Chapter 2
T rue Music’s assistant manager, Quinn Jones, stood behind the counter when Nathan entered the store. Surprised, he said, “You’re here early.”
Nathan grimaced. “Professor Johns threw me out of his class.”
Quinn knew his dislike for the man and shook his head. “For what?”
“For telling him to shut up,” Nathan lied. He couldn’t exactly tell him the truth.
Quinn started laughing and came over to slap him on the back. “Way to go, Bryant! Bastard probably deserved it.”
Smiling slightly, Nathan shrugged. He had deserved it. “He told me the assignment I spent two weeks working on was high school quality and he gave me an F.”
“You mean the one where you had to outline the five-year business plan?” Quinn winced when he nodded. “That is so wrong, man. Can’t you do something about it? Maybe switch to another class?”
“No. I need the class. It’s part of my required credits and he’s the only professor. If I could do that, I would have done it already,” he said as he started grabbing some CDs from the return box to restock.
“That sucks, dude,” Quinn commiserated.
Nodding, he slid a CD into its place. Maybe if Quinn had been into guys, Nathan would have had a tinge of interest in the man, but Quinn was straighter than straight. He chased a new woman every night. It made Nathan’s head spin with how many names the man dropped into a conversation.
Admittedly, Quinn was gorgeous, though, with bright blond hair, a killer smile that curved into two dimples, and dazzling blue eyes that always seemed to sparkle with mischief and humor. There were only a handful of times Nathan had ever seen him angry or upset, and it was usually after a difficult customer. A full head taller than Nathan, he had broad shoulders wide enough to be great for playing football, yet he held no interest in the sport.
“What are you up to this weekend?” Quinn asked while straightening out some records someone had been digging through earlier.
“The same as always. Saturday shift here. Gig at Java Bean afterward. Sunday, I’ve got some assignments to finish.” Nathan frowned when he found a bunch of CDs out of place. He pulled them and added them to the pile he already held.
“Don’t you ever take time to have fun?”
“Of course I do! I love playing at Java Bean. Music is fun for me!” Nathan exclaimed, letting a CD slide into place with a bang.
“That’s not what I meant. You’re always so serious. You act as though the entire world rests on your shoulders all the time. If you keep letting everything weigh so heavily on you, you’re going to end up old before your time, Nate,” Quinn said.
A scowl of discomfort settled on Nathan. “I don’t act like I have the entire world on my shoulders, Quinn. I’m just trying to get through school so I can try to pay my aunts back for how much they’ve taken care of me.”
“Do you think they’d want you to run yourself into the ground? I doubt they’d be thrilled if they saw you,” he pointed out.
“It’s none of your business,” Nathan growled, brutally shoving a CD into a rack. His mouth tightened in anger. What right did Quinn have to say anything? What did he know?
They didn’t speak again until they were behind the counter later.
“I’m sorry, Nate. I’m just worried about you,” Quinn murmured.
Nathan’s hand stilled while writing a sign for the CDs on sale that week. “It’s fine.”
“No. I shouldn’t have pried into your life. Just know if you ever need to talk, I’m here.” Quinn squeezed Nathan’s shoulder briefly.
“Thanks,” he said gruffly.
“No problem. Hey, we’re having a party at the Alpha frat house this week. Why don’t you and Troy drop by?” Quinn fairly bounced in excitement. He attended Coastal Carolina University, which was only about a half hour away from Webster.
“I don’t think I’ll have time, but I’m sure Troy would love to,” Nathan said distractedly. His thoughts had already shifted back to the ghost at school. He knew if he didn’t help the man, he’d never leave Nathan alone. It wasn’t the first time a spirit had realized he could see them and talk to them.
Quinn dropped his hand on top of Nathan’s unexpectedly, causing him to jump in surprise. “Nate, you seriously need to have some fun in your life. Come to the party, even if it’s only for a couple of hours.”
Nathan studied his hand on top of his for a few silent moments before nodding. “All right, but only for a little while.”
A brilliant smile broke out over Quinn’s face. “Great! It’s on Friday at seven. Oh, and there’s going to be some smokin’ hot chicks there.”
The mention of women almost made Nathan snort in amusement, but he stifled it. “I have to close that night. Won’t be until after ten for me.”
Quinn shrugged. “The parties usually go all night, so it doesn’t matter what time.”
Maybe getting out of his apartment and having some fun might be a good idea. Nathan hadn’t been to a party since before his parents died. Even his birthdays were quiet events—normally only his aunts and Troy were present. Birthdays held no meaning for him and were simply him getting another year older.
The sound of the bell tinkling over the front door disturbed Nathan from his thoughts. A good-looking man in a dark business suit stood just inside the doorway, glancing around the store. Nathan had a good instinct when it came to a person’s taste in music. The elegant suit made him pretty sure the man enjoyed classical or jazz even. The way the jacket hugged his broad shoulders like an affectionate lover spoke of class and money.
“Can we help you find something, sir?” Quinn called from the back of the store.
The stranger’s dark gaze suddenly locked onto Nathan, pinning him in place. He resisted the urge to fidget under the intense look. “Hello,” the man said. Nathan’s stomach twisted sharply when he heard his voice. It was deep and husky with a slight rasp Nathan felt all the way to the pit of his stomach. “Where’s your classic rock CD section?”
Surprised, Nathan tilted his head quizzically. He’d rarely been wrong about someone. Curiosity got the better of him and before he could stop himself, Nathan stepped forward to help. He normally let Quinn deal with the customers while he stocked shelves and changed the sale signs. “This way,” he offered quietly, beckoning the man to follow him.
He could sense Quinn studying him in question, but Nathan ignored him. The scent of a woodsy aftershave washed over Nathan the moment the customer came closer. “Are you looking for something in particular?”
While waiting for the man’s response, he took the time to look the tall stranger over. Dark chestnut hair was brushed into a short, neat cut that made the strong angles of his face more prominent and his hazel eyes appear even more intense. A deep cleft in his chin had Nathan wondering what it would be like to trace it with his tongue, which caused him to startle in shock. He hadn’t really had an interest in anyone since the accident, had never had an actual boyfriend or any experience at all, but to look at this man—a stranger—and have such lewd thoughts made him uncomfortable. Firm lips formed an answer he had to concentrate on hearing. “An album by Pink Floyd, actually. Wish You Were Here .”
Nathan’s breath caught. That was his favorite album. “Right this way,” he replied. Never had he been more aware of his slight limp than he was as he walked toward the rack holding the requested band’s CDs.
Flipping through the compact discs, he could feel the man’s eyes on him. “You seemed surprised by what I asked for,” the stranger mused.
Lifting his shoulder in a shrug, Nathan explained, “I’m usually good at guessing a person’s style of music. You didn’t strike me as someone interested in classic rock.”
A husky chuckle crashed over Nathan, sending him spiraling under a wave of desire. The hyperawareness racing through him made him nervous.
“Shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.”
Nathan reached the end of the section with a frown. “It seems we’re out of that particular CD.”
The man sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration, messing the neat style. Nathan thought that suited him better than the sleek look. “Seems all the stores I’ve been to have had the same problem.”
“Why not just download it?” Quinn called from the front counter. “Would be faster and easier.”
“Not much for downloading. I prefer the physical album.”
“I can special order it for you and call you when it comes in. Shouldn’t take more than two or three days.” Nathan lifted his gaze to the hazel eyes, which had darkened with an almost sad gleam. He had to blink when they seemed to change colors to an almost light green.
“That would be great. Someone broke into my truck a week ago and stole the CDs in my glove box.”
“Come over to the counter so I can take down some information,” Nathan told him. “I’ll put the order in this afternoon, and it should be here by Friday at the latest.”
“That’s perfect.”
Nathan pulled out the order book from behind the counter, noting the name of the album before asking, “What’s your name?”
“Erik Moore.”
Strong name , Nathan thought as he wrote it. “Phone number?”
A white rectangle appeared in front of him. Moore Construction appeared in the upper left corner of the business card, along with the man’s name and two phone numbers. The basic shape of a building under construction graced the right side of the card. Nathan’s eyes widened a tiny fraction. Moore Construction was one of the biggest and most successful construction companies around. Everyone knew who they were. Taking the card, his eyes strayed to the long, calloused fingers extending it. They were tanned with blunt fingernails. He briefly wondered how they’d feel against his skin, and he promptly berated himself for having such thoughts.
“Thank you, Mr. Moore,” he said by rote as he stapled the card into the book.
“Erik.”
“Huh?” Nathan looked up in confusion.
“It’s Erik. Mr. Moore sounds so stuffy.” Those fascinating eyes were twinkling with what he could only define as mischief.
“Erik,” he repeated hesitantly.
The man bid him goodbye with a small smile and a tip of his head. It was only after Erik had left that Quinn admonished, “I can’t believe you never told me!”
Nathan looked at him quizzically. “Told you what?”
“That you’re gay, dude. I don’t care, but I feel like a real ass after trying to set you up with all those chicks.” Quinn had tried several times to hook him up with girls he’d brought into the store on his days off. “Of course, I should have guessed when Tracey didn’t catch your attention. Really pissed her off, too!”
“What makes you think I’m gay?” he spluttered.
Quinn smirked and propped his hip against the counter. “Maybe the line of drool down your chin? Or it could be the way you were practically stripping the guy with your eyes. I can’t decide which.”
Instinctively, Nathan swiped at his chin, causing Quinn to howl in laughter. He flushed in embarrassment, and Quinn slapped him on the back. “No worries, man.”
“It’s not something I talk about,” Nathan mumbled uneasily. He didn’t know he’d been so obvious about his attraction to Erik Moore. Had the man noticed as well?
“Don’t worry, Nate. He was checking you out, too.”
Nathan’s dark hair practically slapped him in the face as he swung his head around quickly to look at Quinn. “You lie!”
“No way, man. He practically tripped over a rack of CDs because he wasn’t watching anything but your ass when you walked by.” Quinn held his hands out in a defensive gesture.
Nathan’s breathing grew a little uneven. How could he even contemplate being with anyone when he was such a freak? But the idea of someone as gorgeous as Erik Moore being interested in him, even if just for a moment, brought a bit of warmth to his belly. “You think so?”
“I may not be into guys, but I know interest when I see it. Why do you think instead of answering me, he looked right at you?” Quinn took the book and read the guy’s information before letting out a low whistle. “I’d take the CD to him personally. The man’s loaded! Sugar Daddy for sure!”
Nathan gave a rough bark of laughter at Quinn’s words and shook his head. “There is more to life than money, Quinn.”
The conversation dwindled after that, and they went back to their normal companionable silence. Nathan had forgotten all about the spirit, at least for a little while, until Troy came strolling into the store. The almost content feeling dripping through him faded immediately.
“Nate, I am so sorry, man,” Troy begged the instant he reached the counter.
Nathan scowled at his best friend. “That was royally fucked up, Troy.”
“I really am sorry, Nate. It came out before I thought about it. I just figured if he thought we were talking about homework, he would leave us alone.” Troy gave him his best sorrowful puppy dog face.
Nathan’s anger had faded already, and he could only sigh, running a hand over his face tiredly. “It’s fine. I’m not really mad anymore.”
Troy gave a relieved smile. “So, what really happened?”
Looking around furtively, Nathan saw Quinn had gone into the back for his break, and only one customer stood toward the other end of the store, digging through the bargain bins. “It was stupid. The one I saw in class had been talking while Professor Johns ripped apart my project. He wouldn’t stop.”
Realization spread over Troy’s face. “That’s why you said shut up.”
He nodded miserably. “And now he won’t leave me alone until I do what he wants.”
When the spirits realized Nathan could see them and hear them, they refused to leave him be until he helped them find peace with whatever kept them earthbound. He’d done some research on ghosts after he’d gotten out of the psych ward, but after he’d read through accounts from other people claiming to see them and the things they’d had to do, he’d stopped digging and stopped wanting to help. The last one he’d made a mistake in acknowledging had been six months ago. Until now, he’d done exceptionally well at ignoring them.
“Tell him no then,” Troy demanded. “Or just keep ignoring him.”
“Easier said than done. You aren’t the one hearing them yakking in your ear or seeing them standing right in front of your face. They aren’t see-through, you know!”
In his incredulity, Nathan’s voice had risen, and the lone customer glanced their way with a slightly freaked expression before scurrying out of the store. Nathan groaned and dropped his head onto the counter. He felt Troy’s hand come down on the back of his neck and massage the tense muscles there.
“Let me help you, then. Find out what he wants, and I’ll do it.”
Nathan seriously considered it for a split second and then he grimaced and shook his head, looking at Troy again. “No. It’s my problem.”
Troy grunted in frustration. “You don’t always have to take on everything yourself, bro. I’m your best friend. Let me help you.”
Again, Nathan shook his head. “I can’t rely on anyone anymore, Troy. It’s not fair to do that. I need to take care of myself.”
“I guess I can understand how you feel after the last six years, Nate, but you have to let people in. People care about you. At least know I am always here if you need me,” Troy said sadly.
Hardening his heart, Nathan forced a flat smile for Troy and tipped his head in acknowledgement of his pledge. For almost three years, he’d relied on way too many people: his aunts, Troy, the doctors at the ward. He knew he’d hurt Troy, but he couldn’t place any further burden on his friend, not after what he’d put on Troy since the accident. Troy left the store a half hour later to go see the girl at the café. Nathan watched him leave with a pensive expression and then got back to work.
The rest of the afternoon flew by and slowly faded into darkness. Nathan didn’t have time to dwell on the ghost more until he was closing out the register, and then his thoughts started wandering again. The only emotions he’d gotten from the ghost had been nervousness and anxiety. It wasn’t the usual fear, anger, or sadness. During his research, he’d found most of them didn’t realize they were dead. The fear they felt was because of a sense of the unknown and being lost, without purpose. Anger or sadness resulted from the way they’d died or even, for some, the realization they were dead.
He still clearly remembered the first time he’d encountered one who’d known. The rage that had swamped Nathan had been so great he’d been unable to control his own temper, and the wall of his bedroom and his stereo had paid the price. His aunts had blamed it on the loss of his parents.
Only Troy knew the truth about the “ability” Nathan had returned with when the doctors had brought him back from death. Troy had saved his sanity more than once in the last six years. He may well have ended up back in the psychiatric ward if his friend hadn’t been there for him.
The only thing he’d ever hoped to gain by having the curse was to see his parents. He wanted to tell them he was sorry for demanding they leave the dinner that night. If he hadn’t been so selfish, if he hadn’t been so mad at them for forcing him to go when he’d wanted to go to a party at a friend’s house, they’d still be alive. Or if they’d left five minutes later instead of him rushing out to have the valet bring the car around so he could make it to the party for a couple of hours. He knew it was his fault they’d been going through that intersection when the drunk driver had run a red light. What right did he have to ask for their forgiveness? Not when he was alive, and they were dead.
Eyes burning, he finished closing out the register and locked the money in the safe for tomorrow’s deposit. There were some nights where Nathan was too tired to bother dropping the money at the bank. He grabbed his book bag from the back room and turned off the lights. Approaching the front of the store, he realized someone was standing inside and frowned, stopping. “I’m sorry, but we’re closed. You’ll have to come back tomorrow.”
When the person didn’t speak, anxiety gnawed at the pit of his stomach. He edged forward until he could just make out the shadowed features, and he bit back a scream, swallowing hard. One eye stared at him, the other an empty socket. Half of the man’s face was crushed, as if run over by a car or perhaps he’d fallen from somewhere up high. Nathan didn’t know, but he knew the man was dead. Another spirit had found him. “Can you help me?” the man whispered. “Please, help me. I need to go home. My wife… She’ll be worried.”
“No,” Nathan gasped, backing away. “No, I can’t.”
The smell of decay assaulted Nathan’s nose, and he grimaced, bumping into a rack of CDs as he continued retreating, sending several cascading to the floor with a crash. “Go away!” Nathan shouted, bile rising in his throat. “I can’t help you!”
An ear-piercing wail rose through the store, causing Nathan to cover his ears to stifle the sound. His eyes never left the disembodied spirit before him. The spirit rushed at Nathan, floating across the floor at lightning speed and disappearing just as he reached him in a blur of color. Nathan gasped and sank to his knees, rocking slightly, trying to grab hold of himself. Why? Why couldn’t they leave him alone? He couldn’t help them. How could he when he couldn’t even help himself?
When he could finally breathe normally again, he struggled to his feet, cleaned up the CDs he’d knocked over, and then trudged out of the store. He locked the door behind him and slung his bag over his shoulder. He walked to the bus stop and sank down on the bench to wait, shivering and running his hands along his arms to warm himself. Sometimes when he refused to help the spirits, they grew angry, malevolent. None had gotten violent with him beyond screaming and scaring him, but he knew it was inevitable, knew one day there would be a ghost who would become so enraged they would physically lash out at him.
Throat still tight with fear, Nathan pulled out his MP3 player and slid the buds into his ears. Some of the horror dissipated as Disturbed blasted through his skull. He would have snorted at the irony of the band name if he hadn’t been so distraught.
The bus pulled up in front of him a few minutes later and he stood, stepping onto it and then sliding the prepaid card through the machine. There were only two others on the bus, but he went to the back and sat near the window. He focused on the buildings and cars passing by, attempting to gather his wits once more. No matter how many times they came to him or how often he encountered them, the ghosts still scared the living shit out of him.