“What happened?” I was mentally slapping myself. I was feeling down over being able to see ghosts when Erik had died so young. I needed to remember others had it worse than me.
“I was bitten by a snake,” he admitted, his eyes staring intently at nothing. “Marcus ran for help, leaving me there. I’d dropped the box as I got bitten and Marcus never saw it. I was stuck inside it for a long time before I figured out how to get out. Even then, I was still rooted in the place where it rested, unable to venture away from the spot.”
“Fuck,” I whispered. “I can’t even imagine going through that.”
He shrugged like what he’d experienced wasn’t at all traumatic. “I plan on mending things. Starting with that ring.”
“You want me to give it to Marcus? You don’t think that would cause him more heartache?” I winced as soon as the words had left my mouth. Luckily, Erik didn’t seem to mind my crass words.
“He deserves to know how much I love him. And I need to see that he's happy before I can move on.”
“You want to see your boyfriend happy with someone else?”
“Yes. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Mike, but I’m dead. My life is over; I wouldn’t wish for Marcus’ life to be over as well. He deserves a full life, filled with love and all the good things.”
“Wow,” I replied, quickly wiping a stray tear from my left eye. “I’ll help you.”
“Thank you, Mike.”
“So, where did Marcus live when you were alive?” I figured we would start there. Erik wore clothes that could easily be from five to ten years ago. I didn’t think he’d been dead for longer than that. Also, knowing Marcus’ location would make this search much quicker.
“Denmark,” Erik stated, giving me a wide smile.
“Denmark?!” I parroted.
Chapter Five
A loud ringing woke me and I groaned as I blindly accepted the call, already knowing it had to be Mike. “Hello?”
“I need your help.”
I sat up, immediately alert. “What happened?” I hadn’t heard from Mike in a while and had started to worry. My fear was now heightened as I waited for him to talk, his deep inhale enough of a clue that this wasn’t easy for him.
“I got my medium abilities,” he began. “And I’ve gotten a tag-along ghost.”
Fuck.
“You need to come home, now, Mike,” I said, stating the obvious. Mike needed training, all mediums did. Without training his abilities could drain him of energy, especially in crowded places. Petehad gone through training himself and learned how to block the ghosts when he needed to. Mike didn’t have any of that.
“I tried to wait it out and finish my assignment, but I can’t focus.” Mike sounded so tired and dejected, I wanted to hug him tight against me and comfort him.
“So, you’re coming home?” I asked hopefully.
“I’m leaving for the airport in an hour. Listen… I know this is a lot to ask, but—”
“You can live with me,” I offered, hoping that was what he’d wanted to ask. Mike had lived with Jackson before leaving for Africa, but they’d sold that apartment when Jackson moved in with Pete. Mike had wanted to wait with getting a new place until he’d returned home from Africa. His mother was a wonderful woman, but his old room was now occupied by Jackson’s little sister, who’d moved into Linda’s care and that meant Mike would need to live in Pete’s old room. I totally got why he would rather live with me. Besides, his other option was with Pete and Jackson, but considering they had their whole BDSM club thing where they lived, I figured Mike would pick me over them.
He sighed with relief. “Thank you. I’ll transfer money tomorrow for half the rent.”
“No worries,” I said, smiling widely. “Roomie.”
Mike laughed. “God, I needed that laugh.”
“I’ll bring many more laughs out of you,” I promised easily. “Just get your butt home. What time should I pick you up at the airport?”
Mike gave me his flight information and then we hung up. I had the biggest grin on my face. I would be living with Mike soon!
Fuck… I eyed my cluttered bedroom that not even the darkness could hide. I needed to clean. I looked at the time. My neighbors would kill me if I started vacuuming at four a.m. but there were many other things I could get started on first.
