Falling Over You, page 6
Yeah, Lara murmured in her mind. Except this guy happens to be a ghost.
12
Lara barely picked at the meal she ordered, her focus on her thoughts the entire lunch, so by the time she got home, she was already hungry again. Well, that was a waste of fifteen bucks, she thought to herself as she pulled into the garage. Especially when you don't have fifteen bucks to waste, Lara Darling.
Except, as Lara continued to think about it, she realized that lunch with Jane wasn't a waste. Besides the fact that lunch with friends was never a waste of money, Jane had given her good insight into who Lara was as a person and what she should do about her love life. Lara wasn't exactly convinced she should do anything, if she was being honest. Jane didn't know Lara's full predicament, that the man she met was a ghost currently living in her house, that they'd known each other only a short time, and so on and so forth. But at the same time, what Jane had said was true. It wasn't until she had met Mike did she start questioning things about Brett. She knew she loved him, but there were times, like right now, when it was hard to actually feel it.
Lara shook her head as she unlocked the front door to the house and opened it. Nope. No way. This whole thing sounded ridiculous, and really, Jane was to blame. Her eyes flitted around the house, and she realized Brett wasn't home yet. She pursed her lips in a frown. Usually on Tuesdays, he got home early. She knew she and Jane had spent an hour and a half together, despite the fact that Jane kept mentioning she should get back, but then got distracted. Lara smiled. Typical Jane.
She headed into the kitchen where the answering machine was flashing, indicating that a message had been left. Lara pushed the button and leaned against the counter, wondering what it was about and hoping beyond hope that it was a job interview. "Hey babe," the familiar voice of her fiancé greeted. "Um, I'm going to be late tonight so I guess you don't have to worry about dinner this time. I'll see you later. Don't wait up!"
Lara's brow furrowed dangerously over her eyes as she jabbed the delete button. Didn't he just lecture her about having dinner ready for him when he got home that morning before he left for work? And now all of a sudden since he wasn't going to be home, it was okay for her not to cook something for him this time?
"Hey," a voice murmured from behind her. She was too upset to actually be scared, but she still jumped slightly before slowly turning around and locking eyes with Mike.
For a moment, none of them spoke. Instead, Lara took the time to study him, trying to control her temper and not accidentally take out her frustrations on Mike rather than the man who deserved them. He wore a white, long-sleeved shirt and slacks. Over everything, he was wearing a black trench coat, and Lara wondered if he wore that thing constantly because he was cold. That wouldn't be good. His dark hair was falling into his face, and without realizing what she was doing exactly, she reached up and swept it to the side with the merest caress of her fingertips.
"Hey," she said, her voice the same softness his was.
Mike was taken aback by the gesture, but for whatever reason, he felt a warmth take over his body and he had to refrain from thinking too much on it. "So, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry I offended you about the whole Brett thing." He was still speaking in the way he normally did except his voice was softer, almost raspier.
"No," Lara said, her voice in a firm murmur. "No, it's okay. I should be able to handle criticisms of my fiancé, especially when they're good ones." She let a smooth smile touch her face as she regarded Mike with her green eyes. "You know, a lot of my friends back home wouldn't even speak badly about him. I guess they thought they'd be hurting my feelings if they did. But really...if he's good for me then I should hear them out and see if what they're saying rings true. And...." She rolled her eyes. "Though it's hard for me to come out and admit it, what you said was right. About the whole relationship thing. So thank you. And I'm sorry."
Mike saw through her crooked smile and ran his fingers through his hair. "So, I'm not sure if you heard the message," he said, glancing over at the answering machine. "But you are relieved of cooking duties for tonight." At that moment, Lara's stomach growled, almost on cue. Mike chuckled, placing his hand on her stomach. "Looks like someone's hungry. Do you like Chinese food? I know a great takeout place. You have to try the Beijing pork. Oh my gosh, my mouth is just watering thinking about it."
"Can you even eat?" Lara asked with a disbelieving smile on her face. "I mean, let's face it. You are a ghost."
"Okay, you know how vampires still actively breathe though there really is no need for them to because they're dead?" Mike asked and Lara nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "Right, well, that's the same thing for me. I don't have to eat, but I still can. Sometimes I miss it, so I indulge." He shrugged his shoulder. "Anyway, so are you in the mood for Chinese?"
"I'm practically always in the mood for Chinese," Lara informed him.
In forty-five minutes, they had their Chinese food, and Lara suggested that they watch a movie. "You got to order food from your favorite restaurant," she pointed out as she placed the DVD in the player before flipping the television on. "Now I get to pick the movie."
"Okay," Mike agreed. "Which one is it?"
Lara took a seat next to him on the couch before grabbing the box with fried rice. "It's one of my favorite movies," she explained. "Brett hates it so he won't watch it with me, and after today, I felt a bit nostalgic for it. It's 10 Things I Hate About You."
"Never heard of it," Mike said, and Lara shoved him playfully.
"Well, you will," she informed him. "It's an amazing movie that should never have been remade into a television show."
Mike chuckled, but said nothing, and for the next fifteen minutes, the room was silent, save for their chewing and the movie itself. Finally, Lara glanced up at Mike, taking in his sharp profile before asking, "Hey, I have a question. Do you know Heath Ledger? I mean, how cool would it be if you knew Heath Ledger? Anyway, if you did, would you please introduce me to him because I am such a fan of his body of work and—"
"I don't know anybody in the afterlife," Mike told her, cutting her off while locking eyes with her. "Except you."
Lara looked at him for a long moment, and she wasn't sure whether or not she should feel flattered. "That must be lonely," she murmured before turning her head so she could watch the movie once again.
Mike didn't respond to what Lara had said, only because he didn't really like to think about the predicament he was currently in. Instead, he watched the movie as best as he could. "I cannot believe women fall for this type of cheesiness," Mike said, gesturing at a singing Heath Ledger trying to outrun the high school security. However, it was almost as though Lara hadn't even heard him. Her eyes seemed glazed over, and there was this smile on her face he had never seen before. Okay, so he knew that stuff like this was cheesy, but maybe Lara didn't know, or maybe she didn't think so.
Suddenly, something warm spread itself through Mike's stomach and he felt it ascend upward until it wrapped itself around his heart, and he suddenly knew that such a feeling occurred because of how Lara was reacting to the movie. He wanted her to look at him that way, but he wasn't exactly sure how to do such a thing, because Mike Langdon was anything but romantic. That's why all of his other relationships failed; he didn't go out of his way to please them, surprise them, and when they left, sure he was upset, but he always got over it.
And now he was walking on this earth alone, dead but not yet passed on. Except now, he had Lara. He just didn't know what that meant.
Suddenly, Lara's head fell onto his shoulder, and Mike could tell by the way the young woman was breathing that she was sleeping. Of course, Mike wanted to crack a joke about how boring the movie was and that anybody who had a working mind might fall asleep too, but he refrained, knowing she would just wake up and be upset with him.
And if he was being honest, he didn't want her to wake up. At least not yet.
13
The garage door opening caused Lara to jump awake. She blinked her eyes, looking at the last scene of Heath Ledger's character Patrick giving Julia Stiles' character Kat a guitar for screwing up. She yawned glanced around, looking for Mike. He must be upset with her for falling asleep when they were supposed to have been watching this movie together. It definitely wasn't Mike's fault; Lara was just exhausted.
A feeling of disappointment bubbled on the inside of her stomach, which Lara found to be somewhat odd. She had never imagined that she would be disappointed that a ghost would disappear or, more specifically, that she would be disappointed that Mike wasn't there when she woke up. Was he looking for a way to get out of spending time with her? Or maybe Mike was like Brett in the fact that neither of them seemed to like chick flicks, which was fine.... Lara just wished Mike would have told her as much before she had put the movie in. For all she cared, they could have watched a James Bond flick if that was what he wanted. She just wanted to be close to him....
Okay, a voice in her head said, cutting off any and all thoughts that might have followed her previous statement. No thinking about this. Especially not when your fiancé just got home. Although it would be good to file this away to think more on it later.
"Hey babe," Brett greeted as he walked through the door before he closed it behind him and locked it. He smelled like alcohol and cigarettes, causing Lara to frown. She knew Brett didn't smoke cigarettes, but there were special occasions when he would pull out a celebratory cigar. However, Lara knew most of his friends smoked so whenever he got home from hanging out with them, he smelled rather disgusting. "How are you?" He chuckled upon seeing Lara's tired face. "You look sleepy." He walked around the couch and pulled her into a tight hug. Lara all but held her breath, hoping she didn't breathe in his scent.
"I am sleepy," she said, trying to stifle a yawn but failing miserably.
Brett chuckled, taking a step back. His dark eyes flickered over to the television, and he couldn't help but roll them up to the sky. "This again?" he asked, pointing at the television rather loosely. "Isn't this, like, the billionth time you've seen 10 Things I Hate About You?" he asked her, pushing his brows together.
Lara placed her index finger on the tip of her chin, pretending to think about it for a moment. "Hmm," she murmured underneath her breath before finally shaking her head. "No, it's the billionth and first time actually."
"Well, excuse me," Brett retorted sarcastically.
"You're excused," Lara allowed, a teasing smile eclipsing her face. "This time."
"I just don't understand you girls," Brett said, shaking his head as he slid his arms out of his blazer jacket. "I mean, you've watched that movie so many times. How are you not bored with it? You know exactly what's going to happen. Hell, I bet you could recite the thing to me if you really wanted. As a guy, I'm not going to go replay a video game once I've already beaten it; I'm going to go get a new one."
"Well, I'm sorry your attention span sucks compared to mine," Lara said, her eyes still sparkling. Brett rolled his eyes.
"Hey, isn't Heath Ledger in this?" he asked.
"Maybe if you watched it more, you would know," Lara retorted, but Brett didn't seem to hear her.
He turned and locked eyes with his fiancée, his face completely serious. "Lara, you do know that Heath Ledger is dead, right?" he asked her, reaching out to cup her shoulders in his hands. "I mean, obviously you know, but you're not, like, in denial about it still, are you? He's dead. Gone. And dead things don't come back. I'm sorry, but that's the way it goes, which sucks because Heath Ledger was, I will give you, a really good actor. But he's dead and he's not coming back."
Lara rolled her eyes at Brett's ministrations and took a step back, out of his grasp. "Yes, Brett, I know Heath Ledger has passed away," she said, her tone dry. "But, you know, I've been thinking about things like this for the past couple of days, and how do we know things that have passed on don't come back? I mean, what if they haven't passed on and they're stuck between heaven and hell, but not purgatory or anything like that? Just lost without a place to go, the world literally at their feet. But it doesn't matter because no one can see them or hear them or feel them. They're lonely but they're not alone."
Lara really didn't mean to go into a huge speech about ghosts and spirituality and stuff like that, but once she started, she found that she couldn't stop.
Brett looked at her in obvious disbelief for a long moment before busting out laughing. And not just polite laughter or awkward laughter, but laughter that signified that he was laughing at her, at what she had said. Lara felt her stomach curl, and pain started to warm her cheeks. Yes, she knew that what she was saying sounded somewhat ridiculous but that didn't mean that Brett had to actually laugh in her face about it. Plus, what she had said was actually true, so Brett was really the fool, not her.
And yet it was Lara who ended up feeling ashamed despite the truth she had spoken. At least now she knew whether or not she could trust Brett with stuff like this. But as her fiancé, shouldn't he be open to this? Shouldn't he listen to her and take her concerns seriously, no matter what they were? Maybe Mike was right about Brett, at least in some way.
"When did you suddenly become so interested in ghosts, Lara?" Brett asked, perking his brow as he reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist. Lara felt her body unconsciously stiffen at his touch, not entirely comfortable with him since he had just laughed at her. "I didn't know you believe in ghosts. In fact, I thought you didn't. When did you change your mind?"
"Well," Lara said, taking a subtle step out of Brett's grasp once again. "I've been doing my research on stuff like this, paranormal activity, spirits and such, and I find myself leaning towards the belief that ghosts are real."
Brett chuckled again, rolling his eyes as he placed his hands on his hips. "You are so funny, Lara," he murmured, and though his tone was filled with adoration, his words weren't exactly complimentary. "Do you know that? You amuse me to no end." He shook his head. "You must be so bored, stuck here, huh? Without a job, you have nothing better to do than to do research paranormal stuff. I find that so funny."
Lara shrugged her shoulders, feeling slighted by Brett once again. "I get by," she said quietly, and she tried to keep the fact that she was upset from touching her features.
"Hey, you know what gets me by?" Brett asked, his voice descending into a low husk. His eyes simultaneously darkened and he arched a brow as he took another step towards Lara and wrapped his arms around her. His lips curled up into a smile and he cocked his head to the side. "You get me by, babe."
Lara had to refrain from rolling her eyes. Of course. Brett got home from work smelling like smoke and alcohol, he laughed in her face, and then wanted sex. Before she could stop him, Brett leaned in and placed a suggestive kiss on her neck. Lara reached up and placed her hands on his chest, gently pushing him back.
"Brett," she said, adding sharpness to it in hopes that he would understand she wasn't in the mood.
"Yeah?" he asked softly, placing a similar kiss on another part of her body.
Apparently, he didn't take the hint, despite the fact that she was even pushing against him.
"Brett, I'm not in the mood right now," she said, twisting her head so he missed her face a couple of times when trying for a kiss.
"God, you're never in the mood," Brett said, suddenly getting mad. "I come home from work, I want to wind down, and by wind down—"
"I know what wind down means, Brett," Lara said. "But just because you're in the mood, doesn't mean I am."
Before Brett could respond, a loud bang interrupted them. Brett jumped, immediately releasing his hold on Lara. His eyes darted around, looking for something that could have made the noise, something that fell over or slammed shut. Except everything looked to be in place. Nothing had shifted. Another bang, closer to Brett, caused him to yelp, fear evident in his eyes. Lara just stood there, hiding a smirk; she knew exactly what was happening and who was doing it.
"What was that?" Brett asked, looking over at his fiancée.
Lara shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know, Brett," she murmured as she began to head up the stairs. "Maybe it was a ghost."
14
Mike wasn't planning to be right here, in the bathroom, while Lara was taking her shower. It just sort of happened. And he couldn't exactly see her or anything; there was a curtain preventing such a thing from happening. However, he could see her silhouette as she stood underneath the showerhead, and that seemed to be enough for him. He didn't remember when he felt such a desire for one person. Of course, he lusted after many women while he was alive and even more so after he was dead. He wasn't a pervert, didn't spy on them when they got dressed, but he would listen in on their conversations to see what they were like. He was always interested in whether or not he would be compatible with someone if he was alive and things hadn't turned out like they had.
Lara was the closest thing he had ever come in contact with when it concerned a woman he was especially fond of. She was beautiful and smart, witty and charming, driven and stubborn. And she could see him, hear him, feel him.... That had to count for something, right?
Some nights, Mike would stay up, staring at the ceiling from one of the many rooms that made up the house, wondering why his life—death, whatever this was—was not quite going as well as he had hoped. It wasn't fair; the one good thing that had happened to him, that could see him as a person rather than something transparent, a nothingness, and she was engaged to some tool. Of course, he hoped that everything would work itself out in some way. Why else would he have met her? It didn't make sense. Everything happened for a reason.
