The Space Beyond (The Book of Phoenix)

by Kristie Cook

  I opened my front door. “Well, I’m not a doctor but I have been working at a diner since I was fourteen, and I know all about food safety. I’m sorry if I missed a piece on that white tile of yours, but I can guarantee it was bleached with the rest of the floor.”

  “Bex, I’m sorry for snapping at you. It’s been a long day and not a good one.”

  “Your emergency?”

  “Yeah. Doesn’t look good.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said softly. “I wish I could make you feel better.”

  “Come back.”

  I chuckled as I sat on the couch in front of the window and looked at the sky turning peach and pink. “I wish I could. But I gotta work again tomorrow, and I’m not about to become a two-hour commuter.”

  “I miss you,” he said. “I miss those plump, sweet lips of yours.”

  We talked for a good long while until both of our batteries were dying, and even then, it was hard to hang up.

  “Please come see me. I’ll pay for your gas,” he said the next day, and I had to give in. I’d barely been able to concentrate on work because I’d been thinking about him all day.

  For the next few weeks, I drove down to see him every couple of days, stopping in to see Mama and Sissy only about half the times, though, because I didn’t want them knowing exactly how often I was making the trip. It was irresponsible, but I didn’t care. I had way too many responsibilities for my age, and if I wanted to be a little carefree, I would.

  A couple of times a week became every time I didn’t have to work at Sullivan’s, which was becoming more frequent. Although the locals were drinking as heavy as ever, business from the truckers was slacking off. They seemed to be avoiding the truck stop all together. Elizabeth blamed it on the dark cloud hanging over the area, although I didn’t see it. Sunny skies as always for this time of year. Leni offered to give up a few of her shifts, saying she didn’t need them, but I didn’t want her to lose her job. Ever since the K-bomb, she and I had become closer, and she was about the only thing that made working at Sullivan’s worth it. The locals didn’t exactly tip well.

  “Move in with me,” Mason said one morning before I had to make the drive home.

  “What about my jobs?”

  “Screw them. Get a job here. You could work one job here and make more money than you do at all three in Lake Haven. And you don’t have to pay rent or utilities or anything. Not even food.”

  “Mason, I can’t live off of you.”

  “Why not? I want you to.”

  I sighed. The offer was seriously tempting. The more time I spent in Orlando, the more I realized that I could be making tons more money there. Plus, it’d save a bunch of time and gas, and I’d be a lot closer to Sissy and Mama, who’d made little improvement.

  But move in with Dr. Mason Hayes?

  I really liked him, maybe even loved him, but I just wasn’t sure if I was ready to make that leap. Especially those mornings when I’d awake from a haunting dream of a man calling for me. He had eyes kind of like Mason’s, but they seemed lighter in my dream. More like gray than green. And his voice was even sexier, but sad, almost desperate sounding, to the point where I couldn’t understand what he said. But I somehow knew he called for me, troubling me the entire day after.

  “Move in with me, Bex,” Mason said again a week after the first time. “You know you want to. You know it makes total sense. And …” He paused for a moment before gushing, “And I love you. I want to be with you every day. I want to wake up to your precious face every morning and hold you in my arms every night as I fall asleep. I love you, Bex.”

  Oh, shit. That was my undoing. I couldn’t help but say the words back.

  “So you’ll move in with me?”

  “Let me think about it,” I said.

  I didn’t have to think about it long. When Memaw’s burnt down from a grease fire, I was pretty much screwed here anyway. I felt horrible for Elizabeth and Aunt Faye and wished there was something I could do for them, but they decided to keep the insurance money instead of rebuilding, leaving me high and dry … and on my way to Orlando.

  Once the decision was made, my heart did a strange little leap. I could only reckon that meant I was doing the right thing. That I belonged with Dr. Mason Hayes. That he was The One.

  Chapter 17

  “I can’t believe you’re moving down there,” I said as I grabbed a sheet of newspaper and a ceramic angel from Bex’s shelf. “I hate saying goodbye when we were just becoming good friends.”

  “Aw, I know.” She gave me a look full of sympathy. “I know it’s not easy around here, but it’s not like I’m movin’ across the country. Ya’ll can come see us in Orlando any time. Mason has a guest room, so you don’t even have to splurge for a motel.”

  “Sullivan’s won’t be the same, though,” I said. Not that I planned on staying there much longer. The job had been a way to get to know Bex better and to catch any gossip from town, but, sensing the Shadowmen growing restless, I wouldn’t need the job much longer—one way or another, I had a feeling we’d be learning who their target was soon. On a different note, or maybe not, I also had a feeling Bex was making a huge mistake moving in with this Mason guy. “Are you sure you want to take everything?”

  Bex looked around the trailer, which even in its prime hadn’t been exactly luxurious and now was outright rundown. The floors were soft in places. Water stains marked the ceiling. Duct tape held the mauve carpet in place. More duct tape, the kind that came in different colors and in this case hot pink, also held many other items together, including the refrigerator door handle. The furniture appeared to be as old as Bex herself. She kept the place clean, but no amount of scrubbing would make the aged surfaces shine.

  I could understand why she was excited about moving away from here. She’d opened up to me enough that I knew she wanted nothing more than to escape this world where she’d grown up. I just wasn’t sure about how she was doing it.

  “I don’t trust my Uncle Troy,” Bex said as she ran tape over the bottom of an empty box. I was surprised it wasn’t hot pink, too. “He was madder than a hornet when I told him I was quittin’ and finally gettin’ out of here. He said he’d give me a month, and I’d better be back, or he’d rent this place out.”

  “At least he gave you a month,” I said. “In case things don’t work out.”

  She stopped what she was doing, and her shoulders sank. “Oh, Leni, they have to work out. I’m giving up everything for this chance to finally be happy. I’ll be close to Mama, and Mason’s even going to get her a home nurse so Sissy can have some time off, and she and I can spend more time together. Mama’s doing a little better, so that’s a good sign. Who knows? Maybe this was what she needed to make her realize what she has in Sissy and me. Maybe all of this happened—her illness and everything—to bring us all together.”

  Handing her the figurines I’d wrapped so far, I studied her face. Her eyes were bright with hope, and I had a feeling this was the first time in a long time she’d felt such a thing as hope. I pushed back the frown wanting to claim my face and returned her smile.

  “I really feel like he could be The One, Leni,” Bex continued. “He’s so sweet and gentlemanly and kind. And so generous. He’s always saying he’s a selfish bastard, but he’s wrong. Nobody’s ever been so concerned about me and what I want and need. He got Mama the help she needs, too, even going out on a limb by signing some papers. I just can’t imagine anyone more perfect.”

  I tilted my head, sensing an opportunity. “Do you think Mason’s your soul mate? Do you believe in them?”

  She grinned. “I do believe in them! I think we each have someone we’re supposed to be with, you know? The problem is finding them in this big world, and I don’t think everyone’s lucky enough to do that. In fact, judgin’ by the divorce rate, I think most people end up ho
okin’ up with the wrong person more often than not.”

  “It’s a shame, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah, it is,” she said with a sigh.

  “I definitely know Jeric’s mine. I feel it in here.” I pressed my hand against my chest, watching Bex carefully. Something flickered across her face, but too quickly for me to understand. I hedged further. “In fact, I feel like our connection goes even deeper. Have you ever heard of Twin Flames?”

  Her expression definitely changed, her eyes showing a note of familiarity. “Hmm … I think I’ve heard of them. Liz’beth must have mentioned them once.”

  “From what I’ve read, they’re even more connected than soul mates because they actually used to be the same soul, but it’s been split in two. The two halves are always searching for each other, sometimes finding each other right away, sometimes not. Sometimes it takes lifetimes.”

  “Like more than one lifetime?” Bex asked, skepticism lacing her tone. “As in reincarnation?”

  “Yeah, crazy, huh? And really sad, too, if they never find each other. I can’t imagine how horrible that would be. It must make a person desperate.” I couldn’t help but hold my breath as I waited for her response.

  She rolled her eyes and snorted. “Sounds like bull-honky to me. I don’t believe in reincarnation. Preacher says only Jesus overcame death and lived again, and the only way for us to live forever is through Jesus, and that means in heaven. Thinkin’ anything else will give us a one-way ticket straight to hell.” Her eyes narrowed, and she tilted her head as she looked at me. “You don’t believe you and Jeric are these Twin Flames, do you? Or in reincarnation?”

  I gave a nonchalant shrug. “Who really knows what comes after this life?”

  “Preacher seems to. Says it’s all spelled out in the Bible. God’s Word and all. Came straight from The Man Himself.”

  I knew it was probably pointless to push it any further, but I thought maybe planting the seed in Bex’s mind could at least make her think about it more … and maybe ignite some kind of memory, or, if anything, the tiniest bit of recognition at the soul level. If she was Rebethannah, anyway, and until I could prove my intuition right, that was still a big, fat if.

  “Right,” I agreed. “But wouldn’t God have to put everything in terms we lowly humans could relate to? And back then, when they knew so little about this world, let alone anything about the universe, they could only comprehend so much. Like, maybe God said he created worlds—lots of them, all with people—but back then, they thought this was the only world. That everything revolved around this planet, right? So they’d write that he created earth, just one, because that was the extent of their understanding. Then, of course, there’s the fact that words had different meanings then than they do now.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard people argue about the Bible being translated lots of times, too, so meanings probably changed. But if those were God’s people doin’ the translatin’, then they had to have done it right. Right? And usually the people arguin’ are the ones who want to pick and choose which parts to follow.”

  I snickered at her last statement. “Yeah, I guess you have a point there. I’m just saying that maybe we don’t really get the Bible or God or any of the religions, really. Like you said, we can’t compare ourselves to God, so how can we say we know everything at His level?”

  She hesitated, and then gave her own shrug. “All I know is what I’ve been taught all these years, and it’s enough to put the fear of God in me. But you can believe whatever you want. I’m the last person who has any right to get all judgy. I just know I’ve done enough to be sent to hell as it is, and there’s no need to make things worse by second-guessin’ God.”

  I had to give her props for holding steadfast in her beliefs, but I kind of wanted to shake her until her mind—and her soul—opened up to hear what I was trying to tell her. If I knew for sure she was Rebethannah and a good shaking would wake her up, I might have even done it. But I didn’t know, and all I could do was hope that maybe she’d find herself thinking about the little seed I’d planted and it would grow into an actual memory for her. Again—if my instinct was right and she was Rebethannah.

  But I had to give one more stab, from a different angle.

  “I’m totally changing the subject here—”

  She giggled nervously. “Yeah, we’re gettin’ a little deep, aren’t we?”

  Not as deep as I’d preferred, but I’d pushed in that direction too far already. “Let’s talk about boys again.”

  “Oh, now that’s more my speed,” she said with a real laugh.

  “Do you know anyone named Nathan or Aiden or even Nathayden? Anything that sounds like that?”

  “Um … no. Don’t think so. Why? A new boy now? I thought you said Jeric was your soul mate.”

  “No, not for me. Just a name I overheard recently. But I don’t know if I heard it right, and I hadn’t met anyone around here with a name anything like that.”

  She paused and seemed to consider something. “Well, Mason kind of sounds like Nathan, right? And his last name is Hayes. I’m sure lots of people are talking about him, now that word’s out I’m movin’ away. A bunch of the old gossipin’ women are expectin’ me to start showing any day now. Nobody believes I’m not pregnant!”

  She carried on about the town’s rumors, but I tuned her out, thinking about Mason’s name. Excitement of a new thought fluttered in my gut. I wished I could think about it harder, but it would have to wait.

  “And, goin’ back to your question about Mason,” Bex continued, coming full circle, “I think he is my soul mate. He’s too perfect for me.”

  “Well, then, maybe this was all meant to be,” I said as I reached over and patted her knee before grabbing another sheet of newspaper.

  A picture in the paper caught my eye—and my breath. I read the caption, then glanced up at the dateline. I gnawed on my bottom lip for a second.

  “Mind if I keep this page?” I asked, already folding it neatly.

  “Find something interesting?”

  I stuffed the folded paper into the back pocket of my jeans shorts. “Maybe. I want to read the article later.”

  “Sure, take it. It’s not like we don’t have enough. I think Mason collected every spare issue of the Orlando papers he could find. If we run out, I can have him bring more. He’s coming up later to help move all these boxes.” She clapped her hands together. “Ya’ll should come over! Brock and Asia, too. We can have one last cookout here, and all ya’ll can finally meet Mason.”

  I glanced out the window to where Ty’s truck used to sit when he lived here. “Ty’s fighting today. If he wins, like Jeric expects he will, we’ll probably already have plans.”

  Jeric had wanted me to come to the fight, which I always did when they were out of town because the separation was too much for our souls—and Jeric’s comfort level for my safety. But this fight was in Misty Springs, only one town over, and I’d already promised Bex I’d help her pack. And I’d much rather pack than watch a couple of grown guys beat each other up for fun. We had enough real fighting with real bad guys in our life. Besides, I couldn’t pass up this opportunity for some quiet one-on-one time with this soul. I’d hoped to feel a stronger connection than I’d been able to make so far.

  Bex’s shoulders sank, and she looked out the window towards Ty’s old place, too. “Guess he wouldn’t want Mason and me there for his celebration.”

  I studied the angel figurine—Bex had quite the collection, and this one was painted solid black, which seemed odd to me—as I turned it over in my hands. “Have you talked to him yet?”

  She sighed. “He refuses to have a thing to do with me. Won’t take my calls or return them. I swear he has a camera out, watching for when I head to his place so he can disappear. Probably just has people ratting me out when they spot
me comin’. Everyone’s on his side, of course, blamin’ me for breakin’ his heart so bad. They forget that he did it to me first.”

  “He’ll come around,” I said, though I wasn’t sure about that. I hadn’t seen much of Ty myself, but Jeric said he was in bad shape, taking out his anger in the practice ring and the cages. “I’m sure, in the end, he wants you to be happy. If Mason does that for you better than he ever could, he’ll see that you two really don’t belong together as anything more than friends. Then he’ll find his own perfect mate.”

  “I hope so,” she whispered. “I want him to be happy. I just know I’m not the one to do it.”

  She sniffled before rearranging the box to fit the rest of her angel collection. We finished packing it in silence.

  “Wow,” Bex suddenly breathed as I handed her the last one. I looked up at her. “I just had this crazy feeling of déjà vu. Like you and me have done this before.”

  I froze. She laughed and shook herself.

  “Liz’beth loves when that happens,” she said. “Says we’d probably known each other in a past life and done something similar.” She laughed nervously. “More of that reincarnation crap. Anyway, it’s such a weird feeling, ya know?”

  My heart skipped a beat. I did know. I knew about the feeling, and I knew Elizabeth was right, regardless of Bex’s beliefs in reincarnation. We had known each other in a past life, and we had done something similar. At the end of their freshman year in the dorms, Jacey had helped her Bex pack up her room while Bex cursed out another guy she’d broken up with. I was convinced this Bethany sitting next to me hadn’t chosen to go by Bex by coincidence. I knew that much. It was the part of whether she was Rebethannah or not where I wished I could be more certain. My instinct whispered that she was, but I still didn’t know if I could trust it.

  A few minutes later, I sensed Jeric approaching, and I felt his good mood. Ty must have won. About ten minutes later, Bex glanced out the window again.