Chapter Eight
Zak and I met Nick, Aaron, Billy, and Jay in the dining room of the hotel, where Billy and Jay were finishing their breakfast. We sat and talked for a while, and we all decided that we would all do our own thing until lunch, and then we'd meet up somewhere for lunch and put the final touches on our plans for the night, before going to Bobby Mackey's. So Aaron and Nick decided to go for a walk around town, Billy and Jay took the guys' van and went to look at video games, and Zak and I went back up to my room. We had about three and-a-half hours before until lunch (we decided to eat lunch at 2:30, since we'd all had a late breakfast), so Zak and I decided to fire up my laptop and watch a few episodes of Ghost Adventures. Zak let me pick which ones we watched. We had time for about five episodes, so I picked some of my favorites: Eastern State Penitentiary, Lizzie Borden House, Gettysburg, Linda Vista, and Market Street Cinema. "That's an interesting selection Andrea!" Zak said as I created a playlist on You Tube. "Yeah I know." I replied. "These are some of my favorite episodes, though." Zak nodded and wrapped his arms more firmly around me. We were sitting on my bed, and I was sitting on Zak's lap. We were cuddling, and he was kissing my hair and playing with it. I was holding his hand, perfectly relaxed against his chest. I loved how well our bodies fit together like this. It was like we were made for each other… "So have you visited any of the places where we've investigated?" Zak asked as the first episode started, dragging me out of my thoughts. I nodded. "Yeah. In fact, my friends and I went to Eastern State. My family was on our way home from New York, and my mom and I wanted to stop in Philadelphia and spend a day. So I arranged for the girls to meet us there, and we all went on a guided tour of the prison. It was really fascinating, and we all really enjoyed ourselves!" "Did you guys go to Death Row and Al Capone's Cell and the Mad Chair?" I grinned and nodded. "Of course! We made sure we got to see those places specifically, and I got plenty of pictures too. And in fact, my friend Penelope – she's a fan of Aaron who I think you guys met while you were there – works there as a tour guide. It's pretty cool!" "I remember Penelope. She told us a lot about her experiences there, although she requested not to be filmed. Did any of you experience anything while you were there?" "Um… Nothing in particular. The only thing out of the ordinary that I felt was that, when we were in the cellblocks, I sometimes felt very claustrophobic. And that rarely happens to me. And I think all of my friends and I – except for Penelope – felt somewhat claustrophobic when we went into one of the cells. But, no, we didn't experience anything paranormal." "Aside from what she's told us, has Penelope had any other experiences at Eastern State? I mean, major things that she talks about a lot?" I shook my head. "No. When you guys interviewed her there the first time, she told you all of the major things. She's had similar things happen to her, and she has similar things happen to her there every day, but nothing too major." "Well, she obviously believes in ghosts and the paranormal. What about your other friends? Do they believe in ghosts too?" I nodded. "Yeah. Well, all of the ones who watch Ghost Adventures do. And my friend, Madison – who I called 'Madi' – did…" "What do you mean she 'did'?" Zak asked. "She doesn't anymore?" I didn't say anything for several seconds. I knew what I needed to say, but I didn't know how to say it. Talking about Madi was so hard for me because I still missed her so much… But finally I managed to whisper, "Madi, as far as I know, believe in ghosts up until the very end of her life. She was a big fan of your show too. She died last April… She had had Leukemia for ten months…" Tears filled my eyes when I talked about Madi's death, as they always did. Zak was silent for about a minute. I don't think he quite knew what to say. But finally he hugged me tightly and said, "I'm sorry Andrea. I'm so, so sorry…" I cuddled close to Zak and cried into his chest. "She died on April nineteenth." I whispered. "She was only sixteen years old. She was the one who's dad looks like Billy…" Zak reached over and paused the episode, and then he gently stroked my hair as I cried. "I'm sorry Andrea." he whispered over and over. "I'm so, so sorry." It took me a couple of minutes to calm down again, but, once I had, I gave Zak a big hug and he hugged me back tightly. "Thanks Zak." I whispered, giving him a gentle kiss. He kissed me back and said, "No problem." Zak held me close as he hit play and started the episode again. "So you believe in ghosts too?" he asked, looking at me as he gently played with my hair. I nodded. "I do. I always have. And I've had about four encounters with the paranormal in the past month or so." "Really!?" Zak asked, his eyes lighting up with childlike excitement. I slowly nodded. "Yes." I said quietly. "I've been to Madi's grave four times already, and every time I've been there I've felt her presence and heard her voice in the back of my head telling me various things… I definitely believe in the paranormal now, because of her…" Zak and I were both quiet for a couple of minutes, just watching the episode on my laptop. Finally Zak said, "Madi still loves you and cares about you. And she's still reaching out to you from beyond the grave." I nodded, too choked up to speak. I felt an overwhelming sense of loss as I sat there on my bed with Zak, thinking about Madi and how much I missed her. Zak could see the tears forming in my eyes, and he hugged me close to him, completely enveloping me in his warm, strong embrace. I held onto him as I let go and let wave after wave of heart-wrenching grief wash over me. I sobbed into his chest, wetting his black t-shirt with my tears. Zak held on to me tightly, just holding me and stroking my hair. Eastern State Penitentiary finished as we laid there, and the playlist moved straight to Lizzie Borden House. Zak wiped away my tears as they fell. I felt safe in his arms, like I could completely open up to him and grieve over the loss of my best friend without being afraid of him judging me. Zak was such a good person. As I laid there beside him, my head against his heart and my tears flowing freely, I remembered why I had developed a crush on Zak in the first place. I'd seen almost every episode of Ghost Adventures, I'd watched countless interviews with Zak, and I'd read other fans' accounts of meeting Zak, and I'd always noticed one thing about him: he was kind to everyone he met and he was a real sweetheart. He hated people – and entities – that were cruel to people just because they could be. That was why he provoked all of the mean and Demonic entities that he encountered. He was sensitive to other people's emotions, and he was gentle with the people they interviewed. Several of the people that they interviewed for their lockdowns had emotional connections to the buildings they investigated, or to the spirits that resided in those buildings (or sometimes both). And sometimes those people had emotional moments when they were being interviewed, and they would break down and cry. Whenever the guys encountered someone who broke down like that – especially if it was a woman – Zak would do everything he could to comfort her. He was definitely a Ladies' Man, in the sense that he cared about all women and was a gentleman to them. He was like that with the spirits he encountered too. The kind, innocent ones anyway. But especially the ones that were sad, scared, or didn't know that they had passed on. Zak was kind and sensitive to people in general. And that was the main reason that I loved him so much. His sensitivity was definitely showing through right now, and it had been showing since the moment I'd turned around in the parking lot at Bobby Mackey's and came face-to-face with him for the first time. It took me several minutes to calm down again, but, once I had, I went quiet in Zak's arms. "Are you okay?" he asked gently, breaking through my thoughts. I nodded and smiled weakly. "Yeah, I'm fine. I still miss her, but I'm okay." Zak nodded and hugged me closer to his chest. I rested my head against the warm, soft skin of his neck, and I could feel the pulse in his neck. I closed my eyes and relaxed against his chest, feeling very sleepy. "Are you gonna take a nap, love?" Zak asked gently, chuckling softly. I smiled and shrugged. "Maybe. Why?" Zak shrugged. "You just look sleepy." "I am." Zak gently kissed the top of my head and said, "Well, if you do fall asleep, you should know that you'll fall asleep in my arms, and you'll wake up in my arms." I smiled and softly kissed his neck. "That's comforting Zak." I said quietly. "It really is." "I'm glad." Zak whispered. We were quiet for several seconds, and then Zak whispered, "Before last night, had you ever fallen asleep in a guy's arms before?" I shook my head. "No. You were the first." I smiled at Zak and he smiled back at me. "I'm glad I was the first." he whispered, kissing me softly. "Me too." I whispered back. Zak gently stroked my face and hair and held me close to him. My head was resting against his left shoulder, and I was reaching up to run my fingers through his hair. His blue eyes were bright as he looked down at me. "Your eyes are really pretty." I said quietly. Zak smiled at me and said, "Your eyes are really pretty too. I love your eyes!" "I love people's eyes in general. Not only do I think they're beautiful, but I think looking at someone's eyes can tell a lot about them." "'The eyes are the windows to the soul.'" Zak quoted. I nodded. "Exactly." Zak wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and held me as close to him as he could. I put my arms around his neck and held onto him. "You're so warm Zak." I whispered, closing my eyes and burying my head in his neck. "And you're soft." Zak whispered back, pulling my hair back over my right shoulder, exposing my neck. I let out a small gasp when he moved in and started kissing my neck. I'd always enjoyed having my neck kissed, and this felt wonderful! Zak knew just where to kiss me to make it feel good. He let his lips stay right below my ear, where I was the most sensitive. He nudged the top of my ear with his nose, and his hot breath felt like Heaven against my skin. He started rubbing my back as he continued kissing me, and I ran my fingers over and over through his hair. "I love you." he whispered. "I love you." "I love you too Zak." I whispered back. "I love you so much." Zak gave me one last kiss before pulling away and looking ne full in the face. "No matter what happens tonight," he whispered. "I want you to know that I love you, and nothing on Earth, in Heaven… or in Hell… is ever going to change that!" I shivered slightly, knowing he was talking about whatever we would face at Bobby Mackey's that night. But then I kissed him passionately and said, "I feel the exact same way." I believed that I loved Zak, and I believed that Zak loved me, and I somehow knew, although I didn't know how I knew, that our love would be put to the ultimate test that night.