Ceaseless (7 page)

              
Gee cursed and spun around to look at me, “Dammit
.
 I was hoping he’d stay here. That 
woulda
 been fun. I’ve been wanting to beat his voodoo ass for a year now.”

              
“
That would have been fun to watch, “ I agreed. “But we need to get to work. There’s been an earthquake in Haiti. It’s a bad one.”

              
Gee sighed, “Guess you’re taking me to
o,
 this time.”

              
Surprised at her lack of enthusiasm I stopped and raised an eyebrow her way.

              
“Oh, don’t look at me like that. Can I help it if I like being a college student? It’s a 
hell
uv
a
 lot more fun than dealing with dead people.”

CHAPTER 6 

Pagan

              
Miranda was standing at her closet with several outfits laying over both our beds and the desks when I walked into the room. I’d spent the rest of the day checking out my classes
,
 meeting with professors
,
 and finding a coffee shop close enough to stop by in the mornings on my way to each class.

              
“Did our 
closets
 throw up?” I asked as I closed the 
door behind me and took in the 
mess in front of me.

              
“Maybe,” she nibbled on her bottom lip nervously. “I have nothing to wear. Nothing.”

              
I knew for a fact she had enough clothes to cloth
e
 a
 
small country. What she meant was she didn’t have anything to wear on a date. 
Must be someone she really liked because I hadn’t 
seen
 her go this crazy over what to wear in years.

              
“Who
’s
 the lucky guy?” I asked
,
 moving over a blue 
jean skirt
 that belonged to 
me and 
her 
royal blue scarf shirt
 so I could sit down on my bed.

              
“Nathan. The guy from the club,” Miranda clapped her hands excitedly, “And get this! He is in the same fraternity as Jay. They want both of us to go out to dinner tonight and go see a movie.”

              
Uh
-
oh. That wasn’t going to work.

              
“Um, well
,
 see here is the thing. Jay has a 
girlfriend
 or is obviously in a 
relationship
. I saw it 
last night
 at the club. You know I don’t do drama and that is some serious drama
there. You’ll have to tell Jay ‘no thanks’ for me.”

              
Miranda’s face fell and she dropped the red jacket she’d been holding up in the 
mirror
. “Pagan, please. This is important to me. Nathan is, he is like, I just haven’t felt about anyone like this, since, well since,” I saw tears well up in her eyes as she stared pitifully at me.

              
“Since Wyatt?” I asked.

              
She sniffed and nodded. “It isn’t as strong as what I felt for Wyatt
,
 but I just met him. He makes my heart race and I get all tingly when he touches me. He isn’t Wyatt. No one will ever be Wyatt. But when I’m with him my heart doesn’t hurt.”

              
Well, crap. She finally finds a guy to move on with and he is 
a 
friend 
of 
my ex. Just freaking perfect.

              
“I’m sure Nathan will still want to date you even if I don’t go out with Jay,” I assured her.

              
Miranda walked over and pushed the clothes beside me out of her way and sat down. “I am sure he would. But I don’t know him that well.  We just met. We had coffee today and ended up talking for 
hours
. He kissed me. It was… wow. I just want to have you there with me on our first official date. I’ll feel better knowing I’m not alone.”

              
Double crap.

              
“What about Jay’s girlfriend?” Please tell me she is a psycho and she may come after my head if I go anywhere with him. This will be my only way out.

              
“Nathan said that Jay and 
Victoria aren’t an item. She is in the sorority that does things with their fraternity. She has been after him for over a year. Jay puts up with her clinginess but until he saw you walk into the club he hadn’t had a problem with it. Now he is putting a 
halt
 to thing
s
 with Victoria. Nathan said you 
are 
all he’s talked about since he saw you. Come on, it’ll be fun. I need you there.”

              
This was trouble. I looked at Miranda’s pleading eyes and knew I wouldn’t be able to tell her no.  “What time are they going to be here?” I asked and she jumped up and squealed.

              
“At seven,” she replied. It was only three. What was she doing getting ready now?

              
“We have four hours. Why the clothing panic?”

              
Miranda rolled her eyes, “because it’s 
gonna
 take me four hours to do all that I have to do to be presentable.”

              
I gathered the clothes up that she’d left on my bed and took them over to hers and dropped them. “You put the clothes away. I’m taking a nap. If I have to do this then I
definitely
 need some sleep. I’m exhausted.”

              
“Fine. I’ll find you something to wear. But promise me you’ll get up in plenty 
of 
time to shower and shave your legs. I’m going to pick you out a mini. Jay always liked your legs.”

              
Ugh.

Dank

   
A teenage girl not paying attention to a stop sign.
 It was all too familiar. The difference was
,
 I hadn’t been stalking this soul. She hadn’t intrigued me. The crumpled car was wrapped around an electricity pole.  Her parents stood over to the side crying as the desperate hope in their eyes stayed focused on the car. They wanted
 
there to be some chance that their daughter had made it. That when the 
Jaws of Life
 pulled the car free they’d find her alive inside. I knew she wasn’t. He soul was releasing as it sensed my presence.

              
I reached into the rubble and drew her soul out. It came willingly. The confused look on her face as she looked back at herself and then toward her parents was one I saw daily. She didn’t understand just yet that she was no longer in the body.

              
“Come on
,
 
Chick
, t
ime for you to head up. You’ll have another life before you know it. Say your goodbyes to this one,” Gee informed her as she grabbed her hand and they left. 

              
I didn’t stay around and wait for her parents to figure out their worst fears were true. I’d had enough of that for one day. I just wanted to go see Pagan but I had thousands of souls still left to collect.

              
I walked toward the
 truck t
hat had flipped in 
an 
attempt to miss the girl’s car
.
 I stopped 
where the paramedics were performing CPR on 
the 
driver
.
 
As t
he paramedics 
worked to save him
, his
 soul
 had 
already released from his body 
and 
was
 staring down at his empty shell. Gee appeared beside me and without a word she took his hand telling him he’d get to start over and maybe this time he could keep from getting a beer gut.

Pagan

              
“It is unfair. Completely 
unfreakinfair
.
” Miranda scowled into the mirror she had us standing in front of.  “I spent hours 
getting ready
. You spent less than thirty minutes and you still look better.”

              
Miranda was gorgeous. She had styled all her wild ringlets perfectly around her face. The red sleeveless top she’d paired with the silver 
pencil 
skirt that stopped 
way before it hit her knees
,
 highlighted every curve she had. Nathan didn’t stand a chance.  “Y
ou seriously are confused. You’
re hot. Embrace it and let’s go,” I replied before she could change her clothes again.

              
“Are you sure? You aren’t just saying that are you?” She was still standing in front of the mirror fidgeting with her shirt and hair.

              
“I am positive. Come on. They are probably already down there waiting 
for 
us.” And I wanted to get this over with.

              
“Maybe I should have gone with boots. You look killer in those 
leather boots
,” Miranda replied 
without
 moving.

              
I glanced down at the tan 
leather knee high boots
 I’d put on with the 
blue jean
 
mini skirt
 Miranda had made me wear. “You can wear the boots if you want to. I don’t care. I’ll go find some other shoes to put on.”

              
Miranda scowled. “No. Those boots won’t match what I’m wearing. Besides
, you’d end up putting on your C
onverse or some
thing ridiculous like that. It’
s a miracle I managed to get you in those. I’m not messing up my luck now.”

              
I smiled 
because she was correct. If I took these boots off I
 would
 
slip on
 my Converse. “Then let’s go,” I replied
, and opened
 the door.

              
“Okay. Fine. Okay. I can do this,” Miranda reminded herself in the mirror
,
 then turned and headed my way. Maybe I’d get her out of here before midnight.

              
“It’s okay Miranda. He’s just a boy and this is just a date,” I assured her as I pushed her out the door and into the hallway.

              
She nodded, “You’re right. He’s just a boy. It’s just a date.”

              
We made our way down to the great room where they’d said they would meet us. I could hear feminine laughter and deep 
voices,
 as we got closer. “I hear them,” Miranda whispered.

              
“Yep. Sounds like they’
re entertaining some of our neighbors,” I replied. Maybe Jay would see someone h
e liked and 
leave me alone
. Then 
she
 could deal with crazy Victoria.

              
We stepped into the room 
to see
 Jay talking and laughing with a girl I hadn’t met yet
,
 but I’d seen her yesterday when we moved in.
 Girls always flirted with Jay. He had that friendly kind of personality. Nathan’s eyes zoned in on Miranda instantly. The smile on his face as he looked at her made this all worth it. I liked that guy.

              
Nathan elbowed Jay as we approached and he stopped talking to the redhead and turned to look at us. His eyes swept over me slowly. The girl he’d been talking to reached out and squeezed his arm and said something about seeing him tomorrow night. I almost laughed
. He’d just been caught making a 
date with another girl while waiting 
for 
me. That was priceless. If I 
weren’t 
going on this date for Miranda
’s sake,
 I’d use this as my excuse 
and 
back out now. I couldn’t do that to her though. Not when Nathan had the look of awed worship in his eyes as he stare
d
 at her. Yeah, I’d have to deal with Jay the 
Romeo
 all night. Maybe Miranda and the redhead could meet and they could double date next time.