tell you his blood type and all those things, but I don’t think you want to know.”

“No, we don’t,” Zayn replies quickly. Knowing Jake’s blood type would be too creepy and there are limits.

I’m still thinking of the fact that we died at the same time, in different places, but at the same time. That has to be something in common, a reason why we could be connected somehow, why I can see him in my dreams, why I seem to hear his voice.

And I suddenly remember that dream I had during my stay here at the hospital, a dream that couldn’t be one of the stories Cassie told me while I was sleeping. I remember that dream when I saw myself, on the table as the doctors kept fighting to make me come back while the monitors screamed there was no life in my body anymore. But then I saw Jake, not knowing who he was back then, and he said something about not letting me die… and then he pulled me back inside.

What if that wasn’t a dream? What if that’s exactly what happened and that’s why we’re connected? What if Jake actually saved my life?

You’re welcome, my inner voice says and I shiver, pushing the voice aside.

“Did that help you, guys? I don’t think there’s more I can share,” the doctor speaks, bringing me back to reality.

I shake my head before I speak. “Oh, that’s fine. Thank you, doctor. You did help,” I say with a polite smile and he leaves his desk to approach us.

“I don’t really know what you’re doing, but good luck. We do crazy things when we really like a girl, don’t we?” He winks at me and I feel very embarrassed that he thought I’m doing all this to win Cassidy’s affections.

If he only knew it’s because I think I have a ghost haunting me.

“It’s the same I tell him,” Zayn inputs and I look at him confused. “Anyways, thank you, doctor. Have a great day.” He shakes hands with the doctor and I do the same before we leave his office.

I’m still awestruck and I don’t really listen to what Zayn is saying until my friend snaps his fingers in front of me. I shake my head and blink quickly, collecting myself. “What?” I ask and I find Zayn staring at me in disbelief.

“Mate, I’ve been talking all this time. Where were you?”

“Thinking,” I reply. “Internally freaking out.”

“Sometimes you’re too weird for me to keep up. Anyways, I was saying that maybe as you two died at the same time, and yes, that’s always weird to say, is why you feel somehow connected to him. Now, I’m not sure if that’s enough reason as to believe he’s still here around you, but maybe it’s something,” he speaks and I nod because that’s what I’ve been thinking as well. “We need to do some more research about this Jake Wood guy before we come up with a definite conclusion.”

“Zayn,” I speak as we keep walking up to where my car is waiting. “There’s a dream I never told you about. I thought it was just a crazy dream, but today I remembered it. It was about Jake and it wasn’t a memory,” I try to explain and Zayn looks interested.

“And?” He pushes me to continue because I didn’t realise I had stopped talking and I was spacing out again.

“And I… I dreamt of the moment I died, you know, like seeing me from above. And I also saw Jake there. He was the only one who could see me in the room and I asked him for help and he did. He pulled me back into my body,” I finish and just wait for his reaction. I don’t know how I would react if he told me a story like that, even if it was a dream.

“And you’re thinking that maybe that actually happened and it wasn’t a dream but a memory?” He suggests and I nod faintly, scared to accept that I’ve been thinking of that.

“I-I guess so,” I confess and Zayn nods, thinking long and hard.

I got to admit that I’m scared. Scared that Zayn may think I’m really crazy now, or that he agrees with me and believes what I’m saying. Either outcome scares the shit out of me so I don’t even know what to expect.

“Well, we know dreams are what our subconscious is telling us, so there must be something behind that dream. Maybe it actually happened but we can’t be sure,” he says and I nod, still a bit shaky.

This is getting more complicated than what I anticipated.

“Therefore, we’ll need more help,” he adds next and I guess I’m too nervous, because what I say next is really stupid.

“Are we gonna call the Ghostbusters?”

Zayn actually laughs at before he shakes his head.

“Nah, we’re gonna make sure if there’s an actual ghost to get rid of first. So get in,” he instructs me. “This time I’m driving.”

“Where are we going?” I ask as I open the co-pilot door while he gets in behind the wheel.

“We’re gonna find a medium who can tell us if Jake is still here.”

I nod in agreement. I’m not even sure of this, but it sounds good to have a plan, even if it’s a crazy plan, at least it’s something. I’m not sure where we’re going to find a medium of any sort, but Zayn looks really determined.

We don't’ say anything else, Zayn just starts the ignition and drives as I keep thinking of the possibilities, all the plausible scenarios and not all of them look favourable. I really hope we can find some answers today because not understanding all this is giving me migraine.

-:-:-:-

Hope you enjoyed it.

Maca (aka the new assistant)