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13 Kisses- Chapter 4

The next three days were the worst of my life. Grams was gone. The hospital staff worked on her as long as they could. Her heart wasn’t strong enough in the end. It couldn’t make itself beat anymore.

I stood there silently in the hallway, Katie gripping my hand as we watched through the glass wall. My world crumbled with every attempt of the paddles, my sorrow building in my chest as I watched her pale face and her closed eyes, knowing she was never coming back to me.

Katie cried softly as we stood there, but I couldn’t. I was too numb to do anything. The hospital staff tried to console us. They wanted to call someone to get us. Who could they call? My whole family was right here, one lifeless and cold, and the other suffering right along with me.

I couldn’t even tell you how we got home. I assumed Katie drove us home, but the night became a blur as I shut down the world around me, trying to soften the blow I’d taken.

I remember Katie looking at me with such sad eyes. I knew she was grieving as much as I was, yet felt guilty because Grams was my flesh and blood. Not hers.

“Do you want to talk?” she asked me. She was shaking as she leaned against the doorframe in the kitchen.

I shook my head as I silently grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. I knew she probably needed to talk. This wasn’t the first time she’d lost someone either. Unlike me, she had at least known her mother. She died when we were 14 from a blood clot in her brain. No one knew she was sick. Not even her.

I knew all of this was bringing back those old, buried emotions. The pain of losing someone suddenly and expectantly was something you could never make sense of. It would always be an injustice etched into your soul.

I hugged my best friend tightly before taking my bottle of water back to my room because that’s all I could manage at the moment. I needed time to let the numbness dissolve. I needed to feel again before I could talk.

“I’m so sorry, Emma,” she whispered through tears as she hugged me back.

“I am too,” I told her, retreating to my room. That was the safest place I could be at the moment. I needed to hide and wait for the tears to come.

They had come. Rivers poured from me as I thought about all I had lost. I was alone now, just like Grams feared. I couldn’t let myself think about the others things she’d said.

Those were only the dying fears of an old, sick woman. I had other things to focus on. Things that mattered a lot more.

I cocooned myself in my bed, sleeping and crying, crying and sleeping, with no thoughts of ever coming out again.

It was three days after Grams’ death when Katie finally knocked on my door. “Emma?” she called hesitantly. “I made breakfast.”

I peered out of my blanket, squinting in the sunlight streaming through my bedroom window. I opened my mouth to tell her I didn’t want anything when my stomach growled in protest. Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea after all. It had been three days since I’d eating anything.

I hadn’t even gotten a chance to eat during the date with Tyler. The world imploded as soon as the waiter brought our food and it hadn’t gotten better yet.

The door opened with a soft click and Katie stuck her head in. “I’m sorry, Emma. I know you wanted to be left alone, but you need to eat. I won’t have you wasting away in here all alone.” She sat down on the edge of my bed, her eyes red with sadness. “Grams’ funeral is today. You need to eat and get ready.”

I looked at her, surprised by her words. “What do mean it’s today? It’s only been three days. How in the world did you put it together?” I felt like the biggest failure ever. I’d locked myself away, indulging in a pity party, while my best friend planned and paid for a funeral for my own flesh and blood.

Panic pulled me out of bed. “I’m sorry, Katie. I messed up. I’ll pay back every dime,” I told her, frantically searching through my closet for something decent to wear.

“I didn’t do it,” she told me, standing up from the bed. “Grams’ lawyer called last night. Everything’s already been planned.”

I stopped, clothes falling off hangers around me. “Grams had a lawyer?”

“It would seem so. She planned everything in advance, Em. Grams has taken care of everything for us.”

I stood there in shock, feeling like I’d missed some punchline. Gram’s wasn’t the type to have a lawyer. We didn’t have that kind of money. “You’re kidding.”

“No. Everything’s done. We’re just supposed to show up.”

I stood there, feeling like my world was crumbling for the second time. I didn’t understand what this meant. I knew everything about my grandmother. We didn’t keep secrets from each other. At least, I hadn’t thought we did. Now, I didn’t know what to think. She’d been keeping something huge from me.

Did I even really know my Grams at all.

“She knew she was sick,” I said softly, not wanting to really believe it.

“I think she did,” Katie said, confirming the worst. “I’m so sorry.” She crossed the room and pulled me in her arm, the tears coming instantly from both of us.

Okay, so my grandmother had been sick for a while. She knew and refused to tell us. She’d gotten a lawyer and paid for a funeral in advance. How was any of this possible? Had I been so self-absorb lately that I couldn’t see what was going on right under my nose?

Katie let go of me and stepped back, wiping her eyes. “I’m going to set the table. Go take a quick shower. You smell terrible.”

A laugh escaped my lips. She always knew what to say. “Thanks, Katie. That was awfully sweet.”

She smiled. “I know it was. And…you’re welcome.”

I headed into the bathroom for the quickest shower ever. The warm water made me feel a little more human as it flowed over my body. I’d done enough wallowing. It was time to put on my game face and get back to living life. Grams was dead. I wasn’t.

When I was done, I headed into the kitchen with my tail tucked between my legs. I owed Katie an apology. I’d disappeared into my cocoon of avoidance and left her all alone.

Katie flitted around the kitchen, staying busy as she sat plates of food on the table. She had never been one to wallow. When the going got tough, she bounced around like there was no tomorrow. I could tell she’d cleaned everything within an inch of its life. She got busy and I got pathetic.

That was the story of our lives.

She offered me a mug of steaming coffee and it was all I could do to keep myself from pouring it straight down my throat. Instead, I sat it down on the counter and looked my best friend in the eyes. “I’m sorry for hiding for so long.”

She shook her head. “Are you kidding me? The world owes you more than three days, Em. I wouldn’t have bothered you if Grams’ funeral wasn’t today. I’m sorry.” She looked at me with sad eyes. “I can’t even imagine what you’re going through. She was your flesh and blood.”

“No, Katie. She was your grandmother, too,” I said, wrapping her in a hug. “Blood doesn’t make family. Actions do.”

Katie wept into my shoulder as I tried to keep my tears in check. Hadn’t I cried enough?

She let go of me. “You’re not alone, Emma. No matter what Grams was afraid of, you will never be alone. I will always be your family. And if I’m not enough, we can always get a dog,” she said, a half-hearted grin gracing her lips.

I sighed as I picked up my coffee, bringing the sweet nectar to my lips. Was that what my life had come to? Did the only snuggling I had to look forward to come in canine form?

I couldn’t really be destined to be alone, could I?

We got ready quickly, heading out in a silence thick enough to smother. It was all I could do to hold back the tears as the thoughts bounced around in my overloaded mind. Was I really on my way to say goodbye to my grandmother for the last time? How did a person face something like that?

I felt like the sun had been ripped out of the sky and the air had turned to liquid. This wasn’t the same world it had been three days ago. This wasn’t a world I wanted to face anymore.

My constant was gone. No amount of tears would ever bring her back.

The funeral was held in an old, stone church on the outskirts of our town. It wasn’t the biggest or most attended church in Misty Stone, but it was the one my grandmother loved the most. I wasn’t surprised in the least to find myself seated in the front pew of Misty Stone Community Church.

Grams had never been a religious person, but she was deeply spiritual. She needed some place that nurtured personal beliefs, yet offered the chance to explore those beliefs with others. That’s what she loved most about the place, it put community before preachiness. She attended services every week without fail. It was her second favorite place to socialize, right behind the book club.

Katie and I wept silently through the service. Grams’ mysterious lawyer had indeed taken care of everything. Nothing was expected of us at all except to mourn.

I watched the familiar faces around me as sadness shone in their eyes as they watched the closed casket at the front of the room. I wasn’t the only one who lost her. These people had as well. She meant so much to so many. How could the world take someone like that?

After the service, we made our way outside and into the large graveyard that stretched out behind the church. We had a few minutes before the burial and I wiped at my eyes as I slowed, letting the others pass me.

This was it. I was really saying goodbye to Grams. She’d be in the ground and I would be an orphan once again.

Katie stayed back with me, silently watching me through her own tears. “It was a very beautiful service,” she said finally. “Grams would have loved it.”

I chuckled despite myself. “Of course, she would. I think she planned every detail of it.”

She nodded, laughing with me. “I think your right.”

That was Grams for you. She had to be in control of everything. Even after she was gone.

“Emma,” a man spoke softly behind me.

I turned around, smiling sadly at the man who had tried desperately to woo my grandmother. “Hi, Fred,” I said, wrapping my arms around him. “How are you?”

He shook his head as he let go of me. “I still can’t believe it. She’s gone.” He dabbed at his eyes as he hugged Katie. “How are you girls doing?”

“About the same as you, Fred,” Katie told him. “It feels so surreal. Like I could wake up any moment and find this to be nothing but a terrible nightmare.”

I felt the same. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. This had to be a nightmare I was stuck in. I watched the men in the distance as they carried my grandmother’s casket to her final resting place. We couldn’t put this off any longer. “They’re almost ready,” I said softly as I started walking again. “We better join them.”

The others fell into step next to me.

“I want you to know, Emma,” Fred said as we walked, “I loved your grandmother very much.”

I looked over at the man who’d been around since I’d been in high school. He’d been a big part of Grams’ life. I knew how deep his affection for her had run, but she seemed oblivious to them. Either that or she’d never really been interested in being anything other than great friends.

“I know, Fred,” I told him, sympathy coating my face. “I know you’ve always loved Grams. I’m grateful for that.”

“I asked her to marry me several times,” he said, his head hanging slightly. “She’d only tell me not to be silly. She thought she was too old to settle down. I think she really didn’t want to leave you two.”

I looked at him in shock. Had Fred really asked her to marry him? But she turned him down. Because of me. I’d been holding her back. I’d ruined Grams’ love life as well.

We joined the other in silence as they started to lower the casket into the ground. Dirt was thrown on top and I dropped the single yellow rose I had in my hand down onto it. It felt inadequate to what she meant to me, though.

How could a single rose sum up everything I had lost? She’d given me a home and a life when fate had stripped me of those things. She’d taken in my best friend when she needed it as well. Grams had been the kindest, most giving person in the whole world.

The rose wasn’t enough.

Nothing would ever be enough.

I stepped back as the tears streamed down my face as I watched the sorrow that shown so plainly around me.

What would we do with our lives now?

“I’m so sorry for your loss, Miss Ross,” a voice spoke from beside me. “Your grandmother was a wonderful lady.”

I turned. An older gentleman stood there, genuine sadness clinging to his eyes as he stared at me. “Thank you,” I said, trying to remember if I’d met him before. Nothing came to mind. Did Grams have a suitor I didn’t know about? Poor Fred. “I’m sorry. My mind is a jumbled mess right now. Have we met?”

He shook his head. “No. Forgive me, Ms. Ross. I should have introduced myself sooner.” He held his hand out to me. “I’m Graham Ashford. I’m your grandmother’s lawyer.”

“Oh,” I said as those words hit home. He was the only reason we were all here right now, celebrating Grams’ life. It only made me feel guiltier to look him in the eye. “Thank you for this, Mr. Ashford,” I said, motioning to my grandmother’s grave. “The service was beautiful. Grams would have loved it.”

He nodded as his eyes drifted to the ground. “Regina planned everything, Ms. Ross. She knew what she wanted and she took care of it in advance. She didn’t want any of the responsibility to fall on you.”

So many questions swirled through my mind. When did she plan this? Where did she get the money? Why did she even need a lawyer in the first place? The one that came out was the one I dreaded the most. “How long had Grams been sick?”

He frowned as his eyes once again found mine. “She knew of her heart condition for several years. It had only recently begun to get worse, though.”

Katie approached slowly, those words, no doubt, troubling her as well. “Why didn’t she say anything?”

He turned to her. “She didn’t want to trouble the time you two had left with her, Ms. Reid.”

I shook my head. It was a noble thought, but things could have been so much different if I had only known. I wouldn’t have taken her for granted. “She should have told us.”

“I agree,” Mr. Ashford said. “I advised her several times to talk to you, but…your grandmother was very much her own woman. She did things in her own time, in her own way.”

That was the understatement of the century.

“There is some business we need to discuss,” my grandmother’s lawyer said before letting his eyes drift over the gravestones to Grams’ final resting spot. “Now’s not the time or place, though. Would it be possible to meet later to discuss things over coffee?”

“Oh, of course, Mr. Ashford,” I told him quickly. I had no idea what business we could possibly have with him. I hope it didn’t have anything to do with owed money. I know he said Grams didn’t want any reasonability left on me, but she was my grandmother. I didn’t expect some stranger to take care of everything for me.

“Great,” he said, a real smile on his face. “And, please, call me Graham. Your grandmother was a dear friend and I hope that will extend to her family as well.” He placed a comforting hand on my arm. “Regina loved you very much, Emma. You were her whole world. Hold on to that fact.” With a nod, he stepped away. “I’ll have my secretary call you with a time and place.” He turned and walked slowly away, back through the path lined with gravestones to the church parking lot.

We stood there, staring after him. My mind swirled with questions. “What other business do you think he has with us?” I asked Katie, still fearing he’d want money I didn’t have.

She looked over at me, a puzzled look in her own eyes. “I guess Grams was way more mysterious than we thought.”

Yeah, between curses and lawyers, Grams definitely had a side I didn’t know about.

© 2021 Melissa L. Webb

The Sandman’s Daughter- Chapter 4

Cassie sat on a bench outside the school and watched the ambulance pull away. The lights flashed as it rushed out of the parking lot, taking all the school spirit with it.

All around her people stood in groups, their faces ashen with the thoughts of death that possible haunted the halls of Madison High. The teachers huddled around the principle in the parking lot, trying to make some sense of the tragedy.

Cassie wiped a tear from her eye. She’d never seen anything like that before, and she didn’t think she could ever scrub it from her mind. She kept seeing Tyler flop against the floor. Again and again, his body would do the same horrific dance through her memory. She shivered, trying to get the image to go. She’d lose her sanity if she had to keep seeing it.

“Cassie?” a voice spoke softly next to her.

She looked up and found a red-eyed Sam staring at her. “Is he okay?”

Sam shook her head as she sat down. “The guys told me that he’s slipped into some kind of coma, but no one knows what that’ll mean,” she told her as she wiped her eyes. She looked over at her, an imploring look in her eyes. “What happened, Cass?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. He fell asleep in class, then woke up screaming. After that, he went into a seizure.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Sam said as she watched the people around her. “Tyler’s in his prime. This shouldn’t have happened.” She was quiet for a moment. “They’ve cancelled the pep rally…and the game. They’re sending us all home. No one feels like being here anyway.”

“I can’t say I blame them,” Cassie said, looking over her shoulder at the school. “I don’t know if I’ll ever want to set foot in that classroom again.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Sam offered

With one final look back at the school, Cassie nodded, following Sam to the car.

***

The girls sat at Cassie’s kitchen table, neither one saying anything. The day’s tragedy weighed too heavily on their minds. It was all they could think about.

Cassie leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. She felt drained as if she was a battery that been used up and discarded. She was worried that she was headed for a breaking point if she couldn’t find a way to recharge. Maybe a long hot bath would help ease her mind a little. At least it would give her a break before the night came.

She cringed at the thought of sleep. She could only imagine what people’s dreams would be like after what happened to Tyler. There was no way she would get rest now. She’d be lucky if she wasn’t yanked to every house in town.

The front door opened, pulling the girls from their thoughts. Cassie looked over at the clock. The day had passed away, disappearing silently as they had sat and worried. The night loomed in front of her, offering more grief in its wake.

“Cassandra?” her mother called as she shut the front door.

“In here, Mom,” she said as her mother hurried into the kitchen.

“I heard what happened at school,” Ms. O’Bryan said as she sat her purse down on the counter. “Are you okay, Samantha? I know since he’s on the football team, he must be a friend of yours.”

Sam nodded. “Yeah, he is, but it’s not me you should worry about. Cassie was there. She saw it happen.”

She looked over at her daughter, surprise in her eyes. “You were there?”

Cassie nodded weakly, not meeting her mother’s gaze. “Yeah, I was.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” she spoke, crossing the room to her daughter’s side. “Are you okay? Do you need to talk about it?” She pulled her daughter into her arms. “That must have been horrible to watch. Do you need to talk about it?”

Cassie squirmed against her mother, freeing herself from her arms. “Mom, I’m fine.”

Her mother eyed her, the worry plain on her face. “Cassandra, you need to work through something like this. You can’t just bottle it away.”

“I’m not bottling it away. I’m okay.”

Her mom sighed. “If you wanted to talk to someone who isn’t me, we could arrange that,” she told her.

“I’m fine,” Cassie told her again. “I’m dealing with it. I don’t need help.”

Ms. O’Bryan looked at her one last time. “Okay, fine. Have it your way,” she told her as she headed for the back stairs. “I’m going to change and then start dinner.” She turned, looking at Sam. “Would you like to stay for dinner, dear?”

“That would be great, Ms. O’Bryan. My dad won’t be home until later and I really don’t feel like being alone right now.”

“I can’t say I blame you,” she told her before heading up the stairs.

Cassie watched her mother go. When she was out of sight, she leaned over and kicked Sam lightly in the knee.

“Hey,” Sam cried, rubbing her knee. “What was that for?”

“Why did you tell my mom I was there? I was planning to keep that information from her.” She shook her head. “Now she’s really convinced I need help.”

“Well, would talking to someone really be such a bad idea, Cass?”

“I’m okay.”

Sam leaned forward and looked her in the eye. “Something’s been going on in that head of yours lately,” she spoke softly. “You’re more stressed than usual.”

“I haven’t been sleeping well, that’s all,” she told her. “It’s not a big deal. Really.”

Sam sighed, hearing the tension in her words. “You should at least see a doctor. Have them give you some sleeping pills or something?”

Cassie looked at her best friend curiously. Sleeping pills? Why hadn’t she thought of that before? That might be the answer she’d been waiting for. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good,” she told her. “We have way too many other things to worry about right now.”

“Agreed.”

Sam stood up and started to stretch when her cell phone rang. She answered it quickly. “Hello?” She held her phone to her ear, listening intently. “Okay, thanks for letting me know, Mike,” she spoke after a few minutes. “Keep me informed. Bye.” She sat her phone down and stared at Cassie.

She waited patiently, letting Sam work out what she wanted to tell her.

“That was Mike. He and Riley are at the hospital. Tyler’s parents just got done talking to them,” she told her, sitting back down.

“What did they say?”

“Tyler’s stable, but he’s in a coma. The doctors don’t know why. They can’t find anything wrong with him.”

Cassie looked at her friend. “It’s good there’s nothing wrong with him, right?”

Sam shrugged. “If they can’t find what cause it, then they can’t say it won’t happen again.”

Cassie shivered at that thought. The image of Tyler’s shaking body flooded through her mind once more.

Sam saw the shiver. “Let’s go watch a movie or something. Anything to take our minds off this,” she said, rising from her chair.

Cassie nodded absently, joining her. She tried to shake the image of Tyler from her mind as she did, but it stuck to it like flypaper. This was going to be a long weekend. She had no idea what caused the seizure, but one thought kept pushing itself to the front of her thoughts: Tyler had been asleep when it happened.

© 2021 Melissa L. Webb

The Sandman’s Daughter- Chapter 3

Cassie leaned back in her chair and yawned as the History teacher rambled on about some battle or something. She couldn’t concentrate on anything that trivial right now. She was so tired. The last few nights were the hardest yet. People all over town needed her nocturnal guidance for some reason.

Usually, she only slipped into one or two dreams a night, but lately, it seemed like anytime she closed her eyes, she was whisked away. She didn’t know how long she could keep this up. She needed rest and she didn’t know how to get it.

She yawned again, shifting at her desk. The day couldn’t go by fast enough. She needed to get back to searching for an answer to what was happening to her.

The teacher stopped and looked at her. “Am I boring you, Miss O’Bryan?”

Cassie sat up straight as her cheeks reddened. “No, Mr. Rice. I’m just a little tired,” she replied quickly.

“It looks like Cassie’s not the only one, Mr. Rice,” a student called from the back of the room. “Tyler’s sound asleep.”

The class snickered around him.

The teacher sighed. “Somebody wake him up before he drools all over his desk.”

Cassie watched as one of his teammates nudge him with his foot. “Come on, Tyler. Rise and shine,” he called loudly.

Tyler moved but didn’t wake up.

Mr. Rice impatiently walked over to Tyler’s desk. “Wake up, Mr. Reynolds,” the teacher said as he slammed his textbook on the desktop.

Tyler’s body twitched in his seat. His eyes opened wide as a blood-curdling scream left his lips. It filled the room, bringing everyone to a complete stop. They watched in shock as the scream rolled on and on.

“Tyler?” Mr. Rice asked as he peered into his face.

Tyler’s eyes rolled up in his head as his body jerked violently. He danced liked a puppet on strings before pitching sideways from his chair onto the ground.

The students closest to him jumped back as his body convulsed. He legs kick out, knocking his desk over. White foam poured from his lips. It ran down his chin, puddling below his head.

“Tyler, hang on,” Mr. Rice spoke as he knelt. He fumbled with his belt as he frantically looked around the room. “Someone get the nurse,” he said, pulling his belt free.

No one moved.

Everyone was too shocked to move.

“Now!” Mr. Rice snapped.

That broke the spell that had weaved itself around the room. A couple of Tyler’s teammates went running out as someone started weeping.

Cassie backed up as she watched Mr. Rice shove the belt between Tyler’s teeth. Tears formed in her eyes as the teacher held him down, stopping his body from doing any more damage.

She couldn’t believe it. This couldn’t be happening, she thought as she watched the scene play out around her in slow motion. She’d known Tyler since kindergarten. Sure, he was a wise-cracking jerk most of the time, but he was a part of life here at Madison High.

Fear rose in her chest as she watched the foam turn red. It flowed from his mouth, while his body continued to convulse against the floor.

This couldn’t be real. Was she really going to have to stand here and watch Tyler play out his last death throes?

© 2021 Melissa L. Webb

13 Kisses- Chapter 3

I paced the waiting room, the tile floor cold under my bare feet, and my tasteless cup of coffee lukewarm in my hands. My mind didn’t care about those things. Only one thing mattered. Was I about to lose the woman who raised me?

I couldn’t handle that. She was the only true family I had left. She was the only family I could remember at all. She’d taken me in as a baby after my parents were killed in a car crash and raised me as her own. She was my rock, my shelter, and I couldn’t imagine living without her.

“Calm down, Em,” Katie told me, fidgeting in one of those horrible hardback chairs. “Everything will be fine.”

I spun, my coffee sloshing angrily around me. “How do you know that? You don’t. You can’t guarantee that.”

“I know,” she replied helplessly. “It’s just what people say at a time like this.”

“Yeah,” I said, sitting down next to her, my anger gone as quickly as it came. I felt helpless, too, and I didn’t know what to do about it. “I’m going to lose her, Katie.”

My grandmother was only in her sixties. That was way too young to worry about a heart attack, right? She was active, healthy, did everything the doctor told her, yet, here we were, waiting in the emergency room, desperately hoping that things would be all right.

“What happened?” I asked again for the millionth time.

My best friend sighed. “She was at her book club and collapsed. Your grandmother’s would-be boyfriend didn’t have either of our cell phone numbers so he called the house phone.”

“It was a good thing you were home,” I said, feeling even guiltier for being out on a date. This was just another nail in the coffin to my love life. Nothing good ever happened when I dated and now the luck had finally taken a turn for the worse.

“I only stopped by to change clothes. I had plans with Tad.”

I looked at her. My luck was affecting her love life as well. “I’m sorry. Can you still catch him?”

Katie shook her head, her perfect blonde curls bouncing gently. “I’d rather be here. Your grandmother raised me as much as she did you. Even gave me a place to live after Ted and I split up. She’s family and I need to be here for her.”

“Tad’s your family, too,” I said, gently reminding her of that fact. It had been almost a year since the breakup and they were finally on social terms. I didn’t want anything to get in the way of that. I knew how much Katie loved him.

“Ex-husbands aren’t family, Em,” she said with a frown. “Especially when they’re the ones who asked for the divorce.”

I latched onto the conversation, desperate for something that would take my mind off my grandmother. “Then why were you going out with him tonight?”

She shrugged. “He said he wanted to meet for drinks and I didn’t have anything better to do. I figure, why not?”

“Do you think he wants to get back together? He has been talking to you a lot more lately.”

“Who knows? I’m not really sure how I feel about it anyway. I’m finally getting over the heartbreak, you know? I don’t know if I’m ready to risk the pain all over again.”

I sighed, leaning back in my chair. Tad and Katie were high school sweethearts. What hope did I have if someone like them couldn’t find their happy ending? “But he was your true love.”

“No. He was my first love. We got married way too young, Emma. I’m only 30. I need to broaden my horizon.” She looked over at me. “So do you.”

Yeah, sure, that was the problem. “It wouldn’t matter how far I broaden my horizons. Bad luck will always find me. I’m terminally single. It’s safer for everyone that way.”

Katie laughed, shaking her head. “It’s not that bad, Em. Really.”

I chewed on my lip, knowing that wasn’t true. I hadn’t told her about my date yet. “I totaled Tyler’s car. I managed this while it was parked in the parking lot.”

Katie’s eyes were huge. “You’re kidding. Totaled?”

“Totaled.”

“That has to be a coincidence,” my best friend told me, sounding not at all convinced. We’d grown up together after all. She knew the kind of things that happened when I dated whether she wanted to admit it or not. “I’m sure it had nothing to do with your luck.”

“A drunk driver hit the car after Tyler spilled his champagne, knocked out a waiter, and set a fellow customer on fire with the man’s dinner. You tell me.”

“Oh, Emma,” Katie said, worry in her green eyes. “What are we going to do with you?”

The doors leading back to the emergency room opened and a guy in scrubs stepped out. He hurried over to us. “Ms. Ross,” he said, looking down at me. “Your grandmother is stable at the moment. She’s asking for you. As soon as we get her set up in a room you both can go back and see her. If you want to wait in the ICU’s waiting room they’ll send someone out when she’s ready.”

“Thank you,” I told him, grateful for the hospitality. “Will she be okay?”

He frowned. “Her heart stopped twice in there, Ms. Ross. She’s doing okay right now. Let’s hope she continues to.” He turned around and headed away from us, no doubt eager to be free from the panic in my eyes at those words.

I might lose her after all.

***

We sat in the tiny, private waiting room for almost an hour. Each minute that crept by raised the level of fear in my chest. What was taking so long? Couldn’t they roll her to a room and get on with it?

“Something must have happened,” I said, willing someone to come through the door.

Katie’s eyes drifted from the TV to me. I could tell she was tired of hearing that. “They’re getting her settled, that’s all. You need to give them time to do their job.”

I harrumphed, crossing my arms as I leaned back in the chair. She was right, of course, but I didn’t want to let go of my anger. It was my shield and I needed to stay focused on it before I went completely insane.

“It’s going to be okay, Emma,” Katie told me again. “Grams is a strong woman. She’s too feisty to leave this world yet.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. It was true. When Grams set her mind to something, she would move the heavens to see it done. She’d once glued wings to a cat just because a kid at school told me there was no such thing as magical creatures.

Okay, my grandma was a bit kooky, too, but she taught me anything was possible if you believed it enough. That’s what I needed to focus on. My grandmother would find a way to stay out of Death’s reach if she wanted to.

The door opened and a nurse came in. “Your grandmother would like to see you,” she said with a smile. She glanced over at Katie. “Both of you.”

We bounced out of our chairs and through the ICU doors as soon as we knew where we were going. Grams was awake and asking for us. That was the best news in the world. Hope swelled in my chest, maybe things weren’t quite as bad as they seemed.

We hurried down the hallway as machines beeped around us. Beeping was good. It meant patients were alive.

I let that thought soothe me as we stopped in front of the glass door of my grandmother’s room. She was sitting up in bed, her ear to her cell phone.

“Grams,” I said, tears of joy flooding my eyes. She was okay. They were even letting her use the phone. Things were good.

We hurried through the door, crowding around her bed in relief.

“Grams, are you okay?”

“I’ve got to go,” she spoke hurriedly into the phone. “My girls are here.” She hung up the phone, smiling at us. “Emma. Katie. I’m so sorry I put you through this.”

I plopped down on the edge of her bed and scooped up her hand. My eyes searched her face looking for reassurance that she was fine. “No. Don’t worry about us, Grams. How are you feeling?”

She squeezed my hand. “Oh, I’m a tough old bird, Emma. You know that. There’s not much I can’t handle.”

Katie settled into the chair next to the bed. “You really caused a commotion at book club tonight, Grams. What’s the matter? Fred wasn’t giving you enough attention?” she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Weariness flashed in Grams’ eyes. “Oh, that poor, dear man,” she said, her lower lip quivering slightly.

“It’s okay, Grams,” I said, squeezing her hand. “We’ll let him know you’re okay. You don’t need to worry about anyone else right now.”

“I am worried, Emma. I’m worried about you.”

I frowned, trying to figure out what I’d done to deserve her worry this time. I couldn’t think of anything. “I’m fine, Grams. I’m a little shook up, but I’ll be as good as new once you’re out of here.”

“My sweet, sweet Emma. I tried to raise you the best I could. I was heartbroken when your parents died and taking in a baby at the time was difficult. You should have had a mom and dad, not some old lady fretting over you all the time.”

My eyes grew moist. “It’s okay. I loved every minute I’ve spent with you. I wouldn’t trade those years for anything.”

She shook her head. “No. Katie and I are all you’ve ever had. You’ve had such a lonely life,” she cried, tears sliding down her cheeks. “You’ll never have a man in your life. There won’t be anyone to take care of you when I’m gone.”

Wait, was this the 15th century? I didn’t need someone to take care of me. How did this become about my love life anyway? “Everything’s going to be okay, Grams.”

“No, it’s not,” she insisted, shuddering under a sob.

I held her hand tighter, at a loss for words. My grandmother was the strongest person I knew. I couldn’t even remember seeing her cry before. Those tears turned my blood to ice.

Her heart attack rattled her to the core.

“I’ve been such a selfish person, Emma. I’m so sorry. You’re going to spend the rest of your life alone because of it.”

I exchanged puzzled looks with Katie. What on Earth was she talking about?

“Emma’s going through a rough patch with men right now, Grams,” Katie told her reassuringly. “It’s nothing to worry about. When it’s time for her to find the right guy, she will.”

“No, she won’t,” Grams said, a fat tear rolling down her cheek. “Not unless I fix it.”

I chewed my lip. Maybe Grams wasn’t as okay as I thought she was. She wasn’t making any sense at all. “No, Grams. You don’t need to fix anything. You only need to get better.”

“You’re not listening to me,” she shouted, leaning forward. Her monitors beeped as her blood pressure spiked.

“Grams!” I said, staring at the machine. “You need to lie back down. We can figure this out later.” I pushed her down, hoping she hadn’t done anything serious.

A nurse came in and pushed a button on the monitor. “Now, Regina, we talked about this. If having your family here is too much for you, they’ll have to leave. You need to be resting.”

Grams settled back on her pillow, a hand resting on her chest. “No, I’m fine,” she said, giving the nurse a weak smile. “It will only be a little while longer. I promise.”

The nurse nodded. “I’ll be back in ten minutes,” she said, shaking a finger at us. “No more partying in here. Okay?”

We nodded as she walked out. If only we were in the mood to party.

I sat back down on the edge of the bed, taking in my grandmother’s pale, tear-streaked face. This was all wrong. We shouldn’t be here. We should be home, Grams humming in the kitchen as she baked her famous pumpkin spice cookies. She shouldn’t be in a hospital bed, looking like death warmed over.

“Can we get you anything, Grams?” I asked, feeling helpless. “Can we do anything for you?”

My grandmother sighed, closing her eyes. “You could listen to me for a moment. I need to tell you something. I’ve been carrying this for 18 years.”

The seriousness in her eyes scared me. Why did she feel the need to confess something? My grandmother was the best person I’d ever known. What guilt could she possibly harbor in her soul?

“What is it, Grams?” I said, leaning forward. She had my full attention and I wanted her to know it. If this was important enough for her to be worried about it right now, then I owed it to her to hear her out. “What have you been carrying for 18 years?”

“I didn’t want to be alone, Emma. The only family I had, besides you, died in that car accident. Ever since that day, I’ve had you by my side. I didn’t want that to change.”

“That’s not changing, Grams. I’m not going anywhere.”

She sighed. “You would have if you got married. That’s what I was worried about.”

I frowned, still not sure what she was getting at. “It’s okay. It’s not selfish for you to worry about me getting married and leaving you.”

“I’m sure everyone who raises a child feels that way, Grams,” Katie told her, trying to lessen my grandmother’s guilt.

“No. I didn’t just worry. I did something about it.”

I stared at my grandmother. What did she mean? “What did you do, Grams?”

What could she have done? It wasn’t like she’d chased my would-be suitors away or anything. My luck took care of that all by itself.

“I did the unspeakable,” she said, tears starting anew. “Something no grandmother should ever do.”

She was serious. Whatever she thought she’d done to my love life was tearing her apart.

I took her hand. “Whatever it is, you can tell me. I’ll understand.”

She shook her head miserably. “No, you won’t. Nobody could understand what I’ve done.”

“What did you do?”

“I…,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I had you cursed.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. The laughter just flowed out of me. That was the silliest thing I’d ever heard. My grandmother was still trying to make me laugh even in a hospital bed.

“That was a good one, Grams,” Katie said, looking relieved. “You had me going there for a moment.”

Grams sat up again, her eyes pleading with me. “I’m telling you the truth, Emma. I had someone place a curse on you. I didn’t want you to find true love. I didn’t want to end up alone.”

I looked at her, as the machines began to beep again, realizing the grief was very real. She wasn’t teasing us. She believed she really had me cursed.

The heart attack had driven my grandmother insane.

Tears pooled in my eyes as the nurse came back in.

“Excuse me,” she said, pushing past us, trying to get closer to Grams. “What did I say, Regina,” she said as she stared down at her. “You need to calm down.”

“I need her to understand,” Grams said, waving a hand in my direction. “She needs to know why she can’t find true love.”

“Shh,” the nurse cooed, pushing my grandmother gently back down. “You can discuss that later, Regina. You need to rest now.”

Grams turned her gaze to the nurse. “There won’t be later. This is my last chance to fix what I’ve done.” She looked back at me. “I need you to promise me, Emma. I need you to promise me you’ll do whatever it takes to break the curse.”

I stood there, watching as her machines started to scream. Her blood pressure numbers soared as her pulse skipped a few beats.

“Regina,” the nurse spoke urgently as my grandmother slumped back against her pillow.

More people poured into the room, pushing us out. Katie and I watched through the glass wall as they went to work on her.

“Promise me,” my grandmother said softly, closing her eyes.

One of the machines let out a steady tone as its bouncing lines flatten out.

It was too late to promise her anything. 

Grams was gone.

© 2021 Melissa L. Webb

The Sandman’s Daughter- Chapter 2

Cassie passed through the crowded halls, keeping her head down. She needed to get out of the ocean of students. She hated being boxed in by these many people, it made her feel as if she was drowning.

She took a deep breath, steadily making her way to her locker. With a quick spin of the lock, she shoved her backpack in and sighed, letting the pent-up breath go as she tried to shake the negativity from her mind. Her eyes fell on all the students rushing through the halls, their laughter and smiles suggesting it was just another day for them.

Well, it was just another day for her as well. A day in a world where she was the only one who knew, the only one who saw.

Yet, that didn’t excuse her from being trapped by insignificant stuff like test papers and textbooks. She wished she could scream in the faces of those around her. She needed someone to understand, someone to hear what she went through at night. None of them even realized there was a whole other world out there. One that came alive when they were sleeping. One they imposed on her every single night.

Cassie leaned her forehead against the cold metal locker. She needed a break from everything. She couldn’t stay on the path she was on. It was going to kill her.

“Hey, Cass. You okay?” a voice beside her asked.

Cassie straightened up and glanced over at the tall blonde. Her hair was pulled high in a ponytail as usual, and she wore a maroon and black Madison High football jersey. “Hey, Sam,” she said as her eyes took in the jersey, eager to take her mind of her dark thoughts. “You’re all set for tonight’s game, aren’t you?”

Her best friend shrugged, knowing that was her default look on game days. “Just because the school won’t let me play on our football team, doesn’t mean I can’t support them,” she told her with a smile. “Besides, I look good in maroon and black.”

Cassie sighed as she took in her friend’s perfect body. Sam was gorgeous even if she wouldn’t admit it. Even her tomboy attitude wasn’t enough to keep every guy in school from drooling after her. “You look good in everything, Sam.”

Sam stopped, really taking in her friend. “Are you okay? You seem kind of bleak.”

Cassie shut her locker. “No, I’m fine,” she said, stepping back into the flow of students.

“You don’t look fine,” her friend said, stepping into the crowd with her.

“Thanks. That’s what everyone keeps telling me.”

“Hey, Cass,” Sam said and caught her arm, stopping her in her tracks. “I’m getting a little concerned here. You look like you haven’t slept in a week. Are you having those nightmares again?”

She looked at Sam. She loved her like a sister, but really, how was she supposed to tell her they were so much more than nightmares. “Yeah, nightmares. I’m having the nightmares again.”

Sam stared at her, sensing more there. “Cassie, what is it?” she asked, a question burning in her eyes. “There’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there? What’s wrong?”

She looked away. Was it time to tell her what she could do? Would she still be her best friend, even after all these years they’d spent together if she knew what a freak she really was?

Sam seemed to sense her hesitation. “You can tell me anything. You know that.”

She chewed her lip and watched as the people pushed past them. Did she really want to alienate herself even more by admitting she was different? Could she handle it? “Sam, I…”

“Hey, Sam. Incoming!” someone yelled. A football spiraled down the hall towards them. Sam plucked it out of the air with ease.

“Nice one, Maguire,” a blonde guy wearing a Madison High jersey called as he jogged up to them.

“Tell me about it, Riley,” she said with a smile. “They so need to let me on the team.”

“Hey, if it were up to us, we’d have you on in a heartbeat,” he said, turning to two more football players as they walked up. “Wouldn’t we, Mikey?”

“I think you should be on the team, Sam,” Mike said as he pushed his shaggy brown bangs out of his eyes. “But, unfortunately, the school decides who’s on the team. Not the quarterback.”

“I totally agree,” the short dark-haired guy next to Mike said through a grin. “It would make the locker room more interesting.”

Sam turned to Cassie. “And that’s the reason the school ruled against it.”

Riley smacked the guy in the arm. “Cut it out, Tyler. Can’t you show some class occasionally?”

Mike smiled apologetically at Sam. “Sorry. Not all of us are insensitive pigs.”

“I know that,” she told him as she tossed the football back. “He just doesn’t want me to outshine him on the field.”

Riley glanced over at Tyler. “She would too, you know.” He laughed at the look on his face and then turned back to Sam. “You coming to the pep rally, Maguire?”

“You know it.”

His grin widened. “Cool. I’ll see you there,” he said, turning around and heading back down the hall with Tyler following close behind.

“I guess I’ll see you at the pep rally, Sam,” Mike said, turning towards Cassie. “You’re coming, too, right?”

Cassie shrugged. “I guess so.”

“Good. I’ll see you, ladies, there,” he said and turned around. “Go, Marauders!” he cheered as he strode down the hallway.

“Go, Marauders!” the students echoed as he passed.

Cassie watched him go, a slight smile on her lips. Maybe being friends with the best female jock in school had its perks.

“Hey, Cass, maybe you should wipe the drool from your mouth before someone notices,” Sam teased her.

“I wasn’t drooling.”

“No, but you were thinking about it.”

A faint blush crept across her cheeks. “Yeah, okay. I was,” she admitted, walking through the crowd once more.

Sam laughed softly, following at her side. “I know how much you like him. Mike’s a great guy. You should totally go for it.”

Cassie looked at her in shock. “Are you kidding me?” she asked. “Mike’s the quarterback of the football team. He’s one of the most popular guys at school. I’m nobody.” She shook her head sadly. “Girls like me don’t get guys like him.”

“That’s total crap, Cassandra,” Sam told her. “You are not a nobody. And you could have Mike if you tried.”

Cassie looked away. “I don’t believe that. I can’t. I’d rather live in my fantasy than be rejected by reality.”

Sam sighed. “You’ll never get anything in life if you think like that. You should be seizing life while you can.”

Cassie stopped and looked at her. “You’re one to talk. What about Riley?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’re in love with the guy, and we all know he’s got it bad for you, but, you have yet to make him your boyfriend. Why is that, Miss Seize-Life?”

She shrugged. “It’s a timing thing. I’m not quite ready to be responsible for Riley Jones.” She laughed at the thought. “Come on, Cass. You know I have trouble even taking care of a goldfish.”

“That’s the truth,” Cassie admitted, “but, you two would be really good together.”

“Yeah, and someday we will be,” she told her. “Just not today.” She smiled as she pulled Cassie towards their first class. “Today we have more important things to worry about. Like, football.” She looked around as she entered the classroom. “Go, Marauders!” she cheered with rest of the students as they watched her enter.

Cassie shook her head. There was more important stuff to worry about than football, but she didn’t want to ruin Sam’s mood. She managed a smile as she entered the room. “Go, Marauders.”

13 Kisses- Chapter 2

I walked down the street, tears clinging to my eyelashes as I shivered in the cool night breeze. My luck had struck again and attacked the most wonderful guy I’d ever met.

I wanted to scream. This was all my fault. I knew better than to risk dating someone and now I’d completely ruined Tyler’s life.

Only someone with my luck could get a parked car totaled. I guess the real cause would be the drunk idiot cruising around the parking lot, but my curse was what made him pick Cappelli’s lot in the first place.

I couldn’t bring myself to face Tyler after that. I mean how could I? He’d scoffed at the idea of bad luck and it destroyed his brand new Charger.

I’d be damned if that didn’t have Emma Ross written all over it. I’d tried to make him understand, but no, he’d been way too charming for his own good. He’d broken through my walls and what had it got us?

Nothing but trouble.

I’d slipped out of the restaurant while Tyler was dealing with the police and insurance companies. He didn’t need any more trouble than what I’d already brought him. It was safer if I disappeared into the night, free from any romantic entanglements that might cause more damage.

My heels clicked loudly against the cement as I hurried down the sidewalk, putting as much distance between Cappelli’s and myself as I could. A bubble bath and a glass of wine were calling my name and it was all I could do to keep from running down the street.

I needed the soothing numbness only those things could provide me. The shame of what I’d done was too much to bear and I needed to dull the edges.

“Are you okay?” somebody asked as I hurried past.

I frowned, glancing over my shoulder at the guy standing there. Great. Why couldn’t this night leave me alone? “I’m fine,” I lied, picking up my pace.

“Are you sure?” he asked, following along behind me. “You don’t look okay.”

“Everything’s fine,” I snapped, wondering where a taxi was when I needed one.

“Oh, okay,” he called, taking the hint. “I was only trying to help.”

I sighed, stopping. My grandmother had raised me to be polite. She would be appalled to hear the way I’d snapped at the guy. A guy who was only trying to help.

I turned around to apologize, but the guy was gone, disappeared back into the crowd on the street.

Not only was I bad luck, now I was rude on top of it. Maybe I did deserve the curse after all.

I dug around in my purse and grabbed my cell phone out as soon as I felt its smooth glass surface under my fingers. I was cold, tired, and miserable. The last thing I really wanted was to trudge home through the city in heels that were killing my feet.

I needed to suck it up and call my best friend and roommate, Katie, in defeat.

I sighed as the phone rang. They say great minds think alike and at that moment it was true. Katie’s name flashed across the screen as the phone vibrated in my hand.

“It’s happening again, Katie,” I told her, my words rushing out as I answered the phone. “I ran away this time, though.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Katie said, cutting me off. “Where are you?”

“I don’t know,” I said, looking around at the people and places. “Downtown, I guess.”

“I’m on my way,” she said as I heard the rev of an engine in the background. “We have to hurry. Your grandmother’s in the hospital.”

© 2020 Melissa L. Webb

13 Kisses

“I did the unspeakable,” she said, tears starting anew. “Something no grandmother should ever do.”

She was serious. Whatever she thought she’d done to my love life was tearing her apart.

I took her hand. “Whatever it is, you can tell me. I’ll understand.”

She shook her head miserably. “No, you won’t. Nobody could understand what I’ve done.”

“What did you do?”

“I…,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I had you cursed.”

***

Emma Ross has always had the worst luck with men. Literally. Anytime she goes on a date, bad things happen to her, her date, and anyone who hazards to be in the blast zone. We aren’t talking about broken heels and losing your reservations. Things have been known to blow up, fall apart, or burn down when Emma’s on a date.

This has happened all her dating life and she doesn’t know why.

When her latest date ends in flames and tears, Emma receives a call informing her that her grandmother is in the hospital. She makes a hasty deathbed confession to Emma that it’s all her fault. Every single disaster, every piece of bad luck was because of her.

Her grandmother swears she had Emma cursed as a child. She will be doomed to never find love unless she takes the right steps to break the curse and free her from a lifetime of loneliness. 

But Emma doesn’t really believe in curses. There’s no such thing, right?

*****************************************************************************

One

“So I was hoping that after dinner you might like to go dancing,” Tyler said, casually sliding his hand across the table, taking my fingers into his large ones. “This is my first date with the beautiful Emma Ross and I want it to be special.”

We were seated in Cappelli’s, one of the fanciest restaurants in town. Tyler Jones had finally asked me out after four months of serious flirting and I wanted the night to be special, too.

I hadn’t had a date in three years. It wasn’t something I could risk, but…I really liked Tyler and I thought it might be worth a chance this time.

“That would be great,” I told him, actually meaning it. Normally guys wouldn’t take a chance on me. Word tended to spread fast of just how dangerous I could be. But Tyler didn’t care.

He didn’t believe in silly things like dating curses. I wish I had the guts to say the same thing but when things out of your control always happened it tended to set you in a very specific mindset.

I was a dating nightmare.

My best friend, Katie, seemed to think it was all in my head. She used words like self-sabotaging and romantically reluctant to explain the things that happened when I tried dating.

Maybe she was right. Maybe I was only jinxing myself. Then again, maybe she was too heavily influenced by those daytime talk shows she always watched on TV. They liked to diagnose people with tragic sounding problems without really getting to the bottom of anything.

I decided to take Katie’s advice anyway. Maybe it was all in my head. I needed to relax and make an effort to think positively. Our outlooks affect more than we know.

So here I was giving my love life another chance and remarkably we’d been on the date for almost an hour and nothing bad had happened.

“I’m just glad you gave me a chance,” I told him, my fingers caressing his lightly.

He smiled at me. “Why wouldn’t I? You’re remarkable, Emma. Any guy would be lucky to have you.”

I laughed lightly, skirting the compliment. “Yeah? Tell me that again at the end of the night.”

“I know you think you have nothing but bad luck with men, but I’ve known you for six months now and never once has anything gone wrong around us.”

“That’s because I wasn’t on a date with you.”

“We’ve been flirting for months, Emma. Don’t you think your bad luck would have shown itself by now?”

“Maybe,” I said, wondering the same thing. It certainly had in the past. “I don’t know. Maybe it knew I honestly planned to never get involved with you.”

“Yet, here you are,” he said, grinning like an idiot.

“Here I am,” I agreed, returning the grin. Have I mentioned that I really, really liked Tyler? That was the only thing that had kept me from trying for so long.

“Here we go,” Tyler said, letting go of my hand as the waiter neared the table with our order.

He slid a plate down in front of me. “Here’s your Prime Rib Cobb Salad with dressing on the side. And for you, Sir,” he said, taking another plate off the tray, “sirloin steak with baked potato.”

“Perfect,” Tyler said, inhaling the scent of the food.

“May I refill your champagne?” the waiter asked, motioning to our almost empty glasses.

“Yes, please,” Tyler said with a nod as he reached for his napkin.

I smiled at the waiter as he refilled my glass. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Good food, good company, and so far, good luck. Maybe it was all in my state of mind.

“And for you,” the waiter said, the champagne bottle hovering over my date’s empty glass. He tipped it slightly at the same time Tyler put his napkin back on the table.

The edge of the cloth napkin hit the stem of his glass, sliding it backward. The champagne missed the glass by a hair and poured on the table.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Sir,” the waiter said, jerking the bottle upright.

Tyler shook his head, sliding the napkin into the mess. “No worries. It was my fault,” he told him earnestly. But before he could clean it up, it trickled off the table and into his lap. He scooted his chair back, jumping quickly from it while blotting at his trousers with a clean napkin. His chair hit a waiter standing behind him at another table.

The waiter let out an “oomph” as he was knocked forward, into the table, flinging the plates of food off his tray and into the laps of the waiting customers.

And, of course, one of those plates just happened to be a flaming dish.

Sure, why not?

“No, no, no,” I moaned as I watch the waiter throw a glass of water on the flailing man as flames danced across his sleeve. I knew it had been too good to be true. Curses didn’t stop for no reason.

The flames were quickly snuffed and everyone stood around the restaurant, shell-shocked.

“I am so sorry,” I said softly, looking at Tyler as he continued to dab at his damp pants.

He looked at me and then at the damage around us. “You think you caused this?” he asked slowly.

I nodded, all hope of being with him fleeing my mind as the dull, grey cloud of reality set in. My love life was doomed and nothing would ever change that.

“This doesn’t have anything to do with you,” he told me, tossing the napkin back on the table. “This was my own carelessness.” He glanced over his shoulder at the smoke still rising from the poor customer’s jacket. “I’m going to apologize; see what I can do to help him, and then, you and I are going to finish our date.” He gave me a small grin. “I’ve worked too hard to get you out on one just to call it a night.”

I stared at the man, stunned. Couldn’t he see how bad of an idea that was? He was one of the smartest people I knew. Yet, he was willing to give this another chance.

Was he insane?

As I watched him walk away, his eyes on the smoking man, an ear-splitting crash rattled the windows of the restaurant.

People around me, not entirely over the panic from the fire, raced to the windows, trying to get a look at what caused the sound.

I hung my head as I slumped in the chair. I didn’t care to see what was going on outside. I knew whatever it was had everything to do with me and my bad luck.

“Who drives the black Charger?” someone called from the crowd at the window.

Tyler frowned, his eyes locking with mine as I watched understanding cloud them. “I do,” he said.

“Not anymore, dude,” someone else called. “It’s been totaled.”

Yeah, that was my curse at its finest.

© 2020 Melissa L. Webb

The Sandman’s Daughter

I walk along. My feet padding silently against the floor of the stark, cold hallway as it stretches out in front of me. I am in my mother’s dream. She doesn’t know it. I slip through as softly as a cloud caught in a peaceful breeze.

I am here to help her, but she will never know that. No one ever will. People never remember my visits in the waking hours. I’m a nocturnal guide. I’m pulled into the dreams of those that need me the most. I guide them through the jumbled mess in their minds, trying to free them from what troubles them. I don’t know why I can do this. It’s as much a part of me as my big feet or my brown curls.

It is what I’ve always done. Unfortunately, it is what I’ll always do.

Whether I like it or not.

I am Cassie O’Bryan and I am a Dream Walker.

Cassie O’Bryan is not your typical high school student. At night, she is pulled into people’s dreams, guiding them through anything the mind needs to work out. She was born with this gift, or as Cassie feels, a curse.

When her fellow classmates start falling into unexplained comas, it seems it might be linked to disturbances in the dream world. What is stalking dreams, turning them into nightmares, and reaping children’s souls? Cassie must use her gift to find the answers. Along the way, she just might find out who she really is as well.

***************

ONE

The closet door closed with a thump as the girl walked away from it. Sighing, she brushed the soft brown curls out of her face and grabbed her backpack off the floor.

“Cassandra O’Bryan, you’re going to make me late to work again,” her mother’s angry voice drifted upstairs into her room. It left Cassie feeling even more isolated than usual. If only she could talk to her mother, tell her the things she so desperately wanted to. But she wouldn’t understand. No one could understand what she was going through.

She threw the pack over her shoulder with a frown as the weight of the world settled deeper into her chest. “I’m coming, Mom.”

“That’s what you said fifteen minutes ago.”

Cassie left the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Would it really kill her mother to give her a break? Just once? She hurried downstairs, taking them two at a time. Her eyes burned with exhaustion as she made her way into the kitchen. Another nice, long day started by her mother’s nagging.

“Well, it’s about time,” Jessica O’Bryan said, hands on her hips as she scowled at her daughter. “I thought I was going have to drag you out of there.”

“Come on, Mom,” Cassie said as she tossed her backpack on the floor before settling into a chair at the table. The smell of food made her stomach roll. She couldn’t even remember the last time she enjoyed sitting down to breakfast. “I didn’t take that long.”

“If you would get up when your alarm goes off, we wouldn’t have to go through this every morning,” her mother told her as she set a glass of orange juice in front of her. The glass gave an angry clink against the table as juice sloshed over the side, leaving a trail of pulp in its wake.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered as she wiped the pulp away, eager to focus on anything other than her mother. She sighed, wishing she was already at school and reached for a piece of buttered toast, hoping the carbs would soak up the stress piled at the base of her stomach.

Her mother watched as she sipped her cup of coffee. “You look terrible,” she told her in-between sips.

Cassie rolled her eyes, biting into her meager breakfast. “Thanks, Mom. You’re so kind.”

“I’m serious, Cassandra,” she said, setting her coffee mug down with a slosh. Another stain on the kitchen table. “You need to stop staying up so late.”

“I’m fine. Stop worrying.”

“That’s my job,” her mother said flatly. “This isn’t healthy. You look like you haven’t slept in a week. This can’t continue.”

Cassie stood up, her exasperation and weariness taking over. “First, I’m in trouble for sleeping too much and now I’m in trouble for not sleeping at all.” She grabbed her backpack and turned on her heel, heading for the front door. “You need to make up your mind, Mom.”

“Cassandra,” her mother called, desperation in her voice.

“I’ll be in the car,” she told her and slammed the door.

© 2020 Melissa L. Webb

What a Year!

The year 2020 has been a rough one for everyone. I have had so much change this year. It took its toll on me mentally. I lost both my jobs when the pandemic first started and thankfully found another one on the front lines. That has been a challenge in itself.

Then on the personal side of it, someone I was very close to for the last few years disappeared from my life without so much as a thought for me. These things as well as the state of the world have left me in a very worn out, depressed way and, unfortunately, my writing has suffered because of it. What once brought me so much joy was now pushed to the back burner because I just couldn’t muster the extra energy for it.

This has to change in the coming year. For my own sanity’s sake, I must start writing again. To do that, I need to find a way to become excited about it once again. Maybe sharing my work with others as I write it will give me the motivation and drive to get through this mental wall that has closed off my creative outlet.

And so, starting today, I will release chapters of the WIPS I’m working on as I write them. They will be rough. They will be messy. But, hopefully, they will be the start of the words flowing freely once again.