Invisible Love by AJ Graham

Author:AJ Graham [Graham, AJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BIN 03045-00967
Publisher: Changeling Press LLC
Published: 2022-05-16T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

She rode the subway to work, as usual. The seats were hard and uncomfortable and the car was crowded with commuters talking loudly on cell phones and jostling each other, reminding her why she disliked public transportation… but she couldn’t afford a car, and in the city, where parking spaces were more precious than gold, it just made more sense to use the subway.

She got off at her stop and walked down the sidewalk to the blocky, brick building on the corner. The words SMITH & BLEEKER were stenciled on the glass doors in front. As she approached the doors, her pace slowed, and each step seemed to take more effort than the one before it. It seemed as though the very air had thickened, resisting her, though she knew it was just her own reluctance.

Every day at Smith & Bleeker’s accounting firm seemed longer than the one before it. Every day, she told herself that she wouldn’t be a receptionist for much longer, that this was just a survival job until she found something better. She’d been telling herself that for months.

After eight long, dull hours, she punched out and walked straight to the library. She spent an hour hunting through the “occult” section, looking for books on ghosts and spirits. She found only a few volumes, none of them especially promising. One was about alleged haunted houses across the U.S. She skimmed through a few chapters, mostly local legends and anecdotes about encounters with ghosts, but nothing remotely helpful. Another book, called Ghost Hunters, detailed the travels of a group of “paranormal experts” who visited haunted locations. Still nothing that might help Gregory. The only one that looked remotely useful was called Spiritual Connections: The Dead and the Living, and was by a woman who claimed to be a medium. Linda checked it out and took the subway home. She sat, holding the thick, tattered book tucked under one arm as the train rolled through cement tunnels beneath the city.

A large, bearded man in a hooded gray sweatshirt approached her. “Hey,” he said, and leaned closer. His breath smelled stale. “What’s your name, baby?”

Linda hesitated. “Kristen.”

“Kristen, what a pretty name.”

She looked away, hoping he’d get the hint.

“You doing anything tonight, Kristen? You want to get a drink?”

Linda kept her eyes averted. Men bothering her on the subway was nothing new. Just one of the hassles of public transportation. Still, it always caught her off guard. Her stomach tightened to a nervous ball. “I’m sorry, I don’t feel like talking right now,” she said, as calmly as she could. “Please leave me alone.”

His face darkened. “Oh, really. Too good to talk to the likes of me?”

Should she have said something else? Maybe told him she had a boyfriend, or that she was a lesbian? She looked around. There were only a few other people on the subway. A man had his face buried in a newspaper a few seats away and seemed to be making an effort not to look at her.

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