“Yeah,” he replied shortly, without meeting her eye.
“Oh my God! What did she look like? Was she in a wedding dress?”
“She looked angry,” Michael answered. “And yeah, she was in her dress.”
“Wow! I wish you’d said something!”
“Trust me Kate, it’s a miracle you’re getting this much out of him,” Luke remarked from the driver’s seat.
“What do you mean?”
“Luke...” Michael cast him a warning glare.
“Mikey can see ghosts. He’s been seeing them his entire life, but this is the first time he’s willingly broached the subject. Around me, anyway.”
“What are you talking about?” Kate asked. Did Luke really expect her to believe that Michael was some sort of medium or something?
“Nothing,” Michael insisted, but Kate got the feeling that he was talking more to Luke than to her.
“You know Mikey, I think you’re full of it. I think that if you didn’t want her to know, you’d have tried a little harder to stop me. Hell, if you really didn’t want her to know, you wouldn’t have agreed to come along tonight. But I can’t blame you. It must be a real nuisance, trying to keep something like a sixth sense a secret for twenty-seven years. I bet you even feel a little relieved right now, even though you’ll never admit it.”
“You can’t be serious,” Kate said. Michael turned to look at her, almost like he’d forgotten she was there.
“Why?” Luke asked.
“Because it’s - ”
“What? Impossible?” Luke interrupted. “This coming from the girl with the ghost smashing cameras in her living room?” He had her there. Still, she wasn’t quite convinced. She’d had a friend in high school who had sworn up and down that she could see and communicate with spirits, but in the end, she’d been all talk. But then, Michael had never said anything at all. He would have had to say something if all he wanted was attention. She looked back to Michael.
“Can you?” she asked. He looked like the last thing he wanted was to answer her question. That was enough. “How?”
“I don’t know,” Michael replied. “They’ve just always been there.”
“Do you talk to them? Are you like those mediums on TV who stop people on the street to tell them that their dead aunt has a message for them?”
“I’m pretty sure some of those shows are scripted,” Luke commented.
“Is that how you guys became friends?” Kate asked. “You found out about the ghosts?”
“Not exactly. But it is the reason I’ve been trying to get him on the show for the past two years,” Luke replied.
“That’s what I don’t understand. You don’t need me on your show. It’s already what, the second highest rated ghost show on television?” Michael asked.
“It has nothing to do with ratings, Mikey. Don’t you get it? If all I cared about were ratings, I wouldn’t be giving you the time of day. I’d be off celebrating my success, partying it up on the west coast with a bunch of Victoria’s Secret models.”
“What do you care about?” Kate asked.
“Credibility,” Luke answered. “When we started investigating haunted locations, we weren’t trying to get rich or famous. We were trying to prove that life does not end with death, that there are still things that we can’t explain. That’s all we’ve ever wanted. Now with the show, some people watch and believe and that’s great. But if you read reviews, most critics out there believe it’s all a hoax. They think we’re just a bunch of dumb kids playing it up for the camera.”
“They’re critics. Isn’t that their job?” Michael asked.
“If it was just them, then it wouldn’t bother me. But no one outside of our fan base takes us seriously. Hell, half the people who like the show don’t take us seriously. Have you read some of the articles written about me? Luke Rainer: Television’s Fallen Angel. Luke Rainer: The Spectral Sex Symbol. They’ve made me out to be a caricature of myself. Instead of a legitimate paranormal investigator, I’ve become some sort of weird fetish.”
Listening to him made Kate realize just how much she’d objectified him. Yeah, she enjoyed watching Cemetery Tours for the ghosts, but a huge part of its appeal was its sexy lead investigator.
“That’s why I’ve been trying so hard to get you on the show,” Luke continued. “I thought it might make people see us a little differently. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about the success we’ve had. It’s more than I could have ever hoped for and I thank God for it every day. It’s just frustrating when you realize that your passion is regarded by so many as nothing but cheap entertainment.”
For a moment, neither Kate nor Michael spoke. Kate never would have guessed he felt that way. She’d seen every episode of Cemetery Tours. Luke always seemed to be having the time of his life, but he never struck her as anything less than professional. He could be a little goofy at times, but he was a guy. To her, that made the show worth watching. She’d tried watching other ghost hunting shows and the way they took themselves so seriously just made the whole thing seem boring. Luke and his friends always seemed so into what they were doing, which drew viewers in as well. At least, that‘s how she’d always felt.
“I’m sorry, Luke,” she said.
“Don’t be sorry. The last thing I want is for any of my fans to think I don’t appreciate them. Especially any fans whom I consider friends.” He flashed a quick grin back at her. “I do probably owe you an apology though.”
“Why?”
“I sort of took advantage of you. I knew that Mikey liked you and that he wouldn’t be able to say no if you asked him to come tonight.” Kate blushed as she glanced over at Michael, who looked like he couldn’t believe the words that were tumbling out of Luke’s mouth.
“You know, anytime you want to shut up would be great.” He tried to sound like he was making light of the situation, but to Kate, he seemed about ready to jump out of the car and hitchhike his way home.
“Fine, I’m done,” Luke conceded. “But for the record, as of December, we are the highest rated paranormal show on television.”
~*~
An awkward forty five minutes later, they pulled into the Riverview Apartment Complex, where Luke dropped Kate and Michael off in front of Building 17. It wasn’t until after they’d watched his taillights disappear into the darkness that Kate finally spoke.
“Interesting night, huh?” she asked as they climbed the flight of stairs up to their apartments. Kate moved a little slower than usual due to her injured knee.
“That’s one word for it,” Michael agreed. Once they reached the top, he pulled his keys out of his pocket, preparing to make a mad dash for his front door. “So uh, I guess I’ll see you around.”
“Hold up.” Kate grabbed his arm. “Did you really think you were getting off the hook that easily?”
“I was sort of hoping,” Michael admitted. Kate shook her head.
“Not a chance.”
Michael sighed. He knew he owed it to her. Besides, thanks to Luke Rainer, he really had nothing left to hide.
“Would you like to come in?” he asked. Kate glanced around at his front door.
“Is there a ghost in there?”
“Yeah. But he’s friendly.”
“What’s his name?”
“Brink.”
“Brink?”
“His real name is Eugene Brinkley but he’ll throw a temper tantrum if you call him that,” Michael told her as he unlocked his door. Glancing around the apartment, he wished he’d taken the time to tidy up. It wasn’t as horrible as it could have been, but with the wastebasket full of clean clothes waiting to be folded, the shoes kicked aimlessly to the side, and his laptop still sitting on the couch where he’d left it, it could have been a lot better. “Sorry it’s so messy in here,” he apologized.
“Woah!” Brink appeared suddenly, gawking at Kate. “There’s a girl here!”
“Michael, I live with my brother. My apartment is always messy
,” Kate reminded him.
“What is she doing here? Is this a hook-up?”
“What? No!” Michael cried. Kate looked alarmed.
“No what?” she asked.
“Sorry, not you.” Michael apologized. Brink was visibly confused.
“Wait, did you tell her?”
“Oh, Brink?” Kate asked at the same time. Brink stared at Kate like she’d just sprouted a second head.
“She knows my name? How did this happen? Did you mean to tell her? How did she react?”
“Yeah, he’s here,” Michael told Kate. “But he just said that he would clear out to give us some privacy.”
“Yeah, yeah, get lost. I get it. But she’s really okay with it? Does that mean you guys are dating? Is she gong to be here a lot now? Did you tell her about that guy in her apartment yet?”
“Brink...” Michael cast him a warning glance.
“One more thing. Can you ask her to say my name again? It’s been so long since I’ve heard a cute girl say it - ”
“No. Get out,” Michael cut him off.
“You know, I’m still going to listen in - ”
“Out!”
Brink heaved a dramatic sigh, but finally disappeared. Meanwhile, Michael could feel Kate’s curious eyes watching him. He looked at her and was relieved to see she was smiling.
“Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine,” she said.
“Not weird?”
“It’s a little weird,” Kate acknowledged, taking a seat on the couch. “I mean, of all the things that guys don’t tell you in the beginning, having a ghost for a roommate is one you really don’t expect.” Michael grinned, thankful that she was trying her best to act nonchalant. He sat down next to her. “Do they scare you?”
“No,” Michael replied. “They startle me from time to time, but they’re not at all the way horror films would have you believe.”
“So is that the reason this building is cursed? Because you have all these ghosts following you around?”
“Pretty much.”
“Why don’t you talk to them? Try to help them move on?” Michael took a deep breath.
“That’s... a really long story,” he told her.
“I’ve got time if you do.”
Michael remained silent for a moment, trying to organize his thoughts. Although Brink had heard bits and pieces over the years, Michael had never told anyone the whole tale. Truth be told, he wasn’t quite sure where to begin.
“There are a lot of reasons I don’t talk to them anymore, and most of them are the same reasons I’ve never told anyone that I see them. The first and I guess the most obvious reason is that I didn’t think people would believe me. Or worse, they’d think I was crazy, or making it all up to get attention. I didn’t want any of that. I wanted people to think that I was normal, that I was just like everybody else.”
“That’s funny,” Kate remarked, looking pensive.
“Why?”
“Well, most people would say that they don’t want to be normal. They want to stand out. So the fact that you wanted to be like everyone else, in a strange way, kind of sets you apart.”
“Huh. Never really thought of that,” Michael murmured.
“Don’t worry, it’s a good thing,” Kate smiled.
“Maybe. But when you’re a kid, you’ll do pretty much anything to be accepted, or at least to not have people look at you like a freak.”
“Is that what happened to you?”
“Not as much as you’d think. Mostly, they just avoided me. It was like they knew there was something weird, but they couldn’t pinpoint it,” he explained. “The second reason, the personal one, was my brother, Jonathan.”
“I didn’t know you had a brother,” Kate said.
“He was a few years older than me, but he had a lot of problems; depression, bipolar-disorder, schizophrenia, you name it. By the time I was old enough to realize that no one else could see all the extra people living in our house, my dad had already left. I saw what Jonathan’s disease did to my family. I tried so hard to be normal for my mother, to give her some sense of stability. She didn’t need another son hearing voices that no one else could hear.”
Kate’s expression grew somber while she waited silently for him to continue.
“Against my better judgment, I did try to help some of the spirits I encountered. There was one who wanted me to deliver a message to her five-year-old daughter, another who wanted me to tell his wife where she’d be able to find the pearl earrings he’d been planning on giving her for her birthday.
“Then, during my senior year of high school, a guy followed me home from school. He’d been murdered in the alley behind his house and he told me that he was going to terrorize my family unless I helped him. So I started investigating. I stopped by the library almost every day after school to research it. He told me it wasn’t enough. Finally, I decided to take a trip to the neighborhood where he’d been killed. Dumbest thing I’ve ever done.”
“What happened?”
“It turned out that he wasn’t the only guy killed in that neighborhood, so the local police had asked for FBI assistance in the case. They’d profiled that the suspect would return to the scene to try to relive his crime. When they caught me sneaking around in the dead of night...”
“They thought it was you,” Kate concluded.
“That was the absolute worst night of my life. The look on my mother’s face when she arrived at the station to take me home... I’ll never forget it. She looked so tired and confused. To this day, I’ve never felt as guilty as I did on that night.”
“Did that guy finally leave you alone after that?”
“Not until they caught the real killer about a week later.”
“My God...” Kate breathed. “I can’t even imagine. That must have been so hard for you.”
“It wasn’t fun,” Michael conceded.
“But you never thought that telling someone may have made things easier? What about your mother?”
“There were times I got real close to telling her, but something always held me back. Then, the summer after my freshmen year of college, Jonathan got a lot worse. He started neglecting his meds and he cut off all contact with us.” Kate seemed to know where the story was going.
“Oh no...” she muttered.
“We got the phone call right before I began my sophomore year. My mother was devastated. And of course, she blamed herself for everything. She should have gotten him better help, she should have tried harder, she should never have let him out of her sight...”
“Oh Michael, I’m sorry,” Kate whispered, tears pooling in her pretty eyes. “I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that.”
“I am too. But sometimes things happen. You can’t really control it.”
“Can I ask you something else?”
“Sure.”
“After all that happened, why didn’t you tell your mother then? Maybe it would have brought her some peace.” Michael shook his head.
“It would have done the exact opposite.”
“Why?”
“Because I never saw him. After he died, my mother was terrified that because he’d committed suicide, his soul might not be saved. If I’d told her then that I could see the spirit of everyone she’d ever loved except for him... I just don’t know what that would have done to her.”
“You don’t believe that, do you? That he would be damned because he killed himself?”
“No. I think the reason he moved on so quickly is because he chose to die. It was what he wanted. He had nothing left on Earth to stick around for, no unfinished business.”
“I think that makes a lot of sense,” Kate told him. Just then, the clock on the wall chimed three times, marking a quarter till two. Kate sighed. “I hope Gavin didn’t wait up for me. He’ll be pitching a fit wondering where the hell I’ve been.” Her face suddenly broke into a wry grin. “At least he trusts you more than Luke.”
“I’ll walk you b
ack,” Michael offered.
They walked the few meters to Kate’s door in a comfortable silence. When they reached her apartment, she stopped and looked at him.
“You know Michael, I’m really glad you told me,” Kate said.
“I am too,” Michael replied. And he was. As much as he hated to admit that Luke had been right about something, he did feel that a huge weight had just been lifted off his shoulders.
“I do have one more question though.”
“Okay.”
“Do you want to go out with me? Maybe tomorrow around lunch time?”
For a moment, Michael’s mind went blank. The next thing he knew, he was tripping over his words, trying and failing to come up with a simple “Sure, I’d love to,” or “That sounds great.” But Kate seemed to understand what he was trying to say. With a coy smile, she took a step toward him, rose up on her tiptoes, and kissed him swiftly on the mouth.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Then, with one last grin, she opened the door and disappeared into her apartment.
Chapter 15
There was music playing. Kate knew she’d heard the song before, but for some reason, she couldn’t name the title or the artist. It was a catchy tune, lively and upbeat, exactly the kind of song she enjoyed listening to in the car.
Then suddenly, the music stopped. Everything stopped. With a flash of light and the screech of skidding tires, Kate felt the very air being sucked away from her lungs as her head struck something cold and metallic.
The next thing she knew, she was standing on the side of a road, watching snow fall in flurries around her. In the distance, she saw the flashing lights of a firetruck, or maybe an ambulance, gathered around a tall tree. She was too far away to make out what was happening, but she knew from the approaching wail of yet another siren, it wasn’t good.
Where was she, exactly? Wherever it was, it was very bright. And very cold.
Or at least, it should have been cold. With nothing but snow as far as the eye could see, she should have been freezing. But she wasn’t. She wasn’t warm either. She simply felt... nothing.
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