Just to Hold You Close and Tight

The Good Lord had no mercy on me. I couldn’t begin to forget that Ray was in the hospital and concentrate on my schoolwork, because everyone was talking about it. The news had gotten around school that Ben had been in a car accident faster than I would have thought possible.

Nobody knew much about it, and nobody thought to ask me. I guessed they had forgotten that I had spent the last week with him. I was just that girl with the cast on her hand. Of course I didn’t say anything.

It was just another long day full of loneliness. Plus, I didn’t have Ray to help me when I got behind, not that he would ever really be able to again.

When I got to the hospital at four, there were a few people there to see Ray. Well, I guess they were really there to see Ben. I walked into his room, and there were two boys and a girl out age there.

He smiled brightly at me. “Amber!” he said. “This is Dan, Kevin, and Laura.” He pointed first to a dark haired boy, then to a slightly taller red-haired boy, and then to a tall blonde girl.

Dan and Kevin waved to me and I waved back, but Laura made a point not to look at me. I didn’t like her already.

“Dan, Kevin, Laura, this is Amber, my girlfriend,” Ray continued. Now Laura looked at me – no, glared at me – with her cold grey eyes.

I shivered; not because of the cold or because of the look on her face. No, it was because a dangerous thought occurred to me. Ray was in a human body now. Other people could see him. Other, prettier girls could see him. I wondered uneasily if Ray had only wanted me because I was the only person who could see him.

As if to rub it in my face, Laura sat on Ray’s bed next to him, smiling too sweetly at me. However, to my delight and her disappointment, he didn’t even glance at her. He continued looking at me.

“I slept today, like you wanted me to,” he said. I thought maybe he was trying to get Laura to realize that I had already been here.

I smiled apprehensively. “Good.”

“How was school?” he asked, directing his question only to me.

My smile faded. “It was horribly boring without you there.” I pouted. This was his chance to get Laura to back off. Could he take it?

“Aw, I’m sorry,” he said. He gestured for me to sit by him. “It wasn’t much fun here without you either.”

Once I was sitting down, he brought his hand up to stroke my cheek.

Laura got up and turned to Kevin and Dan, who were looking at us with disgusted looks.

“I have to go,” she told them.

“We just got here, and we drove together,” Kevin complained.

She shot him an angry look. “I know, but I have to get to volleyball practice. Come on.”

“Whatever,” Dan replied. “Bye, Ben. I hope you get better soon.”

We all said out goodbyes except for Laura, who stalked out of the room without even looking back. My eyes slid to Ray’s face.

He was looking at me warily. “Come on,” he said, “I saw the look on your face when Laura sat on my bed. Do you honestly think I’m that much of a pig? Do you doubt me that much?” He was very upset.

I opened my mouth to speak, closed it, and opened it again. “I’m sorry,” I finally whispered, looking down. “I just thought, for a second, that maybe you only liked me because I was the only person that could see you.”

He lifted my chin with a shaky hand, trying to force me to look at him. “Amber, there is no other girl that even compares to you. How can you distrust me like that?”

I shrugged, still refusing to look directly at his eyes. At that moment, Mrs. Moore opened the door. She froze when she saw that Ray was holding my face, and I blushed.

Mumbling a quiet, “Sorry to interrupt,” she turned around and left.

I couldn’t help but giggle. “Oops,” I said, and Ray’s hand fell from my chin. I was a little grateful. She had come at the perfect time.

Ray laughed too. “Okay, you got out of that one. But come on, you need to put a little more trust in me.”

I smiled sheepishly. “Okay. I’m sorry.”

The week passed very, very slowly. Other people came to visit Ben, but Laura never returned. I also blushed a little every time I saw Ben’s mom.

Each day I noticed that Ray changed ever so slightly. By Friday, his eyes were almost dark enough for other people to notice. His hair was a little darker, and it was also starting to look almost wavy. I even noticed that his skin was a little darker.

He was starting to heal. The small cuts and bruises were completely gone. He sat up more often, and he seemed to have more energy. I got my cast taken off on Wednesday, too.

Although my mood got worse and worse through the week, I tried to keep it from my parents. However, on Friday, I was actually happy. The weekend was coming.