What Remains by Bailey Bradford (to read list txt) 📕

his seatbelt. The ride to Zeke and Brendon’s ranch wasn’t entirely comfortable. It wasn’t that the two men were quiet, or angry. Sev thought it was something else, and his concern that he knew what it was grew with each mile they drove.

By the time they arrived and Zeke parked the truck, Sev was as tightly wound up as his two friends. “Are y’all going to tell me what’s going on now?” He unbuckled then opened the door, all the while watching the two men.

Zeke scowled as he shut the truck off. Brendon slumped in his seat. “Can you…can you see if you can feel her?”

Sev knew immediately who Brendon was talking about. Apparently Conner wasn’t the only spirit who’d gone missing, and the realization settled like ice along Sev’s spine. “How long since y’all have felt her presence?”

Zeke turned pain-filled eyes toward him. “I—we—haven’t felt Mama or smelled her scent for four days.”

The confirmation of Sev’s suspicions was like a kick to the balls. He nearly fell out of the truck, his legs felt so weak. Communing with spirits had been a part of his life, a big part of his life, for well over twenty years. He’d first encountered one when he was seven. He couldn’t imagine not being able to do so any more, even if he had spent several years fervently wishing his freakish ability would disappear.

Except it wasn’t just him, was it? Sev steadied himself on the outside door handle for a moment, waiting until Brendon got out before slamming it shut. Zeke and Brendon couldn’t do what he did, but they did know spirits existed. They’d interacted with Zeke’s mama for years. Now they couldn’t find her, so maybe the problem wasn’t that Sev had lost his psychic skill—maybe something else was going on.

Like someone’s abducting spirits? It was a ludicrous idea, but the only one Sev could come up with as he followed his friends inside the house. He didn’t imagine there was some big otherworldly convention being held in the great beyond. Or Vegas.

Sev knew as soon as he stepped in the house that Zeke’s mother wasn’t there. He didn’t have a way of seeking out spirits, usually they came to him. It would start as a low buzzing in his brain, as if a single bee had been caged in his skull. The more intensely a spirit tried to contact him, the louder and stronger the buzz, until sometimes it felt like he had a whole hive in his head.

There were some exceptions with spirits he was more familiar with, but those he could actually sense, like when you caught a whiff of someone’s cologne or perfume and you knew right away who it was. Not that it was always an olfactory experience—it was more a recognition of a familiar presence.

He hadn’t felt anything like it in four days. The complete lack of any contact with the dead left him feeling bereft and uncomfortable in his own skin. The ability was now so ingrained in him, Sev didn’t know what he’d do if it ceased to exist.

Zeke’s and Brendon’s hopeful gazes were like weights on his shoulders. He didn’t want to disappoint these men. “Maybe, if I can walk around the house…”

Zeke nodded, the hope draining from his green eyes. “Yeah, sure. Wherever you need to go.”

Sev was relieved his friends didn’t follow him. He walked from room to room, fingers rolling the necklace around his neck as he silently prayed for help—from his grandmother, from God, from whatever deity existed. If any such being did exist, he or she didn’t bother answering him. Or else, this is the answer. The spirits, at least two of them, are gone. Fuck!

His usual optimism ebbed as he stepped into the living room and looked at Zeke and Brendon sitting on the couch. It didn’t matter how much he didn’t want to, Sev was fixing to hurt them. His throat tightened against admitting he’d found nothing. By the time he’d cleared his throat enough to speak, he knew Zeke and Brendon already figured out the bad news.

It wouldn’t make them feel any better, but at least they would know they weren’t alone in their loss. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s going on, but Conner’s gone missing, too.”

“What?” Zeke and Brendon frowned at him, both snapped out the same one-word question.

Reminding himself these two were some of his closest friends, and that they must be as freaked out as he was, Sev ignored their sharp tones, concentrating instead on the fear creeping into their expressions.

He walked over and sat on the couch beside Brendon. Turning to put his back against the armrest, Sev then pulled one leg up and tucked it under his butt, angling himself so he could see both men. “We haven’t seen or felt Conner’s presence in days. Four days, just like y’all with Zeke’s mom. I thought it was maybe just Conner, but I haven’t felt anything. Nothing.” And it scared the shit out of him. Sev glanced down and found a string on the inseam of his jeans to pluck at. Letting his friends know how much this whole thing shook him wouldn’t help Zeke or Brendon at all.

“So what do we do?”

Sev looked up at Brendon’s answer, hoping his expression projected a confidence he didn’t feel. “I was wondering if y’all had time to take me to town. I thought maybe I’d stop and see Darren, at the café or at the Hawkins’ place. Or Matt—that might be better, actually.”

If he had any luck at all, Laine would be in. The man was Sev’s rock, and right now he needed him. Just speaking to Laine, seeing his eyes light up with joy because Sev was there, would go a long way toward calming some of the fear bubbling inside him.

Half an hour later, Sev was resigned to dealing with it on his own for a while longer. Neither Laine nor Matt were in, and as much as Sev