Angel From My Nightmare

“Alexander... William Gaskarth”
“How do you know my full... Oh...”
Jack pushed away from Alex, stumbling backward, how could this be happening? His heart was pumping so heart in his ears he didn’t think he’d hear a bomb going off.
“Jack, clam down I can explain” Alex tried to reach out to Jack but he took another step back.
“Ex...Explain?” he asked his voice shaking.
“Jack please, I can” Alex tried to grab Jack’s hand but his fingers went straight through him like Alex wasn’t even there.
“W..W...Wh..What is going on?”
“I can explain Jack...” Alex begged but Jack was running.
“JACK” Alex screamed after him, but it was no use Jack wasn’t coming back.
“I need you” Alex’s last words disappearing into the wind.
Adrenaline running through his veins Jack didn’t think, he just drove ignoring how the sun in the horizon was hurting his tired eyes and how his body ached for sleep. It was only once he was back in his empty apartment and the adrenaline had drained away that he tried to wrap his mind around what happened. Alex... His name on a gravestone, but not just his name that was him. How... How could that be? And his hand, how could he just disappear like that, it was like he was fading out of reality. Jack collapsed on his couch, his head was pounding as he tried to make sense but his sleep deprived mind couldn’t come with any answers.
Jack didn’t remember falling asleep, he woke up groggy on his couch still wearing his work uniform from the day before. Grabbing blindly for his phone on the coffee table he was 3 missed calls from Matt and 2 from Lisa. He groaned and checked the time, he should have been at work 2 hours ago... Jack just groaned and threw his phone back on the table. Why was he on the couch? Rubbing his head he slowly sat up and looked around the room as the memories of the night before started to come back.
“Fuck...” Jack put his head in his hands. How could this have happened? That Alex could be... Dead? It wasn’t possible, they’re no ghosts or zombies they’re just movie plots. So what does that make Alex? A figment of Jack’s mind, had he gone crazy? Had the death of his mum sent him over the edge and now he was imaging a friend in the same position as him. Getting his laptop from his bedroom he tried to google ‘Seeing dead people’ and all he got was trailers for Six Sense. So he tried searching ‘Alex Gaskarth’ a news story came up.
“Alex Gaskarth dies in car accident aged 21 years. Alex was driving home from band practise when he lost control of his car on 6th Avenue and his car went over, he later died in hospital from his injures”
Alexander William Gaskarth really was dead, so why could Jack see him?
“Oh god I really am going crazy, I can’t do this, I can’t do this” he buried his face in his hands and just started crying.
*Buzz Buzz*
The sound of Jack’s phone buzzing on the table shook him back to reality, sniffling slightly he answered the phone without bothering to check who was calling.
“Jack, thank fuck you finally answered. I was getting worried”
“Lisa? What’s going on?”
“Well I hadn’t heard from you since you left work yesterday and I was worried you were upset or something”
“No Lis I’m fine... I just slept in”
“Is that why you’re not at work? ‘Cos Matt already got someone to cover you, some kid called Zack. He said that you come back when you’re ready”
“Yeah, look can you tell Matt I’m sorry? Maybe was too soon to start work again, I’ll try and get back soon though”
“Of course, don’t worry about it. You come back when you’re ready, but Jack are you sure you’re okay?” Jack sat there with the phone in his hand debating what to say, no he was by no means okay. Alex Gaskarth was fucking dead but yet Jack could see him, if he told her he really would be crazy.
“Yeah Lis I’m okay” he sighed.
“Okay, I’ve got to get back to work but call me if you need anything yeah?”
“Course, bye Lisa”
“Bye” She cheered, always such a happy soul and the line went dead. Jack looked back at the laptop, the news report about Alex still on the screen. Scrolling down to see the picture of him at the bottom, the same messy burned caramel hair, the eyes of dark chocolate, the cheeky smile showing a dimple on his cheek. Another tear rolled down Jack’s cheek, this time not out of fear of his own madness but the fear of loss of his only friend.