Koda watched Alfie sit on one of the leather couches, sinking into it and making him look much smaller against the big cushions.

"I have to summon Enya," Alfie said fiddling with the rings on his right hand. "I'm not in familiar surroundings, and I'm not calm enough yet. Do you have any candles?"

Morlen shrugged and turned to his son, expecting him to know. Koda shrugged too, and Alfie saw the similarities in the way their shoulders sat heavy and round and how they stood tall and proud without even thinking about their posture.

"I guess I could try without." Alfie looked around, carefully examining the room. "Morlen, close the blinds and switch off the light." Morlen's posture only seemed to straighten, and his eyes darkened. "I don't have to do this, you know."

Morlen muttered something under his breath and stormed to the window. Koda turned away to hide a smirk. He could feel Alfie's eyes on him and knew he was smirking too. As he crouched by the table, Alfie's head snapped in the direction of the door.

"She's here," he whispered before Morlen had the chance to pull the blinds down. "Stop what you're doing and sit down." Enya had surprised Alfie by turning up without him feeling anything, just like in the art class when she forced him to talk to Koda. Now that he could see her, his energy was pulling towards her like she was tangled in wires that only he could control, and each wire was attached to his muscles.

Koda sat down on the couch opposite Alfie, following his gaze to the door, but he saw nothing. He turned when his father sat next to him. Something softened in his face. The sorrow was melting Morlen's eyes made of glass.

"We have your journal," Alfie said, watching Enya silently move closer to her husband and her son.

"I don't remember the last time I saw them sitting together," she said, reaching her hand up as if to ruffle Koda's hair, then pulling it to her chest, pained and emotional. "I don't remember the last time we- as a family- sat down together. Now we'll never get the chance."

Koda was watching Alfie when he made eye contact. His brown eye was caught in the sun, giving it a golden effect, while his blue eye sparkled naturally. "What is she saying?" he asked. Alfie's mouth dipped from his sad expression.

"She regrets not spending more time together as a family."

Morlen looked down. His hands clamped around one another, and his knuckles started to turn white. "We haven't felt like a family for a long time, not since you started drifting."

Koda could feel his dad staring from the corner of his eye. "Me?"

"Yes, you," Morlen said, not unkindly. "Granted, we haven't been the best parents, but-"

"There's no but in that statement. You haven't been good parents." Unlike his father, Koda's voice was blunt. The harshness sliced a divider between him and his father. They felt so far apart even when they sat right next to each other.

"Enya is telling me to read the journal." Alfie pulled their attention back to him, not wanting to witness a family argument. He held a hand out to Koda and Morlen frowned at his ring-covered fingers. Alfie wanted to throw the journal at him when Koda yanked it out of his jacket pocket and gave it to him.

Alfie, again, ran a hand down the front of the leather. Despite it being A5, it was thick with expensive looking paper. Enya had joined him on the couch, making no noise and not even denting the cushion.

"I didn't want you or my son involved, but it looks like I have no choice." Her voice echoed in his head like she was whispering directly into his ear.

"When did you find the journal Morlen?" Alfie looked up to see him already staring.

"Why are your eyes like that?"

Alfie gripped the journal hard to stop himself from throwing it. Just the thought of it bouncing off Morlen's head was satisfying enough. "Answer my question."

Koda was baffled by the medium's ability to talk to his father like he wasn't the most intimidating man he had ever met. Maybe he wasn't. Alfie didn't know Morlen like Koda did.

"I found the journal the night after the funeral. I was angry and emotional, and I smashed up the bedroom. I broke the bed apart in the process. That's when I found the journal under the mattress and discovered how my wife didn't end her own life; it was taken from her." A steady fire burnt in Morlen's eyes, threatening to get out of hand if any more pressure was applied to his patience. He started to clench his left hand, and Alfie wondered if it was a nervous habit.

"Read it," Enya said, "then you'll know the truth."

"How do I know this wasn't all an illusion? You were a drug abuser. How do I know I can trust any of this?" Alfie asked her.

"You said it yourself; ghosts have no reason to lie." She tucked hair behind her ear. The pleading in her eyes was very real. "My soul no longer exists in your world, only through people like you who have the gift to see us and make a connection. My family have already started to move on without me. It doesn't matter if I lie or tell the truth. I'm dead. My words don't make a difference anymore."

Alfie looked from her big brown eyes to the distressed brown leather covering the journal. He wished Connor had come with him; he was always better at reading ghosts. Despite not being able to see them, the tone always revealed the truth.

"If you're not going to tell me, then I'll read the journal, assuming it's what actually happened." Alfie could feel eyes on him, both staring too intently. Koda's eyes were always welcome, but Morlen's were like seeing glowing eyes in the dark. Koda's were soft and full of emotion, the hazel was as smooth as honey, sweet and warm. Morlen's hazel was like looking into the gaze of a brass statue, dull and dirty and weathered.

"Open it." Enya was now on her feet, standing right in front of Alfie and pointing straight at her book. She had an eerie stillness, as all ghosts did. They were neither here nor there, only existing through Alfie's spiritual mind. They made no sound, he heard no breath, he felt no heat, just their emotions and intense atmosphere that surrounded ghosts.

Eventually, Alfie opened the journal. The first page was littered with messy writing in a mixture of blue and black ink, clearly written at different times throughout the weeks. There was a date at the top: 16/08/18 and a title: Paranoia.

Alfie eyed Koda who was fiddling with the edge of his Jacket. "Do you have any tea?"

Koda looked surprised by the question. "I think so."

"Morlen," Alfie sat back against the couch, making himself comfortable, "Can you please make some tea?"

Koda smirked when his father spluttered a sharp cough. "Excuse me?" Koda didn't have to look to know he was irritated. "You are in my home, and you're demanding I make you tea?"

"Yes." Alfie left no space for hesitation. "I am in your house, so be a good host and make tea, please." Morlen didn't move. For a second, he had the same eerie stillness as Enya. "Notice how I haven't asked for a single payment. I don't have to be here."

Morlen was grinding his jaw with anger when he climbed to his feet, apparently not used to following orders from other people. He was a sports coach. He shouted orders as part of his job.

When he left, Koda chuckled, shaking his head with disbelief. "Does he not intimidate you?"

"No. Why should he?"

"He shouldn't, but he gives off that vibe pretty easily."

Alfie didn't want to involve himself in their family politics, yet he was curious to know why Koda seemed tense around Morlen.

"He's not better than you, even if he is your dad," Alfie said, patting the spot next to him on the couch, and Koda chewed on his lip with thought. "I'm going to read the journal, and you're going to read it with me. I know you've read it already, but you're calmer now and not thinking with your heart."

Alfie watched Koda get up with a small smile. His eyes followed his crush as he stepped around the table and sat down. But it wasn't just next to him; it was as close as they could get without him sitting on Alfie and completely squishing him. Their bodies were mushed together so tightly, the side of Alfie's face pressed against the top of Koda's arm. Judging by the blush on Koda's face, he didn't quite mean to sit that close but close nonetheless.

He shifted a little, only moving an inch. Alfie's right side was sharing his warmth as he crossed his legs, letting his right leg overlap Koda's thigh. His heart was beating like he had jogged ten laps around the house. There was no reason for them to sit the way they were. Most people didn't invade personal space unless they were good friends or something more. Koda and Alfie were neither good friends nor in a relationship. They rested somewhere in between. Every time they met, they took a step closer to being something more. Alfie wondered how many steps it would take until, or if, they reached labels.

"So um, mum split the last month into stages." Koda pointed to the title on the first page. "This one's called paranoia because she wasn't sure if it was a side effect of drugs or not."

"What's it?" Alfie asked.

"She wasn't sure at first."

"Of what?" Alfie could feel Koda staring at him as he kept his eyes on the journal.

"It's too weird to explain. You just have to read it."

Before Alfie could make a start, Morlen entered the room with only one cup of tea. He slammed it down on the table and threw himself onto the opposite couch. Then he spotted his son and Alfie sitting suspiciously close.

Alfie felt Koda tense when his father frowned, staring for an uncomfortably long time. He had those cold and unreadable eyes stabbing him like razor-sharp icicles. An awkward silence was rising, and Alfie cleared his throat, deciding to read what Enya wrote out loud. He glanced at her ghost before he did, not missing the middle finger she stuck in Morlen's face.

Alfie snorted loud with satisfaction.

"What?" Morlen snapped.

Alfie purposely leaned against Koda, smiling wider when Morlen's eyes darkened. "Something tells me you weren't your wife's favourite person."