“What do you want?” Michael whispered.
“I wanted to talk to you. You’ve been so engrossed in your personal melodrama that you’ve barely said a word to me all week.”
“My what?”
“Don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Michael told him, stepping down off the stool, which he collected in one hand. With the other hand, he pushed the cart full of books to be shelved down the aisle.
“You. Being all mopey since you came home from that party the other night.”
“Really? You’re bringing this up now?”
“Well whenever I tried to talk to you at home, you’d shrug it off and tell me everything was fine.”
“Everything is fine.”
“Right. Because it’s totally normal for guys to spend their weekends watching the entire Pride and Prejudice miniseries.”
“When did I watch Pride and Prejudice?” Michael asked.
“Sunday morning and then again on Sunday evening because, God bless A&E, they decided to show it twice.” Brink scowled at his friend, as though it was his fault he’d been forced to sit through twelve hours of girly television. Which, in hindsight, it kind of was, but still. “You were so distracted that you didn’t even realize what was on. I wanted to change the channel but you know, kinda need a body for that.”
“I thought you finally got the hang of that.”
“It comes and goes. Don’t change the subject. What’s bothering you?”
“Nothing.”
“I’m going to possess the librarian if you don‘t tell me.”
“Go ahead. I’m sure a ghost who can’t figure out how to work a television will have no problem with a full blown possession.”
“That hurts, bro. But seriously, does this have to do with Cute Neighbor Girl?”
“No,” Michael lied, taking a stack of books and placing them back onto the shelf.
“So you had nothing to do with that gnarly black eye she’s rocking?”
“How did you - oh no. Brink, please tell me - ”
“Who’s he talking to?” a small voice behind him whispered.
“I don’t know.”
Michael turned to see two small girls staring at him from one of the kiddie tables. He averted his gaze and pushed his cart around a corner and out of their line of vision.
“See? This is why I tell you not to bother me at work.”
“Oh, like anyone will believe what those kids have to say.”
“Brink. Did you spy on Kate and Gavin?”
“Yes,” Brink answered shamelessly. “What’s the big deal? I spy on all our neighbors.”
“Well... don’t.”
“Why not? They can’t see me. Besides, how is spying any worse than spending God knows how long Googling her?” He had a point. Not that Michael would ever admit it.
“That was different.”
“Right,” Brink deadpanned. “Well in that case, I guess I’ll just go. I was going to tell you that she seems just as miserable as you are and maybe you should call her or something, but I’m sure you don’t want to hear it. You know, since spying is so wrong and everything.”
“Wait a minute.” Michael turned to look at his friend.
“Yes?” Brink smirked. Michael knew he was playing right into his hand, but for once, he didn’t care.
“You think she’s upset because of me?” he asked. Brink nodded. “Why?”
“Let’s review, shall we? Cute Girl Next Door invites you to a party. Although you don’t want to admit it, you like this girl, so you go to the party like the sap you are. There, you inevitably make a fool of yourself, accidentally give her a black eye, and knowing you, run off in order to avoid any sort of confrontation that might involve actual feelings. On top of all of that, you make no attempt whatsoever to contact her in the days that follow. That’s a lot of mixed signals on your end, especially if she likes you too.” Brink had tried to offer Michael dating advice in the past, but it was usually something juvenile, like “Pretend you’re not really into her. Chicks love that.” He was also usually wrong. This time, however, he sort of made sense.
“You think I hurt her feelings?” Michael asked.
“I think you’re afraid of getting close to people and because of that, yeah, you end up hurting them. Especially when they have no idea why you’re pushing them away.”
“But it’s for the best,” Michael told him.
“For them or for you?” Brink countered. “I think you underestimate people. I mean, yeah, if you’d come up to me while I was alive and told me you could talk to ghosts, I’d have thought you were a little crazy. But if you could prove it, man, I’d have thought that was so cool.”
“You still think that your cartilage piercing is cool,” Michael countered.
“It is not my fault that you can’t appreciate my sublime fashion sense. I’m just trying to help you out. You know, you might not have the greatest people skills and your hair could use a trim, but you’re a good guy. You deserve some happiness. You just need to learn to trust.” Michael was fully prepared to argue that trust wasn’t the issue when Barb poked her head around the corner of the shelf.
“Michael dear, after you’ve finished, I need you to fetch a box or two from downstairs,” she told him.
“Okay,” Michael replied. Barb smiled at him and shuffled back to the help desk. Michael glanced back to where Brink had been standing, only to be met with shelves of dusty books. His friend was nowhere to be seen.
Chapter 6
It was only Wednesday, but the way the week was dragging, Kate felt she should already be well into the following Monday. Work wasn’t going well. Their most recent client, a woman who had hired Val and her team to decorate her house for an anniversary party, was an absolute pain. Her requests for her house had been very specific, but after Val, Kate, and a few other members of the team had spent a substantial amount of time and money meeting her numerous demands, she’d changed her mind and refused to pay Val extra for her troubles or the wasted materials.
On top of that, Gavin’s health had been on a steady decline ever since Friday night. Kate blamed herself. If the party hadn’t been overexertion, then her waking him up in the middle of the night so he could investigate some imaginary presence had certainly done the trick. They’d spent Sunday afternoon with their parents, but Gavin had been so ill and exhausted that Kate hadn’t seen much of him since.
With all of that, she shouldn’t have had the time or energy to think about how Michael had made no attempt to contact her at all. She told herself that she was being irrational, that she had no reason to expect him to contact her. It wasn’t like they were dating or anything, but she hoped he at least considered her a friend. And wouldn’t a friend have texted her to ask how she was feeling after being pummeled in the face with a volleyball?
Feeling drained and bitter, she pulled into her driveway and turned off her car. She probably should have gone to the grocery store, but she simply wasn’t in the mood. Climbing out of her car, she was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she almost missed the young woman storming out of the apartment directly below hers.
“I don’t care, Billy! I’m telling you, I’ve had it with this apartment!” With an exasperated groan, she slammed the door behind her and began rummaging through her purse. She pulled out her sunglasses and turned her eyes forward. Only then did she notice Kate. “Oh, hello.”
“Hi,” Kate replied, feeling awkward for having been caught eavesdropping.
“You don’t look familiar. Did you just move in?”
“Yeah. About two weeks ago.”
“Well do yourself a favor and don’t renew your lease. I’ve only lived here for four months and let me tell you, it’s been a nightmare.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“You haven’t noticed?” Kate shook her head. “Well I guess you really haven’t been here that long. I’m gues
sing you work during the day?”
“Yes. But my brother’s taking some time off, so he’s been here.”
“Well, he must be pretty unobservant if he hasn’t said anything to you. This building is cursed.”
“Cursed? How so?”
“I have not lived here one day where something hasn’t gone wrong. The lights flicker, the thermostat never works, I have problems with my television, and now, I’m getting absolutely no cell phone reception.” Kate was surprised. She hadn’t encountered any such problems.
“Have you reported all of this to management?”
“Of course, but every time they come by to inspect, they tell us that there’s nothing wrong.”
Sounds familiar, Kate mused. She may not have had the technical difficulties her new neighbor described, but something was definitely not right with Gavin. Of course, that had been going on since before they’d even discovered the Riverview Apartment Complex.
“What do you think it could be?”
“I told you. The building is cursed. Neighbors across the hall warned us before we moved in and we didn’t listen. And you know, it’s more than just the technical stuff.”
“What do you mean?”
“Strange things happen here,” the woman told her in a hushed voice, almost like she was trying to avoid being overheard. “Objects will disappear and turn up days later in spots you’d never think to look. Just last week I thought I’d misplaced my curling iron. I found it inside our china cabinet. Or you’ll hear noises, unexplained things like someone tapping on walls even though you’re alone in the apartment, or footsteps pacing around an empty room.” As she spoke, Kate felt shivers run down her spine. “You’ve heard them, haven’t you?”
“I thought I was just imagining them,” Kate confessed. “My brother thinks I’m crazy. We even had a fight about it.”
“My husband has heard them, but he doesn’t want to believe it. Men are kind of funny about things that can’t be rationally explained. It makes their feeble little minds short circuit.” Kate laughed.
“I guess that’s why Michael never said anything about the building being cursed.”
“Who?” the woman asked.
“Michael Sinclair. He lives across the hall from me in 1723.”
The woman’s eyes widened with surprise. “You actually talked to him?”
“Yeah. He’s a really nice guy.”
“He didn’t seem... off to you?”
Off? Kate wondered. Perhaps in the sense that one minute, he acted like he liked her and the next, he was out the door. But he’d never struck her as strange.
“No. Not at all,” she replied. “Why do you ask?” The woman shrugged.
“I don’t know. He’s always sort of kept to himself. And, well...”
“What?”
“Look, I know he’s your friend, but there have been rumors about him.” Kate’s mind spun with curiosity.
“Like what?” she asked.
“Like he may be behind the strange things that happen in this building.”
“Michael?” Kate asked, incredulous. “How? That’s impossible.”
“I don’t know. All I know is that according to Mrs. Riggs, out of all the tenants in this building, he’s the only one who never reports anything suspicious.”
“And because of that, she thinks he’s the cause of it?”
“It’s not just that. The building wasn’t always cursed. Apparently all of this started about five years ago, right after he moved in.”
“It just doesn’t make sense,” Kate said, glancing upstairs at Michael’s front door. “Michael’s just a nice, normal guy. How could he be responsible for power failures?” Maybe he had a lot of gaming systems. She hoped not. She’d known guys in high school who would spend so much time in front of their video game consoles that they’d forget to bathe.
“I don’t know. All I know is that I am out of here as soon as our lease is up. And I’d encourage you to do the same, uh...”
“Kate.” She held out her hand, feeling foolish for not introducing herself sooner.
“Elise,” her neighbor replied, shaking her hand. “I’m sorry we didn’t meet under more positive circumstances.”
“That’s alright. It fits right into the theme of how this week is going so far,” Kate replied dryly. Elise actually grinned.
“Well, I wish you luck. I’m off to gripe at management, yet again.”
“In that case, good luck to you too.”
“And listen, I’m not trying to ruin your friendship or tell you what to do, but be careful around that guy upstairs. He’s probably nice and normal like you say, but better safe than sorry,” Elise advised.
“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind,” Kate answered half-heartedly as Elise turned her heel and walked briskly in the direction of the complex offices. Kate, in turn, began her trek upstairs to her apartment.
She didn’t want to believe anything negative she heard about Michael. Then again, the more she thought about it, the more she realized how little she actually knew about him. He hadn’t told her anything about his personal life, claiming that there wasn’t much to tell. But even if he was a little socially awkward, how could he possibly be responsible for all the things Elise had mentioned? The mysterious footsteps for instance.
It was comforting to know that someone else had heard them too. It should have been even more comforting to know that whatever was up in her apartment had come with the building.
Except it hadn’t. Not in their case, anyway. The building might have been cursed, but whatever was with them in that apartment had followed them there. And she had a horrible feeling that it intended to stay.
~*~
“So Kate, listen, I was wondering... Kate, hi. Your face looks a lot better... Hey, sorry I haven’t called. It’s been hectic at... the library...” As lame as the words sounded inside his head, it was nothing compared to how pathetic they all sounded out loud. Now as Michael climbed the stairs to his and Kate’s apartments, he had no idea what he was supposed to say. He still wasn’t completely sold on the idea of speaking to her at all, really.
He had spent the whole of the afternoon thinking about what Brink had said and misplacing books on the shelves as a result. He’d had to go back and check to make sure they were all catalogued properly at least half a dozen times. It was true that he had been a little distracted ever since the night of Gavin’s birthday party. Well technically, ever since Kate and Gavin moved in across the hall, but he wouldn’t say he’d been moping. The entire situation was more confusing to him than anything. Why couldn’t he just get Kate Avery out of his mind?
Because, Brink’s voice answered inside his mind, you like her. No matter how much you want to deny it.
It was true. He’d love to be able to say he didn’t have feelings for Kate, that she was just another neighbor to him, friendly in passing, but not much more. But he did, and she wasn’t. She was bright, funny, understanding, and compassionate, if perhaps a little overprotective. It was hard to imagine anyone not liking her.
Maybe that’s why the ghost had been hanging around them so long, he thought with a wry grin as he crossed the landing to her apartment.
Still unsure of what he was going to say, he took a deep breath and knocked on the door. He stood there for what seemed like a century, tapping his fingers nervously against his leg. Finally, he heard footsteps approaching the front door. Seconds later, the latch on the lock clicked and the door creaked open.
Maybe it was because he was nervous, or because he was finally willing to acknowledge his feelings, but somehow, Kate looked prettier than he remembered, even in spite of the slight bruising that lingered where the volleyball had struck her. Her hair was pulled up in a loose bun with a few stray strands falling into her eyes and she was dressed in a white blouse and yellow skirt. Her eyes, however, seemed more reserved than usual. Maybe she’d had a long week too.
“Uh, hey,” Michael offered. “How’s it going?”
“Okay,” she replied, sounding like she wondered if he’d really shown up just to make small talk. “How’s it going with you?”
“Um, not bad. Life at the library is, you know, kind of hectic.” Stupid! he scolded himself. Kate didn’t seem to notice.
“Yeah, we’ve been pretty busy too.” Her answer was casual enough, but Michael knew he wasn’t imagining the distance in her voice. Maybe Brink was right. Maybe he had hurt her feelings.
“Well listen, if you’re not doing anything, and um, if you want to, I was wondering if you wanted to go out tonight? Maybe get something to eat?” God, he really needed lessons on how to talk to girls.
“Oh, Michael, that sounds like fun but I probably need to stay in tonight. Val has me perusing the Internet for some fancy antique candelabra for the lady whose house we’re decorating. Maybe some other time?” Michael wasn’t sure if she meant it or not. She sounded sincere, but he had dated enough to know that maybe some other time often translated to thanks, but no thanks.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Michael told her, trying his best to sound nonchalant. “Well uh, good luck tonight.”
“Thanks. I’ll need it,” Kate replied with a small smile. “Bye.”
“Bye,” Michael murmured as Kate shut the door. Feeling like a total idiot, he turned and walked back to his own apartment.
~*~
“Who was at the door?” Gavin asked, emerging from his bedroom with tousled hair and dark circles under his eyes.
“Michael,” Kate replied without tearing her eyes away from her laptop. It was somewhat true what she’d told him. She really did plan on spending the rest of the evening doing research on the Internet. However, it had nothing to do with Valerie or their fickle customer and her stupid antiques. Meanwhile, Gavin meandered into the kitchen and pulled the milk out of the refrigerator.
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