He set his phone down. There would likely be no more messages from her until they met, if she came. He hoped she did, but he realized she might try to back out. He stopped himself from dwelling on that; she would come, and he would convince her. He had no other choice, he was out of options. It was not only a positive step for her but also for him. He checked his watch. Less than twenty-four hours to go. He’d use the time to plan what he would say to her, what the best way was to convince her of the truth. It wouldn’t be easy but at least he had the opportunity. He would take full advantage; he could not fail. Too many people’s lives depended on him succeeding.
Chapter 11
Josie poured her tea before anyone else appeared for the day. As she took the first sip she contemplated her plan, hoping it would work. She spent most of her sleepless night wondering if she was doing the right thing, vacillating between backing out and going through with meeting the stranger. At least her troubled mind and wavering decisions prevented her from having the nightmare again, most likely because she slept so little. What little sleep she got was tainted by nonsensical dreams splicing together any and every recent event in her life.
She was running on adrenaline, so fatigue hadn’t set in yet. She turned to leave the kitchen, planning to take her tea onto the porch and watch the rain fall before checking the status of a few accounts prior to her meeting with the strange man who claimed to know her. She realized at that moment that she didn’t even know his name. Shaking the nagging reluctance to go through with the plan from her mind, she headed out of the kitchen.
Michael was on his way down the stairs along with Damien. “Good morning,” she said.
“Hey, good morning,” Damien answered. “Did you get any sleep?”
“Good morning, yeah, same question here,” Michael echoed.
“No, not really. I did contact Dr. Reed’s office. He said to come by today around ten to discuss options. Maybe he can give me a script.”
“Ten? Can you change it? I’ve got an in-office meeting,” Michael said.
“I’ve got to be in the office today, too,” Damien admitted.
“No, nope, can’t change it. That’s all he had. It’s not an appointment per se, so it’s fine if I go alone. He’s probably just going to ask if I have any allergies or have used any sleep medications before and prescribe something.”
“Well, treatment or not, the point was you’re not supposed to be going anywhere alone since there is a madman on the loose stalking you,” Michael said.
“First, I don’t think he’s a madman and second, I doubt I will get accosted at the therapist’s office. Even if I do, there’s plenty of people there to handle him or call the police.”
“Yeah, but not at the pharmacy,” Damien pointed out.
“I won’t go to the pharmacy, I’ll come straight home right after and send one of you if he prescribes something.”
Michael grabbed his phone. “I’ll see if I can change my meeting.”
“No, no, it’s fine. I will be fine. I’m not a child, you can’t be with me twenty-four seven.”
“Well, I don’t like it but okay, deal, straight there and back,” Michael said.
“Okay, dad.” Josie teased. Michael sighed but chose not to pursue it further. Josie’s plan worked, for better or worse. She was free to meet with the stranger or whoever else she chose.
Josie was a bundle of nerves as she went about her morning routine. Her ruse had worked, making it all too possible that this meeting would occur. Although she wondered what she had been thinking when she agreed to the meeting, she was determined to go through with it. She needed to learn if he could help her like he promised. The therapist hadn’t been able to, although she only met with him once. Following that session, though, the visions, as she referred to them, had developed, so she was worse not better.
After checking her job logs, noting anything that might need followed up on later and verifying everything else, she found herself distracted by anticipation. She paced the floor for an hour before deciding it was time to leave.
She arrived at the coffee shop early, parking outside and watching the entrance for about ten minutes before she found the nerve to enter. She forced herself to open her car door and walk toward the entrance. Her stomach was jittery, her palms were sweaty and her pulse was racing. Her heart was beating hard in her chest as she walked through the door. She scanned the room, not expecting to find the man there since she was early. However, he was there, sitting in a back corner with two mugs in front of him. He waved to her. She took a deep breath, swallowing hard. A last minute impulse screamed at her to turn and run but she squashed it, favoring the strange sense of acquaintance, and pushed herself to walk to his table.
He stood as she approached and pushed the chair in as she sat. “I bought you a tea, two sugars, just the way you like it.”
Already unsettled, Josie became more so. He knew about her dreams, he had a picture supposedly of the two of them and he knew how she liked her tea. “You said you can help me. Tell me how.”
“Celine…” he began gently.
“Josie,” she snapped back. “My name is Josie.”
“Okay, all right, Josie.” He held up his hands.
“How can you help me? Why do you think you know me?”
“I realize you want me to tell you everything, but we have to start slow.
