“Sara—“
She sat up, and lifted her hand to stop him. “Listen, Reed. I know you’re scared, okay? I’m not going to throw you out if that’s what you’re worried about. You can stay here as long as you like, and I will help you in any way I can to get you on your feet. But when you are gone, I never want to see you, or hear from you again.”
He simply stared at her, not quite believing what she just said. How was he supposed to just walk away after all they shared together?
“Don’t look so stunned, Reed. I mean, why would you want to be a part of my...” she paused momentarily and then nodded. “Pathetic and lonely life.” Her tone was positively sardonic.
“I’m sorry, Sara. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I love you.”
She waved her hand in dismissal. “Please, Reed. I’m tired, and I just want to sleep. I don’t care about anything else. Just go to sleep, okay?”
There was no point in hanging around and further inciting her wrath. He turned and left the bedroom without another word.
***
Reed did little more for hours than allow his mind to go numb since his last bitter exchange with Sara-Kate. Now the sun was beginning to light the living room.
When the doorbell rang, he vaulted from the couch, so the early morning visitor wouldn’t disturb Sara-Kate’s sleep. Most likely it was the courier on his daily rounds arriving to pick up and drop off the day’s packages.
When he opened the door, it was the last person he expected or wanted to see—ever. Dr. Andy Stark, Sara-Kate’s wannabe beau.
“What?” he asked, impatience permeated his tone.
“I want to see Sara-Kate, and I want to see her now,” the doctor stated.
How dare this guy show up at dawn and making demands? His temples began to pound.
“Have you bothered to look at the time? Sara’s asleep, and she will remain that way.”
“That’s not acceptable. I’m not leaving until I’m sure she is okay.”
“Then you’re going to be waiting a long time. I’m not waking her up.”
Dr. Andy’s blue eyes shot daggers. “I’d really like to know who you are, and what you’re doing here. Sara-Kate has changed since you showed up. I mean, I know she has problems, and never leaves this house—that someone hurt her in her past.” He paused and tapped his sneakered foot as if unsure he should continue. He then spoke. “Then out of the blue she turns up on my doorstep last night...and then runs away.”
So that was why Sara left the house—she went to see Dr. Andy. An undefinable emotion rose in Reed. Was she deliberately trying to hurt him by going to another man? In the next thought, he knew he deserved to be hurt by her. His cutting words devastated her, and drove her straight to Andy.
“Be that as it may, I still won’t wake her.”
After a brief silence, the doctor spoke again. “I’m not going to stand here and argue with you. I’m also not going to barge my way in and upset Sara-Kate. Do tell her that I will be back soon. If she still won’t see me, I’ll come back again, and have the police with me, because...” he stopped and pointed a finger at Reed’s chest, “...I know something isn’t right here...and that something is you.”
Reed grabbed the front door, prepared to close it on Dr. Andy. Before he did, he said, “What happens between Sara-Kate and myself is only between the two of us. It’s not anyone else’s business.”
“Well, I love Sara-Kate, and I plan to marry her,” Dr. Andy stated.
“No, you won’t.” With that, he closed the door.
Reed was relieved to see the back of Dr. Andy Stark. He knew his appearance at the door should matter very little to him, except it did matter that Sara decided to leave the house to see him in the middle of the night. Something she never did. Clearly, the doctor was in love with Sara-Kate. Perhaps if she wasn’t a spirit, Dr. Andy Stark was probably the man she would marry, and that did bother Reed...tremendously.
A wave of exhaustion enveloped him, and he made the decision to make his way to the sun porch to print off and pack up any outstanding Sara-Kate’s Spirit orders before the courier arrived. Once inside the glass enclosed porch, he stopped to take in the amber colored sky of the new day. He would miss this house when he had to leave, but more than anything, he would miss Sara-Kate. A day would not go by, he knew, when there wouldn’t be a tremendous sense of loss and regret.
He turned on the computer and while it powered up, he went back to the main house for a cup of tea. When he returned, he prepared to pull up the orders when the need to do an internet search on himself suddenly seized him. He tried to brush the need aside, and instead tried to tackle the orders, but the need continued to needle him, and finally he gave in and searched for “Reed Thayer”.
The page of results resulted in what felt like a blow to his stomach.
Nothing. No one even similar to himself.
He simply did not exist.
His fingers stumbled over the keys as he tried to pull up a national bookstore to search for his books.
It didn’t exist.
He rubbed circles on his temples, trying to process the cold, stark fact that he knew now to be certain. Nothing he knew existed. He really and truly was dead in his old existence, and alive in this new one. A potent mix of emotions bubbled up inside him. Anger, fear, despair, devastation, and sadness, all mixed and mingled inside him, producing a deep ache in every fiber of his being.
He switched off the computer. Maybe later he could fill the orders. Right now, in his state of mind, he would just mess everything up, and he wouldn’t do that to
